Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War

Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War #1-9

by Chip Zdarsky, Tini Howard, Matthew Rosenberg

A battle is brewing in Gotham between the Bat and the Cat, but crime is down in Gotham City…could that be a bad thing?

A coordinated effort in Gotham City has led to a reduction in violent crime, but at what cost? Villains scatter as their lives begin to crumble under a new regime. And as Batman recovers from his epic battle through the Multiverse, one name runs through his mind. One name at the heart of this new, safer Gotham: Catwoman.

Collects Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War: Battle Lines, Batman #137-138, Catwoman #57-58, Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War: Red Hood #1-2 and Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War: Scorched Earth.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2024

About the author

Chip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good but that is not only a good main story, but also sets up a lot of things to come. Hood artwork and story but very good use of the Bat-family as well.

Batman has been out cold since the Kinightmares. In that time, Catwoman has implemented a new structure for the criminals. Even more surprising is that it seems to be working. Violence crime is down to its lowest but is swapping intype of crime for another something Batmsn can live with. Also, how far will Batman be willing to go against his own family. How far is too far.

One thing I really did like in this book is Batman reminding the others that he is still the alpha of the group. It is too many of the recent comics some of the others have outshone him a bit. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery.

[Andrew Shaffer]

Why do the Batman writers seemingly hate Batman so much these days? It’s like they’re embarrassed he is rich and uses his money to bunch street criminals in the face.

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This event was a complete mess. The only two things positive were Nikola Čižmešija Jason Todd and Dick writing in Batman #138.

[Joe Bogue · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's some good writing within but overall I thought the story was stupid. There's no way Selina's plan is sustainable. Not with the poverty in Gotham combined with the number of still incarcerated criminals and a whole slew of other established criminals who's activities run the gammit between smuggling, organized crime, and super villainy; not to mention the Bat Baddies that have super powers. It just all reads like the cheap conflict device it is.

And isn't this Catwoman's like fourth recent plan to help Gotham's underbelly? Each one left to fizzle out upon the next Bat-Family crosover or line wide event? Not sure why I'm suddenly supposed to care about this one more than others that were major Cat plot points not three months before this volume was published.

Additionally, I'm so tired of this years-long now downward spiral Batman is in. If I wanted to read about a hero who's personal life is continually tragic, I'd pick up a Marvel title. I just can't help but wonder how much better these last few arcs would be if Failsafe & the Knight Terror dude & Vandal Savage tried out their various plans against a Batman whole, focused and fully equipped. It's a shame they won't give him a new "Alfred," at least on comms, yet are leaning so heavily on the crutch that is Batman's robot hand.

[Alek Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts off really spectacular and then like most Batman events the inclusion of a grander villain plot muddies a novel idea.

This event brings up an issue most Batman critics bring up. Which is that Batman could make Gotham a lot safer if he tried compassion over punching. Catwoman eliminates violent crime in Gotham by empowering its henchmen to be self sufficient cat burglars. Selina provides Gothams lesser criminals with opportunities and resources to provide for their families outside of henching for a murderous crime boss. She tries presenting this argument to the Bat-Family by asking them to leave her thieves guild alone, so they wont join back up with the more dangerous criminal element. Which of course Bats has his objections too.

Now Batman's side of this argument isn't really articulated well in this book, which is a problem. The book has him posit that crime is crime and he has to stop it, because its wrong to steal even from the rich. "Because his parents were rich okay!", making him seem like an obtuse asshole. Whose parents were killed by a burglarer and not a mugger.
And then he's upset that all Catwoman is doing is making the criminals more ninja, and therefore more dangerous for when they return to their bosses. Which is a better argument, and really the only point the book lets Batman have.
But the objection Bruce settles on, and the one thats not really represented well, is that a criminal life is not a good life whether it's thieving or violent. The point being that if criminals want a better life they should give up crime in general. And I think had Bruce presented compassionate aid to help reformed criminals he would have had a leg to stand on. But he didnt. Probably because he was supposed to be the bad guy, that way the reader has an explanation for all the fucked up shit he does to his family.
And speaking of family, why is it everytime there's a Bat-Family argument Damian is always a sycophantic dunder head. He always seems to blindly choose his father's side to the militant point of physically attacking his brothers if they "traitorously" dont agree.

