This isn't the smartest, most clever Batman book, but it feels surprisingly new and fresh amidst all the usual carnage.

During the update, Zur challenged Failsafe to a fight in which Failsafe's termination protocols activated. I’m glad I’ve got my own thing with Public Domain, because it feels lighter, even if the subject matter isn’t, necessarily. When Bruce tries to justify his decision to create plans against the League, Superman asks Batman what the contingencies against himself are.But what’s really happening is that Batman can now walk through any dangerous situation, simply because the creative team needs him to be alive for the next plot beat. He meets a female burglar name Lucie who agrees to teach him after admiring his dedication and wanting Bruce to capture all of her competition in the future.

With the discovery of an archenemy's involvement and a tragedy unfolding, the Dark Knight's nightmares are just beginning. Usually when I read anything DC, it's whatever strikes my fancy because I don't follow DC religiously. A conversation between Batman and Zur made it clear that the two personalities were now at odds with one another, and Batman would do his best to contain Zur.After learning what she did (no spoilers here) I'm extremely doubtful that she wouldn't reveal her findings to Batman and bail him out. This transition has only allowed us to blossom as we now ship thousands of titles to book lovers across the globe. During the second half, however, Batman is being thrown from one corner of the Multiverse to the next, and this continues until the final page, and there is barely any story here. He has seen upcoming outlines, and has been able to work with them, suggested ideas and be a cheerleader for the new Daredevil team. Chip Zdarsky starts his run in Batman with a bang and is the best main continuity story arc in YEARS.

Zur-En-Arrh at least thought about the possibility of Failsafe being accidentally set off by a false alarm, so he made Alfred the only person on Earth with the authority to shut the machine down. Bruce fails to control his emotions and plans to leave Daniel Captio when Daniel shows Bruce a picture of Alfred and Dana shot in the head, enraging Bruce. He has gone through so much that he is ready for just about anything, no matter how powerful the threat may be. Besides the main story, this volume also includes two secondary stories that were featured in these issues of Batman. When Zdarsky was announced as part of the new creative team on BATMAN I was expecting some of that psychological reveals, based on the fine work he did with his run on DAREDEVIL ( a deep dive into Matt Murdock's purpose/mission and whether he should continue).Bruce created Zur as a fallback plan in the event his mind ever succumbed to brainwashing or telepathy.