Batwing #20

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?

The new Batwing is on the job! And he was never even hired! At least I don't have to read five pages of job interview. Batman just decided that Luke Fox would make a good Batwing and suddenly Luke Fox is the new Batwing. That's because Batman gets everything that he wants whenever he wants it. Except maybe a living son. Or living parents.

New Batwing's first assignment is to not die at the hands of Lady Queen Termite.

And then I think I'm going to have to sit through the job interview anyway as a flashback to six months ago begins.

Oh. That's the entirety of the job interview flashback. Well played, Jimmy and Justin. Well played.

Why the fuck do Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray always write stories together? Are they Siamese Twins? Is one a telepathic mute and the other a psychic mind reader? Can they only write really good stories while fondling each others testicles? Why don't I ever guess anything innocent like maybe they're best friends since childhood and they're inseparable and they always had a dream of writing stories together and they stuck with it and made that dream come true? And of course they always cuddle while sharing the same bed in their hotel rooms at Conventions. Non-sexual, of course. I'm pretty sure Simon Pegg and Nick Frost do that. My cousin Jason and his best friend Stephen do that kind of thing too. Guys should be more intimate! I guess it's just sometimes awkward waking up with your best friend's morning wood shoved between your buttock cleavage.

Before Lady Queen Termite and her Termite Army can kill Batwing, a swarm of Vapor Bats flies in for the rescue. Vapor Bats are robot bats that spray gas everywhere. Batwing wonders whose idea they were and Batman says it's a secret. But come on! Farting Bats? It was obviously Damian's idea. That's a ten year old's idea if I ever heard one.

The Vapor Bats put everybody but Batwing to sleep and Batwing removes Lady Queen Termite from her armor so that he can bring her in for questioning. I guess there's a mystery to be solved!

Some more flashback stuff interrupts the interrogation as we learn that Lucius Fox is a great big old stick in the mud that doesn't trust his genius son to go run around the world for a year. But Luke goes anyway because he's got a job with Batman, Incorporated that he can't tell his father about. So his dad wants him to immediately get a job and that's what Luke is doing but it's a job that Lucius would kill him for taking so Luke pretends he's traveling the world, a decision Lucius frowns on. I guess Luke wouldn't be a proper super hero without a convoluted secret identity.

Here's another panel of the job interview:

Funny? That's a fair assessment. How would Africans respond to a white guy running around putting things in white guy order? Although the Batwing armor kind of hides the race of the person wearing it.

Batwing gets the intel he needs to stop some crazy warlord involved in weapons trafficking and heads off alone to stop him. He doesn't tell Batman that he got the information he needed or else Batman would have sent back-up. Because, like Lucius, Batman isn't quite ready to trust Batwing on his own. Of course, Batman might also just be afraid to have to face Lucius Fox if Batman gets his son killed. And Batwing just might get himself killed since the crazy warlord turns out to be this fucker:

His wives must be into some really kinky shit.

Before Batwing meets Lord Lion-Mane, he has to battle his way through a bunch of Tsavo Lions. He merely tranquilizes them because he doesn't kill animals. But then he thinks, "Someone else will have to do it." Fuck you, Batwing! If you know these animals are probably going to be put to death because they've been trained to eat Lord Lion-Mane's slaves and they have a taste for human flesh and they can't be set free, then fucking kill them yourself. Don't put that kind of responsibility on some poor lower level Batman, Incorporated employee. That's as bad as clogging the company toilet and just walking out to leave it for the janitor. "Fuck that! I don't unclog toilets even though it was my super bowel movement that shut down the office plumbing." Batwing, you're a dick.

After Batwing carefully puts all of the pretty little lions to sleep, he beats the ever-loving shit out of Lord Lion-Mane's wives. Actually, each one only takes one major hit before going down. I have a feeling they really weren't trying very hard. Dishes. Laundry. Dusting. Vacuuming. Meals. Fighting strangers to the death. Fuck that lazy ass Lord Lion-Dick.

As soon as the wives are down, Lord Lion-Butt attacks. But does he come in slashing and biting with his awesome Lion attacks seeing as how he's mostly lion? No, of course not! He comes at Batwing with his fists just like any other meatheaded male aggressor.

Oh well. I guess the fists were all he needed.

Batwing #20 Rating: +1 Ranking. I'm grading this one on a curve. The comic book has been completely out of sorts lately with the different writers changing up in mid-story that it's nice to finally have a solid team writing the book from a new beginning. Hopefully Luke Fox will eventually be an interesting person instead of just another young guy trying to prove himself to his father figures while being a sarcastic, snarky smart ass.