Batman #631
War Games: Act One Part 8
Writer: Bill Willingham
Pencils: Kinsun
Inks: Aaron Sowd
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.25

This review contains spoilers.

The scene is looking bleak at Louis E. Grieve Memorial High School, the school that Time Drake, former Robin, attends. Outside the school, police and media are everywhere. Inside the school, Tim’s girlfriend lies bleeding to death and panicked students are trapped by marauding gangs. Outside, near the media vans and reporters doing their stand ups is an innocuous enough looking Gotham Power truck. A man in an orange jumpsuit leans against the van, hands in his pockets. A police officer is questioning him as to why he’s there. The worker tells the officer that the power company has been called in case they need to shut off the power to the school.

The policeman would be quite surprised if he were to look inside the truck. It’s actually a mobile Batcave, hiding in plain site. Batman and Batgirl are inside surveilling the school and communicating with Oracle as to the best route for infiltration. Their initial plan - going in through the power conduits s a bust; the school is too old to have underground power access. Oracle finds them access through a sewer line instead. Batman radios for Nightwing and the man in the orange jumpsuit steps into the truck. “Keep the disguise on” he tells him. “You’re driving.”

As Mobile Batcave #2 is s en route to the sewer access (Ironic, no?) Oracle asks if a power truck on a sewer access will be suspicious. Batman tells her that she’s not the only on with “state-of-the-art technology” as the exterior lettering shifts itself from “GPC” to “GWSC.” Where does he get those wonderful toys?

Batman, Batgirl and Nightwing, now in his regular crime fighting garb rather than his orange jumpsuit, make their way through the sewer. Batman tells his team that whoever finds Tim first should contact him immediately since Tim will already have all of the details of the situation. Nightwing asks how he can be sure. “Because I trained him,” Batman says.

Elsewhere inside Louis E. Grieve, Tim is still dealing with all of the chaos around him. He runs into a friend, Larry, and asks him why he isn’t in the cafeteria where Tim had tried to secure as many students as he could. Larry tells him that a group of men came in with guns and that some kids and teachers made it out, but others didn’t. Tim asks Larry to tell him what he can about the men in the cafeteria then makes his way to Darla’s side. She’s under the care of the school nurse, but needs better care than the nurse can provide. Tim asks the nurse if she’ll live and she tells him that’s dependent on how soon she can get to a hospital.

Tim heads back out into the hallways looking for a safe route out and a figure grabs him from behind while placing a hand over his mouth.
“Stop struggling, Tim, it’s me,” Nightwing says. Nightwing asks Tim about the situation and just as Batman had predicted, Tim has a complete list of the gangs that are in the school - six of them in all. Tim also says there’s only one life threatening injury he knows of, but it’s a critical one. Nightwing explains that Oracle had pieced together broadcasts to figure out that the gangs were in the school - the first group after a mobster’s daughter, the second group to take out the first and the rest just “looking for a target heavy environment.” Tim says “Darla.” “The mob girl’s name is Darla Aquista.” Nightwing radios Batman and tells him that he’s made contact with Tim.

In a gymnasium, a group of mobsters are holding students and teachers hostage. One of the teachers is trying to convince the mobsters to let the students go. The mobster threatens to shoot him instead, but before he can even finish his threat he drops to the floor. Another mobster runs up, rifle read, and finds a dart in the first man’s neck.

Suddenly he is struck from the ceiling with a sticky substance covering his head and arms. As the rest of the mobsters realize they’re being attacked, Batman sweeps down eliminating the rest of the mob in short order. He tells the teachers and students to file out the door in an orderly fashion to the nearest police line.

Batman rendezvous with Batgirl and Nightwing, the latter pair have cleared the pool, locker room, library, and cafeteria. They head to the nurses office, where the last group of students - including Darla Aquista are trapped. “Time to go home,” Batman tells them. Batman lifts Darla off the bed she’s lying on and carries her out behind the other students. He walks out into the daylight carrying Darla - in front of the police, in front of the media cameras, in front of everybody. “He’s — he’s real?” A voice says. “My God! What’s he done to her?” says another.

All the cameras are trained on Batman as he carries Darla to a nearby ambulance. As Batman sets Darla on the gurney, Nightwing and Batgirl have walked out with him and he says “Why are you two standing out in the open? We’re exposed here! And there’s still chaos all over our city!” With that, they go their separate ways as the media begin broadcasting their stories - with their own spin on the facts. Arturo Rodriguez, a reporter who had formerly been a supporter of Batman, ends his broadcast “The unauthorized intervention of costumed vigilantes into this crisis seems to have caused the death of at least one young girl.”

The final scene pretty much insures that things aren?t going to be the same for Batman in the near future. His ?urban legend? cover has been thoroughly blown. My guess is that this is an editorial decision to shake things up a little and give Batman something new to deal with. For me it?s always been a little hard to believe that with all of the lives Batman touches, criminals and victims alike, he?s been able to maintain mythical status at all. I don?t see Batman returning to his mid-60s walking around in broad daylight accepting keys to the city from the Mayor status, but Batman having to operate in a Gotham that knows he?s real could make for some interesting story possibilities.

I?m a little less certain about the reporters creating suspicion that Batman had something to do with Darla Aquista?s injury. It might be a bit much. Bruce Wayne has already been an accused ?Murderer? and a ?Fugitive? and it would appear that it?s Batman?s turn. I suppose it could be argued that this is a return to Batman?s roots as a vigilante on the run from the law, but I?ll wait and see before passing judgment either way.

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