Az-Bats Goes Toe To Toe With Ascalon
Without revealing every secret of this issue, there’s a deeper connection between Ascalon and Azrael than we initially thought. This is what makes their battle even wilder and more intense, especially after Ascalon does something so horrible and inhumane that it nearly brought us to tears (okay, maybe it did bring us to tears).
The brutality of their clash is on another scale, showing us further hints to why Jean-Paul is more Punisher than Batman. However, it also shows us the power of Fox’s Batman AI that he manages to contain Azrael’s vicious nature and balance it with Bruce’s moral compass, if you will. Thinking about it now, Fox is such a brilliant mind that you have to wonder why the Bat hadn’t approached him before with his Rebirth problems, especially when he dealt with the secrets of the button. Silly billionaire playboy…
Credit for this outstanding action scene needs to go to Martinez for telling a story of a thousand blows in only a couple of panels. Not since David Finch’s incredible battle sequence in Batman #20 have we seen such an epic clash between two titans like we did here. It’s fantastic and a noteworthy reminder that there are still artists capable of penciling detailed and narrative-moving battles.