The Bat-Man The Second Knight : Book Two
Author : Dan Jurgens
Artist : Mike Perkins
Colourist : Mike Spicer
Gotham Doesn’t Sleep, She Waits : Book One Recap
Dan Jurgens took us on a wild ride to kick off The Second Knight by introducing a serial killer hunting and murdering Gotham City’s do-gooders in elaborate and cruel ways. Bat-Man’s troubles didn't stop there, however, as we were reintroduced to The Scarecrow, who has found an evil acolyte in Gotham’s serial killer.
Jim Gordon was abducted by the deviant duo and nearly hanged; Bat-Man saved Jim only to be met by the killer. A brutal fight ensued, but this novice Bat-Man found himself battered and with a knife in his ribs. To top it all off, Bruce’s love interest, Julie Madison, and reporter Lois Lane were gassed by Scarecrow’s fear toxin and drove off a cliff!
World’s Finest Timeless : Book Two Summary
We pick up the story literally one minute and forty-eight seconds after Book One ended. The stakes are so high only a man who can fly can reach them. This issue is action-packed, bursting of terror, and deepens the emotional weight of key characters.
We learn more about the motivations of The Scarecrow—are shown what makes up Jim Gordon, and are treated to a classic representation of the Dark Knight and Big Blue. This issue gives us exactly what we needed as readers—clear direction of where this story is going, and why the characters involved are embroiled in the circumstances they find themselves in.
The Second Knight Countdown : Book Two Review
WARNING SPOILERS!
Into The Frying Pan
I loved the start of this issue because it literally picks up where Book One left off. This was clever writing from Jurgens, as there were far too many loose ends that needed to be tied up. Jurgens also does an excellent job of addressing the carnage produced by the serial killer; it really hit home how much bodily damage and human loss the senseless Tommy Gun attack had caused. This added a ton of emotional weight to the story because Jurgens, once again, brought everything down to a street level—which is always much easier to comprehend than a galactic, universal battle.
Loose end number one gets tied up in spectacular fashion: if Lois Lane was in Gotham City, surely a certain someone from Smallville wasn’t far behind. Jurgens does a great job of building excitement for the reader; I knew who was coming, and the dialogue brilliantly summed up who the Man of Tomorrow is—someone who helps those in need. Though his face is withheld for the time being, we see a larger-built man saving lives, moving toward the bullets rather than running from the scene. Lastly, I loved Perkins'
Jurgens' storytelling is in full flow because, with the introduction of Superman, your thoughts as a reader briefly turn away from the dire situation Bat-Man was left in—stabbed and fighting for his life. Dan Jurgens faces this head-on and doesn’t leave the readers waiting. With a classic red "FOOOSH," we’re up, up, and away!
Unbeknownst to Bat-Man, he has just been saved by Superman. Even though I’m a regular reader of World’s Finest, let me be the first to plead guilty: I still get super excited about an indirect interaction between the two biggest superheroes ever created.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The work from Dan Jurgens, Mike Perkins, and Mike Spicer during the eventual reveal of Superman in Book Two is exceptional. We are initially shown only his famous red boots and blue tights as he rushes to save his beloved Lois Lane and movie star Julie Madison.
The first full look at the Man of Steel is a sight to behold—incredible artwork from Perkins and Spicer. I love that they stayed true to the original 1930s depiction and colors of Earth’s Greatest Hero. Furthermore, Jurgens’ writing of Superman in contrast to Bat-Man is superb. Every night, every mission, and every task for Bruce has been grueling, grinding, and completed at great self-expense. Whereas Superman effortlessly saves Bat-Man from the serial killer’s axe, rescues Lois Lane from a free fall, and dives underwater to recover Julie Madison. This sequence brilliantly separates Gotham’s Knight from Krypton’s Favorite Son.
From the heroics of Superman, we are quickly reminded of the "bad" with Scarecrow. Jurgens’ vision of Jonathan Crane simply gives you the creeps. What’s more important is that we are given a clear rationale for what makes Scarecrow tick, and in typical Jurgens fashion, it’s made easily digestible.
Being set in the early 20th century, the World Wars have immense gravity here. In Scarecrow’s case, he simply feels "hard done by." After being employed to create a toxin to combat the dreaded mustard gas, his creation was deemed too brutal and immoral. He was subsequently fired just as the Great Depression set in. He’s pissed off, and unlike a regular disgruntled ex-employee, he isn't just going to vent about it on social media—he’s going to make everyone suffer with a deadly, fear-inducing gas attack.
The "ugly" is provided by Commissioner Jim Gordon, but delivered by Jurgens in a most poetic way. We are finally given the answer as to why Jim is so attentive toward Bruce Wayne—and it isn’t just because Bruce was tragically orphaned.
