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Comics Catch-Up 077: Batman Off-World
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We honestly have no idea how we missed this one by Jason Aaron and Doug Mahnke. Batman goes to space to learn how to punch better, and in the process befriends a dog. It's basically made for us. So where does it rank?
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Transcript
Introduction to Zencastr and Comics Catch-Up
00:00:00
Speaker
This show is recorded using Zencaster. If you are a podcaster or you want to be a podcaster and you want to be able to record remotely, you can do so using Zencaster. They also have hosting options and you can let them know that we sent you. Follow the link in our show notes or in the episode description and sign up for an account on Zencaster now to start recording your own podcast.
00:00:28
Speaker
Oh, my bread is carne. This is Comics Catch-Up. Hey, twerp. You better not be mine. Come on.
00:00:52
Speaker
where we read comics suggested by you, the listeners of War Rocket Ajax, that we have missed. Oh, hey, it's been a minute.
00:01:03
Speaker
We should catch up. Comics catch up, that is.
Overview of Batman Off-World
00:01:07
Speaker
This is the show where the host of War Rocket Ajax, that's me, Chris Sims, and with me as always, Matt Wilson, catch up on the comics that we somehow missed, even though it's...
00:01:20
Speaker
Something that we really should have read.
00:01:25
Speaker
Yes. but Yes. it It is astonishing that we missed this when it came out. Completely flew right past me. Like, this seems to be everything we would want. And I don't know if it's because the logo is not especially eye-catching or what. But this might might as well have not existed to us.
00:01:50
Speaker
Yeah, man. like eat it I fully missed it. Yeah. ah So the book we're talking about on this Comics Catch-Up is ah ah Jason Aaron-written Batman book from 2024 that was a six-issue miniseries. It's called Batman Off-World.
00:02:15
Speaker
And the basic premise is that Batman leaves Gotham City because some criminals have an alien guy who are they're they're using to like beat up him in particular. but also like Yeah, they hire they hire a and new muscle, and it's a alien guy.
00:02:37
Speaker
Yeah. And so Batman is like, I need to be able to kick this guy's ass, so I'm going to go to his home galaxy. his home system and learn how to fight him. Yeah. By fighting others like him.
00:02:52
Speaker
Batman, ah you might know this already, Matt, so please stop me if you already know this part. Batman traveled the world to learn how to fight people. Right.
00:03:05
Speaker
And how to how to take them out. But he lives in a world where aliens are all over the place. And he forgot to do that until he had to fight one.
00:03:18
Speaker
And then he was like, well, I can't just not learn how to fight aliens. Here is the thing about it. Okay. There's no sense in this book necessarily of when it takes place. There is. There actually is, Matt.
00:03:36
Speaker
Oh, is there? Okay. There is one mention. Okay.
00:03:42
Speaker
There is this buddy. This is a year one story. Is it? Okay. Yeah. Cause he says there's a line where he's like, it's about a year since I sat in. ah It's been a year since I sat in my own blood feeling lost only for a bat to burst through the mansion window.
00:03:58
Speaker
So, okay. So it's the end of his first year. it's like going into year two. Okay. And then year one ends. And then this happens. Yeah.
00:04:09
Speaker
Okay. I mean, that's wild. That's absolutely wild. um I would have certainly thought it was later, because there are many Batman stories, especially with him as a member of the Justice League, where he does go to space and fight aliens.
00:04:23
Speaker
um And there's, like, established in the DC Universe, much more advanced space travel than he has available to him here. But that kind of explains it all, if he's only at the end of his first year.
00:04:37
Speaker
yeah ah Because like essentially – right, so this book starts in like in media res, where Batman is already in space. He's already in the slag galaxy.
00:04:53
Speaker
And he's already on this ship called the War Storm, where he is quickly taken prisoner and set to – incredibly dangerous, ah life-threatening labor.
Space Adventures and Challenges
00:05:07
Speaker
Yeah, he beats up some guys, but then their boss shows up, and Batman gets his ass beat. Yeah, and so there's an explanation of how he got here, where he says he essentially like had to build a ship and knew it was a one-way trip.
00:05:27
Speaker
Yeah. He spent like $546 million dollars on a ship from Star Labs, acquired it through Wayne Enterprises, and then used it to go to space. On a one-way trip, like he's he's not even sure how he's going to get back.
00:05:42
Speaker
um But he's he's out here way, way in the deep reaches of space to learn how to beat up ah one particular type of alien.
00:05:53
Speaker
And so...
00:05:56
Speaker
that that's where we start. And ah we should mention, we've already talked about Jason Aaron being the writer here. ah Doug Monke is doing the art. And so, I don't know if you got this feeling, Chris, but like, it was so hard for me to read this and not just constantly think about Final Crisis.
