Batman: Bad Seeds—Sunrise #1 Review
Writers: Matt Fraction & G Willow Wilson
Layouts: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Finishes: Cliff Rathburn
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artists: Giuseppe Camuncoli & Tomeu Morey
Variant Cover Artists: Dan Mora; Marcio Takara; Stjepan Šejić; Matteo Scalera & Tomeu Morey
Editors: Jessica Berbey, Rob Levin & Arianna Turturro
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $5.99 US | Variant $6.99 US (Card Stock) | Variant $8.99 US (Foil)
Release Date: October 28, 2026
When Poison Ivy unleashed the superbloom, heroes rose to protect the city, while villains used the chaos for their own gain. Batquinn may be consigned to the history books. Still, Harley Quinn puts off her reunion with Pamela Isley to protect the inhabitants of Throatcutter Hill. With the people he pledged to protect dying, Police Commissioner Vandal Savage makes an all-out assault on his enemies. The staff in Gotham General strive to save people injured and infected by the plants. And as she confronts the results of her actions, Mayor Pamela Isley fights for her life.
Who will survive the superbloom, and who will die before the sun rises? And how will the people of Gotham carry on after enduring one of the worst nights ever? Let's leap into Batman: Bad Seeds—Sunrise #1, and see!
Story
Before she left the mayor’s office, Pamela Isley told Janet from HR to flee. But Pamela often changes her mind. And Pamela protected and forgave her when Janet faltered and aided her enemies. So, as dawn approaches, Janet prepares to resume the next day’s routine as Mayor Isley’s assistant overseeing People and Culture. But today, prehistoric plants rule the streets, and not Poison Ivy's eco-terrorists or Vandal Savage's TUCOs. Blimps soar overhead, dispersing a lethal pesticide designed to kill Janet's boss. In Throatcutter Hill, Vandal Savage finds his enemy in Gotham's government. And just as they did in GCPD Headquarters, his "Gravy SEALs" watch as a physically stronger man attacks his opponent.
In Batman: Bad Seeds—Sunrise #1, Vandal Savage combats the woman who proved a thorn in his side as Gotham City Police Commissioner. The two combatants personify the larger battle between commerce and ethics in Gotham's government, and Humanity's drive for progress versus the need for ecological conservation. Yet while Savage answers to the TORUS, Pamela Isley answers to the Parliament of Trees. And after Batman and Mr Freeze bring winter to Gotham, the Parliament of Trees isn’t happy with Poison Ivy.
As the battle for dominance of Gotham devolves into a grudge match, Batman emerges as the glue that keeps the city together. While he reminds the combatants and the public of the importance of the rule of law, Matt Fraction and G Willow Wilson showcase other characters who support Batman’s efforts to safeguard Gotham. Unlike the TUCOs, they protect the public by helping them make beneficial choices. They may pay for their selfless service. But after the city's strong leaders bring chaos instead of order, they rediscover the civic activism Miss Marjorie inspired Huston Gray to in Batman: Bad Seeds—Sunrise #1.
Art
Giuseppe Camuncoli and Cliff Rathburn portray the chaos with rectangular scenes and white backgrounds. Larger scenes also provide a blue framework for inset panels. A double-page spread reveals the cryokinetic pulse that Batman orchestrated with Mr Freeze's help. The scenes turn diagonal when events threaten to spiral out of Batman's control. Some scenes threaten to dominate a page. But Batman commands a splash page when he achieves victory.
While most of the Bat-family sit or stand, the Signal glows yellow as he leaps above Gotham. Vandal Savage wears a yellow-green shirt while his TUCOs dispense yellow-brown Ivycide. Green no longer links Poison Ivy with the superbloom. Instead, it links her hostile takeover of the planet with a friend. Red rises to the forefront when Vandal Savage uses his living TUCOs like Mr Freeze used his dead workers. It also highlights that he and Poison Ivy share one overriding emotion. Tomeu Morey gets to adorn a page with a loaded palette when the Parliament of Trees appears. Yet Batman shines bright blue, like the premature winter that frees Gotham from Ivy’s superbloom in Batman: Bad Seeds—Sunrise #1.
Black-and-white boxes identify time and place as Gotham gasps its final breaths. Black uppercase letters in white boxes convey the omniscient narration, while colored boxes deliver off-camera dialogue. Colored balloons highlight people intrinsically linked to the Earth, leaving hope that Poison Ivy's loss is not complete. When the epic battle between Nature and Humanity shrinks to a clash between two opponents, sound effects convey the two combatants lashing out in anger. Then, as Gotham begins to breathe again, Clayton Cowles places lowercase type into paper scraps amid a change of narrator. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
While some leaders cherish the gift of public service, others use power to crush anyone who would oppose them. Dr Annika Zeller has used her Crown of Thorns to help criminals embrace a better approach to life. Yet when corrupt leaders endanger the friends and city they love, reformed villains nonetheless demonstrate how different they are from Gotham's greatest protector in Batman: Bad Seeds—Sunrise #1.
Rating 9.7/10
To look inside, see Batman: Bad Seeds–Sunrise #1: Bad Seeds Week 10 Part 4 Preview.
For Batman's recent efforts to safeguard Gotham, see my Bad Seeds Event List.
For how Miss Marjorie inspired Huston Gray, see Batman #3 Review.
