Was Batman: Year Two really that popular? Well, apparently so. That being said, it was fairly common for both DC and Marvel to release “graphic novels” and long one-offs in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I’m not entirely sure why. Its probably down to financial reasons, but prestige format books like Batman: Full Circle must have been a success for DC in terms of sales. However, this does raise at least one question: who wanted a sequel to Batman: Year Two? As much as I enjoyed the story, I can only imagine that there would have been a handful of people demanding a follow-up. Well, clearly DC were thinking the same and Batman: Full Circle reunites Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis once again. Thank God. At least Todd McFarlane wasn’t invited. But seriously, Full Circle is a rather forgotten Batman story, one which is often
criticised in a similar fashion to Batman: Year Two. In that it attempts to change the Batman mythos but fails miserably. Is Batman: Full Circle really that bad?
Batman: Full Circle was a one-off published in August 1991. It was written by Mike W.Barr with art by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer. I have read the story in the Legends of the Dark Knight: Alan Davis hardcover.
Just like Batman: Year Two, Full Circle is another one of those stories set in Batman’s past. In that case, why wasn’t this story published in Legends of the Dark Knight, the title that was purposely designed and created to home stories from the Dark Knight’s past? This could have made for a good three or four-parter, but for some reason, possibly the return of Davis, DC decided to go for a prestige format book. Don’t get me wrong, the book’s quality is very good, but I do question why this story of them all was given the red carpet. Regardless, Full Circle begins about a year after Batman: Year Two, as now Robin is present and he and Batman have fought against the likes of Two Face, the Joker and the Penguin. Pretty traditional stuff. In Gotham, a child arrives in the city in the back of a truck. He runs into some prostitutes, who give the child some money before he runs away. Suddenly, the Reaper appears and in-keeping with previous crimes, he brutally murders the prostitute, but then ignores the other one as the police arrive and he brutally murders them. Nice to see that nothing has changed. Gordon listens to the surviving prostitute’s statement and fears that the Reaper may have returned. Meanwhile, Batman and Robin take out some cocaine smugglers in a warehouse, with Robin playfully and clumsily taking out the criminals. Due to Robin’s clumsy actions which nearly result in his death, Batman sends him back to the cave while he speaks to Gordon about the Reaper. Gordon tells Batman that from bullets fired by the Reaper, they have matched them with Judson Caspian, who Batman watched fall forty stories. This really shouldn’t surprise Batman, as he is living in a world with Superman and talking gorillas. At the same time, Judson’s daughter, Rachel, hears the news and returns to Gotham from her calling as a nun. In Gotham, Marcia Duncan arrives home where is she confronted by the Reaper, who reveals himself to be… Joe Chill!? What? Well, its technically Joe Chill’s son, also named Joe to confuse us. Then, the child from earlier knocks on the door and it is Joey Chill, the son of Joe Chill the second. Christ, at least he is called Joey instead of Joe. Lets call Joe Chill (the killer of Thomas and Martha Wayne) Joe Snr and his son Joe Jr, with his son called Joey. That kind of clears things up. Joe Jr then explains to Marcia, his sister, that he stole the Reaper’s body and used his suit to terrify Batman. Joe Jr then tells his son about Joe Snr, who he was a drunk and bad father. He visited his father years later, watching him secretly team up with Batman (In Year Two). Joe Jr then watched Batman take his mask off and nearly kill his father, before the Reaper finished the job (Detective Comics 578). Angry, Joe Jr hoped that the Reaper would have killed Batman instead of his father. This is where things get confusing for me. For starters, I’ve never really liked stories involving a new character being retrospectively present secretly in the events of a previous story, watching them unfold. To me, it doesn’t feel like a lazy idea, It feels like the writer has no idea for a story. Also, having three characters from the same family all with the same name gets annoyingly confusing and it also makes you question why Joe Jr would become the Reaper, the man who murdered his father! It just doesn’t add up and it doesn’t feel realistic at all. Anyway, with Robin stuck in Wayne Manor, Bruce attempts to contact Rachel, but she is no longer at the orphanage. Suddenly, Bruce realises where Rachel may have gone and he leaves as Batman, alone. Not long afterwards, Bruce arrives at the Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic, meeting both Dr Leslie Thompkins and Rachel, who is in tears worrying about her father and whether he is really alive or not. This really could have been continued on for the majority of the story. Barr has made the same mistake he made in Batman: Year Two, that being that he has revealed who the real villain is far too early. If Joe Jr is revealed to be the villain at the end, this would be a shock and the last quarter of the story could be spent explaining why he did what he did. Here, the story lacks any drama. Anyway, Bruce becomes Batman and heads out to find the Reaper, remembering the death of his parents as he leaves. That is always something that writers decide to throw into any Batman story. I’m sure we all know the origin of Batman. Seriously, does it need to be in every story ever. Anyhow, Batman goes to McSurley’s Bar, where he frightens some criminal partygoers and confronts the owner for information, who admits that his business of prostitution is being cut (literally) by the Reaper. Suddenly, the surviving prostitute from earlier shoots Batman, believing him to be the Reaper, but the bullet hits his cape. The prostitute then breaks down into tears about her dead friend as Batman leaves. Meanwhile, Rachel goes for a walk for some air, but the Reaper confronts her, tricking her by telling her that he is her father. Suddenly, Batman arrives and he and the Reaper fight. But, the Reaper then destroys a Wayne (continued)
