In the crowded fields of talented creators, only a select few leave a significant or long-lasting impact on the comic book medium. Siegel and Shuster will be forever remembered for Superman, while Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko combined their visionary talents to create much of the Marvel Universe. Modern martyrs – Dennis O’Neil, Neal Adams, Alan Moore, and Frank Miller – have come to define a growing sense of realism and darkness in the medium. But there is another name too, a person whose life was cut tragically short. Darwyn Cooke arrived later onto the scene than most fans. Contributing to DC’s forever expanding animated output during the 1990s and 2000s, Cooke was an artist with a vision. His retro style of art didn’t simply mimic or aim to copy the art of the Golden Age; he wanted to romanticise it. Most readers of today will have heard of Darwyn Cooke’s New Frontier, a wonderfully lengthy tale chronicling the dying days of the Golden Age and the new dawn of the Silver Age. The New Frontier really was his magnum opus, but his career in comic books really began in 2000. Like every writer who possesses a pen and a brain, Cooke wanted to launch his career with the Dark Knight – a one-off story that would not only serve as a wonderful tale, but as a Batman story for the ages…
Batman: Ego was released in October 2000, with Darwyn Cooke’s talent bringing him the credits as writer, penciller, and inker. This is one of two Cooke Batman one-offs, with the second following two years later – Selina’s Big Score. Ego, Selina’s Big Score, and Cooke’s other Dark Knight short stories, have been published in a wonderful hardcover collected edition.
Seasoned readers may wince or cringe upon discovering yet another one-off Batman story. By 2000, the market was drowning in tales featuring the Dark Knight. From ongoing series to limited miniseries, and countless one-offs and Elseworlds tales, it seemed that Batman was everywhere. When Darwyn Cooke released Ego, it instantly looked different to any other Dark Knight tale from the time. There is no hardened or gritty cover featuring an over-muscular Batman or anything so typical, but a stunning piece of art reminiscent of the flawless Batman: The Animated Series. Cooke’s retroactive yet imaginative style of artwork will entice readers from the start. But to some, describing Ego as a psychological exploration of the psyche of the Dark Knight will earn a yawn; at first, such a reaction would be entirely merited. Miller was the first in the modern age to delve deep into the Dark Knight’s mind, with the tale of the vigilante’s return in 1986 detailing the relentlessly obsessive nature of Batman. Other writers – like Alan Moore – cleverly investigated the unpredictable and volatile nature of the Joker, Meanwhile, Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, Alan Grant, and Dennis O’Neil portrayed the ‘broken bat’ in Knightfall; from the Dark Knight’s villains fleeing from Arkham to the titanic back-breaking moment of Batman 497, it was a saga chronicling Batman’s obsession with a ‘mission’ – regardless of its pain. It appears that a psychological stroll of Batman’s mind is no original idea, but Ego is different. Ego is no pedestrian adventure – it is a tower of terror.
Like all great Dark Knight tales, it begins in the past. Cooke portrays a Dark Knight in his early years. This isn’t the new-boy vigilante of Year One, but one whose wings are slowly beginning to spread. This Dark Knight isn’t the lonesome being of the early days; there is now Commissioner Gordon and even Robin to aid him in his mission. That all said, Cooke immediately sets the scene with a Gotham City chase. Batman is on the hunt for Buster Snibbs, a small-time crook whose lacklustre skills as a getaway driver has landed himself – and his boss – into deep trouble. Perhaps this would be a much smaller problem were Buster’s boss not the Joker himself! With its charming simplicity yet dynamic storytelling, Cooke’s artwork displays a high-intensity chase featuring a bruised and reckless Dark Knight. This is one who – even with the bleeding and sense of wooziness caused by blood lost – is relentless in his mission. He has no time to psycho-analyse himself. He pins down Buster Snibbs, attempting to convince the driver that he is safe with the Joker behind bars. But Buster is no fool. Despite Batman striking fear into the heart of criminals – after all, they are a superstitious cowardly lot – Buster’s fear of the Joker’s unhinged and murderous nature leads to a devastating and unexpected scene. The mood of Ego was never bright to begin with, but Cooke lands two shattered punches to our stomachs. Not only does Buster reveal – to the shock of Batman – that he has killed his own family to rescue them from a worse fate from the Joker, but then the small-time crook turns the gun on himself. That first revelation, mixed with Buster’s final fate, leaves an impact and fundamentally alters Batman’s view of himself. The suddenness of such moments, followed by Batman questioning himself and wondering if his actions make him no better than his own villains, turns Ego from a seemingly standard Dark Knight tale into something far deeper and darker.