00:06:20
Speaker
I mean, it didn't quite hit me like that. Because for me, it was just like, well, if you want to do a book where Batman fights a bunch of aliens, yeah probably Doug Monke is like number one on the list. i mean i did J.G. Jones was like the the artist on the main Final Crisis book.
00:06:42
Speaker
But for whatever reason, when I think of like some of that Final Crisis stuff, I think of the Doug Monke art from What was the book he did? He did Superman Beyond.
00:06:56
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. the I feel like there was a Batman thing he did some art for, too. But, like, I just, like, when I think of, like, Batman...
00:07:08
Speaker
or like i don't i don't even know what exactly what art I'm thinking of. But there's, like, ah a particular, like, Doug Monkey style from that Final Crisis era of, like, Batman doing cosmic stuff.
00:07:24
Speaker
That this reminded me of. And I can't even entirely put my finger on it. Matt, yeah i mean you might be thinking of the legendary Joe Kelly Justice League run.
00:07:40
Speaker
I'm not. Oh, Doug Monkey did do the last issue of Final Crisis. Oh, yeah. yeah That makes sense. so the Okay. but that That makes it a little easier for me to kind of put that together.
00:07:53
Speaker
um I did also, weirdly though, think that the the art in this at times felt like weirdly rushed.
00:08:04
Speaker
If that makes sense. like It is not the most polished Doug Monkey art I've ever seen. i Again, I didn't really get that. I think I kind of get what you're saying.
00:08:17
Speaker
But for me... it definitely like I don't know ah how often Jaime Mendoza ah inks Doug Monkey, but I do feel like it is a like some of the stuff that I associate with Doug Monkey, like kind of the scratchiness of his style...
00:08:41
Speaker
wasn't as present in this. And I do wonder if if that's a factor. But again, like i do not know off the top my head who regularly inks oh ah Doug Monkey, and if it is Jaime Mendoza.
00:08:57
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know that off the top of my head either. It seems like it is not always the same... Anchor all the time.
00:09:08
Speaker
ah But who could say? So we've pretty much given you what happens in the first issue. Well, except for we also meet a another character, Matt. Yes, yes. And this is Ione.
00:09:24
Speaker
Yes. And this also explains the kind of end of year one of it all. Because i sure expected Batman at some point to be like, I know another Tamaranian.
00:09:37
Speaker
Yeah, i thought it was very weird that like it never came up you know when Dick brought Starfire home. And Bruce was never like, you know, I had a Tamaranian girlfriend once. She's a me now!
00:09:53
Speaker
Yeah. Ioni is... She's kind of like... I feel like it might be reductive to call her like a gender-swapped Lobo.
00:10:06
Speaker
But that's kind of her vibe. mean, she's a tough outer space bounty hunter. Yeah. She's a tough outer space bounty hunter. But she's a lot... She has a moral center that I think Lobo lacks.
00:10:20
Speaker
Well... she and Batman have one of those Batman love interest relationships where she's a lot harder edged than he is in terms of like what she's willing to do.
00:10:38
Speaker
Like, you know, he's got his very strict, no killing policy and she's like, I'll, I'll kill whoever. Um, And and she's her or she's got a moral compass, but it is grayer than his, I suppose.
00:10:54
Speaker
And so their relationship is – I don't know if doomed is the right word, but it's it ain't going work out. like You know it ain't going work out.
00:11:07
Speaker
Buddy, there's only there's only one woman that Batman loves. And that's Lady Justice. Gotham. Lady Gotham. yeah there There is actually a very funny thing in this issue where she's like she's like, oh, I've seen that look. You've got somebody that you love, and that's why you got yourself captured by these guys. but You better think about that person you love, ah and and and that love will get you through it. And Batman's thinking about Gotham City.
00:11:32
Speaker
And it's like, yep, you're never going to be youre never going to be as number one. No, no. You're never going to be his number one. He's got a true love, and it's it's a whole city.
Confrontation with Captain Sin
00:11:42
Speaker
It's beating ass in alleys, as we find out.
00:11:45
Speaker
Correct. Now, I will say this. This one completely flew past our radar. The reason we're doing it now is because i received it.
00:12:01
Speaker
As a Christmas gift from your your friend and mine, quite literally, Benita Sereno. Yes. who And boy, I gotta say, fucking crushed it.
00:12:13
Speaker
Yeah, mean... He knows about this one. ah He knows your taste, and and this this fits it. Yeah. and I liked this a lot, too. Like, I i think it is,
00:12:26
Speaker
like It's hard to know where to fit this in a timeline, actually. Because, like, Batman has to have been gone for a long time. like Like, he had to go a really long way through space to this whole other system, to the Slack galaxy.
00:12:46
Speaker
What is it? It's it's ah eight megaparsecs from Earth. Yeah. And so... And then he has to get back. And and there's a lot of, like...
00:12:58
Speaker
Talk in here about how like oh he's left Gotham behind and he doesn't know what's what's happening in Gotham. and and And Gordon's turning on the signal and no one's answering and and all of that kind of stuff.
