Batman Incorporated #2

Halo and Looker! But isn't Looker getting some kind of Vampire One-Shot this summer?

WARNING! Well, not really a warning. I mean, nothing extreme is going to happen and nobody will be harmed if they don't follow my advice. But I think this book over any of the others so far deserves this notice! Just go read the fucking comic book! This commentary is just for me so that next month, I can refresh my memory of the events before reading Issue #3. Everyone else should just go read the comic book instead of reading my spoilers! It's fucking great. END OF WARNING!

Issue #2 begins with a flashback to Ra's al Ghul attending Live Aid where he met Talia's mother.

I like Ra's! This is the same way I feel about Global Warming. The whole strategy is to guilt the middle class into changing their lifestyles to fight against global warming when their footprints are nothing (even added all together!) compared to the footprints of corporations and governments' out-of-control military efforts.

Ra's al Ghul has summoned Talia to his lair in the, well, I don't know. Himalayas historically, right? So she arrives to find out that all he wanted was to keep her there, forcing her to stop her war on Batman. It's for her own good, he says.

The October 1991 Issue of Who's Who says Talia's mom was killed when she was accidentally pushed into a Lazarus Pit by al Ghul's adopted son. I think in The New 52, al Ghul simply took the child to the Himalayas while abandoning the mother, Melisande.

As a young girl, Talia sneaks off to visit a renowned fortune teller. She learns of the star whose name her father took: Algol, the eye of Medusa in the constellation Perseus. She's told it's a binary system and represents the father and the daughter. And then she's told a little something of her past as well.

Aha! So she was abandoned. My guess is that this confrontation will piss of Ra's al Ghul and he'll give her what she wants: a soak in the Lazarus Pit. Which will kill her, of course.

Melisande disappears and Talia never finds out what happened to her. And Ra's al Ghul sticks to his story that Talia's mother died during childbirth.

Ra's al Ghul's ultimate goal pretends to be creating a legacy to continue his work and rule the world. But what he's really after is a perfect body born of his daughter and a worthy man into which he can transmigrate. It seems Batman fails the test but Talia has fallen in love with him. But what chance does she have of Batman reciprocating? She's not the fucking Joker, after all!

So she drugs the bat bastard!

But now why does Talia want Damian dead? Simply to hurt Batman now that he's become attached to his son? Or is it more than that? Does she also intend to take Damian away from Ra's al Ghul who may still have plans to possess Damian's body when the Lazarus Pits run dry? Whatever the case, she's a little bit pissed at Batman for not falling in love with her and for not leaving his life behind to join her and Damian and become a family of assassins. So now, she's just going to continue with her plans.

I guess she doesn't look like a lich after all!

Batman Incorporated #2 Rating: +1 Ranking. This issue goes over a lot of past material, explaining all of the background Batman Incorporated stuff that continues to true in the New 52. Of course if DC never did the New 52, they wouldn't have needed to update everyone! But then I probably wouldn't have gotten back into comics and been able to read this story. I'm pretty sure I'm the perfect target for The New 52. Someone who knows a lot about DC's history and followed them for many years but then abandoned them during the last half-decade when they were doing a lot of universe changing shit. I didn't abandon them specifically nor because of the things they were doing. I just stopped reading comics for awhile. So for everyone that is pissed off by The New 52, I get it. I feel you. But guess what? I'm reaping all the benefits and loving it! Major faults and all.

By the way, I discuss many of The New 52's faults throughout the various commentaries I've written. So if you want to know my position on The New 52, you'd better get to reading! 518 entries so far!