I don’t know about you, but I feel like every single event in comic books these days is a miniseries. Think about it. Every few months, DC release a compiled paperback collecting six or so issues of a regular ongoing title and flog it like a separate continuous story, almost forgetting that it is a small cog in a much larger machine. Not too long ago, a miniseries used to mean something. Whether it be three, four, five, six, or even twelve issues in length, a miniseries was an event to remember. While DC may have gone slightly crazy with them in the 1990s, once upon a time they didn’t exist. DC’s first ever miniseries came surprisingly late in 1979, titled World of Krypton. Although the first, it isn’t particularly memorable (it’s written by Paul Kupperberg) and pales in comparison to the second miniseries DC produced. It was the time when, after Dennis O’Neil, Neal Adams, Steve Englehart, and Marshall Rogers, that the famous Dark Knight could sell pretty much anything. And in 1980, he was graced with a miniseries which is actually kind of memorable…
The Untold Legend of Batman was a three-issue miniseries published from July to
September 1980. Unlike World of Krypton, this was produced by legends. Written by Len Wein, the first issue was pencilled by John Byrne, while Jim Aparo provided the inks before completely taking over the art duties for the second and third issues. I’ve read this miniseries in the Tales of the Batman: Len Wein hardcover.
It's naturally assumed today that any good miniseries is a self-contained story that explores a particular theme, character, or idea for a limited number of issues. But most crucially, a successful and great miniseries has to generate intrigue. By simply judging its title, The Untold Legend the of Batman certainly does that. Since the Dark Knight has always remained one of DC’s most gothic and mysterious heroes, I can see why this perhaps garnered more attention than World of Krypton. Sure, we already knew about Batman, Robin, Alfred, Batgirl, Wayne Manor, the Bat-Cave, the death of the Waynes and more, but this looked like it was going to reveal something big and tell a truly magnificent story. Rule number one: don’t make your expectations too high.
The good news about The Untold Legend the of Batman is that, as it should be for a mass market miniseries, the reader doesn’t have to have read any previous story or comic book. If you had to read just one Batman story in your whole life, then this wouldn’t be a bad one. Of course, these days nobody would mention it, and neither would I as other stories such as Batman: Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, or The Killing Joke are held in far higher regard than this. However, for 1980, I imagine this probably hooked many readers to Batman comics, but why is it a largely forgotten and rather obscure series? The first issue begins in the famous Bat-Cave and opens with a truly brilliant splash page of Batman and his faithful butler Alfred opening a mysterious package only to find the shredded remains of a Batman costume inside. This get-up belonged not to Bruce Wayne however, but to his father Thomas. Stolen from the cave, somebody ripped the costume to pieces and sent it back to the Dark Knight? I really don’t know how Batman didn’t notice such an important costume going missing, but either way, this costume first actually appeared in Detective Comics 235 (in 1956, reprinted in the flawless Black Casebook trade paperback). If you’ve read that story, and how Thomas Wayne created the original Batman costume for fancy dress before he confronted gangster Lex Moxon and sent him to prison, which in turn led to the criminal hiring Joe Chill to assassinate the Waynes, then this isn’t really anything new. In fact, most of the first issue of the Untold Legend of the Batman just retells the events of Batman’s origin. And that is when events click into place. The Untold Legend of the Batman isn’t a secret story waiting to be told, but just the same old one told in three issues. Sure, there is an original plot here, but it is buried by far too much context and information most readers already know. After his parents die, Bruce begins his training. Yeah, yeah, we know. But that said, Wein does add some details to Bruce’s past which, I guess, he can be given some credit for. For example, the young Bruce is in awe of Detective Harvey Harris, and he decides to team up with him, creating a red, yellow, and green costume. Yes, this is a young Bruce Wayne dressed as Robin. As I said, it’s original, but the idea is abysmal. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled too much by the simplified darkness of the Dark Knight’s origin in Batman: Year One, but this idea is just too silly and technical to really work. Aside from that though, Wein just covers the usual ground of Batman confronting Chill after completing his training. Wein does write a bit about Batman’s fight with Moxon, but this just again copies the events of The First Batman. At this point, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this story had no plot. Its focus changes so much and so quickly that the main story gets lost easily, but when it returns, the first issue doesn’t conclude with any great excitement. The Dark Knight decides to head out into the night to find the villain who sent him his own clothes. Imagine how weird that must have sounded when Wein pitched this to the editor…
Only about four or five pages of the first issue focusing on any original plot, unfortunately that doesn’t change with The Untold Legend the of Batman 2. Although we are graced with the full excellence of Jim Aparo’s visuals, the first four pages or so throws Batman into some random action as he battles against gangsters who clearly know little. And then Robin turns up.