00:13:11
Speaker
And it's like, I don't know. what Would Batman have left behind Gotham at this point in his career? Hard to say. i mean, Matt, there's a guy there whose ass he can't beat. That's true. um but But setting that aside...
00:13:26
Speaker
uh, it is, um a great story. Like the, the notion of Batman going so far and putting himself at such risk. Like there's this one bit, like after he gets captured, cause like the captain of, ah this, this huge ship full of prisoners, uh, is the storm,
00:13:55
Speaker
ah The ship is the War Storm? The War Storm. He's one of these same – he's of the same alien race as the guy who's in Gotham. They're the Iraqi.
00:14:10
Speaker
And so so Batman's got to learn how to kick his ass. Yeah. His ultimate goal is that he's going to kick this guy's ass. And his name is is Captain Sin.
00:14:21
Speaker
yeah So I thought maybe this was like Onamar Sin, the Hawkman guy. ah But I think it's just a coincidence.
00:14:33
Speaker
um But there is a Hawkman guy later. There is a Hawkman guy later. Yeah. Anyway, ah so he gets his ass beat by him, by Captain Sin, the first time they fight.
00:14:46
Speaker
And he gets put on like this duty where it's like essentially he's like kind of cleaning out the engine of the war storm. But they never turn the engine off, and so there's just constant blasts of energy that will instantly kill you inside the engine while all these people are cleaning it.
00:15:08
Speaker
And it it's something like no one has ever lasted more than two days on that job, and Batman does it for like two weeks. Yeah.
Punchbot Transformation
00:15:20
Speaker
Because he's Batman. Yeah, because he's Batman. And he keeps like stopping people from dying. and Yeah, he keeps saving people. And that's making Captain Sin really pissed. Because the whole point of the War Storm is that like they bring people on, they bring on prisoners, and they die.
00:15:40
Speaker
like There's got to be constant churn. yeah That's part of the deal. they They basically... like abduct people from ah planets or ships that they find.
00:15:53
Speaker
And then if they're strong, they make them soldiers. And if they're not, they have to work in the of horrible engine that creates a cosmic hurricane that surrounds the ship. yeah and Because it's comics and you can just be like, yeah, the spaceship has a hurricane around it at all times. And everybody's just like, word.
00:16:13
Speaker
And the why of why they're conquering planets will be addressed later. yeah um But um also, we should mention the punch bots. Yes, that is the next thing I want to talk about.
00:16:28
Speaker
Yeah. There are these robots on the ship that are used for training purposes um that are just there to be punched. like Their whole purpose is to exist, to get punched, and then they tell you how good you are at punching. Yeah, they're punching bags, except they are sentient, and they can give you tips on how to punch better.
00:16:52
Speaker
And ah like when you when Batman punches one early on, um he's like, you are not sufficiently killing me. That's pretty good, Batman, but you're not sufficiently killing me.
00:17:06
Speaker
And then Ioni punches it, and it says, you punch with exemplary power. Yeah. So Batman is like like rest basically rescues one of the punch bots that's about to get scrapped and rebuilds it. yeah And he's like, hey, teach me how to fight.
00:17:21
Speaker
like Teach me how to fight these guys, because you know their anatomy, and you know how to how to best punch them. And I need you to spar with me like you're one of these alien guys.
00:17:32
Speaker
And there's a close-up on the Punchbot's face, and he goes, you mean Punchbot can punch back? And at that point, I was like, man, my favorite character in this book is going to be Punchbot.
00:17:46
Speaker
So this Punchbot learns how to learns learns how to be a not a bot that just gets punched, but that also punches. Yeah, which is the entire story in Microcosm.
00:17:56
Speaker
The symbolism. Here's what love about Jason Aaron. jason Jason Aaron is another one of those post-Morrison guys who's also like, we don't need subtlety.
00:18:10
Speaker
We will have a scene where Punchbot says, thank you, Batman, for teaching me to punch back. Yes. You know what's funny about this, though?
Alliance with Ione and Space Conflicts
00:18:20
Speaker
Like...
00:18:22
Speaker
There are parts of this that very much read like a Jason Aaron comic, but there are other parts of it where like it almost reads to me as a little Hickman-y. Yeah, yeah, I think so.
00:18:34
Speaker
And that what's funny about that is that around this same time, Hickman was doing that Wolverine book that felt like a Jason Aaron comic. Yeah, yeah. Wolverine Revenge.
00:18:45
Speaker
I mean, look, a lot of good writers in comics. Yeah. So Batman learns how to punch ah ah aliens.
00:18:56
Speaker
Well, he he he bos it he does a prison break. He foments a prison break and gets like thrown out into space. Well, he he learns how to punch aliens. Then he ah starts a big brawl with the aliens. Then after he beats up three dozen of them, ah they finally bring him down. That's when he does a prison break with Ione.