Anyway. The "Battle Lines" issue and the Batman issues capture the the novel idea of this argument perfectly. Demonstrating the fatigue and stress Bruce is under. Now coupled with the fear that the heirs to his legacy will not honor his mission. The Catwoman issues and the "Scortched Earth" issue are the weak links in this story. I found the paneling of them to be disjointed and provided weak storytelling.

vvvSpoilersvvv

The big downfall of this event is that instead of committing to the debate of whether turning a blind eye to harmless burglary in the benefit of reducing violent crime is justice; they accelerate things with Vandal Savage. Suddenly he's interested in Gotham because the fragments of his magic meteor are collected here. He manipulated his daughter into creating a league of thieves to steal them so that their combined presence would attract a new magic meteor. The plan essentially proves Batman right, that the henchmen cant be trusted to remain independent and therefore have become a more dangerous tool for their masters. It really cuts the argument short and lets Bruce off the hook for his egomania psychotic break. He is left estranged from his family and still under the belief that he is in control of Zur.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely enthralled with this story. So excited to see where Gotham is after having read this. Zdarsky on Batman for a million issues, please. Howard supplemented well with the Catwoman issues, also.

[Frédéric · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series is a mess from start to finish. It starts with a basic idea that's extremely questionable to say the least, only to completely abandon that idea halfway through and veer towards a classic brawl against a remarkably lame villain.

Several plot points are incoherent, the pacing is out of whack, Batman is extreme to the point of being out of character and apart from Jorge Jimenez and Nikola Čižmešija to a lesser extent, the artistic side doesn't raise the bar. I've long been convinced that Tini Howard is a hack but I'm starting to have doubts about Zdarsky.

So it's all for this? Another so-called 'event' that just fizzles out.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Batman has been put through the ringer lately (and that's not counting the current run on Detective Comics, that I don't like) and all of it catching up to him. Given what comes after this, his troubles are still far from over...
Highlights:
- After the events with Failsafe and Knight Terrors, Bruce passes out and is in a coma for 8 weeks
- Upon waking, he finds out that Catwoman and her new thieves guild have managed to get crime down in Gotham by a huge percent, taking only from the rich and donating 15% of their scores to charity.
- Batman doesn't support this despite a majority of the Bat-Family desiring it, and when one of the thieves is killed during a robbery, Batman declares war on Catwoman, stating his fights all crime
- During the battles, Vandal Savage is able to buy Wayne Manor while Bruce is occupied. He, of course, begins setting up criminals with Bat-Tech from the cave.
- Red Hood joins Catwoman's side of the war
- Vandal Savage becomes the real villain of the story when he recruits many to gather up meteorite fragments so he can re-up his immortality, but of course fails when Catwoman works with Bruce
- 3 things to hold through to what is next: 1) Zur-En-Arr Batman is becoming more of an issue in Bruce's mind. 2) Catwoman, nor Red Hood, both appearing to sacrifice themselves to win, are both alive. 3) One of Selina's criminals has decided to rob rich Bruce Wayne, and discovered he is Batman.

Overall, the event was built up way more than it needed to be. I'm actually much more interested in Bruce's psyche, but they did need to wrap up Selina's criminal empire stuff, probably so she can go back to being what she always has been.
Recommend, but with slight hesitation from length.

[NarraTea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This whole event felt…dare I say, pointless? Narrative-wise it was a good plan, I see what Chip wanted to do with this plot but it felt like the entirety of the trama was completely unnecessary and we could’ve just skipped this and went straight to the Zurr-En-Arrh arc that is inevitably coming the readers’ way now.

