Batman #130

Batman #130 is a dual hit finale to two supernova stories. If you want one that features a tour de force of script, characterization, art, coloring, inks, and lettering, rush back to your comic shop. Purchase Batman #125-130. Just binge-read the whole thing. I've rarely seen a better-written Batman, Tim Drake, and Failsafe, though it gets less and less to say near the end, is chilling in behavior from the jump. I never thought we'd see Zur-En-Arrh again, but considering how he was handled twice brought richness to the Batman mythos. No wrong done here. A crossover-level event, but done in-house Read Full Review

Batman #130 brings Zdarksy's first arc to a close with spectacular action and a tantalising cliffhanger. Both writer and artist are bringing their A-game in an issue which both starts and ends big. Read Full Review

Batman #130 is edge-of-your-seat action with a message about compassion and what sets Batman apart from the greatest detective and the most dangerous man alive. Zdarsky and Jimnez have done the impossible and made Batman an even more exciting and addictive read. Read Full Review

The first part of this issue is brilliantly tense, a wordless action segment reminiscent of the Oscar-nominated thriller Gravity. Read Full Review

Fantastic issue. I feel like Zdarsky hit his stride in the past two issues or rather, all the setup hed been preparing paid off, and the vision of Batman he has been working off of (and toward) has become clearer. Theres nothing strictly new under the sun, but by merging the dark psychological and the heroic ideal takes on Batman, Zdarsky has brought nuance and flexibility to the character while reconciling some conflicts of characterization without actually changing anything, and that is some impressive work. Read Full Review

Batman #130 is an excellent ending to both the Failsafe storyline and the "I Am A Gun back-up story that featured the origin story of Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. From beginning to end Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, Leonardo Romero, and company did so much great character work for Batman, Robin, Superman, and Failsafe. The ending leaves you looking forward to what 2023 will look like for the entire Batman franchise. Read Full Review

Jimenez perfectly captures the tone, mood and action of the story with art filled with beautiful detail as well as great emotion and thrills. Read Full Review

Sure, the overly comic book science-esque narration and play-by-play weighed down the issue making it almost silly at times. However, the suspense and high-level thrills will keep readers locked in just long enough to overcome the beginning ridiculousness that kicks off Batman #130. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless! Read Full Review

Batman #130 lets the curtain fall on the Failsafe arc, but it masterfully asks more questions than it answers. With the fate of certain characters left in the balance, the next issue is going to be highly anticipated. 2023 is going to be starting strong in Gotham City, as sure as night follows day! Read Full Review

The insanity of this comic gets even more extreme perhaps even too extreme but the story, characters and art continue to make for a fun read. Read Full Review

Batman #130 has a full appearance of the Batgod and if that's not your thing, get ready to roll your eyes a lot.  I think a lot of what we're seeing in Chip Zdarsky having fun in a Grant Morrison way, but he may have taken it all a bit too far.  The issue looks fantastic thanks to Jimnez's art and this is the book to get some good Tim Drake. Read Full Review

I'm curious where Zdarsky takes the series next, but the ending of his first major arc ultimately fails to move the needle. Read Full Review

In the end, the "Failsafe" arc concludes almost predictably and while the quality of Batman #130 isn't quite to the high standards set by Batman #125, it's still an interesting issue that positions the story to progress in intriguing directions. Yet it's an unfortunately bloated and somewhat rushed conclusion that doesn't quite land and leaves the reader wanting more because they're just as tired as Batman is by the end. Read Full Review

Batman #130 tops the impossible cliffhanger from issue #129 with a rescue/survival resolution that's patently ridiculous to the point of infuriating. In a series brimming with clever writing and cool action, this finale to the first part of the Failsafe arc is a massive disappointment. Read Full Review

Batman #130 sees the finale of the Failsafe arc, and whether or not it's a solid ending is entirely dependent on how much readers love rollercoasters. Read Full Review

While the main story has a somewhat interesting cliffhanger that actually surprises me, and there are some cool moments with Tim and Bruce, the creative team wastes too much time in the first half. As a result, I don't enjoy the main story. The backup, on the other hand, was a lot of fun. I'd almost recommend this issue for the backup alone, but then I remember the price tag. Instead, I'm just going to recommend Ram V's Detective Comics. It's been excellent and totally worth your time and hard-earned money. Here's a link to Matina's review of the annual that came out last week. Read Full Review

Forever_Knight82

Dec 10, 2022

Really injoyed this finale of Chips first Ark in Batman. A very emotional ending between Tim and Bruce almost brought me to tears. Looking forward to see where we go In the next arc.