00:19:18
Speaker
right and then And then he gets thrown out into space. And then Ione saves him in an escape pod thing. And they go to... ah It's not Araki. It's Akari.
00:19:31
Speaker
i i i think I think it's Araki because of... raus yeah um It's Akari. um They go to Akari and Batman meets...
00:19:42
Speaker
like Essentially, Captain Sin's family. Yeah. And this is where it's it's literally just Dragon Ball. Because you find out that it's the Black Sun Mining Company that goes from planet to planet and just strip mines them of all their valuables. And also kidnaps all their children like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
00:20:05
Speaker
Yes. And the War Storm is doing all of this on behalf of the Black Sun Mining Company. Like, they've hired Captain Sin to create a bunch of chaos and take a bunch of prisoners and conquer a bunch of planets for them on their behalf.
00:20:24
Speaker
e And so ah Batman learns about this um on Akari. And then he also meets these, like, ah big ah wolf monster things. Yeah, because the the people are like, yeah, man, they took everything that the our planet had to offer, and they just left us to be food for the for the barbed wolves to devour.
00:20:51
Speaker
and I was like, where do the barbed wolves live? And so Batman goes to their like den and ah tames their alpha. Yeah, Batman goes and fights this space wolf until the space wolf respects him.
00:21:08
Speaker
Yeah, until he becomes his pet. Yeah, there's this incredible uh... I fought the alpha wolf for hours until I was sure I had nothing more in me I could afford to bleed.
00:21:19
Speaker
But instead of coming in for the kill, the beast looked at me right in the eye and licked my face. I like to think the wolf saw something in me, something that made him realize I was worth more alive than dead. The hunter saw the promise of more hunting to be had, and that's a promise I intend to keep.
00:21:35
Speaker
yeah So Batman gets goes to space and gets a space dog? And that's when I was like, damn, Benito, you crushed it on this one. But again, like... Why doesn't Batman have a space dog from then on? like Matt, you know why he doesn't have a space dog from then on?
00:21:54
Speaker
He can't bring that space... Look, Batman cannot bring that space dog to Earth. Batman does not kill people, and that space dog is... There is there is actually a part where the the like he yells, no killing, at the space dog, and the space dog obeys him, which is very funny. Yes.
00:22:14
Speaker
So fighting the wolf, the barbed wolf, destroys Batman's costume. So he on Ioni's ship, he's got to like make a new one out of spare parts. So he becomes like space action Batman ah with made with a suit made out of spare parts, ah which is pretty fucking cool.
00:22:34
Speaker
yeah And it's it's like it's a space Batman suit. Yeah, it's it's what you imagine a space Batman suit to be. like It's very toyetic in the best possible way. it's Hey, Doug Monkey, draw a Batman space costume that Jack Kirby would design, except you draw it.
00:22:55
Speaker
And that's exactly what it looks like. And and like like there's a lot of... like
00:23:04
Speaker
There's several times in this where Ioni and... Well, okay, so Ioni and Bruce Spend... several weeks on her ship. And she like gets to know that he's really Bruce Wayne. And cause everybody just calls him Batman and thinks that like, he's from a planet of other Batman. Yeah. Like there's one part where somebody asked like what planet or Batman from, ah which is pretty funny.
00:23:31
Speaker
Um, but on her ship for these several weeks, like she gets to know like who he really is. And clearly like he tells her uh, some of his deal.
00:23:42
Speaker
And like, they they get a bit of a romantic relationship, but like, she also is like, oh, you're never going to actually commit to me.
00:23:54
Speaker
You love Gotham. So like, she like pushes away from him. And there's one part where he's like, um they go back to the war storm and kind of like burst into it.
00:24:08
Speaker
And he starts to like tell her, like, hey, if if I die, or if if this goes bad, I want to let you know how I feel. And she goes, oh, we're sharing feelings now, and then she punches him. Because, like, he's never let her open up before, I guess. so or He's always been focused on like his mission. and so And she knows that, like, it's, it's like, again,
00:24:39
Speaker
You're not number one. He's never going to stop being Batman. Yeah. Yeah. And she she, at this point, firmly believes he's just going to get himself killed.
00:24:52
Speaker
So, once they get back on the war storm, they pretty quickly conquer it. that Captain Sin is quickly like but punched the hell out of by Batman. Yeah, Batman whoops this guy's ass. like Their second fight? Not even close. like This is their third.
00:25:09
Speaker
Is it their third? It's their third. Because he he beats him up and throws him out of the ship the second time during the prison break. Because Batman, by the way, um used Punchbot to ah to create a distraction by basically going, you know those dolphins from Lower Decks that fly the ship?
00:25:28
Speaker
<unk>s Fly the Cerritos, Cetacean Ops? um Captain Sin has ah like guys that do that. But they're not like big tough fight guys.
