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by David Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey    Writer- Denny O'Neil Penciller- Steve Erwin Inker- Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez Colorist- Tom McCraw Letterer- John Costanza Cover painting- Dave Dorman Assistant Editor- Scott Peterson Editor- Jonathan Peterson Batman created by Bob Kane SynopsisShreck positions Oswald as a mayoral candidate, but not before the latter sets his Red Triangle Gang on the streets of Gotham like a pack of rabid dogs. This, inevitably, draws out, not only Batman, but also the newly minted Catwoman. The Cat and The Penguin form an alliance to frame the Bat for the kidnapping of The Ice Princess, however the plan backfires on Cobblepot when Bruce manages to turn the tables on the political puppet, exposing him for what he truly is, turning the people of Gotham against him accordingly. Dave On to part two now. Kev Yeh, this jumps right into it here. I mean, we’re halfway into this scene before Max says, “Adulation is a cross to bear.” It’s pretty jarring, and it’s a lot to convey in a single panel. In fact, this is a lot to convey in a single page, and as a result, a lot of the interesting beats, the character and the comedic ones, like the ones with the two image consultants/stylists in particular are, understandably, being sacrificed at the altar of plot.  Always thought those Mayor Copplepot promo images were full-on Burges Merrideth Penguin. Dave It's condensed down so much compared to the film, and obviously it tones down The Penguin to dialogue only. Kev Yeh, The Penguin is definitely toned down a fair bit. He's nowhere near as violent or horrific in this. Max Shrek is a great character though. I wish we could have seen more of him in the comics. Dave Shreck is really the central character behind this story. He is responsible for aiding The Penguin, and creating Catwoman. Kev That's a really good point, actually. I never thought of it like that, but you're right, he is the catalyst for this whole story. Dave Shreck really does interact with all our main characters, he's in cahoots with The Penguin, he creates Catwoman, and he has all his business dealings with Bruce Wayne. I like that panel, the small one on the top of page 19, of Gotham at sunset, with all the bats flying over it. Kev Yeh, those two linking/contrasting panels are great.
Dave They're really good. I love the colouring on them. It creates a real mood to the scene. Kev Yeh, Tom McCraw's colour work on this is excellent. Dave In fact, I like the juxtaposition of seeing Oswald/Penguin and Selina/Catwoman in those eight panels. Not that Catwoman is really a villain in the same terms as The Penguin, but she's certainly a law unto herself. Kev Yeh, she's vengeful, but not a criminal in the same sense that Shreck and Cobblepot are. More like a woman scorned. I’d kind-of forgotten just how drastic the change in Selina Kyle is in this. She goes from a dowdy, repressed secretary, to PVC-clad, hyper-sexual terrorist overnight. Right away she’s out there, on the streets of Gotham, clawing faces and looking forward to orgies “.....of sex and violence.” Dave True.  There's no point in even writing a gag here, the double entendres on the page speak for themselves. Kev Me too. Dave They kind-of take you to a different place from the Burton atmosphere. It actually looks closer to the Matt Reeves aesthetic with the villains standing atop buildings, looking over the city. Kev That's true. None of this would look too out of place in 'The Batman' either, would it? Dave That's a nice panel at the bottom of page 19 also. The one of Batman leaping towards the clown. Again, the colours on it are very good. And that's definitely a Keaton scowl on page 20, as his Batarang whacks the clown behind him. Kev Yeh. Erwin captures the essence of the Keaton Batman very, very well. Dave Plus, it's also notable that Batman hasn't killed anyone in this fight scene, for a change. Holy cow, did Burton just get too much creative input on his screen version. Kev Yep, as much as Synder gets criticised from some of “the fandom,” for having a murdering Batman, Burton does it for the second movie in a row, with the bomb down the manhole, and nobody batted an eyelid. He got away with it scot-free. Which you could, I suppose. in the days before the internet. Dave Yeah, he did it in the first one as well, when Batman blew-up Axis Chemicals with The Joker’s henchmen inside and, again, in the fight at the top of Gotham Cathedral, with The Joker's goon. And, of course, he did essentially kill The Joker as well. Kev Ha, ha! True. He did that. Dave This skips the whole Catwoman scene with the security guards in the shop. I'm still struggling with these massive leaps in the story. This is an interesting dynamic, how Batman and The Penguin are face to face, yet don't notice Catwoman flipping over to them in the background. Kev Ha, ha! They are just so into each other. I do love those four panels though.  "It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die, 'cause I don't know what's up there, beyond the sky." Dave I always think that those close proximity panels seem to be the standouts, whereas the action scenes look clunky and messy. Kev That's interesting, 'cause I thought Steve Erwin’s rendition of the action of the movie was impressive. He managed to convey an impressive amount of kinetic energy on the page, particularly in scenes where the Batsuit made it difficult to portray it on screen. Dave Yeah, I’m liking these two pages we are covering, as the artwork looks good, and it's getting far more eye catching. It's not full of chaos. There's also some nice storytelling actually, on a visual basis. Also, those two panels on the next page, that show Catwoman waiting for Batman as he comes up the ladder, and how they merge into each other, is a nice little touch.  ".....'Cause there's a smoke-show on display, right here!" Kev Yeh, Erwin does that a few times in this, and it works really well, especially considering the panel to page ratio. He's getting a twofer out of them, saving space on the page, and doubling-up on his storytelling. The panel per page count really makes it a lot to take in whilst you’re reading it. The cat and mouse dialogue between Batman and Oswald is fantastic. I particularly love the batting (no pun intended) back of the “Things change,” line. Dave Those little bits of dialogue are so memorable, they had to be in there. Kev Yeh, the Daniel Waters screenplay is really good. Some of the dialogue is scalpel sharp. Burton’s Gotham City really does have a dream-like quality to it, which I generally love in movies, and Erwin’s art is capturing that perfectly in this adaptation. That architecture, and those skylines are absolutely spot-on. His Catwoman is fantastic too. Dave Another great panel is the one where Catwoman asks, "Who are you? Who's the man behind the bat?" It's striking, and full of detail, and the colours are terrific. In fact, these past few pages have really notched up the quality of the artwork, and the colours. Kev Yeh, I was a bit down on Erwin when we discussed the first part, comparing him unfavourably, and perhaps unfairly, to Ordway from the 'Batman' movie adaptation, but I’m liking his work more and more the further we get into this. He is really killing it, actually. His Keaton Batman is superb. I do love this encounter between Batman and Catwoman. The theme of duality is powerful in it, as is the kinky sex stuff. Plus, it has more of that sizzling Waters dialogue. Dave It’s interesting when we see Bruce after his encounter with Catwoman, how buffed up he has been drawn. I'm seeing a bit of Pfeiffer resemblance on those panels as well.  Bruce is never passing an USADA piss test built like that. Juiced to the gills. Kev I think McCraw's Catwoman is superb, and he certainly super-heroed Bruce up here. Keaton was never that jacked. This scene between The Penguin (sorry, Oswald, as he now likes to be called) and Catwoman is another example of how having to trim elements of it, takes a lot of the life out of it, and makes it a bit perfunctory. Dave It's so brief, and probably because we know the movie so well, it's hard to imagine reading this without knowing what was going to happen. It's still jumping about all over the place with those short, condensed scenes though. Plus, it has skipped the whole of the Bruce and Selina scene at Wayne Manor. That's the one thing that this needed, the Batman/Catwoman romance and Bruce/Selina romance. The dual identities romancing each other. Kev I agree, need more of that Bruce and Selina tension, to balance out the Batman and Catwoman tension. Also, the scene with the Ice Princess comes across as colder, and actually more misogynistic, I feel. There’s less of the humour on the page here, than there was in the screen version. Dave Yeah, it does seem darker without the humour. Again, that scene with The Penguin and the Ice Princess is four panels. That's a good panel of Batman standing on the ledge saying, "There's work to be done." Kev This page has some fantastic work on it. Those three panels, at the top of page 31, of the shields enveloping the Batmobile, are fantastic.  Wonder how many parking tickets Batman gets from the Gotham City Council per annum? Dave Yep, I like those panels as well. I also like the panel of the Batmobile getting dismantled by The Penguin's goons. It looks like the technical guide to the Batmobile.  That clown is straddling a dismantled Batmobile the way Catwoman will be straddling a dazed Batman in a second. Kev I thought that as well. Those clowns are some skilled mechanics. That’s one hell of a sexy scene, when Catwoman straddles the dazed Batman like that, and I’ve always liked that exchange between them regarding the mistletoe. Which is just as well, because we get a callback to it later on as well. Plus, Catwoman drops that plot point about how many lives she has left. Dave Oh yeah, they are amping up the sex appeal with Catwoman in this one. Why the hell is that guy straddling the Batmobile though? Kev Hey, it's one sexy looking, phallic, automobile. Dave The Phallicmobile. Kev Ha, ha! Dave Again, it's kind-of downplaying some of the comedic bits, like the whole Penguin-sleazing-over-Catwoman-before-he-tries-to-kill-her-with-his-umbrella bit. Kev Yeh, but Penguin’s got some cracking lines here. “The lady looked terrified,” and “You lousy minx! You sent out all the signals!” And, as much as this scene with The Penguin taking control of The Batmobile is camp and silly here, it’s nowhere near the levels of camp that it is in the movie, what with The Penguin having the little car, like the ones you’d find in shopping centres or supermarkets. That's like 60’s TV show Batman levels of camp and silliness. Dave Yeah man, not to mention Alfred the DJ, as they jam The Penguin’s broadcast signal. I like that panel where Alfred's got the headphones on. Grandmaster Pennyworth and the Furious Bat. Kev Ha, ha! I'd buy that record. Dave It was verging on the 60's show camp again, which got totally overlooked, but as soon as Schumacher did it, everyone ripped into him. I guess it's easy to get away with, if the whole tone of the film isn't like that, 'cause the little moments get overlooked. Like when Catwoman falls through the glasshouse, with the crazy screaming. But as we've discussed, this