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Batman: The Last Knight on Earth #3 is published by DC Black Label, an imprint of DC Comics, and written by Scott Snyder, with pencils by Greg Capullo, inks by Jonathan Glapion, colors by FCO Plascencia, and letters by Tom Napolitano. Marketed as Snyder and Capullo’s final Batman story, Batman: The Last Knight on Earth takes place on a destroyed world. Previously, Batman and Joker, who travels with Batman as a head stuck in a lantern, traversed through barren landscapes, to the Kent’s farm, now home to a decrepit Lex Luther, to the River of the dead, until finally arriving in what is left of Gotham City.
But before Batman gets far, he is immediately met by the Court of Owls. With the previous issue hitting shelves in late July, it has been a while since we have seen much from the Mad Max inspired post-apocalyptic world of Batman: Last Knight on Earth. Now, in Batman: The Last Knight on Earth #3, Gotham has been broken and remade as Omega reigns supreme.
The issue opens with a moment in the past between Jim Gordon and Batman. As the two look over the broken bat-signal, Jim sees the symbolism within, believing Gotham breaks men, even if they aren’t that old. As the issue returns to the present, we are re-introduced to some of Batman’s greatest allies, including Dick Grayson who has taken over the bat-cave and is leading the Court of Owls as Talon.
As explained in the previous issue, Omega is another Batman, another Bruce Wayne, but has spent his time in Gotham keeping the city under control through a tyrannical reign of fear and terror. Dick explains to Bruce he wanted to fight with the symbol of the Bat but it had become so corrupted he couldn’t. Seeing Dick Grayson give up a symbol that means family to him is heartbreaking.
Hearing him talk about the fight he couldn’t win and people he lost is devastating. Synder excels at writing Bruce Wayne’s brooding, undercut anger, but his Dick Grayson always has that pitch-perfect amount of empathy that tugs at your heartstrings. In addition to Dick, seeing Barbara Gordon in this issue was an absolute treat. Throughout her run as Batgirl and particularly during her time as Oracle, Barbara has never been afraid to stand up to Bruce.
A lot of the emotional moments depend on Capullo’s ability to capture the somber tension in the room. By utilizing close-ups for a majority of the scenes between Bruce and Dick, Capullo is able to capture the raw emotion and sorrow in the character’s eyes. Dick’s soft, cerulean blue eyes, beautifully colored by FCO Plascencia, stand out on the page. The scenes in the cave are a stark contrast to the ones in Gotham. Omega’s design is intimidating by nature and any panel he is in features a significantly darker color palate. This also extends to his word bubbles which are black instead of the traditional white.
Batman: The Last Knight on Earth #3 sets up the final showdown to take back Gotham, a showdown that is bound to have casualties. While the first two issues focused on exposition and world-building, this issue is able to get into the meat of the story and show the impact this desolate world has had on the Bat-family.
Batman: The Last Knight on Earth #3 is available now everywhere comic books are sold and online.
Batman: The Last Knight on Earth #3
TL;DR
Batman: The Last Knight on Earth #3 sets up the final showdown to take back Gotham, a showdown that is bound to have casualties. While the first two issues focused on exposition and world-building, this issue is able to get into the meat of the story and show the impact this desolate world has had on the Bat-family.