This has some potential as Robin tries to drive the obsessive Dark Knight back to the path of sanity, but instead, the Boy Wonder seems to have caught the same disease as Batman as he reminiscences about the old days. Happily, it doesn’t go on for too long as we all know Robin’s origin, but when they arrive back in the cave and Alfred turns up, guess who we learn every life detail about then. At least with Alfred, he's a major character who, at this point, hadn’t received much time in the spotlight and Wein does fairly well to tell his story as a soldier and actor before becoming Bruce Wayne’s butler at the request of his dying father. I don’t really like the idea of Alfred joining Bruce long after he began his career as Batman, because I liked the idea of Alfred being a mentor figure. Instead, Wein shoehorns this idea that a woman who looked after the young Bruce was actually the mother of Joe Chill, a story point which feels so half-baked that it never materialises in any other story ever again. Anyway, back to the main plot! With Robin, Batman theorises about who the villain behind the stolen costume could be. He then begins to think- STOP! We’re now thrown into another origin story, this time of most of Batman’s Rogues Gallery. Seriously, this is getting tiring. Continually, this makes the Untold Legend the of Batman a difficult read. The main plot constantly escapes vision and it’s a shame because it has some great mystery. Instead, Wein lumbers the plot with far too much character and backstory. Luckily, some original plotting returns as the Batmobile explodes at the conclusion of the second issue. Batman truly isn’t happy, and it appears that, with just one issue left, the story is going to move along, and the stakes will be high…
Who am I kidding? Despite a vengeful Batman at the beginning of issue three who storms off into the night to apparently face his greatest challenge yet, we are instead given a laborious and longwinded history of the Batmobile. Sure, its destruction at the end of the previous issue was something of a shock, but do we really need to know all the details and history of the damn thing? Do we really need to know about the first story it appeared in and the random engineer who Batman entrusts to look after it? No. And keeping with the fashion of this story, just as Batman continues his search (with no results) and seeks help from Commissioner Gordon, we’re given more backstory into the GCPD, Gordon, his first meeting with Batman, and how his daughter Barbara has become Batgirl. It doesn’t end there either. As Bruce heads to his penthouse to retire, he speaks briefly to his aide Lucius Fox, and that takes on a story in itself. With just a mere six pages left for Wein to tell his story, it's just obvious that whatever the chosen conclusion, it won’t have enough time or space to be satisfying, dramatic, or even sensical. Therefore, Wein goes down the opposing path. Thinking he can find the answer to all of his questions in the now-abandoned Wayne Manor, Batman heads there to find flashbacks of his past and his mother and father. Suddenly, Batman is confronted by the First Batman, the original Dark Knight wearing the suit donned by Thomas Wayne. Just who is this mysterious character behind the mask? Perhaps if we had a fourth issue then the chosen revelation that it was Robin all along would have been scrapped and this piece could have been given a real villain. It turns out that Robin dressed as Batman to try and return him to his senses, convincing him of his heroic morals.
The reason? Well, Batman has got temporary paranoid schizophrenia from a warehouse explosion. You remember that explosion, don’t you? At the warehouse? You know, the one which Wein mentioned only in passing in a scene sandwiched between two forced flashbacks. If you really wanted the warehouse explosion to be involved with this story, then place it at the very start. This would have set the scene nicely. However, it just would have been so much better if the story didn’t this terrible idea to conclude the plot. Not only is the conclusion rushed, but it doesn’t make any real sense and leaves so much up to speculation. Did Batman leave these clues for himself? Did he mail the costume to himself? I think the presence of some evil mastermind would have made this story just so much better and mysterious. Perhaps Doctor Hugo Strange would have been good. As it stands, ignoring all the moments of flashbacks and backstory, the plot here is extremely thin. It may pass off as a fill-in or unmemorable issue of Detective Comics that only needs twenty pages to really operate but giving this plot three issues is just laughable. Obviously, The Untold Legend of the Batman was written as an introduction to new readers and convey the world of Batman. While there is definitely nothing wrong with doing this, shoehorning every single detail, much of them minute and irrelevant, just ruins what is a thin and hugely undeveloped plot. I suppose its briefness gives this miniseries a pass, and there is a decent sense of mystery throughout, but a failed conclusion and a messy path from start to finish doesn’t ensure that the Untold Legends of the Batman will be fondly remembered.
Despite Wein’s lapse of writing quality, much of the art here is solid and creative in its storytelling. The approach of John Byrne in issue one is somewhat standard, and despite the detailed and gorgeous inks of Jim Aparo, the storytelling is pretty bland and average. However, issues two and three are delightful as the full Aparo is unleashed. With his fantastically creative sense of storytelling, his dynamism in scenes of action, his brilliant inks which use dramatic lighting to great success, and varied layouts, Aparo proves once again why he is one of the great Batman artists. Even if the plot is flat and much of the story is pointless, just be here to enjoy the art.
VERDICT
Overall, The Untold Legend of the Batman had so much promise for the Dark Knight’s first miniseries. Instead, Wein surprises us all with a weak, albeit at times mysterious, plot that features a depressingly nonsensical conclusion. While it cannot perform the task of working effectively for three issues, Wein shoehorns so much backstory as possible here to ensure that the plot is often forgotten. In spite of the fantastic artwork, if you had to recommend any storyline to a new Batman reader, then give them one where plot doesn’t feel like an intruder on sloppy fan wank.
Story: 3.5/10
Art: 9/10
Next Week: Justice League International: The Teasdale Imperative (Justice League America 31-36, Justice League Europe 7-10). Written by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and William Messner-Loebs with art by Adam Hughes, Joe Rubinstein, Bart Sears, Pablo Marcos, Art Nichols, Bob Smith, Jose Marzan. Jr, and Tom Artis.
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