The guilt of Batman of Buster’s death takes us to the Bat-Cave, the physical construct of Bruce’s dedication to fighting crime after he swore a vow to the memory of his parents that Gotham will be protected under his watch. That feeling of guilt becomes one of despair, then hopelessness, and finally relinquishment. Under all the pressure and failure, it appears that Batman is gone. Only Bruce Wayne is present – that is where Cooke’s true genius materialises. Upon mentally giving up the mission, Bruce Wayne is met with his ego, the darkest of all characters – himself. Bruce Wayne’s true villain is Batman – Ego places the two sides of Bruce Wayne’s personality against one another. In theory, such an idea would be entirely ludicrous. Imagine the absurdity as Bruce Wayne meets Batman, with the two arguing pointlessly and embarrassingly, failing to ascertain any emotion from the reader. But Ego is not such an amateur project. Batman appears on the screen in the Batcave as some kind of demonic presence, before appearing in reality with such exaggerated features as it towers over Bruce Wayne. Writers of the past have previously explored the dominance of the Dark Knight, but none have compared it so strikingly to the overly moral and innocent Bruce Wayne. Throughout, Batman constantly reminds Bruce of his mission, and how this obsessive need for order and justice has been forever present since childhood. It’s important to notice the way that Cooke displays the ego of Batman. It may appear as the Dark Knight, but with such demonic eyes and monstrous teeth, it’s quickly apparent that this variant of Batman – one devoid of human qualities and a sense of honour, love, and respect for life – is not too far removed from the cruelty of the Joker. The physical difference between the two personalities, with the meekness of Bruce compared to the terrifying dominance of Batman, is a fantastic metaphor for the role that fear plays in the lives of us all. Even at our most logical, the power of fear can be overpowering. It explains why such a kind human as Bruce Wayne finds it difficult to resist the reactionary abruptness of Batman – the power of fear is hard to resist.
The ego of Bruce Wayne – Batman – has been present since the start. This is when readers may evoke a sigh as we all expect to read the same old boring pages of that tragic scene in Crime Alley featuring the death of the Waynes. Fortunately, Cooke doesn’t stoop to such conventional ideas. Instead, Batman is in control as Bruce is taken on a tour of his childhood. We witness one Christmas with the Waynes, a time mixed with presents (including the gifting of those famous pearls soon to be found in Gotham’s street puddles) and death. Doctor Thomas Wayne is on call and tragically a patient dies, with Bruce witness to such an event. For the first time, the concept of death enters Bruce’s head – this is where the birth of Batman begins. Cooke’s creativity – and not anchoring the story so predictably to the death of the Waynes – makes Ego stand taller than other psychoanalytical expeditions. Of course, there is a page about that famous scene, but Cooke displays it with such unique storytelling and drama. We all know what happened, but with a visual focus on Bruce’s reaction and the gun, the pressure of the drama is immense.
The inner drama of Bruce Wayne/Batman comes down to morality and the mission. Batman is that obsessiveness within – that constant and never-ending drive to fight crime. But without humanity, Batman’s ego is something far darker than that. This inner demon doesn’t just want to work alone, but it wants full control of Gotham. It believes that Gotham can only find peace when the Joker is finally killed. Bruce Wayne refuses to kill under any circumstance, but Batman makes it clear that this war on crime has not been a bloodless one. Batman’s actions have indirect consequences – after all, were it not for Batman chasing the Red Hood at the chemical factory, that criminal may never have become the Joker, terrorised Gotham, and then led to Buster’s suicide. Few other stories have painted Batman so similarly to his friend Harvey Dent. That famed villain of dual personalities is driven by an obsession of both justice and cruelty, with both sides at constant war with one another. Batman makes an offer to Bruce Wayne – detach the two personalities entirely. By day, you have Bruce Wayne, the playboy millionaire no longer hindered by guilt, and by night, you have Batman, unleashed and unshackled by any rules or respect for the law. Bruce Wayne refuses to go down a path similar to Harvey Dent, and it leads to the deepest moment of the story.
