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The Complete Series all reviews by petra Introduction Rucka has created a nuanced, layered story about what makes us who we are, and how far we will go to protect those things. It's a story about family, and about friends, and about how much we need both in our lives. It is about the choices we make under extreme duress, and its about accepting the consequences for those choices. The end of the series is moving and heartbreaking, and it made me cry. Art |
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Gotham is not having a good year, even by Gotham standards. First there was the Clench, a filovirus plague, and its even nastier mutated follow-up, the Legacy virus. Just when Gotham was settling down again came 20 seconds of a 7.6 earthquake. The city was destroyed, its citizens shaken and homeless. Following hard on the heels of the earthquake's devastation was the news that the government was abandoning Gotham, closing down the city and declaring it a No Man's Land. Those who could left, those who remained were the ones who couldn't leave the illegal immigrants, the poor, the weak, the criminals. Now Gotham is divided into tribal zones run by gangs the Steet Demonz, the LoBoyz, Lynx and the Triads, etc., and the Gotham PD. Commissioner Gordon refused to leave when the government ordered the city cleared, and now he's trying to take it back block by block. He's not the only one trying to take the city back. In the absence of telephones or computers to hack, Oracle has downgraded to lower-tech options for information retrieval. No one has heard from Batman, but three months into the abandonment of Gotham someone is starting to leave signs of the Bat painted onto walls. The question is, who exactly is leaving those signs? Is Batman back, or is it someone else wearing the cowl? |
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In a place where there are no external sources to measure yourself against, you have to rely on your own sense of what is right. Where do you draw the lines, and if you cross those lines do you destroy what you are trying to rebuild? Commissioner Gordon isn't the only one asking those questions. Huntress is playing at being Batgirl, and Batman is letting her despite their past ethical differences. Batman is trying to relearn his city, because the Gotham that is now, is not the same Gotham that he vowed to protect. Sometimes you can't play by the same rules. Commissioner Gordon is making deals with the devil to try and preserve a little bit more of his city. Everyone is struggling to remember who they are and how to adapt to the new Gotham without compromising themselves. |
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Commissioner Gordon is fighting to reclaim the city from one end, and Batman is fighting from the other side, but it is the citizen's of Gotham who are the real soldiers. They are caught in the middle trying to survive, and trying to preserve some basic human decency in the midst chaos and war. There are a few safe zones in the city Dr. Leslie Thompkins is running a clinic for anyone who can make it to her door, and on Catholic priest is creating a sanctuary in his former parish. It's a question of whether that kind of idealism can survive the No Man's Land of Gotham City and the reappearance of Gothams' chronic villans, and whether, perhaps now more than ever, that kind of idealism is desperately needed. |
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Retaking Gotham City would be so much easier if it was just ordinary street thugs running the gangs. But this is Gotham, and Gotham never does anything the easy way. Penguin is running (and profiting wildly from) a free trade zone, and circumstances suggest that he has access to goods from outside the city although no one is sure how he's getting through the military blockade. Two-Face is taking more and more territory and setting up his own system of rough justice. The Joker is also running loose, and playing his usual high stakes games. Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD are gaining territory on the south side (Oracle provides helpful maps so you can keep track of who controls what areas of the city), and Batman is extending his coverage in the north. To make matters worse, defying all logic and the National Guard, Bane has broken into Gotham. Why is Bane back? Who is funding him? And, why? |
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Lex Luthor has decided to show up in Gotham and defy the governmental ban on communications with the city. He's pouring money, man power and infrastructure into the city, and nobody's entirely sure why. Except, Batman has a pretty good idea. He and Oracle having been waiting for a move like this, but they haven't spent a year reclaiming their city from gangs just to give it up to Lex Luthor. When the move comes they are ready for it. The series ends with the revocation of the No Man's Land. Commissioner Gordon is reinstated and given a new charter as Police Commissioner. The army moves into to help with the rebuilding. In the end though, it is Gotham who brought herself back from chaos, and Gotham who rebuilt herself. |
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Man's Land
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copyright Robin Brenner 2002-2004