Batman Incorporated #10 – No. He Wouldn’t.

If there’s one thing Grant Morrison can never be accused of, it’s being a simplistic writer. His stories typically have layers upon layers with a plot structure that can be best described as dense. The death of Damien was about as straight forward as Morrison ever is, but the fallout of that event have returned to his typical layers upon layers type of story. Batman Incorporated #10 has many layers, and throughout the issue, you jump from one to the other, which can make it confusing to follow. However, the important thing here is that events are coming to a climax, and Batman is about to have the showdown he’s been wanting with the murderer of his son; who just so happens to have been his son’s mother.

There are many threads in this book to follow, and in truth if you haven’t been following Batman Inc., you’ll probably get lost in the tangle. Events have been building for a while in this storyline, and the death of Damien was not where it was all leading to, but rather just one more milestone along the way. The real question has been what will Damien’s death push Batman into doing. Well, in this issue, we find out, and I have to say it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. I kind of felt that Talia’s response, when she saw what lengths Batman was willing to go to in order to avenge his son’s death was pretty much summed up the proper reaction; “No. He wouldn’t…”

To be honest, I’ve often felt that the art has been one of the weak links for this series, and it doesn’t help that, as it seems with so many DC issues these days, that a couple of artists switch of back and forth throughout the issue. It’s not quite as jarring hear as it has been in some issues, but it’s still noticeable and therefore distracting. Batman Inc. #10 feels like a bridge; an issue that helps us get from one major plot point to another. It doesn’t really have any major point of its own, but without it, Morrison couldn’t get to where he’s going.

Score: 4 of 7

A BIG thanks to Astro-Zombies for providing the material for this review. Learn more about them at astrozombies.com.