Batman: The Adventures Continue #3
Written by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini
Art by Ty Templeton and Monica Kubina
Lettering by Joshua Reed
Published by DC
‘Rama Rating: 7 out of 10
After a shaky debut, writers Alan Burnett and Paul Dini and artist Ty Templeton return to the Dark Knight’s animated universe with Batman: The Adventures Continue #3. And similar to their previous narrative, the creative team is looking to expand Batman’s world, this time by introducing Deathstroke, the Terminator. The result is a distinct improvement, but it still remains to be seen if they can stick the landing.
For someone who claims to be a lone wolf, Batman has collected a number of sidekicks over the years – yet even the Caped Crusader isn’t above someone headhunting his subordinates, as Deathstroke tries to give both Robin and Batgirl a better offer. And to this creative team’s credit, their panel-to-panel storytelling feels better paced than in their last two installments – while it’s still an ill-advised choice to push for giant supervillains like Clayface when you’re working with only half the page real estate, Burnett and Dini don’t overload Templeton, who in turn gets more creative with the layouts to make the storytelling flow.
It doesn’t hurt that the story also feels much simpler by comparison this time. Sure, the suspension of disbelief is a little bit strained for anyone with even a vague idea of who Slade Wilson is, as Burnett and Dini portray him as a swashbuckling schmoozer rather than the stone-cold assassin he’s turned out to be in every other incarnation. There are brief bursts of action featuring the Terminator, and while they don’t necessarily always make sense in context, you have to applaud the way that Templeton is finding his feet in such close sequential quarters.
Additionally, because we don’t have a strong sense of conflict between Batman and his teammates, there’s not a lot of tension here about whether or not Robin and Batgirl would ever actually turn on him – but Burnett and Dini get the broad strokes of the character work down, establishing Robin as reckless and Batgirl as being overlooked. The high concept is unlikely but still viable, and because it’s ultimately rooted in emotion versus action, it’s a much more engaging read.
While one could make the argument that DC’s other digital offerings – particularly Superman: Man of Tomorrow and Flash: Fastest Man Alive – make better use of self-contained serialization, Batman: The Adventures Continue #3 feels like a solid effort. That said, the concerns from the previous adventure are still valid – this plot doesn’t move forward particularly far here, and if Burnett, Dini and Templeton are expected to wrap everything up in the next chapter, readers are going to be in for a massive disappointment. Here’s hoping that the team’s eyes weren’t bigger than their stomachs, and that DC will give them enough runway to learn from their previous mistakes.