00:25:39
Speaker
So Batman just sends Punch-Bot in and Punch-Bot goes, hey, guess what? I punched now. yeah Beats the shit out of him. But then Punch-Bot gets captured and Batman won't leave without Punch-Bot.
00:25:52
Speaker
And I'm like, fuck yeah, I love this guy. And so ah once Captain Sin is defeated, it seems like Batman's whole job
Black Sun Mining Company Showdown
00:26:02
Speaker
is done. like Ione's like,
00:26:04
Speaker
ah I guess this is goodbye, because you gotta you're going home now. You're going to go beat up this other Akari ah who's who's back on Gotham. But then Batman's like, no, I gotta deal with the Black Sun Mining Company. Yeah, I accidentally found out about these guys that are like taking slaves and conquering planets, and oh yeah, I am going to go fuck those dudes up.
00:26:31
Speaker
Yeah. So that's that's the first three issues. like By issue three, by the end of issue three, Batman has done his has completed his mission, yeah has achieved his goal.
00:26:44
Speaker
but but But issue four is it was where he's like, oh, I've got to take down the Black Sun Mining Company. And ah the two leaders of the Black Sun Mining Company are Wrath and Whisper Black Sun.
00:26:58
Speaker
Yeah. They are siblings, and ah Wrath is a... ah They are siblings, and they both look like Shinzon. They do. We got two Shinzons.
00:27:12
Speaker
Double Shinzon. We double Shinzon-en. ah the Wrath is big and strong and can punch anybody. She's got she's got big, strong punch powers.
00:27:25
Speaker
yeah And then Whisper just ah whispers in your ear and drives you and insane, and you kill yourself and everyone else. Yeah, so that we we get to see Whisper's powers when um they go to a planet, and he just whispers in this one – or in several people's ears, and they all just kill each other.
00:27:50
Speaker
Which also feels very, like again, simultaneously, very Jason Aaron, very Jonathan Higman, and very ah Grant Morrison, to just have a character who's like, my superpower is I whisper in your ear, and whatever I say makes you go insane and kill yourself. ah That's very post-Morrison superhero comics.
00:28:12
Speaker
Yes. like Because the other thing about it is... like Since taking over the war storm, Batman has been going from planet to planet that the Black Sun Mining Company has conquered, and he's been like liberating them. um like He's he's like defeated the the Black Sun Mining Company overseers that are there and and liberating the people. So Wrath and Whisper go to one of those planets and just make everybody kill each other.
00:28:42
Speaker
um But they also hire this guy who is only known as the Thanagarian. and you know And you know, I'll say it. I'll say it, Matt. Fuck Thanagarians.
00:28:53
Speaker
We don't like them. You and me, not fans. You know, I recently read Hawk World, and Hawk World is pretty good. Like John Osrand or Hawk World?
00:29:07
Speaker
No, the the Tim Truman Hawk World. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. um but I mean, yeah, that it it it is pretty good. But like everything about Thanagarians after that, almost, ah not so good. yeah Matt, can i ask you a question?
00:29:25
Speaker
yeah Why did you read Tim Truman Hawk World without me knowing about it and without me also reading it? It was research for work.
00:29:37
Speaker
What is – is there Hawkman news I don't know about? No, this was about Hawkgirl, who was in Superman. Okay, yeah. And and so – Hawkgirl, no problem with.
00:29:51
Speaker
And so, like, I was basically having to explain, like, the entire complicated history of Hawkgirl. And I was like, ah, I've never actually sat down and read Hawkworld, so I guess I should do that. And I did.
00:30:04
Speaker
um So, anyway. So they hire this guy, the Thanagarian, and ah he, like, shows up and starts trying to beat up Batman. And it's it's during this that we get the stuff where, like, Batman's not in Gotham, so, like,
00:30:22
Speaker
Gordon's got the signal on and he's not coming. and al like I guess he just left without telling Alfred where he was going. Well, alfred Alfred's sitting at a computer like scanning for messages from deep space. So Alfred knows where he is, but he's not getting any calls.
00:30:36
Speaker
these's just like yeah He's just sitting around sad that Bruce is gone. And... like The Thanagarian does like give Batman a ah run for his money. like Batman has not trained to fight Thanagarians at this point. ah so um it's it's It's ultimately up to Ioni to like
00:31:03
Speaker
be the other bounty hunter who quote-unquote captures Batman. i mean I mean, Batman does get him. bat man does get him He does get him, ah but not before.
00:31:17
Speaker
Because he hits him with a he hits him with a ah space truck. He hits him with a space truck after ah
00:31:26
Speaker
the Thanagarian is forced to like destroy hundreds and hundreds of punch bots. Well, no. He hits him with the space truck before that. Then he takes him into the ah the the storm stacks.
00:31:40
Speaker
that right yeah ah that make the Superstorm, and they fight in there, and Batman beats him. ah oh Because he basically does what he does in Dark Knight Returns, except it's with a a fucking warp reactor.
