Batman: Night Cries

Product Information

Night Cries focused on the inescapable and devastating world of child abuse. I don't think there's any way to 100% adequately cover this topic. Let's also remember that this was published in '92... the same decade of MANY highly publicized sexual abuse and murder cases where the victims were demonized instead of believed. Abuse is one of those "taboo" subjects that many people don't want to confront. It's 2021 and we're still fighting for victims' rights. Two-Face. Harvey Dent's bout with his "evil" side of himself holds many classic struggles of one's internal thoughts. Not only is he unpredictable, well organized, and wily, but he's also shown to be adept and highly dangerous. From his obsession with the number two (.22 caliber guns, second place trophies, the 2nd National Banks, etc.) judging people's fate by a flip of his scarred sided coin, to being a creepy Stalker with a Crush with Renee Montoya. Everybody knows of his horrific mangled left-sided face. But when you delve deep into his character and history, one can understand and summarize on what drove him to become on who or what he is. All because of one instance during court by a certain thug Salvatore Maroni testifying during the infamous "Holiday" murders. Batman: Night Cries is a 1992 one-shot written by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Scott Hampton. Often regarded as one of the darkest Batman stories ever told, the plot follows the titular character as well as friend and collaborator commissioner James Gordon as they investigate a series of murders that suggests a drug war is being raged across the streets of Gotham. On the surface, this premise is as standard and generic as it gets for a Batman comic; however, there’s more to the story here, as the two detectives soon uncover that these murders all pertain to the abuse of children, leading them to suspect a serial killer. It’s up to these two men to find the perpetrator and put a stop to his twisted form of justice, all while they deal with their own personal demons. Wow. Read this on a whim, and it turned out to be excellent. Probably one of the darkest Batman stories out there. It's gruesome and unflinching, but never exploitative. There's a fine line between grim and edgy, and many writers, especially in the 90's, failed to walk it. No such failure here. I've usually liked what I've read from Archie Goodwin, but I've never seen him turn in something quite this personal and upsetting. He's one of the few "old guard" comics writers that successfully transitioned his writing style from the campy yesteryears to the more complex modern age, and this is certainly prime evidence of that fact. I'm surprised this isn't a more well-known comic, because it's definitely in the upper echelon of Batman stuff for me. My guess is that it didn't jive well with the particular kind of darkness readers were looking for in 1992. It's raw, unflinching, mostly actionless, and not at all "cool" or "badass". It's just solid writing. Illustrator Scott Hampton's style gives the book an authentic darkness and a tragic feel. The emotions and innocence of the abused are captured spot-on, with some panels really hard to stomach.

Oh, about Joker's plan to kidnap babies? It's because he wants to kill them all off on New Year's, just to destroy the fragile spirit of the people of Gotham City. And let's not get started on what he does to Commissioner Gordon's wife.So Batman and James have to team up to hunt down a serial killer. It sounds simple enough and we've seen it a million times in Batman titles. But this serial killer is hunting and murdering people who've touched, hurt, molested children. This makes it question if stopping him worth it based on the disgusting behaviors of the victims of the killer. In Arkham Manor, a disguised Batman recruits Mr. Freeze to help contain a maddened Clayface. The two manage to contain the shifter inside Freeze's cell, and begin to leave the Manor. Batman begins to tell Freeze how to best escape without harming anyone, but Victor gently stops him and assures him he's going nowhere. When asked why, Freeze closes his eyes and starts making snow angels, before morosely answering he has, quite literally, nowhere to go. Riddler: "You look around here these days, it's all different. It's all changed. The Joker's killing people, for God's sake! Did I miss something? Was I away when they changed the rules?" What I really enjoyed here was getting the mindset of both Bruce and James. Both feel defeated on their pursuit but you only see that when they're alone or in their mind. Outside you would never expect it as they both put on brave faces in their own way. I loved the family dynamic and watching Gordon deal with both his child and his wife was perfect. The overall theme in the title posses a sinister but, also, realistic approach to the crimes committed by the newest “vigilante”, and once the mystery is solved- this involves one of the most heartfelt moments in a Batman comic, relating a little girl that cannot speak because of her past trauma-, one can’t really come to the conclusion of whether or not it was right for the killers to do as they did, considering the victims were all directly attached to a potential drug-war that was about to burst, all criminals that also happened to be child-abusers. That ends up conflicting both, Gordon and Batman, but it is with Gordon where we feel the weight of the case. In fact, I’ll even dare to say Goodwin’s protagonist is actually Gordon, and not Batman, necessarily. There isn’t that much of a “Bruce Wayne” perspective, as much as there was Gordon’s, and frankly, I’m okay with that. Let’s not forget one of the most important Batman comic books ever made had Jim Gordon and Batman as co-stars in ‘Year One’.