[Gabriella Quitevis · Rating 3 out of 5]

not really feeling this version of batman…

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75
Pretty disappointing. Zdarsky doesn't get Batman at all, IMO. (Somehow I blame him more than Howard.) The premise was insultingly bad. But...they stuck to that premise hard and followed it through, even if it did feel lifeless. But it did do a good job of pulling you through the story. It read easy, not as a chore. I appreciated that.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something definitely felt a bit off here...

Moving from a Batman/Catwoman conflict to a battle with Vandal Savage...Red Hoods mistreatment and then a meteor.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.9 stars.

[Peyton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had a strong start. I'm a sucker for batfamily events (even the toxic ones), and the conflicts between Batman and the Robins are when the story really shines. But it started to fall apart across issues, to the point where the ending has left me confused. I can't help but feel all the writers were not on the same page when it came to characterization, especially Batman's. I was loving the unhinged Bat, but he felt too level-headed in the last issue compared to the previous ones. Even the plot started to feel messy near the end and the last issue was too rushed. It left me wishing it had been Zdarksy finishing the event.

Also it wasn't much of a war. Gotham feud.

I was prepared to be a Gotham War apologist, but meh. It was fun sometimes. I loved the Jason moments. I hope that actually goes somewhere.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This comic has the most ridiculous premise: Selina decides to train Gotham's minions to be high-end cat burglars, and suddenly Gotham's crime rate drops by 75%. It's hard to believe that Selina post-Taylor would dive so deep into crime, it's hard to believe that Gotham's minions would go in for such a ridiculous plot, and it's hard to believe that these die-hard murderers and killers would suddenly become hoity-toity cat burglars. In other words, this whole crossover is based on a god-awful idea, and seeing the Bat family come to blows over whether the support it or not is all the more ridiculous. It's like watching the Friends cast start shooting each other over whether the moon landing was faked.

The addition of Vandal Savage to the plotline originally seems like a boon, but by the last issue, everything has become a muddled mess. The character assassination of Scandal Savage, who seems nothing like the character from Secret Six, doesn't help.

About the only interesting thing is this godawful mess is the continued deterioration of Bruce, with his attitude toward Jason being particularly shocking, but believable given what Zdarsky has set up so far. But that's not a lot to carry a muddy, unbelievable story with poor character continuity.

[Miguel L. Magriço · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a mess

[Benji Glaab · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt very long, there is almost too much dialogue and exposition on each page for a comic book. I don't really read much DC these days but I'm fairly up to date with Batman. I liked his family dynamic, and the way Zdarsky and Jimenez handle the mainline series is always excellent however some of the motivations in this world are always sketchy at best. So Selina is taking the cities henchmen and thugs and re- purposing them as thieves in some sort of cat burglar ganging order to keep violent crimes down... it always feels like a separate reality with Gotham. I didn't mind the Redhood stuff in here seems like a decent character/book.

Overall it's a so-so event with readable dialogue and good looking art. I just wish the premise wasn't so ridiculous that I could have a good time with out poking holes

[Dave Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The opening chapters of this brief crossover event establish a compelling scenario: What if Batman's vision of how to fight crime in Gotham brought him into direct conflict with Catwoman and most of the bat family sided with her? Unfortunately, the involvement of Vandal Savage and other villains quickly puts the heroes back on the same side with only slight complications. The event ultimately doesn't deliver on its initial promise and, for my tastes, gets too focused on Jason Todd. But I still enjoyed reading it, much more so than most of the people who have rated it on this platform.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 2 out of 5]

What starts with great promise and builds terrific tension across the first half quickly devolves as the story completely switches gears into a dull “baddie wants to take over the world” story, which unravels all the interesting tension for a flat, boring conclusion. Swing and a miss.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigh. A million stars for perfect human Jason Todd, and voice of reason Dick Grayson. NO stars for absolute worst ever parent Bruce Wayne.

[mint · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story wise: ragebaiting.
Art style: good job overall!
What do I think about this portrayal of Jason Todd, as a Jason Todd fan?: it’s not among the tier of the worst ones, so I’m okay with that.