Bruce Wayne is given the ultimate choice. With the gun that murdered his parents now his hands, he has the chance to shoot and kill Batman. One bullet would be fatal – enough to banish the guilt, the fear, a dedication to an unwinnable mission. Cooke delivers each panel with weight, with the art reflecting the deep conflicting thoughts and emotions within Bruce Wayne. Should he, do it? Will he, do it? In the end, Bruce cannot – he concedes it would be a form of suicide, and he remembers the pledge he made to his parents. Bruce decides to honour that pledge – the pledge to continue as Batman for life. But upon combining that commitment and obsessiveness with humanity – a belief in fairness, justice, and a firm belief in a ‘no kill’ policy – Bruce Wayne learns to live with Batman once again. Batman doesn’t go down the road of the Joker but travels up the path of Bruce Wayne. With the Joker back out on the streets, Gotham’s protector honours his pledge and humanity…
This was Darwyn Cooke’s first ever comic book. He had always wanted to pen a Batman tale. It was the exploration of the hero’s inner psyche that really fascinated Cooke. By detaching Bruce and Batman in such a creative and horrifying way – a product which never comes across as overtly silly or unserious – Ego has a selection of deliciously memorable moments. For Cooke himself, he describes Ego as “an earnest yet flawed first effort.” Dramatically and creatively, Ego gets very little wrong. Its dynamic artwork is fabulous, and his rendition of the obsessive and unchained inner-Batman is truly terrifying. So, where are the flaws?
Ego isn't flawed in its plot, but it could be flawed for some of its ideas. How responsible is Batman for the crime and evil actions in Gotham City? That is a question psychologists and writers can explore until comic books cease to exist. Even the characters of Gotham - Professor Hugo Strange, for instance - explores Batman's mind. Much of it is naturally subjective. Is Batman responsible for Buster's death? Can Batman really hold himself to such a high and mighty 'no kill' policy? Is Batman no different from the criminals he fights? Ego explores these questions, but there are no answers. Perhaps there never will be. Cooke opens up an infinite can of worms - some readers may agree with the notion that Bruce/Batman are two distinct personalities; others may not. To me, I've always believed Batman to be Bruce Wayne's real personality - Bruce is just a cover. It was brilliant how in Mark Waid's Kingdom Come, the moment Bruce Wayne was exposed, it didn't really matter. It meant Bruce was free to be himself - Batman. If anything, Ego actually helps readers develop a greater view of Bruce Wayne. He is not a victim of Batman's obsessiveness, but a lever of control. Those values of humanism ensure that the true darkness of Gotham's Knight is never unleashed. I will stop here, in fear that I am sounding like an amateur psychology student.
One overlooked positive of Ego is that it is a tale from Batman’s early years. Those 1980s/1990s Legends of the Dark Knight tales were not classics by coincidence. It was because we were met with a less experienced and amateur Batman facing new challenges. However, those early years brought something else too – a sense of empty loneliness. The Batman of Year One, Ego, and Venom is one not bogged down either by people or history. Think of all that is to come – The Killing Joke, A Death in the Family, Knightfall, No Man’s Land, the list goes on. Batman has not had the chance to learn and grow or reflect on failure. The simplicity of Batman’s life in Ego, with its revamped Golden Age feel and setting creating a charming sensation similar to that of the 1940s, makes the weight of the psychological drama all the heavier. It was a time when the hero fought the villains, and little more. Placing that battle within the Dark Knight’s head centre stage in this simpler world makes for a wonderfully colourful contrast.
Of course, another question is one of realism. There are moments when Batman throws Bruce across the Batcave and hacks into the cave’s technology. These scenes aren’t taking place solely in Batman’s head – after all, when Batman vanishes and leaves Bruce at the end of the tale, it isn’t as if a nightmare or dream has come to an end. How can the physical manifestation of an ego be explicable? It’s hard to conjure up an answer; perhaps that is Ego’s biggest flaw? How could such a confrontation of personalities be physically possible? Cooke may be critical of his earliest story, and although one aspect may make little sense, the fact Ego is unputdownable makes any flaws very tolerable indeed.
I've made reference to Cooke's talent as an artist previously. I believe strongly that his art is his most magical talent. His style is so iconic - a mixture of 1940s retro and 1990s animated flair, it is mixed with Cooke's own creativity and love for these characters. His rendition of a meek Bruce Wayne and an all-powerful terrifying Batman adds much dramatic weight to events. His smooth inks are appealing; it's that creative and identifiable style which made Cooke into an instant classic. He may not be at his height as in The New Frontier, but he isn't far from it!
VERDICT
Overall, Batman: Ego is a fantastic psychological adventure exploring the dual personalities of Bruce Wayne and Batman. Physically manifesting such personalities could have looked so clumsy or silly, but with such powerful artwork and memorable moments, Ego is a modern classic. Although Cooke may have been critical of his earliest comic book work, it is this brilliant start that launches a short but fantastic career in the pages of DC Comics...
Next Week: Catwoman: Selina's Big Score. Written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke.
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