00:31:56
Speaker
Instead of the city's electrical grid. And then he takes his wings and his mace and throw like destroys them. And then the Thanagarian's like, alright, you took my wings, you took my mace, no no nth metal, no gear, take
Space Alliances and Franchise Expansion
00:32:10
Speaker
off your armor, let's go, toe-to-toe. And Batman's like, cool, here's my 100 punchbots.
00:32:17
Speaker
Right, yeah. That shit owns... Right, i free okay. i've i've Ione gets involved but after that. Ione gets involved after that, yeah. yeah um Where she's like, she she finds the Thanagarian and she's like, where's Batman?
00:32:32
Speaker
And so, after Batman goes to the planet where ah whisper Whisper killed all those people. Yeah, because there's a a revolution, basically a bunch of people are inspired by and ah to to have a revolution, and so the bad guys show up and kill 12 billion people.
00:32:55
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's one of those planets that he liberated. And so Ione shows up there, pulls out her gun, and is like, okay, come with me. And then she turns Batman over to the Black Sons. yeah and it it the The attempt is to make you think that Ione...
00:33:18
Speaker
has double-crossed Batman. But then it becomes pretty clear that this was the plan all along to get Batman into where the Black Suns onto their ship, like, to where they are.
00:33:31
Speaker
And the whole last issue, issue six, is, like, whisper keeping trying to keep whispering shit at Batman to get him to break, and he will not.
00:33:44
Speaker
Yeah, man, we know that. We know about that. We know about how they put Batman in the Monster Factory simulations with Simeon and Makari, and Batman kept fighting his way out.
00:34:01
Speaker
ah so I wanted so badly, by the way, for the fucking Batman of Zeronar to kick in. Well, you do get this much, at least. So, so Batman doesn't break, he doesn't break.
00:34:15
Speaker
And... finally um Batman whispers back at Whisper just as Ione and Batman's space dog and Punch-Bot bust in there and start ah trying to fuck up a Wrath.
00:34:32
Speaker
Yeah. and ah And Ione and Punch-Bot get their shots in And then Batman gets up and he like pulls back to punch Wrath and we get the line, ah you have eaten well, your feast eat ends now.
00:34:54
Speaker
I popped, dude. then And then he cracks ah Wrath right across the jaw. I fucking popped like the glass broke.
00:35:08
Speaker
Yeah. And then the Black Sun Mining Company is done for. it's it's it's They're beaten, and all of these ah colonies and prisoners and slaves that they have are are liberated. yeah And to his credit, Batman's like, yeah, I kind of did that thing where I created a huge power vacuum that is probably going to be bad but for a while.
00:35:36
Speaker
But I am going to go home now. But I am gonna go home. I don't want to live in space. So Batman goes home, and then beats the shit out of that one alien. that Batman does the nastiest shit in this part, and it fucking owns.
00:35:54
Speaker
ah It's like, he he gets a spaceship, he flies back to Earth, the fucking East End Irish mob with their alien enforcer are like ah like extorting people.
00:36:09
Speaker
And Batman we get batman says... As soon as I land, I know where I'm headed. Make a quick stop to change. Don't bother with a shower. I want him to smell it on me. yeah i want him to smell the slag galaxy.
00:36:22
Speaker
And I'm like, damn, Batman, that's nasty. I love it. And he he finds that guy, who who never gets named, I don't think. ah It's just another, you know, Akarian.
00:36:35
Speaker
and ah And he says, ah hey, You have shamed the elders of Akari. You have shamed the great golden moons of Akos.
00:36:46
Speaker
And the guy's like, what did you say? And then Batman says, I said, let's fucking go.
00:36:55
Speaker
Also important, ah like he left this huge power vacuum, but also Ioni... He has a solution to the power vacuum. And the solution to all of Batman's problems, Matt, is Batman.
00:37:08
Speaker
Is to franchise. the the This is Batman Inc. Way before Batman Inc. um Like, Ioni, the barbed wolf, and Punchbot all get Bat-branded.
00:37:23
Speaker
Yeah. punch bo Punch Bot, who previously changed ah their name to ah Warbot, yeah has now changed their name to Bat Bot. Yeah.
00:37:36
Speaker
Which I love. And Ioni is wearing like full Batman costume by the end of this. Yeah, man. like Going around a looking for people to punch throughout the galaxy. Yeah.
00:37:50
Speaker
I'll tell you what. You know what I learned from this comic? Tell me. And i already knew this a little bit. ah But here's what I learned. The Green Lanterns ain't shit. Because they let all this shit happen until Batman had to go out there and deal with it.
00:38:05
Speaker
Yeah, they they're nowhere to be found. There's a mention that the Thanagarian is wanted in several but sectors. Yeah. don't know, man. Fucking Tomo Ray sleeping on the fucking job.
