Writers: The Pander Bros.; Brian Michael Bendis; Jordan B. GorfinkelPlot: A teenager crosses through realities, unwittingly bringing chaos to Gotham on New Year's Eve, 1999; Bruce Wayne becomes Citizen Kane; a young boy takes up the Mantle of the Bat, in a setup that is all too familiar.
This could have easily been an Elseworlds issue, since all three stories clearly exist outside of current continuity. Considering how well the last Elseworlds issue of The Batman Chronicles was received, I was looking for the logo this time around. All three tales mostly involve characters other than Batman, which is one of the main principles this anthology was founded upon.
"Apocalypse Girl"
Drugs are bad. So is dimension-hopping. That's basically what the message is in this story. A bit of the theme from the Legends of the Dark Knight arc Idols creeps in here, when Batman comments on the way his image has been abused and marketed in Gotham.
If you can ignore the questionable science that Batman employs in the Cave and at the end of the story, then this will be a sympathetic tale for you to read. The Pander Bros. setup Zia's unfortunate plight through the eyes of a believable teenager who's lost, been duped, and who just wants to go home.
This would normally work as an Elseworlds tale, because as many Bat-readers know, No Man's Land took place in real-time and DCU-time throughout 1999. All the partygoers at the end of this story, along with the Batmobile and Batman's utility belt, simply couldn't have existed last year.
"Citizen Wayne"
This is the major reason you should pick up this book. But only if you've seen Citizen Kane before, or else you might not enjoy it as completely.
When I read Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #4 - part of the Elseworlds theme - also titled Citizen Wayne, I expected to get a staccato story which closely mirrored the Orson Welles movie. What I read from Augustyn and Waid only had basic elements of the plot, used merely as a setting for their original story.
What I wanted to read then, I found in this issue of The Batman Chronicles. The black and white format goes a long way to throw me into the realm of that classic movie. Panels equal movie scenes. As does narration and dialogue. The entire story is a superbly written parallel, and Brian Michael Bendis should be paid time-and-a-half for his work.
I only wish it was extended, as a one-shot, or even better, if it had been that Elseworlds annual! The ending of Citizen Wayne, like that of Citizen Kane, is just too good to give away.
"A Silent Tale Of The Bat"
How many times have you seen Batman's origin? Well, guess what...it's here again! But not quite like you think.
The story starts off really strange, with a bunch of Bat-people fighting a bunch of other Bat-people. A whole belfry of Bat-folk and their sons and daughters go to see The Mask of Zorro. Then the showcased Bat-family ventures to the Bat-Museum, where trophies and pearls abound. Act now, and with the price of three admissions, you get one free, murdering thief!
The end of the tale is as weird as the beginning, not because of what happens to the youth, but because of the din that's going on in the background. What, is Gotham a city full of angry Bat-people, constantly at each other's collective capes and cowls?
