The Batman: Arkham Knight game has been out for more than a week now, giving fans time to dive into the final piece of Rocksteady's trilogy.
Last week's issue of the comic served as a standalone one-shot. While enjoyable, it didn't address any of the various storylines we've seen over the course of this prequel series or attempt to connect the pieces to the game.
Issue #20 is a welcome return to the overarching story of "Gotham Reborn," aka Bruce Wayne's plan to rebuild Gotham from the ground up. A major part of that plan is having Commissioner Gordon run for Mayor. Since that idea was suggested weeks ago, we haven't seen much about how Gordon is preparing for his campaign. This issue finally gives us a glimpse at Gordon's struggles and a look at what kind of politician he might be.
In short, he would be a poor one — at least by most people's less-than-flattering idea of what a politician should be. He isn't good at debates, he speaks hard truths and he doubles back on his previous statements. He would be eaten alive in a real debate. It's clear he isn't cut out for the job – at least not yet – but it seems like he's serious about improving, and his circle of supporters is more than willing to help.
Slight spoilers for the first several hours of Batman: Arkham Knight game below! Read on at your own risk.
This is the first issue since the release of the game that we get to see how some of the plotlines between the game and comic come together. A relationship between Tim Drake and Barbara Gordon is in the early stages here, and we even get to see Arkham Knight spying on Barbara and her father. If you've played the game, you know what is in store for both of Batman's close allies, so it's interesting to finally see the game and prequel story begin to connect in a meaningful way.
End spoilers
But by far the biggest talking point of this issue is the appearance of an all new Suicide Squad team. Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn – all led by the Penguin – are determined to take out Bruce Wayne, and this time, the team isn't being controlled by the government. It's exciting to see an Arkham universe version of this iconic super villain team in action. We don't exactly know their plan just yet, but it is certain to be entertaining.
Story
★★★★☆
Art
★★★☆☆
Overall
★★★★☆
More Comic Book Reviews:
Mortal Kombat #26
Batman: Arkham Knight #19
Batman #41
Mad Max: Fury Road: Furiosa #1
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