How about the fact that, in recent years at least, the publishers have stopped presenting him as anything other than a delusional madman enraptured with his immortality and status as a "living god" who clings to his goals so he doesn't have to admit he's just a monster? What do you get when Batman is overwhelmed by the Joker's personality? The Batman Who Laughs, a nightmarish ghoul who is essentially the DC Universe's version of Judge Death. Then there's his ultimate plan. Taking a drug designed to curb sociopathic tendencies and induce some empathy and reverse the effects, to drug every infant in Gotham to turn them into sociopathic killers like him. Even worse, he may have succeeded. I don’t really want to spoil anything else, as this a story that you will just have to read for yourself to decide whether or not it works for you. I personally think it does a great job highlighting real-world issues, but that will be a mileage-will-vary kind of thing. The ending is a hell of gut-punch though, and I thought the Gordon subplot was unbelievably effective storytelling. The painted art by Scott Hampton is unreal as well, looking even better in this magazine sized hardcover. It adds a grimey layer to the story, and elevates the script beyond what it would have been if it had just been pencilled normally.Jane Doe casually takes the identity and life of Dr. Carver before the events of the story. Anyone who knows Jane Doe in the DC Universe takes the very essence and identity of her victims through various information on her victims and takes their guise Body Horror style. He consoles her, tells her he understands that she’s not ready to talk about the things she’s seen, but there’s a way for her to share what she knows about her parent’s deaths. He tells her that sharing painful memories can help them, and tells her she can draw a picture instead of talking; she takes a pencil, starts drawing on a pad of paper, and hands it to Batman. On the pad is a picture of a bat. The crossover one-shot with Batman and Elmer Fudd. Batman survives an assassination attempt by Elmer and confronts the man over it. Learning Elmer had been set up by "Bugs", the two proceed to hunt him down. They ultimately learn that the true mastermind was Silver St. Cloud. She had fallen in love with Elmer after she couldn't take being with Bruce's "dangerous" life, but when she learned Elmer had just a dangerous life as Bruce, she opted to turn the two against each other through "Bugs". After the revelation, the three men could only approach the counter of the bar they're in and ask for "carrot juice" to drown their sorrows. The Riddler. Yeah, go on, laugh. A nerdy guy who can't even throw a punch, right? Just leaves stupid clues and makes it easy for Batman to catch him, right? Go read "Dark Knight, Dark City" ( Batman #452-#454), which has, among other things, Riddler forcing Batman into slitting a baby's throat note to perform a tracheotomy.

Battle For The Cowl has some moments, despite Batman's actual death happening earlier. Notable points include the idea of supervillains doing good to honor Batman, Batman's holographic will attempting to set right what couldn't be fixed in a lifetime, and Jason Todd finally snapping completely. His actions are hard to sympathize with, but imagine that your Last Words from the most important person in your life are "You're broken, and I couldn't fix you. Maybe someone else can."

