Customer Reviews

Batman: Knightfall, Part Three: KnightsEnd

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Batman had been broken by the nefarious Bane, and, while his physical healing process isn't covered in any detail during the events depicted in KNIGHTSEND, Bruce Wayne struggles with the psychological aftermath of returning to the task of serving as Gotham's savior in this incredibly-paced retaking of the Mantle of the Bat from the now rogue Jean Paul Valley.

In a story nearly too complex to summarize for an Amazon review, Bruce/Bats goes from being Batman to being disabled to being whole again ... but it isn't without consequence, namely having to face Jean Paul Valley, the man he passed the job of Batman to after being broken down by a series of catastrophic events all orchestrated to end his career. The road back to mental and physical prowess is long and not without ethical consequences as Bruce submits to training by Lady Shiva, a long-time mortal foe who believes that killing is the only true measure of physical fitness. However, the world's greatest detective finds a means to even outwit her in the process.

Building to a hair-raising climax worthy of being filmed for the big screen, Knightsend features not one daring showdown with the Batman/Azrael Jean Paul Valley but several bare-knuckle brawls involved a fully-healed Bruce Wayne as well as his long-time protege, Dick Grayson ... aka the original Robin and aka Nightwing, a vigilante hero in his own might who's now back in Gotham to help Bruce take by the night. Catwoman, always a favorite from the Rogues Gallery, is along for the wild ride, and she joins forces with the side of justice in order to see the rightful Batman restored to his throne.

This isn't to say that Knightsend isn't without a few missteps ... a perhaps overly-obsessive Jean Paul suffering visions from the System (a kind of brainwashing to give his mind and body the abilities to serve its own brand of justice) almost becomes comical at one point when the visions try to enter into their own subplot ... an all-to-convenient escape from the clutches of death for Bruce Wayne not drawn or plotted very well given the pace of the frenetic conclusion ... and a few other repeated scenes due to the fact that this tale was originally serialized over the course of many issues of comics within the Batman continuity. Still, they are small missteps, as the grand story is almost operatic at times.

The greatest strength of Knightsend is the fact that, at its core, it doesn't deal so much with Batman as it does with identity: in the final confrontation, Bruce Wayne thinks himself out of a corner with Jean Paul bent on fisticuffs-to-the-death, and the one true Batman realizes that brain -- regardless of whose body it resides in -- will always triumph over brawn.

Welcome back, Batman!

The Knightsend compliation marked the end of a two-year story arc in the Batman comics, which began in Knightfall when Bane broke the Batman's back. After numerous adventures, the new Batman, Jean Paul Valley (Azbats) went over the edge and started killing, forcing Bruce Wayne to return and reclaim the mantle of the Bat. Knightsend chronicles Bruce's training under a ninja master and his final confrontation with the new Batman.

While Knightsend is good reading, this one is really for devoted Batman fans only. Like all compilations, a lot of the history is lost in various back issues and collections, so first-time readers won't feel the epic effect that Knightsend and its fellow story arcs had on the Batman saga. Also, while the story is based around the redemption of Jean Paul Valley, don't expect any in-depth literary themes or character studies, as have been in such Bat-titles like "The Killing Joke". The story is action from start to finish, with very little else in between; in other words, it's a typical comic-book story, not the book you're going to use to convince your girlfriend why Batman comics are worth reading. Finally, and this is another fault of being a compilation, the story drags in places. Suspense is built when you read the story piece by piece, as they were originally published every two weeks or so, but when you read them in one go, you realize how some subplots were dragged out to fill up space in an issue.

Criticism aside though, Batman: Knightsend is still worth picking up, mainly because it does feature a pivotal point in the mythos. The art ranges from good to excellent; there is a minor continuity issue among the ninjas sent to attack Bruce, probably because some of the artists took creative license and altered their appearances, but this is a minor complaint. The individual dialogue boxes are excellently written, as is the norm for the folks who write the Batman comics.

If you're missing some parts to the story, or want to explore one of the most controversial story arcs in Bat-history, this is a must-have. Otherwise, I recommend picking up something more 'self-contained'.

It amazes me how two men, so highly trained and so directly matched in physical ability could be so different in method to accomplish the same goals. Bruce Wayne takes on the challenge of reclaming the "Mantle of the Bat" from his chosen successor, Jean-Paul Valley, Azrael. Bruce, trained as a fighter, Azrael, a brainwashed assasin. Bruce, broken by Bane, Jean-Paul, destroyed Bane and holding Gotham in terror. Bruce, vowing never to take a life. Jean-Paul, with blood on his hands and murder in his mouth. Who is the stronger Dark Knight? Who truly protects Gotham from the worst that evil has to offer? One, whose life gave purpose to the Bat, or the other, who the Bat gave purpose to his life.

Other reviewers are correct: you do need to purchase some of the original comics of Knightquest to find out what happens in between the end of Knightfall and this story. Alternatively, there are novelizations by Dennis O'Neill and Alan Grant you could read. In short, Bruce's back heals and intends to retire to his civilian life, but Robin informs him of Azrael's violence as Batman. Bruce then vows to reclaim the mantle of the Bat, apparently scaring Alfred (his longtime butler) away because he fears Bruce will be seriously injured again. In our real-time, Alfred doesn't return for over a year. Azrael 'shoves' Bruce away when he returns to the Batcave, and Bruce realizes that he must go into training if he is to have any chance of defeating Azrael.

The story itself picks up at the beginning of Bruce's training to restore his physical strength and instincts. The writing is psychologically intense, and the fight scenes are mostly fun entertainment that would not be out of place on the 1960s TV series.

