Warning: Spoilers for Batman: Dark Patterns #1Batman: Dark Patterns released its debut edition and fills a much-needed gap in the current roster of Batman titles. Most of the titles under DC's Batman umbrella fluctuate between different varieties of traditional superhero fare, often with some detective fiction elements. But Batman: Dark Patterns brings horror back to the world of the Caped Crusader, returning what was missing from the franchise.
A new miniseries, Batman: Dark Patterns by Dan Watters, Hayden Sherman, Tríona Farrell and Frank Cvetkovic, takes readers back to the beginning of Batman's career, with the series telling four independent cases of Batman solving the darkest and strangest crimes Gotham has to offer.
The first of these stories, “We are Wounded,” involves Batman tracking a serial killer with something more sinister at play. While the series clearly focuses on Batman's early days as a detective, Watters and Sherman's story also enters the realm of horror. Batman: Dark Patterns – and specifically its first edition – invokes the best aspects of the character to deliver something special.
Batman: Dark Patterns Understands the horror of Gotham City
Finally, a Batman miniseries that does something new
Gotham City is unique among the different cities in the DC Universe, but sometimes it feels like that advantage can be lost. It's not enough that Gotham City is a bad place where bad things happen. It should look a mysterious realm of shadows and the macabrealmost as if the city itself was a living being and had become sick. Watters and Sherman understand this in Dark Patternscharacterizing Gotham City as a place that seems otherworldly and horrific.
With his body entirely covered in nails and spikes, the Wounded Man captures the horror vibes of Dark Patterns immaculately.
Sherman's pencils and Farrell's colors are the stars of the show, creating a Gotham City that invokes the characterization Watters gives it. The duo creates a dense urban metropolis with an aura of danger, making every panel of Dark Patterns feel dangerous. This danger extends to the design of Batman's newest villain, the Wounded Man. With his body entirely covered in nails and spikes, he captures the terror vibrations of Dark Patterns immaculately. Additionally, the choice to cast Batman in an almost indigo hue also makes the iconic hero feel even more otherworldly.
DC's new Batman miniseries embraces history while looking to the future
An old Batman classic gets new life in Dark Patterns
The feature that stands out most Dark Patterns is the way seems like a spiritual successor to Batman: Legends of the Dark Knightone Batman anthology series that initially ran from 1989 to 2007. Both titles tell self-contained stories set early in Batman's career, with an emphasis on darker stories than his contemporaries. In doing so, both books give Batman a certain element of danger that is otherwise missing from more conventional titles.
This feeling is why Dark Patterns stands out as well as it does. He keeps the traditional superheroic talent of the main Batman seriesas well as the detective aspects that make the character iconic, but also keep in mind the darkness and danger of Gotham City as a setting. Combined, these aspects create something that feels familiar enough to approach, but just a little different enough to keep the pages turning until the end.
Batman: Dark Patterns is the exact kind of book the Batman franchise needs. At its core, it's one that deeply understands the character and their world perfectly, casting it with shadows and danger while still feeling fresh and exciting. Batman: Dark Patterns had an exciting start and promises a Batman book that feels unlike anything else DC is currently publishing.
Batman: Dark Patterns #1 is now available from DC Comics.