5. The Villains
Let's talk a bit about the villains in this book. First off, the Black Glove and specifically Dr Simon Hurt. Morrison ret-conned Hurt so that he was the NASA scientist in the Himalayas who conducted the Thogal experiment on Batman - originally it was a nameless scientist. Hurt tries to subvert Bruce's identity by claiming to be his father, Thomas Wayne (he's not), and attempts to destroy the Wayne legacy, spreading malicious lies about Thomas and Martha as drugged-up hedonists. This is all smoke and mirrors stuff, but it's entertaining. The other more interesting idea is that Dr Hurt is Satan. If you've read the entirety of Morrison's Batman run you'll know Hurt crops up in some pretty interesting situations like the future Batman storyline where a grown-up Damian is Batman. In this storyline Gotham has gone so far to hell (in an issue appropriately numbered Batman #666) that the President of the United States is impelled to launch a nuclear strike and destroy the city - by his top advisor, none other than Dr Simon Hurt. What I like best about the Black Glove as villains is their ambiguity - you never truly get an answer to "Who is the Black Glove?" only more death and distraction. Not knowing everything about them is partly what makes them so fascinating. You can't have a great Batman book without the greatest Batman villain (greatest comic book villain?) of them all - the Joker. Tony Daniel draws Joker in a series of great outfits that make him look like the rockstar he is, an idea Morrison insists upon, and he's right - Joker looks like Marilyn Manson in nearly every scene. Joker has some fantastic scenes with Batman but what I love about Joker in this book is his reaction to the Black Glove, the people who freed him from Arkham. They're under the impression Joker can be controlled, that he would be indebted to them in some way or be subservient to them - but this is Joker. In a wonderful scene towards the end, after Batman is "killed", Joker turns on his "allies" much to their dismay. Joker: "Devil is double is deuce, my dear doctor, and joker trumps deuce" Dr Hurt: "What are you saying?" Joker: "I'm saying adieu. Pleased to meet you, admire your work, but don't. Don't call me servant. I'll collect my winnings from all of you, in due course...hehehehehe" It's a given that Morrison understands these characters intrinsically but that scene was so badass! Of course Joker would turn on the villains, despite being one himself - he doesn't see himself as a hero or a villain, he's Joker, and he'll take sides with no-one.