Batman: Death in the family review - A terrible set up with great results
I think a big reason why this story is often referred to as a big disappointment that didn't live up to the hype and is not that good, and I fully agree with that, but I think people say for the wrong +
reasons. This story is often thrown around in list of "the best Batman stories of all time" or "the most important Batman stories ever" amongst the like of the Killing Joke, Year one, the Dark knight returns, therefore a lot of new reader come to this story expecting that a +
deeply mature and complex graphic novel that highlights an important point in Batman's career, but this story is not that at all. To understand this story I think context is very important and with context I mean Jason Todd's whole post crisis career. The emotional weight of this
story works better if you know the story of Jason Todd. Batman's reflection after Jason's death is very well written and it makes perfect sense it highlights how Jason's short post crisis life was built really well from his early more childish days were Batman was finally happy
again after a long Bronze age looking for love he found Jason as a companion who renewed his sense of justice Mike W Barr's run was really good at highlighting the father son light-hearted dynamic of Bruce and Jason, whilst Allan Collins presented the initial emotional weight and
finally Starlin brought back his harsh origins to develop Jason as a more hot heated and rebellious justice seeker specially in the increasingly darker Gotham the late 80s brought. All leading to his death here closing what in my opinion was a good character arc, and opening a +
new arc for Batman.
However the story has A LOT of faults, specially in the first two issues. Firstly the story is plagued with racism, although Starlin had good intentions with a lot of stuff he showcased here it just comes of as ignorant and casually racist which takes a lot +
from the story and I fully understand if someone hates thew story because of that. Secondly the set up and way this story is built is absolutely terrible, everything that happens leading up to Jason's death comes from an impossible coincidence, and its not just one coincidence +
surface. It just baffles me how bad the build up and creative decisions from Starlin were and its frustrating because it hurts a actually god story with a lot of emotional weight and importance. I like the driving factor of conflict I think Jason's growing pains and identity +
Feb 23, 2025 · 3:37 PM UTC
crisis are realistic character advancement from him specially him turning 14-15 ish it makes a lot of sense for him to want to know about his past and his turn to be more aggressive also makes sense specially with his harsh childhood in play. On the other hand I also think the +
Joker's plan is pretty good it reminds me of BTAS episode Harliquinade which obviously came later and probably took inspiration from this but Joker just taking a nuclear weapon and trying to sell it is funny (if thats the word I should use). But the way this two plotlines connect
is just insane and so far fetched it brings the stories quality down by a lot.
No once Jason is killed I think the story picks up a lot and ends on a high note. I liked the final two issues a lot, I think they make for a perfect transition to the new Batman status quo, a renewed
Batman just suffering his worst failure more determined than ever despite getting more and more tiered with each passing day, his stoic reaction to Jason's death is a perfect reflection of the character and his years of dealing with trauma through crimefighting, through a sense +
of justice. I also think this story renewed the Joker completely after his identity crisis between the Killing Joke and now this story the offer to become Iranian ambassador is so ridiculous and funny that it brings his full insanity back, he is given the opportunity to give his
show at a world stage and Batman has never been angrier at him, it brought the Joker back into form. The irony of him being inmune thanks to the laws Batman has strived to protect is so good and give both characters a new edge for the modern era, my only issue with the whole deal
is Superman being the governments lap dog and being called a "boy scout" by Batman but I guess its just the damage caused by John Byrne. I think the unresolved ending is great too this story is way more of a starting point than it is an ending point. The story ends up shining for
what its trying to tell and the end results of killing Jason Todd was the greatest period in Batman's history. It was a perfect point to "re-boot" the character and the mythos into more focused story telling and it set the path to Kinightfall, it all starts with Bruce's biggest +
Personal defeat, and ends with Batman's biggest professional defeat. I think death in the family just plays really well into Batman's character arc as a whole and I still think it is indeed "one of the most important Batman stories ever" the quality of the story is just +
frustrating but I think Aparo had a great grasp of every character, including the Joker, and his action set pieces are always good so it is a frustrating but quite enjoyable read if that makes any sense.
Finally I just want to say Jason's death is truly heart breaking specially
after reading the character for the last 3 months both pre and post crisis stuff, he developed a father son relationship with Bruce neither Dick or Tim ever could and in a sense I think he represents a time period were Batman was actually happy and renewed his hopes to make