No Man's Land" has the death of Commissioner Gordon's wife, Sarah, at the hands of the Joker. Joker has a large number of infants held hostage; Sarah rushes in with a gun, and Joker tosses one of the babies at her, forcing her to drop her gun to save it. No points for guessing what he does once she's unarmed. Gordon gets the news outside - he rants tearfully about how the Joker has gone too far and seriously considers killing him, but after shooting him in the knee, chooses law over anarchy and walks away. And if him weeping on the steps as Batman holds him steady doesn't get to you, then the scene of him spending the new year alone, singing Auld Lang Syne dry-eyed over Sarah's grave definitely will. What's even worse is that the Joker isn't laughing as he walks away. Even HE doesn't find it funny, which just makes it depressing. Batman Incorporated #8. The entirety of Damian's death scene. Despite it arguably being a Dying Moment of Awesome, it was also a Rasputinian Death as Damian went through a lot of torture trying to appeal to his Mother's better nature before finally getting stabbed through the chest. The countless expies that Batman (and his allies) had to deal with throughout his years as a vigilante crimefighter is no laughing matter either! They're virtually literal dark mirrors on the Dark Knight himself and what he would have done had he not been so vigilant in his struggles for justice and the sanctity of Gotham City and the Gothamites residing. There are a few that deserve well-given mentions here since in their encounters they become something to dread whenever they show up. The infamous few that are just as much as our beloved Cape Crusader himself: 1. Owlman 2. The Wrath (I & II) 3. Hellhound 4. Catman 5. Killer Moth and finally the best for last. 6. Prometheus. Why him? Because he single-handedly out bested the entire JLA! And of course, to add more to this already hellish mentioning of true evils that mirror the Batman to a T. We have Joker, Two-Face, Riddler, Scarecrow to name the few that mirror him just as well. Albeit, not as close as the aforementioned doppelgangers before them but just as bad. Un)Surprisingly, Batman himself in one chapter. After locating Joe Chill, the man who killed his parents, Batman stalks him for several nights. Then Batman, the man who swore never to commit murder, drove Chill to suicide! No wonder so many Batman villains are nuts. Sane people don't last long enough. In Batman Beyond, he has seemingly died, and his daughter Talia has taken over the League of Assassins, returning to a now elderly Bruce and trying to persuade him to undergo rejuvenation in the Lazarus Pit. It eventually revealed that Ra’s had switched his mind with Talia to avoid death when his body finally broke down and is now trying to get Bruce's as well.

Brian Azzarello's Joker is full of nightmare-inducing sequences including skinning a man alive, rape, torture, the Joker crying on a hooker-like Harley Quinn, and much, much more. The comic's narrator becomes so horrified by the Joker's worldview that he ends up committing suicide to escape. His New 52 incarnation is nothing to laugh at either. Taking place in Batman: Year Zero, Doctor Death creates a serum that would strengthen bones to eradicate 'human weakness'. Later it's revealed he was one of three doctors studying regenerative drugs. His area of study was hard tissue, and his experiments caused his skeleton to grow uncontrollably without regard for his organs or muscles. The others, Hugo Strange and Paul Dekker, studied brain and soft tissue regeneration, respectively. To put it in perspective, the treatments they designed somehow went even worse than Hellfern's.Artist Scott Hampton also brings into play a unique layer of abstraction and morbidness with his artistic vision, consisting of a style entirely painted with detailed and expressive strokes. Focused mostly on drowning the story in darkness, expertly utilizing shadows to plunge the narrative into an appropriate and sinister atmosphere, it conveys a certain sense of urgency and tragedy that is difficult to achieve otherwise. He also does an impressive job in capturing emotion in his characters, rarely missing the mark despite the awkwardness of doing so with paint, while also utilizing brighter colours to express gentler moments, kinder faces, and pure innocence. All in all, his artwork is impressive and remained complimentary to the haunting narrative in this graphic novel. The Dark Knight is the perfect comicbook hero to craft the story with. He works in the street at night, he's human and grounded. The dark and and horrifying truth flawlessly blends with his tragic past. Thus the result is an effective delivery of message which does not feel contrived. In the night, he listens. ‘Two million cases. Two thousand deaths. Too many cries. Someone else has to hear them.’ In the night, he listens. And only the sound of his own voice comes to him, screaming in frustration. The cry of a lone bat. Unable to find its way.” Peter Tomasi's run on Batman had the writer humanize Damian in ways that even Grant Morrison's more subtle characterization wasn't able to do alone. So, after Damian's death in Batman Inc., Tomasi dedicated a completely silent issue to the character in Batman and Robin #18. From Alfred's weeping at the Wayne Family portrait, with Damian's figure still unfinished, to Bruce's near inability to keep functioning, the issue reaches a climax when Batman finds a letter Damian wrote to his father explaining why he needed to help his father and how much he loves him. Bruce finally breaks and nearly destroys a whole room, collapsing onto his knees and holding Damian's costume in his hands. Batman has been in the cultural zeitgeist for well over half a century. Numerous generations have grown up with the character in one form or another, from the baby boomers who sat down to watch the 1966 TV series all the way to the kids that went to theaters to see The Batman this March. Everyone has a mental image of who Batman is, and some people’s interpretations of the character are wildly different from others’. With this article, I want to shine a light on one of the Caped Crusader’s lesser known, yet absolutely excellent stories that has had a significant impact on me and explain why the character remains relevant 81 years since his inception.