[doma⋆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

first of all - what the fuck
second of all - HE WOULD NOT FUCKING DO THAT

[Jon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really just don't think Zdarsky, DC, or whoever the Batman editor is understands these characters. Or they have no grasp on what readers desire from Batman. I suspect it's both.

I feel Batman has gone far too soft. Far more introspective about his quest. I feel that writers these days are trying too hard to "deconstruct" and with Batman; I don't think it works when you have him questioning his crusade and expressing solemn disappointment with two-bit thugs and trying to talk them down. Isn't Batman supposed to be a wish fulfillment fantasy for those who just want to see criminals punished? Did Batman not make a promise to his parents he would root out crime in Gotham, period? Geez, he's so unsure of himself and so blinded by stupidly contrived reasons that it is a far cry from the Batman of yesteryear. And I'm not talking 40s Batman, I'm talking Batman from 5+ years ago.

I guess Catwoman has taken the low lifes that are usually hired by the larger criminals in Gotham and trained them so they don't have to be dependent on The Joker, and The Riddler and all them. An interesting idea. But then crime goes down in Gotham so far that Batman questions the need for his crusade a couple times. Catwoman isn't rehabilitating these fools or giving them legit work. She just trains them steal from the rich, because it wouldn't be a story in 2024 if there werent some themes about the poor eating the rich.

Some of the Bat-family are on board with her ideas, including the Red Hood? I guess it's all a ruse. But why does he beat a guy senseless for using a gun? That was Red Hood's MO. He used to be the Punisher of the DCU. Now he's still just nonlethally wounding people with a katana and crowbar......okay? The only thing more tragic than the weakening of Batman is the disgrace upon which Red Hood's character has been dealt. I never thought I'd say it, but Damian, the fricking twerp, is the only one backing Bruce and I just get the sense that that's supposed to be an extreme/bad thing. The entire rest of the family just up and loses faith in Bruce.

Nightwing, the optimist, characteristically is trying to mend the rift just trying to stop the contention. And I think that that is commendable, at least one character is acting as they should. Until....you know he doesn't and also has a punchup with Batman.

I guess I didn't realize that Supercriminals are a basically useless without their brain dead hired goons. Turns out all Batman had to do was pat the mooks on the head, give them a job at Wayne enterprises and train them to be useful and that would have solved all his problems. The Joker, Two-Face, Penguin, The Riddler and Bane would have just given up because they have nobody to do anything for them. WOW, easy.

But Batman's had enough and decides to go even HARDER at getting criminals arrested. Which pushes the Bat-family further away from Batman....and the job they all volunteered to do in the first place. They all get mad at Batman for just doing what Batman does. But still, Batman just continues not acting like the Batman I know and just ruins everything for himself...

And they keep blaming it on Zur En Arrh, but I honestly just don't feel that it was conveyed to the reader that that was actually the case.

Then Vandal savage shows up and everyone is like: "put the gotham war on hold. we gotta fight this dood"

I thought infinite frontier made it so that all the previous continuities now existed in the one universe. But instead it just turned Batman into a feckless, mushy, meathead lacking any real judgement. This whole Zdarsky run, I'm wishing, was just a different universe. This character assassination of Batman is something that DC should not be taking lightly.

Moronic.

[Melia Glubka · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok

[Georgie zakka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a shame that such a good run turned into such a disrespect of the characters and their personalities, nothing makes sense, and no one acts how they are.

[Maciej Matusz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Currently published in Poland, Chip Zdarsky’s main BATMAN series hasn’t made much of an impression on me. Both FAILSAFE and THE BAT-MAN OF GOTHAM are stories that read easily but don’t leave any lasting emotional or intellectual impact. In contrast to Tom King’s run which began as mediocre at best and at times even weak I still felt something by the end of the first volume, whether it was toward Gotham and Gotham Girl as a sibling duo, or later in the series through Batman’s relationship with Catwoman.