In the end, we see all that makes the Batman great and everlasting. A fitting close to arguably the biggest Bat-story ever done to that point.

Okay, this was the end of the Knightfall storyline. The third novel in the series. You must read the first two if you want to understand what is happening. Unfortunately this third book comes well after where the second one left off. Bruce Wayne is healthy again, and ready to reclaim the mantle of the bat. If you don't follow the series, you might wonder what happened after the second book. Wayne was in a wheelchair in Africa for cripes sake, and now he is fine. Still the art is great, and the writing top notch. A good conclusion to a serious run in the lore of Batman. A must read for any batfan.

First off, I agree with the guy who wanted Knightquest printed to fill in the gaps of the three graphic novels that make up the DC "Knightfall" collection. There are some gaps in the plot from book 2 to book 3.

As for the book itself, I was surprised to see who Batman decides to train under: Lady Shiva. Of course, Batman has kept some strange bedfellows in his obsessive quest to rid Gotham of crime: Azrael, he was trained by Cain the assassin, and he goes through more Robins than Paris Hilton goes through DUI charges.

The Batman has never been put to this type of endurance test before. He must overcome psychological and physical difficulties because he is recovering from a broken back. However, Bruce Wayne must prove in the end that he alone is worthy of the title, "Batman."

The path back to glory is laden with traps as Bruce battles a horde of martial arts masters. His battles with challenging warriors is actually my favorite part of the book. However, Bruces' ultimate goal is to recapture the Batman identity.

To do so, he must defeat the man who currently claims the title and is slowly suffering from a mental breakdown: Jean-Paul Valley. Azrael has methods that bring shame to the mantle of the Batman; and Bruce Wayne can't have that.

This challenge is a very interesting one; we get a glimpse into how different a Batman that kills would be. However, can Batman find a way to win this challenge and retain Azrael as an ally? I recommend the "Knightfall" series.

This book is the final part of the "Knightfall Trilogy". In part 1 Bane beats Bruce Wayne/Batman , in Part 2 Azrael takes the mantle of the bat and becomes a more violent and new Batman and beats Bane. Part 3 Bruce Wayne is healed from his injuries and wants to reclaim his title and Azrael doesn't want to give it up.

It's the rightful Batman versus the current Batman with Nightwing , Robin , and Catwoman on the side. The amount of pages for the price is very nice and I'd recommend this book after parts 1 and 2.

At the end of the two volume Knightfall story, Batman is left in a wheel chair and Jean Paul Valley is left in the role of Batman. At the beginning of KnightsEnd, the final chapter of this long saga, Bruce Wayne is fully recovered from his severe spinal injuries and now has to re-train himself to reclaim the mantle of Batman from the now mentally unhinged Jean Paul. If you are confused, that's because DC never bothered to reprint the second story arc, Knightsquest, which put Bruce Wayne on the road to recovery (in a very convaluted and unconvincing way) and sent Jean paul Valley into a mental breakdown after he murders one of Abbatoir, one of Batman's minor rogues.
This book reprints the 10 part storyline which ran in the monthly Batman, Detective Comics, Shadow of the Bat, Legends of the Dark knight and Catwoman comics. The writing on this one is fairly consistant and simple; Batman runs a gaunlet set up by Lady Shiva to ensure his retraining is complete so he can tackle his imposter, and after proving his abilities, Batman, along with Nightwing, Robin and Catwoman face down the rampaging faux Batman all over Gotham City. Not very profound, but this is the comic book equivelent of a summer action movie.
The artwork may be where readers will feel let down. Although Graham Nolan (On Detective Comics) and Barry Kitson (on the final Legends chapter) do their usual great job, Ron Wagner (Legends) and Brett Blevins (Shadow of the Bat) are irritatingly bad. Mike Manley's (Batman comics) work is competent, but that's it. Overall, there are more well drawn chapters than badly drawn, but the book still suffers from "Crossover Syndrome", where each chapter doesn't quite fit with the one before due to the severe change in style between artists.
The climax, or anticlimax, is outstanding. Dennis O'Neil proves he is one of the best Batman writers in the character's history with Batman using his brains rather than fist to defeat his far stronger foe, but as then Group Editor of the Batman books at DC Comics, he really should have paid more attention to the artwork.

i just finished the knight fall story line.the story was great.the tale of batmans struggles to return to his former self after suffering at the hands of bane.the art work in all three was outstanding the first book was by far the best!the second and third books storys were missing something.i don't know what,it seemed the story just drug on while you waited for the ending.i was shocked also by the end of this book,you will be to.although the knight fall story ends here it goes on into prodigal, which i just started on and seems to pick up where the others left off.the books were worth the money but buying it used might be the way to go.

Firstly, I should say that the Knightfall collections are great. Watching Bane wear down Bruce Wayne systematically in the first volume or seeing Bruce Wayne's slow return to recovery in the second were well done. Then we come to volume 3. My biggest gripe with the third volume is how disjointed it is from the second. Plot lines started in the second volume are never picked up again. The transition from the first volume to the second is very clean. It's almost as though you're turning a page. The end of the second volume sees Bruce Wayne in South America attempting to rescue two people close to him who have been kidnapped. Jean Paul Valley is spiraling out of control but volume 2 still ends on a high note wherein he refuses to kill Bane. One opens volume 3 to discover that Bruce is walking again, training with lady Shiva, and Jean Paul Valley has gone completely insane and has, at some point, become murderous. It seems like the series would have been better served by having a volume 2.5.
Now, none of this is to say that this volume is a poor book. As it is, it satisfyingly completes the storyline as Bruce attempts to reclaim the mantle of the bat.