Tracy Hickman
It Books, 2012
$15.99, Softcover
978-0062219862
Genre: Action, Adventure
Age: 14+
Description: Two men joined by blood but separated by murder: Thomas,
the rebellious doctor and heir to the vast Wayne Empire, and Bruce, his son,
whose life is forever altered when he witnesses the brutal death of his
parents. The murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne is the turning point in which
Bruce Wayne becomes the mysterious caped-crusader Batman. The Dark Knight's
file on the death of his parents has long been closed and the secret of
Batman’s true identity a secure secret. These foundations are shaken when an
unexpected guest invades the grounds of Wayne Manor, raising questions about
the event that ended the lives of the mother he loved and the father he
worshipped, and spark his unquenchable drive to protect and avenge. To discover
his true family history, Bruce must face down old foes, confront his only
confidant Alfred, invade the evil heart of Arkham Asylum, and shoulder the
terrible new burden of a dark legacy—what if Thomas and Martha Wayne weren’t
the King and Queen of Gotham but in fact the possible causes behind the crime
that turned Gotham into the pit of despair it became.
Opinion: This is an intriguing take on Batman’s history (supposedly
taking place after the events of the Flashpoint comic book arc). Bruce Wayne’s parents
aren’t the wonderful loving pillars of Gotham society he always thought they
were as he starts receiving a number of clues into their past that point to his
father trying unethical medical experiments to “cure” evil and his mother being
an uppity socialite slut with drug and alcohol problems. Told in present day
and in flashbacks of Thomas’s youth, we discover that Bruce’s parents were
killed as the result of a mob hit. Thomas’s research also may very well be the
cause of the widespread crime in Gotham. The pace is a bit slow at times but
give it to any Batman teen fans who’d love a bit of a narrative reading of
Batman to go with their graphic novels.
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