Fans are usually excited when a new Batman comic series is released, especially when the writer is someone of Tom King’s caliber. So far, Batman: Killing Time has made an impression with a bold storyline, and the three issues that have been released are nothing short of outstanding.
It has the air of a perfect crime drama, with a surprising team-up exposing Gotham’s nefarious underbelly. Yes, Batman’s foes have before banded together to assassinate the Dark Knight, but the sheer cohesion of the scheme, with the likes of the Penguin, Riddler, Killer Croc, and Catwoman cooperating, makes for an intriguing story arc.
Tom King is in charge of the writing, David Marquez is in charge of the sketches and Alejandro Sanchez is in charge of the subtle coloring. The comic series is as visually stunning as it is narratively, and we are confident you will like the unique storytelling.
In this video, we take you through the first three issues of the comic book, breaking down every detail and analyzing the plot for you. Furthermore, we thought you would be interested in learning more about one of the most terrifying Batman villains of all time, the Help, who shows far too competent and experienced to see through the Dark Knight’s fighting skills!
Diving into the narrative – #1 the Heist of the Century!
Sometimes the first page of the comic book is enough to give you a clear hint of what is about to come! Batman: Killing Time is a perfect example of that as you see the grim and dark art by David Marquez making it abundantly evident that things are about to go terribly wrong pretty soon! The show is set for what is supposedly the heist of the century! However, there is a slight clause – the planners have to escape Gotham and more importantly escape the clutches of the Dark Knight.
We see a mysterious man, Waylon Jones, walking up to the gates of the First National Bank of Gotham City. His face and body are covered by a huge, oversized jacket and a large hat, and it is likely that the man is trying to conceal his identity. The security guard Julian lets him pass through the gates, and a brief flashback shows that the guard was by all means bribed by the planners. He reached a compromise during his regular visits to a strip club, and he probably knows what Waylon Jones is all about, but still lets him go. Once Jones steps inside the bank, you realize that the man is quite taller and better built than everyone else around him.
Turn the clocks back an hour, and Selina Kyle is seen playing tennis with Mrs. Barrington, who appears to be someone pretty important and established. She has no idea that her opponent is the vicious Catwoman, and she is simply enjoying the intense game. Back at the bank, Jones heads straight for the Bank Teller and reveals his real intentions – he wants all the money in the bank. It soon becomes clear that the man was preparing for a daring robbery all along, and the alarm bells start to go off alerting the cops. Commissioner Gordon learns about the crime and its nature, and he realizes that it is time to switch on the Bat signal to summon the Batman!
Meanwhile, we get another glimpse of what happened between Catwoman and Mrs. Barrington. We learn that Mrs. Barrington’s husband is someone really important, and he has placed two guards to stay by his wife at all times. Catwoman makes an excuse to isolate Mrs. Barrington, and so far, her plan seems to be working perfectly. There are some more shocking twists in store for you because Riddler walks in to negotiate with Mr. Barrington, who turns out to be the director of the bank. He gets a call from his wife, now a hostage of Catwoman who made short work of the guards. Mr. Barrington must agree to the terms because he really has no other choice!
On the other hand, Jones is revealed to be the notorious Killer Croc. The Batman arrives at the crime scene, ready to take on the menacing, beastly Croc. The narrative keeps moving back and forth to give you a wholesome overview of all that is happening. Mr. Barrington is forced to use his privileges as a senior official to guide the Riddler to the lowest vault facilities of the United Bank.
The writer uses this time to give a brief backstory of Croc. and how his body changed after the accident. Vera, the love of his life is repulsed by his new appearance, and he realizes that he would need a hell lot of money to afford the surgery to change back to his original form. Currently, he is busy fighting Batman, and the caped crusader lands a few powerful blows on the monster.
Back in the vaults, the Riddler manages to get to the most secretive sections and gets his hands on the box that holds their desired item. Together, all the villains seem to have achieved the impossible! He calmly walks out of the bank, and Catwoman is waiting in a car, equally amazed at the success of their mission.
Vera receives a guest who goes by the name Help, and this old man delivers a bag full of money to be stored by her till Croc gets out of Arkham. It is safe to assume that he was caught and locked up in Arkham Asylum, but not before he got all the money he needed by completing the task.
The agreement between Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman seems to have neared its end. When they meet and Penguin demands the prized possession, Riddler and Catwoman are not ready to give it up. Riddler bashes him up with his umbrella, and they leave with the box as Penguin lies in a pool of blood. Batman and Commissioner Gordon discuss the strange heist by Riddler and Catwoman, and they soon discover that what has been stolen is something far too precious and dangerous in the hands of criminals!
