John Jackson Miller's sequel takes place during the summer, so a few months after Resurrection.
Check out my review of original book.
For obvious reasons, title is stylized as Revolut?on.
Prologue
Created Equal
Story begins with a nine-year-old Norman Pinkus, who lives with his mother Martina in Gotham Library.
His father Philmont is also mentioned.
Year is not stated, but for timeline to gel, must be 1959.
Norman finds the newspaper from Batman (1989).
THOMAS WAYNE MURDERED
ONLY CHILD SURVIVES!
To recap, a young Bruce was eight when Jack Napier killed his parents in the alley of Phillips Street behind Monarch Theatre.
Norman grew up loving books, puzzles and word games.
30 years later (unofficially).
Summary
Following the defeat of Karlo Babić and Doctor Hugo Strange, a new threat rises in the form of Norman Pinkus (who goes under the pen name of Edward Nygma for his Riddle Me This feature in the Gotham Globe).
Batman must also contend with The Archer, Killer Moth, 'Camille' and the Aeterna Militia, the successor to The Last Laughs.
Question everything
Book spans four Parts and 64 Chapters, so longer than its predecessor (five Acts and 52 Chapters).
One Nation Under Siege
Two Worlds One War
Three Weeks of The Riddler
Four Flights No Exit.
Each slice is presented as a traditional word search, challenging reader to 'Seek the Hidden Words'.
One page is blank and the other side solved, giving title.
It's a really nice touch.
The Archer originates from the classic 60's TV series, not the comics. However, character is re-imagined as a serial killer, who murders pedestrians with arrows.
Another callback to TV show is Norman (as The Bookworm) calling the GPD tip line.
This version of Killer Moth wears an armoured suit and utilizes technology allowing him to fly.
Fun fact.
Killer Moth wears a flying suit in the NES version of Batman: The Video Game.
Founded in 1757, The Servants of Freedom is what Norman ends up associating with.
It's revealed that Gordon comforted Bruce in the aftermath of the murders and they've remained close ever since.
As a child, Norman sent the GPD a letter saying that Napier's associate was Joe Chill, but Gordon dismissed theory as nonsense.
As a cute nod to common knowledge, Max sarcastically 'thanks' his parents for naming him after an actor (Max Schreck) in an old vampire movie (Nosferatu).
Along with Shreck, Selena Kyle and Alexander Knox are major players.
Remember how The Penguin used Fred Atkins' hand to blackmail Max in Returns?
Sure ya do.
Here, Max's business associate is shall we say very 'hands on' with women, falling victim to Camille's seductions.
To address the mobility issue Batman had in Resurrection (ie. getting the Batmobile into Gotham and changing into the Batsuit), the Batvan is both a ride and changing room.
Clever or daft? Down to personal opinion.
Comparable to medieval torture device the Catherine Wheel, one of Batman's new mobile weapons is the Batspiral.
The mystery of what happened to Addison Fish, the accountant for the late Carl Grissom is solved.
When the Joker killed Grissom and made Gotham a laughing matter, he disappeared. Turns out he never left the city, and went into hiding at a local hotel.
Elena, really Eleonora (the latter also a short story by Edgar Allen Poe), Camille uses alias as a tribute to Camille Desmoulins (even though French revolutionary was male).
Err, okay.
But her actual name (Emily Van Cleer) isn't mentioned until Chapter 63, also revealing Cameron van Cleer (Killer Moth) is her long-lost father.
Overstuffed
While again nailing the Burtonverse's atmosphere and giving established characters dialogue they deserve, there's too much going on and over 500 pages was a slog.
Apart from a decent chase sequence with drones, action with Batman is hit and miss. Finally, Camille's militia (and its goal) closely resembling the terrorist outfit in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) felt lazy.
Climax
Emily is involved in a major confrontation with her father.
After refusing help from Cameron to 'destroy', she screams "Get out of my life!" and opens fire. Batman ducks for cover, as Killer Moth's armour takes severe punishment.
When the shooting suddenly stops, Batman notices that Cameron's cheek is bleeding. His armour is a bullet-pocked, sparking mess, having deflected bullets everywhere - including one place in particular (unspecified).
On his knees, Cameron cradles Emily drenched with blood.
"My name... is Camille. And I don't... want your..."
Removing her flak jacket, Cameron sees her shots pierced it.
Batman suggests taking her to Gotham General Midtown, but Killer Moth doesn't listen. He activates the turbines on his armour and the Van Cleers vanish in a colossal burst that lights the whole atrium, leaving fate slightly ambiguous.
Batman and Norman escape the library Camille earlier planted with time bombs, but Norman's face is critically burned by the explosion.
Idea may have been partially inspired by Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009), as The Joker threatens to detonate bombs hidden around Gotham City, with Arkham Mansion also containing a library.
The Riddler doesn't physically appear, but hacks Batman's communication systems and challenges player to solve riddles, sometimes requiring "Detective Vision".
Epilogue
Home of the Brave and the Bold
Having been handed over to the authorities by Batman, a drugged-up Norman bombards Strange with anagram after anagram at Arkham Asylum.
Aeterna Militia - eliminate atria and aerial intimate
Utterly aerospace - eatery speculator and outleap secretary
The Servants of Freedom Live - The Festival Demons Forever
But somebody fucked up.
Liechtenstein saints¹ - intestinal snitches²
(19 letters)¹ and (18 letters)².
Oops
Book ends with Batman removing a black cat from the Batmobile, saying "No riders."
This is a fun riff to Returns, as Bruce finds a cat and takes animal with him.
Acknowledgements doesn't entirely rule out a third:
"Keep watching the skies. You never know when the Bat signal will appear!"
I am pessimistic.
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