I expected a similar emotional depth from Zdarsky, but after reading the first two volumes, I had to lower my expectations for the third installment. In hindsight, that was probably for the best, because the third book turned out to be a crossover and one released not long after the BATMAN: KNIGHT TERRORS event. That kind of event overload in such a short time can easily become exhausting for readers. I didn’t read KNIGHT TERRORS myself, so I went straight into Zdarsky’s third Batman volume titled GOTHAM WAR.

Is it a successful crossover? I’ll try to answer that below.


The Plot

GOTHAM WAR centers on a conflict between Catwoman and Batman. The premise: Selina Kyle proposes to recruit and train former henchmen and underlings of supervillains to become professional thieves. According to her, the plan works—serious crimes drop, and theft becomes the dominant form of criminal activity. Selina offers a partnership to the Bat-Family, but not everyone agrees, resulting in internal divisions and conflict.

In my opinion, both the storyline and the very premise of this so-called “GOTHAM WAR” feel forced and unconvincing. I can understand Red Hood supporting Catwoman’s plan—his character walks a moral tightrope and often makes questionable choices. But seeing characters like Nightwing or Tim Drake go along with it? That feels completely unjustified. It’s hard to believe that heroes with such strong moral compasses would suddenly accept organized crime as a “lesser evil.” What’s worse, their motivations aren’t clearly explained, which makes their behavior hard to comprehend.



Misleading Title and Plot Weaknesses

The title GOTHAM WAR doesn’t reflect the scale of the events. There’s no real citywide conflict here—just a few scattered arrest scenes involving Bruce. It seems the writers realized that the plot wasn’t strong enough to maintain tension, so they shoehorned in a third party: Vandal Savage. As a result, the comic turns into a generic story where two heroes clash only to team up against a common enemy after uncovering a manipulation.



Any Positives?

Yes. By far the strongest element is the continuation of the Zur-En-Arrh subplot—arguably the best narrative thread in Zdarsky’s entire Batman run. The paranoia and internal whisperings from this alternate persona push the Dark Knight closer to madness, prompting irrational decisions. One clear example is Bruce’s treatment of Red Hood, which could potentially destroy Jason’s character for good. I sincerely hope this storyline continues, because it adds both emotional weight and psychological complexity to the series.

It also touches on a crucial theme: the importance of mental health, even for someone as strong and legendary as Batman. That’s a rare but valuable reflection in mainstream superhero comics.

Another positive is the dialogue. Despite multiple writers contributing to the crossover, the dialogue is well-written—natural, fluid, and authentic. Honestly, without it, reading the book would have been much more of a chore. There’s both humor and emotional nuance in the conversations, especially during confrontations between Batman, Nightwing, and Robin. You can feel their bond, but also the growing tension and disapproval toward Bruce’s actions.



Artwork

Visually, GOTHAM WAR showcases a variety of styles. Multiple artists contributed, each with their own approach to shading, linework, and panel composition. Despite this stylistic diversity, the colorists help maintain a relatively cohesive aesthetic, allowing the reader to focus on the narrative. Some artists stand out more than others, but none left a lasting impression.



Final Thoughts

GOTHAM WAR is yet another crossover that lands squarely in the “average” category. It’s not a terrible comic, but it’s far from ideal. That judgment actually applies to Zdarsky’s entire Batman run published in Poland so far. It’s hard to say why it’s been so middling, especially since Zdarsky has proven capable of much better storytelling in his other series.



Do I recommend it?
If you’re a collector and buy everything with the Batman logo, you probably already own this volume. For others, it’s a title worth considering—but not essential. If you’re not into crossovers or are looking for a strong, tightly written story, you might end up disappointed.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 2 out of 5]

When it comes to superhero comics, if a crossover event is coming up, maybe they shouldn't put "war" in the title as it reminds you of Marvel's 2006 storyline, Civil War, which was basically a slugfest between multiple superheroes. Sure, that comic may have inspired a pretty awesome movie in 2016, but it did pave the way for other superhero titles that are driven by some fans' weird interest in seeing their favourite heroes fight each other. This brings us nicely onto The Gotham War.