Through the eyes and words of Jim Gordon, Dan Jurgens takes us into an emotional backstory which reveals that Gordon owes his life to Doctor Thomas Wayne.That particular revelation from Jurgens is arguably the emotional backbone of the entire series. By grounding Thomas Wayne’s heroism in the "ugly" reality of the trenches, it recontextualizes the Wayne legacy as one of service and sacrifice long before Bruce ever put on the cowl. It makes Jim Gordon’s loyalty to Bat-Man feel like a multi-generational debt of honor rather than just a professional partnership.
Terror Rising
The finale of Book Two was exceptionally strong. Scarecrow puts his plan into action and attacks Gotham City’s town hall—fear gas is released onto the innocent public, generating exactly what Crane loves: chaos, horror, and nightmarish scenes.
What Dan Jurgens has done tremendously well throughout The Second Knight is managing "A," "B," and "C" storylines simultaneously. This keeps the reader fully engaged, as you are forced to follow these separate threads while knowing they are intertwined and heading toward a common, explosive outcome.
We see inhuman feats of will from Bruce Wayne—he’s been beaten, stabbed, and has lost pints of blood, but his unrelenting drive will not allow him to stop saving his Gotham; she always needs to be looked after. Bruce needs to infiltrate a local military station that may hold the key to a cure for The Scarecrow’s fear gas.
With the power levels on opposite sides of the spectrum between Bat-Man and Superman, Bruce’s willpower to keep going is fantastically brought to the forefront by Jurgens. It provides a raw, human aspect that I, as a reader, felt genuine enthusiasm for.
Jurgens signs off the finale of Book Two with true comic book action and splendor. Bat-Man uses his infiltration tactics to enter the military facility, but once he’s spotted, he is forced to rely on his fighting techniques—until he is eventually outnumbered by the guards. Jurgens’ writing of Bat-Man
The writing here is great because you as the reader know exactly what’s coming, and Jurgens delivers with his trademark clean storytelling. Bat-Man is cornered, and Superman comes to his aid. The parallels between Kansas’s Own and the Bat-Man are brilliantly exaggerated by Jurgens—the Man of Steel bursts through a wall with no discretion.
Bullets bounce off him as he walks straight up to the guards, crushing their guns without breaking a sweat. I loved this narrative because, as a massive Batman fan, I feel that in today’s stories we often forget the massive gap in power between these two heroes.
That gap in power looks to be coming to a head because Jurgens is giving the people exactly what they want in Book Two. After saving Bat-Man, Superman halts the Dark Knight and asks him to remove his mask.
For the reader, this sets up a mouth-watering Book Three. We always love to see Earth’s Two Mightiest Heroes battle it out—but with the psychology Jurgens has built regarding the massive power difference between Bat-Man and Superman, how will this showdown actually go down?
Art That Breathes Noir-stalgia
I have been a fan of the artwork from Mike Perkins and Mike Spicer since the First Knight series, and they’ve carried their tremendous work right into The Second Knight. In Book One, they set the scene with brilliant angles and stark coloring to give the book a gritty, noir feel. What impressed me most in Book Two was Perkins’ rendition of Superman and Spicer’s coloring; they made sure to keep the look and feel of Supes in line with the dark, criminal underworld setting.
With a story arc that requires a lot of dialogue to move the narrative along, the angles Perkins chooses for character conversations are awesome. Each panel conveys the deep emotion of the characters, turning up the intensity of this gripping crime thriller.
My two favorite panels from the issue highlight that perfect contrast between the "man" and the "superman." First, there is the panel of Bat-Man making light work of a guard with a gun. The drawing of Bat-Man in his classical "pointy-ear" cowl effectively shows the evolution of the Bat-suit toward what we see in the present day. The "lights-out" punch from Bat-Man is straightforward and perfectly encapsulates Jurgens’ clean and direct storytelling style.
Then, there’s the one-page splash of Superman coming to save Bat-Man from certain death, breaking through the wall in typical Man of Steel fashion. The lines from Perkins display the pure power of the Invincible One. The coloring from Spicer also provides an unrivaled aura for Supes—it allows him to literally jump from the page against the dark and gritty background of the military facility.
Conclusion & Rating
Book Two delivered exactly what it needed to; Jurgens began to tie up the loose plot ends from Book One. As a reader, I felt satisfaction and reward throughout this issue—Superman making his official appearance, Scarecrow’s maniacal plan being given context, and Bruce’s relentless pursuit to find a solution to Gotham City’s murderous problem.
Jurgens honed in on what Bruce needs most: a cure for the fear gas. By cleverly linking in his father’s past work, he provided even more emotional weight to the solution. With so many "B" stories happening in this series thus far, it was good to see that Dan Jurgens kept the plot development linear and direct—giving me every reason to read Book Three, which will be the final installment in the Second Knight series.
I would recommend reading The Second Knight to any Batman fans or detective story sleuths, even without having read First Knight. Jurgens is famously known for his work on The Death of Superman, and his story thus far has felt nostalgic—a welcomed change of pace and setting compared to the current Batman runs on offer (which are all amazing, by the way). What a time to be a Bat-fan.