Review: All-Star Batman Vol. 2: Ends of the Earth
Quick Summary
Pros: The villain spotlights are all fantastic and provide great looks at each character. Every story is thrilling in its own unique way. The Duke story ends on an incredibly interesting note. All of the artwork looks great.
Cons: The ending is not as epic as most Batman comics. The Duke story starts out a bit boring.
Overall: The experimental nature of All-Star Batman comes out in full force as this book significantly alters the traditional comic book experience. Instead of following one major storyline, this book features mostly individual, though still connected, villain spotlights that provide sustained thrills from beginning to end. The only problem is that this creates an ending with a more marginalized impact than normal. If you’re looking for a somewhat atypical Batman story with beautiful artwork, this is the comic for you.
Story
All-Star Batman Vol. 2: Ends of the Earth shows just how experimental Scott Snyder is willing to get with this new series. Instead of a straightforward narrative, where the main character makes moderate progression through a singular story in each issue, this volume features mostly isolated stories focused on one member of Batman’s rogues gallery. There is still an overarching storyline but it is relegated to the background for the most part. This creates a book where every chapter is as important and as interesting as the last, where there are no dull moments or boring introductions, and a number of villains have a chance to impart their own unique brand of fun. However, in order to do this, the ending feels less important and thrilling. It is certainly a trade-off, but one that makes a unique reading experience that stands out among comics today.
(spoilers start here)
The first three chapters of this book each focus on a different Batman villain. Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and the Mad Hatter get an individualized story designed to perfectly highlight their biggest strengths and weaknesses. Then, the collection ends with a story that wraps things up and also provides an additional spotlight on the collection’s true villain.
What makes the Freeze story good is how epic and powerful everything feels. Batman storms Freeze’s compound, beats up his men, and uses some cool weaponry. Even when it seems like Freeze has the upper hand, it turns out everything went according to plan and Batman already won. The story ends with the two locked in a chamber together while bombs rain down around them, an impressive way the end things.
The next story sees Poison Ivy retreating to the desert to do research, where Batman convinces her to help him cure a virus. This story is great because it shows Ivy as more than a psychopath obsessed with plants. She still has a strong sense of humanity within her, something most writers end up excluding. It also is interspersed with a countdown of random images showing the backwards story of a girl dying of the virus Batman is trying to stop. The way this countdown is structured pulls in readers’ curiosity at first and provides an emotional sucker-punch once readers realize what is going on. It was my favorite aspect of this story and one of my favorite aspects of this entire book.
After this, the Mad Hatter story begins. Here Tetch tries to convince Batman that his entire life has been a hallucination brought on by Mad Hatter technology. It is a psychologically trippy adventure that takes a unique look at the Dark Knight. However, it ultimately feels undercut by the reader’s knowledge that there is no way this story is real. There are still some great scenes between Batman and the hallucinations and even some between Batman and Tetch, definitely enough to make this a worthwhile story in the end.
The final story reveals the mastermind behind this entire trip to be Ra’s al Ghul. Batman stops the madman in his attempt to destroy the world by using materials gathered from each stop in this book. The final battle is fun and even has a few twists and turns to keep it interesting. However, the lack of a more in-depth setup makes the ending feel a bit anticlimactic. It is still as entertaining as the other stories here but isn’t quite as momentous as the conclusion to most of Scott Snyder’s works. As mentioned earlier, this is a trade-off: most books are alright throughout and rise to their highest point near the end; this book is great throughout and maintains that level the entire time. Personally, I liked this changeup, as it made the book unique and different, but I recognize that it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
The volume ends by concluding the “Cursed Wheel” storyline and giving hints as to where Duke’s future will head. For the most part, this story is very subdued; few aspects of it feel as thrilling as they did in the previous volume. However, the ending kicks things up several notches. In the arc’s finale, we discover Duke has some hidden power within him passed down by his mother. It is an incredibly interesting way to end things that left me more excited to read about Duke than I have ever been before.
(spoilers end here)
Art
Like the story, the structure of the art in this volume is highly experimental. A different artist takes on each chapter (except for Jock, who does two) and provides their own unique flair to the characters they depict. In this way, every story can be personalized to highlight the villain which the chapter focuses on. Jock’s Freeze story is bleak and filled with sharp contrasts between dark and light; Tula Lotay’s Ivy story is desolate regarding everything that is not plant life; Giuseppe Camuncoli’s Mad Hatter story is trippy and filled with hallucinogenic imagery; and the final story is a dark summary of all of this. Having artwork as reactive and responsive as this makes for a radically different reading experience, in a noticeably positive way. It also helps that each artist working here is incredibly talented, causing there to be almost no moments that stand out as being negative.
Another way in which this volume is unique is in the lettering. All of the dialogue/narration in the Batman portion of this volume is presented as if it were narration. The only indication that different speakers are talking comes through the lettering. Color and style shifts evoke emotion and mirror what is happening in the story. The lettering, by Steve Wands, is great and significantly contributes to the book as a whole.
In addition, this volume concludes with the “Cursed Wheel” storyline, drawn and colored by Francesco Francavilla. Francavilla’s creepy art style, chaotic panels, and outrageous colors create a visual palate that mirrors the unease Duke feels throughout the story. Visually, this is a unique backup story that immediately stands out upon first glancing at it. All in all, Francavilla continues this collection’s cavalcade of great art.
Continuity
All-Star Batman Vol. 2: Ends of the Earth continues the story started in All-Star Batman Vol. 1: My Own Worst Enemy (Review). However, because of the way the story is told, the two volumes are almost completely independent of each other. The Duke story continues directly but only one or two references are made to the Batman story.
The main story here continues in All-Star Batman Vol. 3: The First Ally (Review). However, Duke’s story continues on in Dark Days: The Forge (Review) and Batman and the Signal (Review).
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- Ivy and Batman reference her past dealings with Bruce Wayne. These are detailed in Secret Origins #10, which is collected in Secret Origins Vol. 2.
- Duke’s story brings up a number of details from his past.
- His past at the Lucius Fox Center for Gotham Youth is first shown in Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy (Review)
- His relationship with Daryl Gutierrez and Daryl’s current situation are explained across Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy (Review) and Batman Vol. 9: Bloom (Review).
- The current status of his parents is explained by Batman Vol. 7: Endgame (Review).
- His friendship with Izzy is first shown in We are Robin Vol. 1: The Vigilante Business (Review).
- The Mud Room from Detective Comics Vol. 1: Rise of the Batmen (Review) appears here.