Writer: Sam Hamm
Art: Joe Quinones and Leonardo Ito (colorist)
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 10, 2024
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THE DISPATCH
As previously seen, Bruce Wayne was undercover in Arkham, trying to avoid being identified for who he truly was by both Jonathan Crane and Harleen Quinzel while trying to uncover a mystery. Now, in Batman ’89: Echoes #3, the mystery begins to unravel. We begin to learn that Bruce is not brainwashed, but deeply undercover. We also learn how he got to where he is now. Something interesting is that the “Firefly” in this fictional universe was still “Robert Lowery” before Bruce assumed the identity. It wasn’t just a made-up name by Bruce. That is interesting that this character has the name of a classic Batman actor rather than his traditional comic book alias, Garfield Lynns.
Speaking of aliases, we pretty much have confirmation that the “Maynard” character is none other than the Riddler himself, as he identifies his full name is “Edward Nigel Maynard” AKA “Enigma”. It’s intriguing that he goes by this name rather than the traditional, “Edward Nigma” or “Edward Nashton” but it makes sense to not make it too obvious. One wonders if the Riddler will appear in costume in this series, or if this is only a tease. This version of the character is revealed to have fought in a war. There is also a reference to classic Batman villain Blockbuster AKA Mark Desmond, as well as a reference to Hugo Strange’s monster men from one Batman’s earliest adventures in the golden age of comics.
While this issue has a lot of fun references and some of the mystery is unraveled, if you’re expecting Harleen to officially become Harley Quinn, Jonathan Crane to become the Scarecrow or Barbara Gordon to become Batgirl, prepare to be disappointed. Crane comes close, but still doesn’t wear his traditional costume yet. This issue has a lot of intriguing subplots, but the pacing is rather slow.
ART
The art in Batman ’89: Echoes #3 continues to be amazing, as Joe Quinones knocks it out of the park. “Maynard”, who we now know as the Batman ’89 version of the Riddler, continues to resemble Martin Short. We also once again see Barbara Gordon resembling Winona Ryder, Harvey Bullock resembling Bob Hoskins, Harleen Quinzel resembling Madonna and Jonathan Crane resembling Jeff Goldblum. There are also some great flashback panels of Michael Keaton’s Batman, as well as a direct reference to the 1989 Batman movie with a panel showing the murder of Bruce’s parents. The final page contains a more exaggerated version of Batman, mixed with Bruce’s other memories of his parents’ deaths and Gordon comforting him, as a sign that Bruce is being influenced by Scarecrow’s fear toxin.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Batman ’89: Echoes #3 is filled with twists and turns as the mysteries begin to unravel. We are introduced to new characters who appear in this universe for the first time. However, the payoff many fans have been waiting for, of the aforementioned characters to formally transform into their classic aliases, has yet to occur. Although the pacing is still kind of slow, it reimagines many characters in fresh new ways, fitting well into the Michael Keaton Batman universe.