Serving as a crossover event that connects Chip Zdarsky's Batman run and Tini Howard's Catwoman run, Bruce Wayne has been incapacitated for eight weeks, leaving Gotham City in a new state. During his absence, Selina Kyle has planned a coordinated effort that has led to a reduction in violent crime in the city. Whilst crime is not entirely wiped away, as Selina Kyle's new initiative leads to murder, Batman wasn't going to be on board with this new ideology, but does create conflict with the rest of the Bat-Family.

Although both Batman and Catwoman have recently appeared in one another's solo titles, their relationship hasn't been much of a centrepiece since Tom King's long-running run on the Batman title. As Zdarsky and Howard co-write the Battle Lines issue (with art by Mike Hawthorne) that opens the event, the central conflict itself is overly familiar territory if you well-versed in Batman comics, such as the idea of how does one manage the crime in Gotham, which was explored in storylines like Under the Red Hood.

With this book's approach to crossover with multiple titles, I like it best when it serves as a continuation of what Zdarsky is doing with his Batman run. Having battled Failsafe and have travelled through the Multiverse to stop Red Mask, Batman has already been through a lot and taking a toll on him, particularly on a psychological level. Whilst you have Zdarsky flexing his muscles when he writes Batman's inner monologue, it nicely contrasted with the inner voice of Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, an ongoing presence from the start of Zdarsky's run and will continue to be.

Another reason why the Batman issues are the best is the art by Jorge Jiménez, who has not only done wonders with the Dark Knight over the years, but other DC titles. If you're going to have members of the Bat-Family fighting each other, get Jiménez to draw some kinetic action sequences that show off that Batman is a force of nature as he effortlessly takes his closest allies one at a time.

Although there are some interesting ideas going on, such as former henchmen who worked for Batman's rogues gallery becoming part of Catwoman's new initiative, the rest of the event is a mixed bag. Whilst the Catwoman issues by Howard and artist Nico Leon are decent, showcasing the dynamic between Selina and the women who helping with her operation, the Gotham War: Red Hood issues stick comparison as despite the interesting art-style by Nikola Čižmešija, Matthew Rosenberg's writing and the characterisation of Jason Todd are lacklustre.

Halfway through the event, the central conflict between the Bat and the Cat is thrown out the window with the sudden presence of Vandal Savage who has dastardly plans for Gotham. Although I can appreciate the writers for using a villain that rarely appears in Batman comics, it does make the very premise of this event rather pointless as all the conflicting heroes put aside their differences to fight a greater evil.

There is some good stuff here, especially when it ties in with Chip Zdarsky's Batman run, but overall The Gotham War feels more like a pointless detour.

