Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artists: Jorge Jiménez & Belén Ortega
Colorists: Tomeu Morey & Luis Guerrero
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artists: Jorge Jimenez & Tomeu Morey; Guillem March & Arif Prianto; Alex Garner; Inhyuk Lee; Ryan Sook; Jock
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 6, 2022
Batman feels blessed to have fostered so many capable sidekicks. They are more than fellow crimefighters. Bruce Wayne regards them as his sons and daughters. When he needs them, they drop everything and leap to his aid. But Bruce and his proteges cannot stop Failsafe. With the robot intent on killing him, Batman seeks his former Batcave.
Failsafe feels familiar to him. Bruce believes he knows why he does not remember the lethal Bat-robot. Who created Failsafe? And who is the hero who emerges from Batman's old Batcave? Let's leap into Batman #127 and see!
Story: Failsafe Part Three
When Tim Drake next sees Batman, his mentor wears a different costume, and his voice has changed. Tim wonders if he can trust this man. But as Batman reveals a secret control room, he explains that Bruce Wayne created him as a backup personality. Zur-En-Arrh is in charge, and his first job is to take down Failsafe.
Chip Zdarsky steps outside the chaos in the old Batcave to revisit the scene of Failsafe's clash with Batman and his proteges. GCPD Commissioner Renee Montoya confers with Nightwing as medical attendants treat Duke, Cassandra, and Stephanie. But she cannot protect Batman and his team from censure if Failsafe continues its reign of terror. Unfortunately, that is what is occurring in Wayne Manor, as the robot pursues Zur-En-Arrh and Tim Drake through Bruce Wayne's beloved home.
While Batman #127 is a fast-paced thriller, Zdarsky ponders how people who work outside the law must self-check their actions. Like in Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1, Batman prepares for every contingency. But as Failsafe tries to shut down Bruce Wayne, Batman realizes all this is his fault. Superman challenged Bruce to ensure that he could prevent himself from hurting others should he become someone he does not want to be.
Art: Failsafe Part Three
In a glimpse of the past, Jorge Jimenez shows Batman in his Batcave. We see Batman from a distance, and from above, but mostly he keeps his back to us. When Superman appears, he faces the camera and demands that Bruce remove his mask. Bruce faces his friend. But he closes his eyes.
In his gold, red, and purple suit, Zur-En-Arrh shows solidarity with Robin's gold, red, and green. And instead of gray, Zur-En-Arrh's secret ops room shines with pink lighting. As the black Terminator-like robot hunts them, Failsafe's head glows red and projects beams of red into the darkness. Tomeu Morey adorns their battle with radiant colors, enhancing the big-screen spectacle of Batman #127. But while Batman and Robin fight for their lives, police tape and emergency vehicles surround the crater in a Gotham intersection where Failsafe leapt into the air before crashing down and flinging vehicles away.
Clayton Cowles places black uppercase dialogue in white balloons. Zur-En-Arrh speaks white uppercase letters into bluish-purple balloons. Failsafe's white utterances change size and case within their red boxes, while Batman's white lowercase thoughts fill black paper scraps. Sound effects accompany Failsafe as it demonstrates that it can be a more ruthless Batman than Bruce Wayne or Zur-En-Arrh.
Story: Two Birds, One Throne Finale
While Chip Zdarsky began this series with a nightmare of Jokers, the Penguin fuels the engine. In this short story, Catwoman discovers the truth behind the Penguin's ruse. She has gone from being a spectator to a reluctant participant. In the final issue, Catwoman goes beyond her brief to learn why Oswald Cobblepot had to die.
This second story in Batman #127 ponders how our environment and adversaries shape us. While seeking to be a force for good, the way we go about solving problems can create conflicts. The short tale also addresses the possibility of starting afresh. Yet it leaves the reader wondering if someone can turn their life around, once they have blackened their soul.
Art: Two Birds, One Throne Finale
Belén Ortega transports readers to Metropolis, where a man purchases a muffin from a bakery. When he returns to Blossoms and looks into his bag, a bat-like shadow appears on his counter. Catwoman enters the brightly lit shop in a black cat suit and blazer. His reaction, colored entirely in blue, evokes his previous place of business.
Luis Guerrero fills the shop with yellow light as Catwoman confronts the man surrounded by brown wood, green plants, and colorful blossoms. While his face glows pink as he makes a point, the man later plucks a pink rose as he justifies his decision. Clayton Cowles fills this quiet interlude with black uppercase letters in white balloons and shares Catwoman's thoughts with white lowercase letters in black boxes. Thanks to DC Comics for providing a review copy.
Now, let's take a look inside:
Final Thoughts
As someone who inhabits the night and attacks from the shadows, Batman prepares for the day when others will lash out at him. Batman #127 ponders how circumstances can force people into roles, making them wonder if life will ever allow them to fulfill their dreams.
Rating 9.6/10
Batman Vol 1: Failsafe is available in hardcover, paperback, and digital formats.
