Episode #086: Knightquest
(Or … “Knightfall – Part Two”!) There’s a new Batman in town, and his name is Jean-Paul Valley, a.k.a. Azrael. While Bruce Wayne is recuperating from a broken back and mounting an international rescue mission, Az-Bats kicks Robin out of the Batcave, alienates Commissioner Gordon, and replaces the cape and cowl with high-tech armor. But his more aggressive attitude has unexpected consequences for the innocent victim of the villain Abattoir. We’ll talk about the creators behind this story and how their approaches to showing an out-of-control Batman differ, discuss the pervasive themes of mind control throughout the storyline, and speculate about why for many years DC seemed hesitant to reprint the story of how Bruce Wayne’s back actually gets healed.
Discussed in this episode: Batman #501-508, Detective Comics #667-675, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #19-20 and #24-28, Catwoman #6-7, Robin #7, plus material from Knightquest: The Search
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