This is just as good as it gets in terms of perfect beginnings, and the brilliance of organized crime leaves the reader amazed. Besides, the final moments of the comic issue highlight the betrayal by Riddler that promises to have a few consequences. In short, the first issue laid the perfect foundation for the narrative to unfold, and you can be sure that more of the good stuff follows!
The Plot Thickens
Riddler and Catwoman have camped in a beautiful lodging, forty miles outside Gotham, but their threats are far from over. Catwoman is wary of how Penguin must be preparing for revenge, and he certainly is, even from his hospital bed! Back in Arkham Asylum, Batman uses his brutal form of interrogation to get information out of Croc but he seems pretty adamant about keeping his mouth shut.
Vera seems to be enjoying the abundance of money and splurges on a diamond necklace. There is a brief flashback of an event roughly three months ago, where the Joker was telling Catwoman about one of his closely guarded secrets. We see the familiar insanity in Joker’s mannerisms and he reveals that he once held Batman at his mercy. He used an advanced truth serum on the Dark Knight to learn about his deepest secrets, or if he was hiding something fun. The flashback adds to the mystery because we still haven’t seen the item that Catwoman and Riddler have managed to keep to themselves.
After a successful interrogation session, Batman emerges with some crucial information. He learns about the apartment where Croc lived, and he decides to find out if anyone in the apartment has spent an obscene amount of money recently. Clearly, it wouldn’t take long for him to get to Vera and it could hand him a few crucial clues.
She, however, seems surprisingly calm when Batman apprehends her in her apartment. Meanwhile, Riddler reveals that they have a buyer who would pay enough for them to never turn to the risks of crime again! We get a little backstory about how they had struck a deal with Penguin regarding the heist, and we also see Penguin in his hospital bed – battered and bruised. The issue ends with Batman headed for Riddler’s safehouse in his Batmobile, and he has somehow figured out their hiding place.
One of the most mysterious things about the second issue would have to be the continuation of a flashback from thousands of years ago. This event shows the shocking killing of King Pentheus of Thebes and how the women, including his wife and own mother feast on the body. It is something so unnerving and supernatural that you stop to question for a moment how it is relevant to the current story. Well, we will find out for sure!
the Help takes the center stage!
The third issue opens with a bang – literally! We find out that the Help paid a visit to Catwoman and the Riddler, and he is introduced as a man who works for the Penguin. It takes him a few seconds to knock Riddler out of the fight, and he inquires about the presence of Catwoman. It is revealed that even in his seriously injured state, Penguin managed to write a message for the Help, which said – Kill them all!
However, the Help is interrupted by the arrival of Batman. They engage in a fierce fight, which turns out to be surprisingly one-sided! It is termed as the first of many legendary battles, so we can be sure of getting many more of these in the future. He dictates terms the whole time, and Batman is simply no match for his enhanced skills. It is baffling and shocking to see an old man kick and punch the Dark Knight to the ground as if he was a little boy fighting a giant.
He mocks and ridicules the masked vigilante for his fighting moves, identifying them all and tracing them back to the trainers. He knows all about Ra’s al Ghul, the Canary, and many others, and it becomes evident that we are witnessing an expert doing what he does best – kicking ass! Finally, he knocks the Batman unconscious with his steel cane, and more importantly, the prized possession is somewhat revealed.
It was a gift that Batman received from Ra’s al Ghul during his training days. The latter termed it as the most valued possession and gave it to the Dark Knight for being his true heir and bearer of his legacy. All this while, the Riddler, and Catwoman get into a truck and drive away as fast as they can. Riddler’s injuries are getting worse by the hour, and time is running out for them.
The prized possession is revealed to be linked with the historic flashbacks from all those years ago. It is a magic box that appears to have the ability to revive the dead, or does it! Was it all a hoax? We will know about that in the coming issues, but for now, the Help takes the center stage. He leaves a card for Batman to contact him for better training (as if knocking him out wasn’t insulting enough), and he meets the actual buyer who had struck a deal with the Riddler.
We see Catwoman getting away with an injured Riddler who seems to have been stabbed pretty badly, but the focus really has shifted to the Help. After a great deal of torture, he finds out that the man was willing to spend a crazy lot of money to get the prized possession. Now, he is curious and goes for Penguin at the hospital. He demands to know what the item is, and Penguin is not really in a situation to bargain. Batman seems determined to get to the bottom of this, but there is little that he can do, when the enemy is far superior! We will be waiting eagerly to find out what happens next, and we will keep updating you about the same!