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cincyfan - Dec 10, 2022

I totally agree this was an absolutely phenomenal issue encompassing everything I love about batman. The emotional element was beautiful

cincyfan

Dec 10, 2022

OK I have to say while I love chip zdarsky I surprisingly haven't been into his batman run so far but this is why I say have patience I know you need to let the story playout before totally judging it. So story one.. the fall to earth was written so brilliantly! The artwork was stunning! I absolutely loved his planning and problem solving as he was falling. I loved how he blacked out and then came to and the way the inner dialog was written. Then the battle with superman was epic. Finally the ending was unbelievable! I loved Tim drake's emotion I loved the plan to add compassion realizing it was a tool he need to utilize. I love his last line to Tim drake. I'm beyond curious where he ended up at the end and what superman's state is. I did n ot expect to be so completely blown away and absolutely adore every single panel of this batman book!!!!! Then there is the second story which I haven't been all that into. This finale reminded me of a moon knight premise (which is a great thing). One that I thought was deep, thought provoking and simply brilliant. The writing was unbelievably beautiful and deep. The artwork was also brilliant! Revealing Zur en arrh to be faceless anger was absolutely brilliant!!!! The two sides of batman and joker.... brilliant and expertly executed. I absolutely adored this issue!! My goodness it's a wonderful time to be a comic book lover! I love this stuff!! more

Hex

Dec 28, 2022

You know a writer is doing a great job when all of the old fogies are complaining about Batman doing unrealistic things just because it's cool when back in the day he did way dumber shit and it wasn't even interesting. This is just fucking awesome. Dumb and HIGHLY improbable to impossible? Absolutely. But it still rocks. On top of that, Zdarsky knows how to write these characters and even through these giant set pieces he manages to write gripping, heartfelt dialogue that just speaks to each and every one of the characters that have appeared in this arc, none more so than Tim. His and Bruce's relationship in the past 10+ years has been... spotty? Questionable? I'm not sure how to describe it but they are a very Dynamic Duo here and in this arc. I'm not the biggest Tim fan in the world but that's definitely changed because of this series. more

Screaming Enigma

May 05, 2023

This was an awesome finale to the first arc of Zdarsky's run on Batman. Like another user said, Batman literally falling back to Earth from space is an absolutely crazy idea in theory. However, Zdarsky makes it work, and he does so to great effect. If there's one thing Zdarsky has captured greatly over the course of these first six issues, it's Bruce's dedication to what he's phrased as "the mission." The man literally crashes down to Earth from the moon and picks himself back up to face Failsafe. Plus, Zdarsky tugs at the heartstrings a bit by having Tim, seemingly, lose Bruce right in front of his eyes. Speaking of which, the final page of the main story provokes many questions and a lot of intrigue surrounding where exactly Bruce ended u p. While I do wish there was a little more closure here, this was still a satisfying finale to this arc and I really hope we're able to revisit this in some way in the near future. In this book's backup story, we get the conclusion of the Zur-En-Arrh: Year One three-part-arc that remains fantastic. I said it in my reviews of #128 and #129, but I'll say it here as well. Leonardo Romero's art just goes so incredibly well with this story. As for the story itself, it's very well-done and tells a great story of restraint. Amazing stuff from this run once again. more

Afre

Dec 06, 2022

Zdarsky sold me in the first arc. I'm interested to see more.

srypher

Dec 07, 2022

Solid first arc by Zdarsky

daspidaboy

Dec 06, 2022

god damn this was a good comic book. This first arc is just as good as Chip Zdarsky's first arc in Daredevil. Great story that had a plot twist but it was executed well.

Fraidy Cat

Dec 09, 2022

I was gonna stop at #130 at the end of arc. But wow, the ending makes me eager for #131.

DariusTREE

Dec 30, 2022

While I understand some of the complains with this issue (I myself was baffled at the treatment of Superman, for example, felt completely unnecessary), I had a blast. Batman falling from orbit is the kind of thing that looks and sounds ridiculpus on paper, but the way it was written felt strangely in-character, and it pivoted back into awesomeness.

REYNARD

Dec 06, 2022

Batman falling from space and somehow surviving the heat and pressure of the Earth's atmosphere is crazy: crazier than a guy dressing up in a bat costume and hanging around a farmboy alien who gets nigh-invincibility from the Sun? You tell me... I honestly think the back-up carried the hell out of this. Leonardo Romero's art is fantastic and Chip's prose was absolutely on point, especially in those final panels with the yellow around the symbol, genius!

