Batman #15 Review
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Jorge Jiménez
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles & Jorge Jiménez
Cover Artist: Jorge Jiménez
Variant Cover Artists: Jim Cheung & Jay David Ramos;
Dustin Nguyen; Becky Cloonan; Jorge Jiménez; David Aja
Editors: Jessica Berbey & Rob Levin
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99 US | Variant $5.99 US (Card Stock) | Variant
$7.99 US (foil)
Release Date: November 4, 2026
As Tim Drake recovered from police brutality in the
hospital, a TV interview with Dr Annika Zeller offered Bruce Wayne hope of
helping criminals forge better futures. Instead, Professor Hugo Strange
commissioned a high-speed hit on the psychological researcher via Dantai
Tozuki’s motorcycle-riding Triple Zeros. Then, the night got even livelier when
the sword-wielding Ōjō attempted to assassinate Bruce Wayne.
Now, Bruce Wayne appears on Sophie Silvaire’s talk show.
Will the TV interview inspire others to help make Gotham safer? Or might it
unleash more deadly attacks on the Bat-family? Let's leap into Batman #15 and
see!
Story
Jim Gordon’s life has become a nightmare. He’s struggled to
uphold the law while Vandal Savage corrupted the GCPD, sent his daughter to
Supermax, and ordered his private army to kill masks and bats. But when Batman requests
his help, Jim Gordon agrees. Then Jim discovers that, like Vandal Savage,
Batman wants him to break the law.
Dr Annika Zeller vowed to leave Wayne Enterprises. Then, Bruce
Wayne convinced her to stick around a little longer. She and Bruce share more
than a disastrous (not a) first date. They both attempt to help others using
controversial methods. But remaining on staff at Arkham Towers traps Dr Zeller
in Batman’s ethical labyrinth in Batman #15.
Batman identified six assassins who want to kill Bruce
Wayne. Verity Pennyworth helped him take two off the streets of Gotham. Still,
he cannot risk endangering bystanders by letting the remaining four choose when
and where to attack him. So, Bruce announces he’s leaving Gotham. Then he gives
them one more opportunity to kill him by announcing he will attend the Gran
Gala Enmascarada at the Vauxhall Center.
Matt Fraction opens his story by interweaving Bruce's public
façade on Sophie Silvaire's talk show with his private conversation with
Superman and Wonder Woman. The TV interview also evokes Vicki Vale's earlier
interview with King Panther, and Bruce's suggested reading for his son. While Sophie
Silvaire bookends this story about illusions, Gotham’s modern masque reawakens inhabitants’
love for masked heroes. As they recover from Poison Ivy’s prehistoric plants, the
traumatized residents readily embrace a night of glamor, knowing its aura of
safety is just another mask that Gotham wears in Batman #15.
Art
When he meets with his Justice League friends, Wonder Woman
stands before him, while Superman hovers above him. Yet both look down as Bruce
tells them his plan. In Gotham, angels rise above the Vauxhall Center. Batman
clings to a nearby building, knowing the search lights glowing from every
corner aren't sending the bat-signal. Later, he addresses his team beside a
bank of monitors. Amid the sterile walls and floors, glass partitions make the
Batcave feel like Gotham General.
As Jorge Jiménez chronicles Bruce Wayne’s grand illusion,
the sun sinks into the distant hills, filling the sky above Bruce, Superman,
and Wonder Woman with yellow and orange light. The red carpet before the
Vauxhall Center forms a cross, signaling a need for medical attention. Yet the
green trees and the living arch surrounding the entrance link with Dr Zeller
attending to her patient in Arkham Towers. As she adjusts her Crown of Thorns
amid red lighting, Bruce Wayne walks the red carpet in a red suit. The green
tank and Robin’s green mask highlight how Annika and Bruce strive to influence
those under their care. Yellow and gold link an entertaining TV host with an
entertaining killer. Yet Tomeu Morey adorns the walls, floors, and monitors
with blue, linking the Batcave with the masked hero who brings hope to Gotham
in Batman #15.
Clayton Cowles fills white balloons with uppercase black
letters, while Bruce Wayne’s interview with Sophie Silvaire appears above
images from the TV broadcast. The dialogue grows bold with intonation and
shrinks for lowered voices. White offscreen dialogue fills colored boxes, while
giant red letters signal a challenge. As the celebrities arrive in classy cars,
revving engines signal danger. Sound effects also accompany a confrontation
between rivals, while an assassin adapts to Bruce's carefully laid plan. Yet
white lowercase letters in a gray box evoke another occasion when an assassin
killed people to lure Batman into a trap. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this
story with us.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to follow the rules when they make sense and are
administered responsibly. But after Vandal Savage and Poison Ivy leave office,
Batman isn't the only one wondering if more ethical leaders will take their
place. Unable to work openly with Gotham's officials, Bruce Wayne lies while
Batman breaks the law. As his friends and enemies worry about his decisions,
Batman strives to prevent four assassins from killing people to hurt Bruce
Wayne. Yet to capture the world-class killers, he lays a trap at the city’s heavily
populated celebration in Batman #15.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see Batman #15 Preview.
For Batman's recent struggle to protect Gotham, see my Bad Seeds Event List.
For Bruce Wayne's battle with the Triple Zeros and the assassin Ōjō, see Batman #5 Review.
For the masked people who hired Lady Ōjō, see Batman #11 Preview.
For Vicki Vale's interview with the "Suplex Superman," see Batman #12 Preview.
