It's hard to believe it, but it's the end of another Batman era now that Chip Zdarsky's run has finally come to an end. It's been a wild couple of years, but are fans going to look back on this chapter fondly?

It seems only like yesterday that Zdarsky made headlines when he took over DC Comics' flagship title. From the get-go, the writer thrust Batman into a high-octane adventure that saw him go to the ends of the Earth and beyond. From multiversal adventures to numerous wars for Gotham's fate, Bruce Wayne went through a lot under Zdarsky's direction. But now that all's said and done, what can be said of this lengthy and dynamic run?

Chip Zdarsky's Batman Was All Gas, No Brakes

The Dark Knight's Book Became a Non-Stop Adventure

When Zdarsky began his Batman run, he started with the nail-biting "Failsafe" arc, which introduced Batman's greatest contingency, an android meant to stop Batman at any costs. After the Penguin fakes his death in order to frame Batman, Failsafe springs into action where it chases Batman until it uses a weapon to send Batman to another world. This begins the "Bat-Man of Gotham" arc, where Bruce finds himself in a twisted version of Gotham that’s under the control of Red Mask, a ‘sane’ Joker variant conducting multiversal experiments to break his mind to be just like his Prime counterpart.

See Batman's battle against Red Mask in the spectacular Batman #900!

Batman eventually makes it back home, but Bruce's backup persona, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, starts to push Bruce to make more extreme choices. After the "Gotham War" crossover with Catwoman, Bruce isolates himself from his family to take down the Joker once and for all. However, Batman is taken hostage by Zur-En-Arrh, now inhabiting the Failsafe body. This leads into the "Dark Prisons" arc where Zur-En-Arrh attempts to seize control of Gotham, but the Bat-Family reunites and defeats Batman's evil doppelganger. Unfortunately, the Failsafe android is recovered by Amanda Waller, who takes it for her campaign in Absolute Power.

Zdarsky’s Batman tied in with Absolute Power with Batman #150-152 and saw Bruce and Selina embark on a heist to steal a Mother Box. After Waller is stopped, Bruce returns to Gotham and Zdarsky’s last arc, “The Dying City” begins. Bruce’s attempts to revitalize Gotham are stymied when the Court of Owls, run by Russian asset Leonid Kull. Not only does Kull manipulate Riddler into creating software that can hack the most secure software on the planet, but Kull also brings out the worst in Gotham by having Batman's old foe KGBeast pose as a psychopathic new hero, Commander Star.

Zdarsky's Batman Had Lots of Little Moments That Really Defined the Run

Shocking Developments That Had Fans Doing Double Takes

While the main storyline was all non-stop adventure, there were a few points in the run that slowed down, often to drop a few bombs that took readers by surprise. For example, after "Gotham War", Batman #139-141 featured a backup story called "The Savage Garden of Gotham", which focused on Vandal Savage, whose immortality became dependent on him staying in Gotham. In this story, Savage was brought to the attention of Kull, who began plotting to have Savage installed as Gotham City's Police Commissioner.

...every evil act the Joker has ever done has all been in the name of activating the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh...

One of the biggest change-ups to the overall narrative was Batman #142-144's "The Joker: Year One" storyline. This was the only arc during Zdarsky's run that was set firmly in different time periods (both the past and future). It also connected to Zdarsky's previous work, Batman: The Knight, revealing that the Joker was trained by one of Batman's former mentors, Dr. Daniel Captio. Most surprisingly, this storyline led to the shock revelation that every evil act the Joker has ever done has all been in the name of activating the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, who Joker sees as the real Batman.

While these alterations to the Joker’s past with Batman inspired a bit of online debate, some of the slower stories were a lot more well-received. Batman #150, for example, featured a story called “Be Better”, which saw a former henchman named Teddy try to make a profit off of Batman's secret identity, only to discover the real impact Batman has on people and the community. It was a heartfelt story that stood out from the non-stop action and adventure that so defined Zdarsky’s time on Batman.

Zdarsky's Batman Was a Decent Run

Not Every Plot Point Worked, But When It Was Good, It Was Good

If there’s one thing that Zdarsky can be commended for, it’s that his books always delivered on the action. From Batman’s intense fights with Failsafe, to Red Mask, to Commander Star, they always showed off Bruce’s skills and his ingenuity, even when he wound up losing (like in Batman #141). That being said, sometimes the action scenes got a little over-the-top, even for Batman. Heck, in Batman #130, the Dark Knight falls from the moon and lives, which was too far for even the most hardcore Batman fan.

There’s also something to be said for how much the Failsafe/Zur-En-Arrh storyline takes up, which is at least half the run. It’s a fun idea, but anyone who’s not onboard with the concept from the first arc isn’t exactly going to like much more of Zdarsky’s run. And, of course, “Gotham War” irritated a lot of fans due to how out-of-character Batman acted, even if he was being manipulated by his alter ego at the time. But for every one of the swings Zdarsky made that didn’t work, there were ones that did that make it a worthwhile run.

When Zdarsky’s story slowed down and actually had characters talk to one another, it was incredibly solid. Batman #149 spends the entire issue having Batman talking with his dying clone, and it’s one of the best issues in the entire run. Same with “Be Better” or Batman #157 with Bruce and Commissioner Gordon’s final talk. There was a real human touch that Zdarsky brought to this corner of the DC Universe and though the action gets the spotlight, it’s the humanity within this Batman run that’s ultimately going to help it be ed.