Loafy Trophy

Dec 09, 2022

Zdarsky has achieved Peak Bat-god. The people who are stark raving mad about this clearly hate fun. Another killer backup too, that really frames the entire arc nicely. Can't wait to see where we go from here.

Sup3rsa1yan1990

Dec 27, 2022

I can hold the suspension of disbelief for a bit, but Batman re entering space with just his suit is crazy, still liked it, but was the ending an “it was all a dream” cop out?

Stormwrath

Dec 06, 2022

Not a huge fan of how Batman survived, its good, but not amazing as the past few issues

Mout

Feb 02, 2023

errr weird resolution but a very nice first arc overall

the green death

Jan 03, 2023

Man I love Zdarsky on Daredevil and I look forward to the next time I get a month of Marvel Comics Unlimited so I can catch up. His Batman first arc feels just so much less engaging than his Daredevil work though. Heck even his Red Hood run in Urban Legends hit harder than this. This just comes across as a relatively generic action thriller movie and the book is saved by the cool back-ups and the strong art (made great through the colouring). Maybe the next arc will sell me on his Batman run, hope so as I imagine he’s here for years.

Federico Liguori

Aug 16, 2023

Why can't you have a decent ending to Batman stories? Joker War, Fear State and now this. Is it DC cutting short and changing plans on the run? Or do screenwriters invent absurd things and then don't know how to get out of it in an acceptable way? Batman coming to Earth falling from space and not even getting a scratch? And what's more he lands just a few feet away from Robin and Superman. Dunno, maybe I should really flatten the expectations to zero level.

Atomichound

Dec 06, 2022

Ok; let’s go! Hold my Bat beer chum while I make the most absurd self rescue in the history of adventure. B. Wayne 2022 If you think Silver Age Batman was goofy, grab some ayahuasca or other suitable hallucinogen and settle in for a trippy, er, well, trip to the farthest reaches of your imagination. I’m torn between the challenging traps that are laid and the ridiculous means of escape. Is Zdarsky brilliant or a Marvel mole? Stay tuned to same Bat Time, same Bat Channel to decide.

Comics Code Authorities

Jan 01, 2023

This story got off to a good start, but quickly became just another of those ones that went on for too long and I'm just glad that it's finally over. I understand why some readers disliked the descent through the atmosphere, as it is kind of corny like something from the '60s TV series. But I'd say it was the best thing about the whole book. I did like seeing Tim back as Robin and helping him out as well, though it's still not too reminiscent of old times. I would like to see more stories with just Batman and Robin again. Particularly this Robin. Otherwise this is pretty much another one of those downhill in quality stories I've become so accustomed to in Batman over the last 4 or so years. Legacy Issue #900 is just around the corner. Once it's come and gone I'll decide whether I want to continue reading Batman. But if this is the kind of stuff Zdarsky has in mind, I'd say he was better off at Marvel. more

justonemore

Dec 07, 2022

I'm sorry to say this, but this final issue was dissapointed. Batman falling fro m the space? I can tollerate a lot of things in comics, but this is ridiculous. And the final resolution, it just happens, it could have happened at any time, it makes the rest of the things that happened seem like filler. I expected much more.

hasanturkoglu

Dec 08, 2022

We read most absurd self rescue in the history of the Batman! What're you doing Zdarsky? Stop writing absurd!

Brannon.44

Dec 11, 2022

The worst issue of the arc by far. When it goes for the more intimate character moments it's amazing. When it goes for the bombastic moments it fails. This issue was almost entirely bombastic. Hopefully the next arc is much more grounded because that's where Zdarsky has excelled. The back up was 10/10.

Mighty Morphin Comic Rater

Jan 21, 2023

I for one am not as worked up by the whole return from space thing as some people were, to me it shows that Batman has a plan for EVERY contingency, no matter how unlikely or absurd. The thing that bothers me about this whole story arc is that he created a killer super robot that is capable of wiping out the entire Justice League but inexplicably he never thought to use this technology to stop and deter crime. Why was he more prepared to punish his friends than stop his enemies? But I suppose in a way this is reflective of the leftist mindset in general.

