Batman: Dark Patterns #11 Review

 

Writer: Dan Watters

Artist: Hayden Sherman

Colorist: Tríona Farrell

Letterer: Frank Cvetkovic

Editors: Arianna Turturo & Rob Levin

Cover Artists: Hayden Sherman & Martin Simmonds

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $4.99/$5.99 Card Stock

Release Date: October 8, 2025

 

A baby-faced killer clad in protective clothing pulled the Cabreras into a housefire. An effigy of Batman lured Commissioner Gordon into a burning coroner’s lab. After journalist Nicky Harris told Batman about Dr Sereika's incendiary past, Gotham’s volunteer forensic pathologist disappeared. Is Garfield Lynns, aka Firefly, subjecting Gotham to a trial by fire through his agent outside Blackgate Penitentiary? Or is the Child of Fire following their own twisted plan? Let's grab a fire extinguisher, leap into Batman: Dark Patterns #11, and see!

 

Story

Commissioner Gordon doesn’t like his decision any more than the police who serve under him. But the Child of Fire shares Firefly’s views on Gotham. So, Gordon takes Firefly to the scene of the latest arson attack. The aroma of burned flesh tantalizes Firefly’s nostrils. Based on what he knows of his pen pal and what he's seen, Firefly senses a pattern involving Gotham's development as a city.

 

Firefly isn’t alone in this assessment. Although Alfred urges him to rest, Bruce Wayne compares the recent arson incidents with historic fires. Batman is so focused on his task that Alfred loses his characteristic reserve. While Alfred shouts to get Bruce to pay more attention to his young charge in Batman And Robin: Year One #3, the butler forces Bruce to see that he and the city are one in Batman: Dark Patterns #11. If Bruce dies because he doesn't tend to his wounds and the infection raging inside him, who will protect Gotham?

 

As Batman investigates Gotham's history in Dan Watters' story, the arsonist sees fire as a means to cleanse Gotham from disease and corruption. When the Child of Fire compares the unfolding events to his grand plan, Dr Sereika becomes his enemy. Like Alfred, the arsonist sees Batman as focusing too much on his immediate tasks. But instead of caring for his physical health, the Child of Fire wants Batman to guide Gotham’s cleansing and renewal.

 

Art

While police survey the rubble, armored guards help Firefly from the Blackgate Prison van. Chains link the metal bands circling Firefly’s neck, waist, and limbs. When the inmate with a burned face kneels to study the burned remnants, Commissioner Gordon lights his pipe and inhales smoke from the burning tobacco in Batman: Dark Patterns #11.

 

Along with energizing layouts, Hayden Sherman builds symbology into this story about myth and legend. Alfred stands in the library doorway, seemingly at the feet of a bat-like shadow. Bruce sits cross-legged, with his shirt off and his head bowed. Open books surround him like a circle of power. Shadows obscure the arsonist's features as he sits with Dr Sereika. Only briefly does his face emerge with clarity. Then the Child of Fire dons his mask once more.

 

While Tríona Farrell paints Batman: Dark Patterns #11 with vibrant colors, gray forms a link between Firefly and Bruce. Yet pink shines most brightly, illuminating Firefly's scarred face, the arsonist's intense stare, Bruce taking his temperature, and the smoke rising from the fires. When Batman visits Gotham, illustrations from his books superimpose over the pink background.

 

Frank Cvetkovic fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase dialogue that grows bold for intonation. Extracts from Bruce's books appear as bold lowercase black letters in gray paper scraps. A surprised off-camera voice speaks into a spiky balloon, while a frightened man shouts into a star as the Child of Fire enacts the final portion of his grand plan. Thanks to DC Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Gotham's growth has outpaced its ability to serve its citizens. Business leaders prey on the city’s inhabitants. Officials evict people from the buildings where their families lived for generations. Villains make the streets unsafe for residents, and the unhoused eat rats to survive. While weaving myth into Gotham’s rich history, Batman: Dark Patterns #11 tackles the economic inequality that empowers the crime families and prevents Gotham from addressing the needs of its populace.

 

Rating 9.8/10