00:38:20
Speaker
Great ending. i like I love the whole... like Batman franchising part of it. Like, that seems like a more modern Batman move than one this early in his career, but I feel like you gotta let some of that slide. i i don't mind. Yeah, but so, like, Batman... Batman can't stay out in space.
00:38:43
Speaker
No. So, but space needs a Batman. Because, Matt, we all need Batman. That's true. And and it got... A bat, a bounty hunter, a bat, bot, and a bat dog.
00:39:04
Speaker
Love that he got that dog. Bat Temerian, I guess. Temerian. Temerian, yeah. Temerian. Temerian is a Star Trek race, I believe. I think Temerian is like a fruit.
00:39:22
Speaker
Tamarian is Star Trek. Tamarians are Darmok and Jalada Tanagra. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Those are Tamarians. I'll tell you what. It's fucking Batman saying you've eaten well.
00:39:37
Speaker
Get you it. That's my Darmok and Jalada Tanagra.
00:39:45
Speaker
All right. It's time to rank Batman off-world. It's just pretty good. I mean, it was good, and then Batman got a dog. I mean, it does it does like kind of level up from, I liked this, but now I love this, ah several times. yeah Yeah. like it's it starts It starts out good, and then it really does. It's like, oh yeah, Jason Aaron. j Jason Aaron and Doug Maki, pretty fucking good. Yeah.
00:40:18
Speaker
I love Batman's space dog. You know how I love that, Matt? That means Batman did that twice. he just ah ah but i really but but The part of this that I think I enjoy most is like I feel like it really seemed like the battle with Captain Sin was going to last till the end. Yeah.
00:40:45
Speaker
till the end Yeah. he see like it's It's very much a ah ah fucking Darth Vader and the Emperor situation. Yeah. And like when Captain Sin just gets like dealt with...
00:41:02
Speaker
by the end of issue three. And then Batman's like, now I got to deal with this other problem or with this bigger problem. That's what I was like. That's fucking great. Yeah. Like when, when Batman can't let it go, that there, there are these evil doers doing terrible things and has to get the rid of them.
00:41:19
Speaker
Like, that's what I was like. Hell yeah. Matt, I would say as ah a noted and extremely hireable Batman expert.
00:41:30
Speaker
True. to currently unemployed Batman expert. I would say that not being able to let it go is his defining feature. Absolutely. That is a guy who does not let things go. He has never once in his life let it slide.
00:41:49
Speaker
He hates Frozen. Yeah, that's for other reasons. yeah ah Okay, where are we putting this? I mean, it's it's pretty fucking good.
00:42:02
Speaker
oh yeah i mean, I don't think it's top 100 good. I definitely think it's top 500 good. i I think that's correct, yeah. i It could be top 200 good.
00:42:17
Speaker
i don't know. number At number 200, we currently have the the Vision series. One of the good Tom King comics. Although, i have to say this.
00:42:29
Speaker
Something just occurred to me, or or like, I think it's not like I didn't know this, but like the phrasing of it sort of hit me recently. And this is true of good and bad Tom King comics.
00:42:49
Speaker
The pitch, you could sum the pitch of any to Tom King comic down to, but what if they were sad?
00:42:58
Speaker
I mean, yeah. Yeah.
00:43:01
Speaker
Like, every single one is, but what if they were sad? Yeah. Like, Mr. Miracle is that. Mr. Miracle's that. Mr. Miracle's really good, though. Mr. Miracle is good.
00:43:12
Speaker
I don't know. i am increasingly... i cannot figure out how Mr. Miracle happened. Because Mr. Miracle's genuinely good. Like, genuinely great.
00:43:23
Speaker
Vision is good. Like, I read it, and it was good. But it is very much, but what if they were sad? Even though Vision was already sad. He famously cried. Famously. but All that motherfucker does is cry.
00:43:38
Speaker
but why did you Why did you build a robot that could do that? Why did Ultron build a robot that could do that? Great point. But, like, even his Batman run is, but what if they were sad?
00:43:53
Speaker
But you know what's not... was What if they were sad so and some of them were naked? Yeah. um But you know what's not... But what if they were sad? Batman Offworld. Batman Offworld. Pretty good. Pretty good. i don't know I don't know if I can put in the top 200 because if you look at the stuff like in the 300s and 400s I mean is this better than Aztec the Ultimate Man?
00:44:16
Speaker
It probably is better than Aztec the Ultimate Man. I don't know that that's the best example. Yeah. Uh...
00:44:24
Speaker
i mean where is Where is Aztec? 395. At 387, we have Eye of the Beholder by Andy Hilfer and Chris Browse from Batman Annual No. 14, which is the best Two-Face story.
00:44:37
Speaker
Okay. And so I don't think it's that good. Well, I think it's better than Superman for All Seasons, which we have at No. 388. Yeah,
00:44:46
Speaker
yeah I would say that. that's I mean, that's the best Jeff Loeb, Tim Sale comic. It is the best Jeff Loeb, Tim Sale comic, but it is still one of those. But you know you know what ain't in it? Ain't no dogs in it.
