Batman 53: A Subversive Christian Tale Penned by an “ex-CIA Agent”

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Batman 53 has gotten a decent amount of press. Maybe it hasn’t gotten that much press because it is a “God” issue. The “big reveal” comes out of the bag in the first three pages. Bruce Wayne is on a jury and confronts one of the jurors about a cross she is wearing. Wayne quickly declares he does not believe in God because “poor him.” Wayne goes on to tell his soul searching tale and goes onto declare himself (Batman) god. Albeit, a flawed god. Wayne displays severe angst and anguish that he is flawed but only after giving more reasons why God is a failure and pie in the sky.

To write Batman, you have to be good. While this author has not read comics regularly for about three years, a guy he has never heard of is penning Batman. The writer is Thomas King and he doesn’t really seem to have that thick of a body of work. King, however, was a CIA Agent. It seems odd that King is not writing highly culturally significant books at this point in his career. To be clear, writing extremely popular comic books.

The synopsis of the book that alerted this author to it’s existence did it absolutely no justice. That synopsis was basically that Bruce Wayne renounces belief in God because Catwoman didn’t marry him(what a fag, right?) However, King’s work is much more well-crafted propaganda than the synopsis made out. The issues Wayne brings up about God, several issues are those cited by many people who don’t want to believe in God in the first place. The reasons are presented rhythmically. The rhythm is in part why I say King crafted his propaganda piece well. Interspersed with Wayne’s reasoning is first anger and then him losing it. It pacing also seems to be designed to throw the reader off. King’s prose does not help either as it is disjointed.

Why would DC want to do this story? King is also doing a standalone mass-shooting story because superheroes always die when they’re shot. Both stories definitely fall into the vein of self-important SJW angst. Bruce Wayne, as always thinks he and he alone has to take care of his whole city. In the past though he has had a full on psychotic break and pulled himself back together having set a “back-up system” in his brain in his travels to the East.

That Bruce Wayne attacks God now for the life he chose and always intellectualized as a responsibility and for being left at the altar by a woman he knows as a notorious criminal after forever swearing off women is pretty odd.

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