version of Catwoman is less messed-up than the movie version. Kev There's certainly less effects of her trauma on display here, that's for sure. Can you believe that people genuinely thought these movies were a dark, and gritty take on Batman, back in the day? Dave But they were at the time, as it was what movie making was at the time. Like the way the 2022 version has had all the other previous versions to look at, and then do its own take. It makes you wonder what type of Batman story we'll get in 10 years, and how dark they can make it go before it becomes something else, and not Batman. Kev That's true. I don't know how much more grimness I can take, before it just becomes completely nihilistic. I do like Oswald’s escape from the angry mob here, mirroring his abandonment by his parents at the beginning. It’s a nice callback, and it’s very neat writing. Plus, he’s back to demanding that he be called “Penguin" now, claiming that he’s an animal, and not a human being. We’ve come full circle. The Penguin is going full-on King Pharoah here, with the killing of the first-born sons of Gotham. This is biblical, wrath of God stuff here. Dave Those four panels, of The Penguin jumping off the bridge he was flung off as a baby, are good. It's blending those four panels into one. I like those little storytelling mini arcs that have popped-up throughout this issue. I’ve noticed how The Penguin looks far less grotesque here than he did in the movie, and has a more evil expression on his face in a lot of those panels. It's tapping into the psychopathy of the character.  The Emperor Penguin, diving for fish. Kev Totally. Steve Erwin's storytelling is a lot better than I was giving it credit for in our review of the first act. He's used that multiple-panels-in-one-panel technique on a few occasions in this, and to great effect each time. Dave Again, more comedic moments are dropped, as Bruce doesn't tell Alfred he's not going to Shreck’s ball, and instead just flat out says he might see Selina, so we missed that little touch where Alfred rips up the invitation, and then Bruce changes his mind. Kev Ha, ha! Right enough. I forgot about that bit. I like how Bruce is more than willing to attend a gathering that he’d otherwise avoid like the plague, purely because Selina might be there too. Ah, to be young, free, single, and rich. Dave And the dialogue change, when Alfred asks, "Ah. And "who" are you going "as"?" Up until this point they have only had one encounter together as Bruce and Selina, and that was their first introduction in Shreck’s office. Kev Yeh, those cut scenes definitely hurt the dynamic between them, certainly as it's presented here. Dave Let's face it though, Bruce/Batman is one horny devil. He goes out in his Batman guise looking for Catwoman, and later goes to a party as Bruce looking for Selina. Kev Rich white guys, man. They run the world and think it owes them something. Dave This been one hell of a big segment, that has really been condensed down for the second section of our review. I think if they made ‘Batman Returns’ with the same storyline it would probably go way over the three hour mark. This was a two hour movie that was condensed into only so many pages. Kev Yeh, and I definitely think it suffers a bit for it. Or, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, because I say it almost every month, maybe I'm just too used to the decompressed storytelling of more modern comics. Dave I think it is suffering for this, hence the disjointed jumps between scenes. Still, it shows how much storywise was going on to be condensed down.  Guilty of 34 felony counts. Kev Yeh, it's so dense, story-wise, yet the movie doesn't feel that way. Dave It gave time for the scenes to unfold. Kev And that's the difference, isn't it? Dave Yeah. To be fair, this must have been a headache to put together, and to try and tell a cohesive narrative, so I will give credit where it is due. At times, it can even be a headache to read, often with no clean page breaks between scenes, as you said earlier. Kev Oh, yeah. I'm not criticising O'Neil and co. by any stretch. It must've been a thankless task, to say the least, but the pace of it is whiplash inducing, and I'm not entirely sure that I find it to be a completely enjoyable read, as a result. Dave Same here. I feel like if I wasn't so familiar with the story, I'd have to go back and read it a few times just to follow what is going on. Kev Exactly, it's not incoherent, or incomprehensible, but it's certainly disjointed. Dave Any other points to make before we round-up part two? Is this adaptation growing on you? Kev Y'know what, it is actually, yeh. As much as I've been critical of certain elements of it, I actually enjoyed covering this second act more than I did the first one. A lot of that might have to do with my new-found appreciation of the exemplary storytelling of Steve Erwin, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and Tom McCraw's artwork. Dave I think, as I have said before, the interesting thing about covering these movie adaptations is that they are an "adaptation," and you can see both ‘Batman’ and ‘Returns’ starting to go off in their own directions, and not just being carbon, picture by picture, copies of the movies, and I like that element of them. This "adaptation" is still keeping it more normalised than the freaky, gothic world Tim Burton created. Little changes in character depiction can really change the dynamics of the storytelling. Kev Definitely. And I think you're right; it's important to take them on their own merit, and not treat them just as storyboards of the movies. (D) & (K) 
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