Batman: The Cult (New Edition)

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Michael : I’ll tell on myself and say I didn’t realize this was Jason until later in the story. I’m really not all that familiar with him, but I thought he was very likable and well utilized in the story, but I can’t say he felt all that distinct. You know that you’re about to get a thrill, when Jim Starlin is writing and even more if it’s something for DC, and even more and more if it’s about Batman.

Batman: The Cult, or just me? Does anyone else here love Batman: The Cult, or just me?

To be fair, there are some interesting aspects of The Cult. It is easy to see how it could have inspired Christopher Nolan. In some respects, The Dark Knight Rises owes as much to The Cult as it does to No Man’s Land, with Bane using an almost religious fervour to raise an army of the dispossessed to claim Gotham as their own. Even the iconography is similar – the bodies strung up on the street lamps here evoke the bodies dangling from the bridge in The Dark Knight Rises. ( The Cult also provides the inspiration for that lovely “Batman visits Gordon in hospital, vows to return” scene.)

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The next issue features a note indicating that Todd Klein was incorrectly credited as the letterer of this issue. The actual letterer was John Costanza. When this series came out in 1988 I was newly married, finishing college and working two jobs. I had made a half-hearted decision to stop buying comics. When I read this Jim Starlin series, I hated it. It was the catalyst for me to stop buying comics.

Batman: The Cult - DC UNIVERSE INFINITE Batman: The Cult - DC UNIVERSE INFINITE

Angered at being rejected by his idol, Nashton begins ranting to which Batman realizes that Nashton still has something planned. Upon realizing Batman hasn't figured out his next course of action, a delighted Nashton gives him one last clue by singing "Ave Maria," the song sung at the Mitchell's funeral to imply that the final part of the plan is mayor-elect Bella Real's assassination. However, Batman fails to realize this and exclaims, "What have you done!?"This story also requires you to suspend your disbelief and buy into the fact that an army of homeless people armed with a few guns and a bunch of knives/blunt objects easily defeated the army and a special forces unit by taking potshots at them from the sewers/building windows. Josh: Matina mentioned Robin earlier, so I want to make sure we give him the credit he’s due, especially since this is Jason Todd. Now, there aren’t a lot of great Jason Todd/Robin stories that come to mind, so this, for me, really stands out for Jason’s career as Robin. Look at any natural disaster that occurs within the U.S. Whether it is wildfires, hurricanes, etc, when people are told to evacuate, many of them don’t. When asked why they didn’t leave, they often cite these two reasons, and ultimately end up needing to be rescued.

Batman Comics That Bombed But Became Cult Classics - CBR 10 Batman Comics That Bombed But Became Cult Classics - CBR

Michael : This was my first time reading it and unlike our previous selection, I was not at all familiar with it. Interestingly, The Cult also features Jason Todd as Robin and is most likely the only Todd trade outside of A Death in the Family. For once he's not annoying. This is certainly his strongest performance, one last hoorah before death. Casper: I like this one. It’s atypical for a Batman book, and you could argue that Batman acts out-of-character here, and I can totally get why that can be a problem for some readers. But I like the psychedelic stuff, and I like the idea of this underground cult that tries to take over Gotham. Basically, the first two issues are the best, because there’s this mystery and you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. The third issue is so-so. And the fourth issue is so ridiculously over-the-top that I can’t help but enjoy it. I do think that the National Guard not being able to clean up some out-of-control homeless people (who aren’t really as organized as the story wants you to believe) is utter nonsense. So it’s a story with good moments and bad moments, but the good outweighs the bad for me, and Wray is the star of the show! Recommended if you want a different kind of Batman book.

The artwork was also very good, had some good looking panels and it added to the overall gritty atmosphere. I also love Batman's design where he's this huge guy, with the long bat ears we don't see much today. Josh: Same! But you have to keep in mind, when we first see Batman, he’s already endured a week of torture (we know he’s been beaten and stabbed), starvation, and been drugged semi-regularly. Then he endures roughly another two to three weeks of this. Batman is a beast, but he’s still human, so seeing this made me happy.

Batman: The Cult - Wikipedia

Batman gets brainwashed in this story, and we see him like never before. He mows people down with a machine gun in one instance, and acts like a coward in many other instances. Josh: I really like the example you mentioned because that moment speaks volumes. There’s such a strong argument to be made about people doing what they have to do to get by, but also a socioeconomic commentary as well. Michael: I do feel that after a while, the book loses focus and becomes ridiculously large scale in a manner I had no idea was coming. It’s also an incredibly mean book and maybe the current state of the world that created this book club in the first place made me a little less endeared to its plot. Josh: Alright, I think everyone knows the drill by now. Any initial thoughts on selecting this book? when you can get your hands on some stuff by Starlin but in the distinguished competition, well, it’s not brainer to buy it right away.

Michael : Very good distinction there. It even has a religious angle that I kind of forgot about that was interesting but wasn’t delved too far into in lieu of drug induced mind control. Josh: Uh, yeah… “Losing focus,” is probably the best way of putting it. I was going to say the ending is rushed, and I feel like it is rushed, but just saying that didn’t feel like a complete assessment of the problem. Good call on that. Searching his apartment, Batman is inadvertently aided by a cop who shows him a carpet cutting tool which Riddler had murdered the mayor with at the beginning. Realizing this tool is another clue to uncovering the Riddler's master plan, Batman cuts open the rug of the apartment and discovers via a map drawn on the floor underneath that Nashton has stationed car bombs around Gotham. No sooner has he done this than an online video of Nashton's final transmission before his capture and incarceration plays, explaining gleefully that he had cultivated an online following that plans to assassinate mayor-elect Bella Reál.