NML Crossing, Episode 077 – Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120 (1999)
NML Crossing, Episode Seventy-Seven
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120 (August, 1999)
“Assembly”
Writer – Greg Rucka
Pencils – Mike Deodato
Inks – Sean Parsons
Colors – Pam Rambo & Wildstorm FX
Letters – Willie Schubert
Edits – Illidge, Gorfinkel, O’Neil
Cover Price: $1.99
Quite possibly one of the most vital and powerful single-issue stories of our journey thus far! Today we sit in for a Bat-Family Reunion… the grand unmasking of the new Batgirl, the coronation of a new-new Batgirl… and the first face-to-face meeting between Batman and Jim Gordon since Gotham City fell! If you only listen to one silly marblemouthed No Man’s Land podcast this week… it ought to be this one!
NML Crossing on Youtube
I must confess, back in the day I was surprised by the reveal of Huntress as the new Batgirl. I hadn’t figured it out. I don’t know who I thought she was or if I even had a guess who she was. They did a good job of dropping red herrings that she wasn’t Huntess. Back in Fear of Faith they showed Batgirl on like page 12 then you turn the page to 13 and there is Huntress. As comic readers we have become accustomed to page to page, pannel to pannel, taking place at the same time unless there was a notation of time passing like “later” or “that night”. So seeing Batgirl and Huntress just a page away from each other made them feel like two different people.
Batman and Gordon’s interaction just screams of how Jim feels betrayed by Batman. Without Batman Jim took to Two-Face to be his vigilante partner. Batman knows he let Jim down and points out that Two-Face will let him down worse. Batman needs Jim’s forgiveness, but Jim isn’t ready to forgive yet. This scene will echo nicely with a scene that comes later in No Man’s Land.
Batman is only as hard on the Huntress as he is on himself. He is holding her to his standard and she did not live up to it. Huntress never fit in with the Bat family. She tried her best but she needs to be her own individual. And Batman will use her individuality for his plans even thought she doesn’t know she is being used.
I believe that how Huntress took up the Batgirl costume gets covered in the No Man’s Land #0 issue. So at least the editors give us one promised story.
Maybe it’s because Bruce has known Dick the longest or because Nightwing has become more of an equal to Batman, but it was interesting that Dick is the only one that Bruce confided in that he made a mistake in how he decided to handle No Man’s Land. I never get tired of the personal connection between Bruce and Dick. It takes me back to the scene of them on the balcony at Donna’s wedding. Dick is the one person who Bruce can admit his faults to.
The passing of the Batgirl mantle to Ms. Cain feels like a vindication for Barbara. She didn’t give her approval for Helena to become Batgirl and felt betrayed by a new Batgirl existing. Giving her blessing to Ms. Cain to be her replacement as Batgirl gives power back to Barbara to pass on her legacy as a superhero.
I tried to read all of Pre-Crisis Jason’s appearances a couple years ago but its hard because Batman and Detective Comics were essentially one book published bi-weekly back then. The stories flowed from one title to the next and that’s hard to keep track of when reading digitally. Too many open files and issue numbers to keep track of. But I have been wishing for a Pre-Crisis, Earth-One, red headed circus performer, stole Dick’s origin, Jason Todd 1.0 omnibus. I don’t think it will ever happen but I would love it. Everyone always forgets that it was that version of Jason Todd who defeated Mongul in the classic Superman tale “For The Man Who Has Everything”.
For some reason I remember the first time I read no mans land I got confused and thought huntress and Cassandra were both batgirl at the same time. Reading it this time makes more sense. I thought I remember the situation with huntress happening differently but maybe I am confusing it with a scene later on in the series.
As for comics mattering before pre crisis. I have read titans and batman and the outsiders, as well as the bronze age batman stories. We all know batman isn’t really affected that much by crisis events and origin changes aside from who trained him. There are many good batman stories that occurred in the bronze age. I believe there is a trade called strange apparitions that has some good Rupert Thorne and Hugo strange stories. With the bronze age we got away from alot of the campy and silly stuff and back to a darker batman. Some stories carry over and crisis changes alot of stuff like Jason Todd’s origin and the reason for dick grayson not working with batman. Some changes seem unnecessary like for instance whether dick grayson is a ward of Bruce or his adopted son or other legal term. Which changed each crisis. I always wanted a batman bronze age omnibus but it hasn’t happened yet. Some of those pre crisis characters would be good for present day comics.
I would snatch up a Bronze Age Batman Omnibus as soon as it was announced. I already have the 3 volumes of Bronze Age the Brave and the Bold and they are awesome.
I am always on the fence thinking about getting the robin bronze age omnibus and batgirl bronze age omnibus but not sure if they are worth it.