Batman: Knightfall [Paperback]

Dennis O'Neil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1995

Struggling with a terrible injury that has left him crippled and Gotham City without a protector, Bruce Wayne is forced to consider the worth of his reckless young apprentice, Azrael. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

In 1994, DC Comics brought readers a landmark story featuring Batman. The Dark Knight has been Gotham City's protector for years, challenged by its many villains. But now there's a new villain on the scene, determined to conquer where others have failed. Known as Bane, he starts his campaign against Batman and Gotham by emptying Arkham Asylum, where so many of Batman's enemies are imprisoned and have spent their time plotting revenge. Almot single-handedly, Batman fights off these long-time opponents only to find himself so exhausted after it all that his strength fails him when Bane follows the onslaught to face Batman himself. Now Bruce Wayne is confined to a wheel-chair and must turn over his cloak and cowl to his apprentice, Azrael. But Azrael's philosophy of crime-fighting is much more violent and harsher than Batman's ever was. And now Bruce faces two challenges: the first is dealing with his incapacitation; and the second is dealing with Azrael who, it's become clear, is a loose cannon with an agenda all his own.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Spectra (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553572601
• ISBN-13: 978-0553572605
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #985,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Fall of Rise of Batman, told without the pictures, April 21, 2001

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Batman: Knightfall (Paperback)

"Batman: Knightfall" was primarily adapted from the story serialized in Batman #488-510, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #16-30, Detective Comics #656-677, Legends of the Dark Knight #59-63 and Robin #1, 7-9 in 1993-94, with additional material from Batman: Sword of Azrael #1-4 (1992) and Bateman: Vengeance of Bane Special #1 (1993). Dennis O'Neill was one of the four writers-- along with Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant and Doug Moench--who worked on the original comic books, and he gets the honor of transforming this epic into a more traditional novel. Of course, this is the opposite of what traditionally happens; usually novels are turned into comic books, not the other way around. I am usually disdainful of massive cross-over stories that require me to purchase comics I do not usually buy, but I do appreciate the idea of comic up with an epic storyline. Consequently, I did not read the original comics and finally read the "novelization" knowing nothing more than that Bane was going to break Batman's back. Hopefully, this will bring a slightly different perspective to this review.

This novel is divided into three parts: "Knightfall," in which Batman's back is broken by Bane; "Knightquest," in which a new Batman defeats Bane; and "KnightsEnd," in which the original Batman regains his rightful place. We start reading comic books as children and the defining element of most of the main characters in "Knightfall" is that they had traumatic childhoods. Obviously the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents is the template for such horrors, but in this story the villain (Bane) was born in a prison to serve the sentence of his dead father, the replacement hero (Jean Paul Valley) was indoctrinated by his father into a cult, and the savior/damsel in distress (Shondra Kinsolving) was abused by her adopted father and exploited by her adopted brother. This becomes important because circumstances compel Bruce Wayne to think about who he is and what he does, not only because of Batman's defeat at the hands of Bane but also because of the way the new Batman does his job. His broken back is only one part of the character's monumental identity crisis in "Knightfall."

I have never liked villains with an obvious "Achilles heel" as we have with Bane's need for Venom and its vulnerable delivery system. Bane ends up being more of a convenient contrivance for this story than an enduring character, and I wonder why this epic could not have utilized one of Batman's more traditional villains in the same role. But Bane is not the most important antagonist in "Knightfall." That honor belongs to the "new" Batman, when Jean Paul assumes the mantle after Bruce Wayne is incapacitated. This story allows Wayne to look at Batman from the outside and as if this was not enough to give him pause there is the added dimension that Batman/Azrael is more a creature of violence (and of death) than the original. This ups the ante considerably in terms of Wayne rethinking Batman, added in this endeavor by the standards Alfred and Tim Drake have for the Dark Knight as well. As his body slowly heals, it becomes necessary for him not only to rededicate that particular temple (with help from Shiva), but his soul as well. In this context the role played by the original entrance to the Batcave helps foster a nice sense of symmetry. Ultimately, the point of this entire story is a true rebirth of the character, appropriate not only to the 1990's but both the essence and history of the character. This is not a great Batman tale on the order of "The Return of the Dark Knight," but it is very good. I should probably see what it looks like with pictures.

O'Neill's "Afterword" in the volume is a nice little explanation of where "Knightfall" stands in the continuing evolution of the Batman character. His thoughts on Batman's archetype being Dracula (while Superman is Gilgamesh, Hulk is Hercules, etc.) is quite insightful and his understanding of the Batman mythos is clearly first rate. As the group editor on this project, O'Neill knew what he was doing.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Silk from a Bat-Sow's Ear, April 16, 2001

By 

[e-mail] "Simon DelMonte" (Flushing, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL (Bantam Spectra Book) (Hardcover)

The original "Knightfall" storyline in the Batman comics was a mess, derivative of the more entertaining "Death of Superman" and a lot more coarse and painful. Yet Denny O'Neil, once a novelist before he became a full-time comics editor/writer, was able to take the messy parts and trim them down drastically. He rehumanized Batman - perhaps turning him back in the slightly less mechanical hero of O'Neil's 1970s work - and toned down the melodrama. The end result is a very readable and entertaining saga. It doesn't hurt that Denny is also under no constraints to restore the status quo, and just by leaving the future of the hero in doubt at many points, he gives this version of the story weight it didn't have before.

This is a must for Batman fans, and a good read for anyone who likes action and adventure.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Destroying and remaking a hero, October 1, 2010

By 

G. Swift "97jedi" (Southwestern Missouri) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Batman: Knightfall (Paperback)

As the editor who largely conceived the storyline in the first place, Dennis O'Neil was best-suited to adapt the story into novel form. While this was fifteen years ago, the book is still an excellent read. Even knowing the story and how it all turns out in the end, it's still a page-turner. At nearly 400 pages, it's a goodly-sized read, but it's divided into three sections. First is the assault on Batman's psyche and body by a new villain, Bane, who can see through all Batman's disguises and subterfuges. Bane ferrets out Batman's secret identity through nefarious means, and he delivers the greatest defeat of Batman's life when he breaks the hero's back.

The second section focuses on the times after Bruce Wayne gives up the mantle to Jean Paul Valley, a reformed assassin, so that Gotham will not have to suffer without a Batman. While Wayne seeks to redress some wrongs, at the expense of his own physical recovery, he alienates Alfred. Meanwhile, the new Batman proves himself to be a brutal enforcer of his own moral code, a far cry from the sophisticated detective of the real Batman. Tim Drake is a crucial character, as the newest Robin he served Wayne but is discarded by Valley, and seeks his own path in the meantime.

The concluding section deals with Wayne fully-healed and seeking to recover his own sensibilities and confront the new Batman. With help from various friends, the climactic battle is that only in name. The conclusion is excellent and leaps off the page.

Wrapping up the book is a fantastic Afterword by O'Neil, actually mostly an essay about Batman and how his evolution has reflected the changing times since his premiere.

This is a fantastic book and should be part of any comic-lovers library along with most of the other comic-based novels.