All about the Help – the star of the series!
Picture this for a second – your favorite superhero is beaten to a pulp, not by some menacing supervillain, but simply by someone who is far more skilled! Yes, that is precisely what happens and we can assure you that it will be a rather shocking moment when you watch the caped crusader get beaten up. Their first confrontation will be a memorable moment for the fans because of the sheer nonchalance shown by the Help.
He is not bothered in the least that the Dark Knight stands before him, and when the fight begins you immediately know why! He can literally identify the techniques that Batman learned from his trainers, such as Ra’s al Ghul, the Wildcat, and others. It is a fight scene that makes the superhero look like a clueless kid, and the Help calmly keeps on offering advice while nullifying all his moves.
Eventually, he knocks out Batman without much of a fuss, and you immediately feel respect for this character. He doesn’t look very intimidating, but clearly, his skills overshadow Gotham’s savior. Not many can defeat Batman in hand-to-hand combat so effortlessly, and the frightening aspect about the Help is his carefree, casual attitude. He talks about his heinous acts of torturing people for information like its nothing, and the professionalism of this ultra-cool badass is unquestionable. He is as methodical as a Navy seal, and yet, there is something so unpredictable about him that the reader will feel jittery.
What makes him even more interesting is the fact that he seems to have trained each one of Batman’s mentors. This puts some new theories regarding Batman’s origins, and the Help simply cannot be taken lightly because teaching the best fighters in the DC universe is not a joke! He has worked with heroes and villains alike, and he even reveals that he trained Black Canary when she was around twelve years old.
He acknowledges the moves of people like Richard Dragon and Henri Ducard and even seems to have trained skilled assassins like David Cain. This points to his age and wealth of experience, but aging certainly hasn’t slowed him down! Maybe, instead of traveling the world and learning from various experts, Bruce Wayne could have just struck a deal with the Help and learned it all perfectly!
We really don’t know where the story arc will take him next, but we certainly hope that the narrative keeps up with the reputation that they built for him. As for the Dark Knight, he has two choices right now – he can bring the Help to justice for his crimes, or he can use the opportunity to learn from the best in business! It remains to be seen if the Help becomes one of Batman’s crucial mentors, but he certainly has the potential to be one of the greatest.
Marvelous Verdict on this intriguing Batman series: A new story in the old world
The territory is all too familiar and so are the characters. In fact, apart from Killer Croc and the Help, you have seen just about everyone in the recent Batman movie featuring Robert Pattinson. Killing Time tells the story of a young Batman, who is hit by a crime that is bigger than he had expected. The story will keep you on the edge of your seats and make you turn the pages faster and faster.
The writer jumps back and forth in time to tell the story, but there is no confusion because of the clarity in the storytelling. Tom King uses his experience to pen down the cinematic masterpiece, which could well be the plot of a superhit Batman movie! He is no stranger to Batman comics, but this effort is very different from his previous works. This is certainly a lot grittier if you consider the villainy on show, and we just hope things boil down to a satisfactory ending.
Credit is also due to David Marquez, who does a terrific job of capturing the violence in the narrative through his art. This results in some fight scenes of epic proportions. Besides the iconic moment, when Batman is humiliated by the Help, there are some other nail-biting moments, such as when Killer Croc and Batman fight it out, or when Penguin is bashed by the Riddler. We get to see the ideal versions of some of the familiar Batman rogues.
Penguin, for instance, is portrayed as a more morbid version of himself when compared to the past. The antics of the feline fatale Catwoman are impeccable, and the Help simply steals the show with his shocking appearance. All’s well that ends well, and if the remaining issues turn out to be as impressive as the ones we witnessed, prepare for a feature film folks because this one is simply epic!
A Few Final Words
So, what is it that makes Killing Time so special? Is it the shock value associated with a near-invincible villain like the Help? Is it because the clever mastermind of some of the most crooked minds in Gotham work together to pull off the greatest heist ever? Or, is it simply the waiting period for the fans to watch their favorite superhero come back stronger?
Well, if we were to judge, we would vouch for all of the above because they all add to the charm of the comic series. It is not easy to formulate something with such intricate details and accuracy, and this series will breathe fresh life into the world of comic books. If the Killing Time finishes off on the same note as it started, we are all set to have one of the finest Batman story arcs of all time, and wouldn’t that be something exciting to look forward to