[Comics Instrucciones de uso · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lo sabe todo escritor o artista que llega a hacerse cargo de algún personaje icónico de Marvel o DC: una o dos veces al año hay que hacer un crossover. Los escritores, sobre todo, odian los crossovers porque implica forzar su obra para que coincida con obras de otros autores, y además los distrae de la historia que vienen contando mes a mes por su propia cuenta. Sin mencionar lo difícil que es dar una cierta coherencia de tono al producto de autores y artistas distintos, con propósitos distintos, con talentos distintos. Pero bueno, los crossovers venden y mientras ocurra así, Marvel y DC van a seguir explotándolos.
A Chip Zdarsky, su primer crossover al mando de Batman lo pilló en plena forma después de dos arcos muy memorables: "Failsafe" y "The Man Bat of Gotham", en los que trajo de vuelta a aquel genial invento de Grant Morrison, el Batman de Zur-en Ahr, y se atrevió a mutilar una de las manos de nuestro héroe, quien ahora luce una extremidad artificial que se esfuerza por mantener en secreto. De hecho, tras despertar de un largo periodo de inconciencia, Batman se encuentra con que los crímenes en Gotham han descendido inusualmente. La responsable es Catwoman, a quien se le ha ocurrido la idea de sacar de circulación a los criminales subalternos de los clásicos villanos como el Joker, el Riddler y demases. Es decir, ha pensado que para reducir el crimen, hay que evitar que aquellos tengan ayudantes, por decirlo de algún modo. Y eso lo ha logrado entrenando por su cuenta a esos "ayudantes" para que aprendan a cometer delitos menores contra los millonarios de Gotham, y no se sientan seducidos por el próximo plan de Two Face o el Joker. Dejando de lado el que Zdarsky intenta insertar una cierta crítica al capitalismo en la historia, tal como hizo en sus primeros números en "Daredevil", lo cierto es que la idea de Catwoman (muy probablemente no de autoría de Zdarsky; por lo general los crossovers se deciden por órdenes de los editores o en mesas grupales), no tiene mucho sentido. ¿Combatir el crimen fomentando otros crímenes? Por supuesto que a Batman la idea no iba a agradarle mucho. Lo sorprendente es que a los demás miembros de la Bat-Family sí parezca hacerlo, especialmente a Red Hood, quien es el tercero en cuestión en esta débil historia, lo cual pone al murciélago contra sus propios herederos, además de contra Catwoman. Hay escenas para verguenza ajena, como cuando Catwoman reúne a toda la bat-family en un bar, al cual todos acuden desenmascarados y se refieren a ella como "la madre" (recordemos que Batman y Catwoman por poco acaban casados), y ya es hilarante, para mal, que cualquier intento de solucionar el más mínimo desacuerdo entre Batman y sus pupilos no demore en convertirse en una sangrienta pelea, como si se tratara en realidad de un grupo de psicópatas en lugar de héroes ejemplares. Pero el descalabro total ocurre cuando Zdarsky y los demás guionistas meten con forceps en la historia a Vandal Savage, quien compra la mansión Wayne (recordemos que Batman perdió gran parte de su fortuna en el arco "Joker War" de hace un par de años), sin que nuestro héroe intente impedirlo o parezca particularmente molesto. En desenlace involucra la amenaza de un meteorito, la supuesta muerte de Catwoman, y a Batman manipulándole la mente a Red Hood, casi como la JSA hizo con él en "Identity Crisis". Muy mal, muy mal.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this all in single issues as they were coming out and it was probably the biggest mistake I ever made. This is by far the worst thing I've read in a long time that involved Batman. It is one of the worst crossovers ever. I would highly advise you to skip it. Don't even give it a glance you'd be wasting your time and money.

It is co-written by Chip Zdarsky and Tini Howard. The Zdarsky issues are better overall than the Tini Howard issues, but overall this is god awful. Tini Howard clearly is the one who pitched this whole crossover and Zdarsky just went along with it which makes it worse considering how plainly awful of an idea it is from the get-go. Anybody with a brain would know this was going to be bad. I did, but I unfortunately still read it. Mostly because I'm an idiot.

Pretty much every character in this besides Batman (for the most part) and Damian Wayne are written completely out of character. Everybody in this is a moron.

Catwoman has the bright idea to lure villain underlings to her side so that instead of them helping Two-Face or Joker or some other villains they'll be on her side and she can train them to be "upstanding" criminals who're more efficient and only rob from the rich and help the poor and live under her protection and have a stable income... LAME! and also A TERRIBLE IDEA!! This is Gotham City we are talking about the Villains wouldn't just let that slide. Which eventually they don't, but in an equally poorly written way. You would think somebody could keep some logic in their story. Anybody would know how this story was going to end. Also, now all those criminals are trained to be better at what they do when they eventually go back to serving Batman's rogues gallery. Tini Howard's Catwoman is a moron.

