Batman: Fortress

Product Information

In all honestly this should have been a Justice League story but aside from that nit pick it is an ok story. If I had to guess, I would say the majority of people are not familiar with either Whitta or Tomlin by name. From the wrinkles on Gordon’s forehead to the brick walls, the coloring perfectly emphasizes Robertson’s inks and blends to create the gritty atmosphere that is so important to Gotham. Without realizing it, I believe DC has told everyone that this title is worth less than the Imposter and that Gary Whitta is worth less than Mattson Tomlin.

However, Batman accompanies him, and, in an off-panel scene, successfully reaches a compromise with the tribunal.

Now I have to question; would I have reacted differently if they had simply placed the black label logo on the cover? Batman confronts Superman at the Fortress’ center only to learn that the alien invaders had secretly been tailing him the whole time, knowing the Dark Knight would lead them to their prey. The non-human characters always fare better but they aren’t drawn to the best of Robertson’s abilities either. When blackouts begin to affect not only Gotham City, but the rest of the world, Batman steps up and tries to find out what is going on. When an unknown alien ship enters Earth’s atmosphere, disrupting global power and communications and plunging the planet into chaos, the world is left wondering…where is Superman when he is needed most?

A decline in quality is to be expected when an artist has to work on a monthly comic but personally, I find that Robertson’s decline on this series is too steep. A very interesting and action packed Elseworlds story with a very interesting latter third and a really fun ending. Now, Clark Kent is free to live his life and, with no Kryptonian defending the planet, humanity is safe while its new protector plans to change the world for the better.

For the heroes we need to have a gay kiss from multi-racial Aqua-guy, odd that no other character's sexuality was highlighted, almost like an agenda. By using technology within the Fortress of Solitude, Superman not only willingly surrenders his powers for good, he secretly transfers them to Batman to so he can become Earth’s next mightiest hero. This is just a poorly characterized spineless version of the character and I’m not sure Gary Whitta even realizes what he has written based on the way the rest of the comic plays out. Though the latter narrative choice is justified by Superman believing his open presence would lead to devastating collateral damage, it remains a dubious one for a superhero who can relocate to the other side of the solar system in seconds to draw away the aggressors from his adopted home rather than duck for cover and hope for the best.