00:44:58
Speaker
Ain't no dogs in it. And Superman's already got a space dog. yeah Actually, why think exist Crypto might be in that book. I can't remember. this I think he is.
00:45:08
Speaker
ah But I think this is the new number 388. I think that's good. If you have not read this, we've we've given you the plot, but you ought to read the the book anyway. It's it's great. yeah it i' like i remain just baffled that we missed this.
00:45:32
Speaker
What do you think was the moment where Benito was like, oh, I should get this for Chris? Do you think it was when ah Batman got the dog? Or do you think it was before that? I would guess it was probably before that. um oh let me see if ah let let me Let me think if there's like a particular moment that's before the dog the arrival of the dog. where Because the dog is in issue three, i think. I think the dog is in issue three, yeah.
00:46:10
Speaker
I think the the dog technically makes a one-panel cameo appearance at the end of number two. Right, yeah. he He starts his fight with the dog at the end of number two. He's riding that fucking dog on the cover of number three, which is great.
00:46:24
Speaker
All right. Having looked through issues one and two, I think like there's good stuff in issues one and two, but I do think the moment that had to seal it – Is that two-panel page in issue three where Batman has fought and tamed the dog.
00:46:41
Speaker
And now they're bonded. Yeah, man. I think that's got to be it. Batman's got a good dog. He's petting him.
00:46:52
Speaker
He's giving him a little scratch behind his ears. God, every... Dogs are good. But I can imagine Benita reading issue one of this and being like, Chris would love this. Yeah. ah Because like it is like a great concept. and But I also think like issue one is good, but it like gets way better and makes a much better case for itself as it goes. Mm-hmm.
00:47:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, man. It's good shit. I did just ask, so maybe we'll have an an update on that. But yeah, highly recommended if you somehow miss this.
Episode Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:47:39
Speaker
I don't know how we did. but Yeah, man. I i don i didn't hear a thing about it when it was coming out. A thing. I do think it's that logo, because the logo's not bad, but it kind of slides off my brain.
00:47:54
Speaker
it Well, it's just kind of like...
00:47:58
Speaker
a somewhat stylized sans serif font. Yeah. And, like, it's not like the covers don't give a decent idea of what the book is, but I don't know. it There's just, i mean, part of it is, like, we're not plugged into, like,
00:48:22
Speaker
day-to-day comics news like we used to be. yeah Well, but I think it's a lot harder to be. It is. ah Unless Annabelle's going to show up. Unless Annabelle's going to show up, but then we know for sure. ah Benito says, uh, when the first issue came out and you didn't talk about it on an Ajax. So, yeah, I, I, suspect ah I suspect, I suspect that as much.
00:48:44
Speaker
Yeah. That sounds right. But I, I would have to guess that the dog really sealed it. Uh, yeah. Hey, it's a it's good to have friends watch your back. It really is. It's it's very nice.
00:48:57
Speaker
and And man, what a good comic. Very good, very recent comic on our first Comics Catch-Up of 2026. Yeah. So, hey, go go recommend a comic to a friend that maybe missed it.
00:49:14
Speaker
Yeah, pay it forward. Yeah. um All right, we will be back in February with another book. If you want to suggest something for us to read on Comics Catch-Up, you can get in touch with us with a few different methods. ah You can email us at our email address, which warrocketpodcasts at gmail.com. You can hit us up on Tumblr, warrocketpodcast.tumblr.com. We're on bluesky at warrocketajax.com.
00:49:40
Speaker
That is our Bluesky account. um Or you can join our Discord and be part of the discussion there. um If you're not currently a member of the Discord, um it is by invitation only. You have to ask for an invitation to the Discord. But if you ask us nicely for one, we will get one to you. And...
00:49:59
Speaker
You can join and be part of that and and send us Comics Catch-Up recommendations, ask listener questions, all of that kind of stuff. If you want to keep supporting us and support these Comics Catch-Up monthly specials, along with every story ever and everything else that we do, go to patreon.com slash warrocketajax.
00:50:20
Speaker
And kick in as little as a dollar a month there. That would be greatly, greatly appreciated. Chris recently noted that um he is freshly unemployed. And I have a lot of new medical bills to pay. Happy New Year!
00:50:42
Speaker
It's not great yeah here.
00:50:49
Speaker
ah Not for me. i am uninjured ah and and relatively healthy, knock on wood. But for those that don't know, ah Marlene broke her ankle on New Year's Day.
00:51:02
Speaker
ah More about that soon.
00:51:06
Speaker
Anyway. ah Thanks for listening, everybody. we we ah We appreciate it. We're glad to be back ah doing this for 2026, trying to bring a little light and happiness into your lives ah in in it's a year that's already started pretty rough.
00:51:28
Speaker
Bye, everybody. Bye, everybody. And hey, good catching up.