While Catwoman is doing this and Batman is dealing with Zur-En-Arrh stuff with himself the rest of the Bat Family besides Damian has decided that he is too unhinged and so they join Catwoman. Instead of using some logic to truly think things through they decide to fight Batman... and proceed to get their asses handed to them. Probably the best thing that happens in this whole plot. They even watch and let a thief break into a rich person's home because they can't find a moral reason to it being wrong. !?!?!? How stupid is that!? What if somebody gets killed? There blood would be on the their hands. The absurdity of the way the characters are acting in this is unbelievable.

To top it off Vandal Savage's daughter Scandal (stupidly named) who has been helping Catwoman does the obvious which is of course betray her with her father Vandal Savage. How could we have ever seen this coming? Also, I forgot he now owns Wayne Manor, knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, and has assembled all of the villains to do a surprise attack in Gotham. An actually interesting plot development I didn't think that was possible. I won't actually spoil the ending because I don't feel like typing it out, but know that it is equally as bad as this whole "event" has been.

Overall if you skip this you won't miss anything that won't just get explained again later in what will inevitably be another bad story. All I ask DC is to never let Tini Howard write anything for you ever again. Please.

[Roman · Rating 2 out of 5]

​​Прочитав я нарешті кроссовер "Gotham War" між серіями "Batman" Чіпа Здарскі та "Catwoman" Тіні Говард за участю тай-іна про Червоного Ковпака від Метью Розенберґа. Взагалі я чув багато негативного про нього тому брався за нього з дуже заниженими очікуваннями і прочитавши його можу впевнено сказати, що він справді вийшов дуже поганим, але не настільки як кричав інтернет.

Спочатку пара слів про 136 номер Бетмена. Він вийшов досить окейною інтерлюдією, яка дає змогу Брюсу перевести дух після його пригоди у мультивсесвіті та вийти з коми в яку він потрапив у кінці "Knight Terrors". Також тут продовжується розвиватися конфлікт між Брюсом та Зуром, а ще Брюс вступає у конфлікт з дітьми Пінгвіна і дізнається від Кішки, що він живий.

А тепер до кроссоверу. Зав'язка полягає в тому, що Кішка вирішує сформувати свою гільдію грабіжників з посіпак лиходіїв які крали б тільки у багатих. Робить вона це для того, щоб вони не йшли працювати на суперлиходіїв і не вчиняли якісь серйозніші злочини. Також Селіна збирає Бет-родину і просить не мішати їй, оскільки рівень злочинності в Ґотемі зменшився, а значить її ідея працює. І тут кроссовер скочується в ідіотизм бо вся Бет-родина, не враховуючи Брюса та Деміана, погоджується з Селіною, тому що… тому що. Проблем також додає те, що Бетмен їде головою через вплив Зур-Ен-Ара в результаті чого протягом історії він вступає в прямі конфронтації з учасниками родини. Мене правда дуже смішить те, що в один момент він промиває мізки Джейсону і змушує його відчувати страх коли у нього сильний адреналін. Ем, Брюс, а на комусь із своїх ворогів ти би такі методи опробувати не хотів?

І якщо чесно то коли я це читав то відчувалося немов би дві різні історії запхали в одну яка так собі в'яжеться одна з одною, але хей, могло б бути і гірше, автори могли запихнути ще якийсь сюжет, який під кінець перетягнув би всю увагу на себе. Але це було би типу, правда ж? Так от, в сюжеті з'являється Вандал Севедж який викупає маєток Вейна для того, щоб зібрати уламки метеорита який колись дав йому безсмертя, щоб викликати новий метеорит і ця лінія під кінець перетягує на себе всю увагу, через що те, що було до того відчувається як якийсь філер.

В результаті "Gotham War" вийшов досить поганим монстром Франкенштейна. З цього могло би вийти щось дуже хороше якби це реально були б три окремі сюжети, але маємо що маємо. Єдиним хорошим в цьому безладі можу назвати тай-ін Червоного Ковпака, який неочікувано вийшов тай-іном не до "GW", а до онґоїнґу Розенберґа про Джокера.