Foundation Building sign box and inside is Joe Chill Snr’s gun (which Batman disposed of in Detective Comics 578). After Batman escapes with Rachel, she wakes up and finds what just happened wasn’t a dream. In the Batcave, Batman wonders how this new Reaper knows so much about him and although Robin wants to help, he tells him that he is still grounded. Meanwhile, Joe Snr arrives home with the gun and he shows it to Joey, who wants to have it. But, his father tells him that he doesn’t want him to become like him or his father. If that was the case then don’t dress like the Reaper in front of your son. Anyway, Marica recommends that Rachel must be captured as it is the only way that they can get to Batman. The Reaper goes to Rachel’s home but finds she isn’t there, but he works out that she is at Leslie’s Clinic. If it was so easy to find her the first time then it can’t be that hard the second. But, because Rachel really wants to know if the Reaper is her father, she dresses as a prostitute and prepares to head out. But, Leslie tells her to think straight as that is a really stupid idea. But, it doesn’t matter as the Reaper arrives anyway. When Batman returns, he finds Leslie beaten and Rachel gone. This is something which is fairly common with this story. Many of the aspects of the story which are meant to be surprises are actually fairly predictable. Batman: Year Two did have a number of instances when the story took a turn you didn’t expect, but, apart from the revelation of Joe Chill’s son, there isn’t anything else like that here. Anyway, Batman finds the Reaper holding Rachel prisoner and the two fight, but Batman is knocked unconscious by Marcia. They then unmask Batman, finding him to be an unknown man with ginger hair. When Batman awakens, he finds himself tied up on a tall pedestal over a pit of acid. To torture him, the Reaper plays footage of a boy watching his parents being murdered, but the boy laughs in happiness that he didn’t die. Surely, this renders the disguise Batman wore under his mask entirely pointless. They must know that Batman is Bruce Wayne if they are showing him a recreation of the death of his parents. If that was the case, then why did Barr bother with the disguise as a story point to begin with. Anyway, Batman reacts in horror at the footage, while Robin, tired of waiting for Batman to return, heads out to find him. At the same time, Marcia reveals to Joe Jr that she doesn’t care about Joe Snr's death, but she wants Batman alive so they can receive a reward from a gangster. The Reaper suddenly kills her for her betrayal, while Robin appears and shouts out to Batman that he is here. Batman responds and leaves his trance that the torture has placed him in and he escapes from the trap, before taking out the Reaper. But, as Batman holds Joe Jr over the acid, Joey falls from the glass celling, but Batman catches him. Joey then tells Batman that he is Joey Chill and Joe Jr is his father. Emotional, Batman leaves Joe Jr and his son together, telling Robin that he hopes the Joe Chill legacy will end with his son and grandson. As Batman speaks to Rachel and says goodbye to her, he and Robin head to the bridge, where Batman ends it all by throwing Joe Snr’s gun into the river, ensuring that it will never return and that the Joe Chill story is finally over. It makes for an effective and nice way to end not just this story, but part of Batman’s life. That being said, despite this story once again being an exciting and interesting story, it repeats some of problems that Batman: Year Two suffered, most notably in that Barr reveals the Reaper’s identity far too early. Furthermore, the morality and goals of the villains is confusing. Marcia’s purpose in the story is revealed far too late and when it is, it is entirely different to what Joe Jr had in mind. Due to this, by the end, it is still something of a mystery to what the villains wanted to achieve. Once again however, Barr concludes the story of the Chill family well enough to make it enjoyable. It does have more problems than Batman: Year Two, but it is just as enjoyable to me. But, that could be down to the art.
As before when Davis pencilled the first part of Batman: Year Two (Detective Comics 575), he captures the action of the story excellently, depicts Batman brilliantly and presents the Reaper in a fearful way. Batman: Full Circle is more of the same and thank god. The art is wonderful as Davis depicts every character in his unique way.
Robin is a prime example of how Davis can add so much to a character through his art. The storytelling is also fantastic in how it captures the mood of the story. While Mark Farmer’s inks are very good and just as great as Neary, the colouring is somewhat off. I’m not sure if this was an experiment in early computer colouring, but Tom Ziuko’s colouring looks somewhat faded. Yes, the shades of colour which can be achieved are impressive, but the overall quality looks slightly poorer to what we got in Year Two. It doesn’t decrease the quality of the art that much however as all of Davis’s excellent details aren’t swamped by dodgy colouring.
VERDICT
Overall, Batman: Full Circle has many problems. It can often by very predictable and the villains aren’t written in overly convincing ways, particularly when it comes to their goals. It also feels like Barr was trying to make a cohesive story with the bare minimum and it showed in the final story. That being said, I still really enjoyed it in a similar vein to Year Two. This could be because the story is very engaging and for the fact that it does conclude the Chill story in an intriguing and good way. Davis’s art also helps the story dramatically and Mark Farmer’s inks are excellent. It may have its problems, but this story certainly shouldn’t be forgotten…
Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Next Week: Deadman: Circle of Fire (Deadman (vol 2) 1-4). Written by Andrew Helfer with art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Expected by 31/01/2021.
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