ResearchReader

May 22, 2023

My rating for this is so harsh because of how bad it just ended. Even if the rest of the book was decent enough, how batman survives is beyond belief. The Chip said Ryan North told him this was totally doable for a person to do. If that is true, this honestly feels like sabotage for this arc. Such a let-down as it limps to the finish.

fzanca

Dec 11, 2022

Chip wrote himself into a corner. I agree with what everyone is saying. There's no way he would have survived in space, re-entry, or landing -- especially right where he wanted to. He landed right in front of Robin for chrissake. Give me a break. Then Superman still couldn't beat the robot. Somehow he turned his heat vision back on Superman and he didn't shut it off. Completely stupid. I'm not sure why Superman can't just rip its arms off. Then Batman loads it with compassion? Really? If you were to write a synopsis of this issue it would sound ludicrous. I hope it gets better from here, but I don't see how when Batman is once again in another dimension.

Quinn

Dec 06, 2022

This issue is just silly. And I don’t mean in the fun Scooby Doo way. I mean in the makes no sense in terms of creating a fictional reality where there are rules that define what is possible and not possible. Batman in space? No problem, his suit can handle re-entry heat and hitting the ground at great speeds. It took me 1 minute to find this info on “How Stuff Works.” “ Meteoroids enter the atmosphere at extremely high speeds -- 7 to 45 miles per second (11 to 72 kilometers per second). They can travel at this rate very easily in the vacuum of space because there's nothing to stop them. Earth's atmosphere, on the other hand, is full of matter, which creates a great deal of friction on a traveling object. This friction generates enough heat (up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1,649 degrees Celsius) to raise the meteoroid's surface to its boiling point, so the meteoroid is vaporized, layer by layer.” That’s strike one. Urban crime fighter Batman has a suit that can survive re-entry. No, just no. Then he manages to guide his suit to the Fortress of Solitude? To quote Lana Kane from “Archer” Nope. Then the robot beats Superman again, despite the fact that Bats and Supes had time to prepare? Lame heroes again. The robot then beats Batman and Robin even though Bats adds compassion to its programming. What? Also, Bats is shot and disappears and the robot believes it’s done it’s job and flies off. Bats turns up in an alley somewhere. Did I miss something? Seriously, did I, because I don’t know what happened. Gabe Hernandez wrote in his review that the writer painted himself in a corner and got out by walking on the paint. You, sir, win the Internet today. This arc showed that Bats is too dangerous to walk around and that Lex Luther is really lame because Bruce Wayne built the Superman killing robot that Lex Dreams of when his bald head hits the pillow at night. Also shows that Supes and Bats are incredibly lame as well. They have time to develop a plan and still get their heads handed to them. Does DC really hate its heroes? Not a good issue or a good arc. Or I could be wrong. more

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superstan52 - Dec 8, 2022

Exactly.

Quinn - Dec 8, 2022

You get me.

superstan52 - Dec 9, 2022

Read my review, same comic

superstan52

Dec 08, 2022

"Batman and Robin" is widely considered the worst Batman movie. in which tthe duo are launched into space and somehow glide back to Earth. So why not reprise it hete? Ridiculous. And aside from the ridiculous reentry, Batman calculates where the Fortress of Solitude is while the Earth is rotating. Asinine. More: Superman has a pressure point? A weapon pierced the otherwise invulnerable Failsafe to make a little hole? Failsafe, who anticipates all of Bats moves, never considers Batman and Robin? Oy-yi-yi.

RKS

Dec 10, 2022

Meh...Zadarsky painted himself into a corner with this story arc and as a result had to have a stupid ending.

Bats44121

Dec 06, 2022

Ridiculous fantasy story pretending to be sci-fi, with another cray-cray ending. And "I fell from the moon." Do you remember the days when "sci-fi" was not simply another name for "fantasy," but actually had at least SOME elements of "science" in with the "fiction"? What Zdarsky left out were alien unicorns flying from an asteroid to guide The Batman back to Earth. That is the type of Batman that this Marvel Comics writer is giving us now. Surely Thor the God of Thunder could come to rescue Batman, right? As to the ending, I knew what to expect. You know there will be some crazy sci-fi/fantasy follow-up. If not, DC Comics should make it the LAST issue of Batman. Oh wait, DC, you want too much $$$$$$$? See, and there is the problem. I f you like it, it is your $5. Spend it however you want. Dark Knight News (DKN) reviewer Max Byrne actually wrote in his review of this issue: "Zdarsky comes up with a method of survival that, whilst being a little far-fetched, is also rooted in physics and mathematical theory" - See? You could your comedy for free! You don't have to pay $5 for it. more

myconius

Dec 19, 2022

It's hard to care about current comics, when the writers obviously do not.

Kreniigh

Dec 10, 2022

As an idea, "Batman builds a robot that can defeat anybody" would be a good fit for the goofy late '50s Batman comic. I don't think it does the character or the story any favors to treat it seriously.