The Batman Who Laughs #5 // Review

With another issue added to this miniseries, Dark Knights Metal will continue to bleed out, well over a year after completing. The titular marketing ploy has far overstayed his welcome, and with another new title lined up for the villain, there seems to lie no end in sight for this dark nightmare. Scott Snyder and artist Jock continue to bring the edge, delivering yet another unimportant and uninspired chapter to this overall lackluster title. Stinking with self-indulgence, the miniseries serves as a platform for Snyder to revisit all of his own ideas from his time on each of the Batman titles.

With Batman facing down against Gotham PD while losing his sanity to the Joker toxin, the caped crusader finally let’s go and gives into these demons. Underneath the city within the sewers, Commissioner Gordon lies at the hands of the Grim Knight before being saved by a very unexpected ally. The Batman Who Laughs makes his big move against the Court of Owls, staking claim over the city. As the two dark knights finally face down in a virtual standoff within the Batcave, Batman makes the ultimate decision and actives his “Last Laugh” protocol before the chapter closes out.

The artistry of Jock has fallen a long way since his previous time on Detective Comics with Snyder. His incoherent scribblings are meant to add a sinister aesthetic to the series when in reality they just take away any sort of importance this series it’s attempting to garner. A far cry from his former glory, Jock seems to have lost interest in this title long before it ever started. David Baron must do what he can with Jock’s pencil work, as he attempts to realize the gothic aesthetic the series is aiming for.

With another chapter tacked onto the title, two issues still remain for Snyder to try and deliver some form of importance and reason for this series to even exist in the first place. The stark contrast between this uninspired miniseries and the sheer master class work on the main Justice League title is astonishing. Snyder is more than capable of delivering an original and engaging title to readers, this particular series is definitely not one of them.

The dark multiversal cash cow continues to exist for the sheer purpose of selling variant covers and merchandise. As the wheels spin on, this uninspired nightmare will continue to live within the upcoming Batman/Superman title arriving this summer as the titular character is slated as the new title’s main villain. With no end in sight for this dark knight, all fans can do is vote with their dollar as DC and Scott Snyder continues to over saturate the market with an endless number of evil laughing Batmen.

Grade: C-