Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 214

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 214: Superstitious and Cowardly

Christos N. Gage/Phil Winslade/Phil Balsman/Mike Atiyeh/Michael Wright/Joey Cavalieri
March, 2007 (released: January 31, 2007)
DC
$2.99

Plot Highlights: Batman wants a reluctant individual to testify. Costumed assassin Deadshot is hired to stop that from happening.

I remember buying the first issue of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight [LotDK] when it was released, and I still have it. That said, I have kept less than ten issues total of this series and none after # 43, so it really has been some time since it has attracted my interest enough to even purchase an issue.

Given the recent creation of Batman Confidential, which looks to overlap the original mission of LotDK, in an obvious attempt to streamline the naming conventions across DC's Batman and Superman lines, it was not a surprise that this title would be ending. I hoped this last issue would provide a good closing chapter worth purchasing, and it did.

The mostly gray scale figures fronting the black targets, cityscape and red background were an interesting choice for the cover that gave it a unique look among other issues on the racks this week. I thought it was neat to return to it after reading the comic. At that point I could place all the images.

This makes a good sample for the frugal commitment phobic comics fan. The story is complete in one issue. The series is over. And if it strikes your fancy, back issues are sure to start devaluing as people forget about this series, so perhaps some bargains will become available eventually.

With so many Batman issues in print between Detective Comics, Batman and LotDK, I really do not expect anything stunningly original at this point. This doesn't confound that expectation, but it is a well crafted effort. I now know to watch for artist Winslade in the future as I enjoyed his combination of small panel and larger image layouts.

Deadshot might want to consider ditching the red and white costume in order to blend into the background more easily during his assassination attempts and better escape Batman's attention. Since he has apparently been around in stories since 1950, that probably won't happen soon. He is pretty much a new character as far as I was concerned, so I felt the portion of the story devoted to his youth was informative and interesting.

Batman hallmarks from his detective skill and dogged effort to use of a key insight are displayed by the story. It does have the feel of a LotDK setting, in that this is something that Batman could have probably handled even in his early days. Batman does imply he and Deadshot have tangled often in the past, so maybe Legends eventually gave up the focus on early career stories.

I don't know that people will be talking about Batman's exploits here as legendary in the future, though there is an element that could qualify if Deadshot were a more well known adversary. This is, nevertheless, a well done standard Batman story.

Congratulations to this title for such a long run, as titles hitting 200+ are a rarity these days, and it ends on a quality note.