Hello and welcome to the World of Bats, the Batman Book Club!
This week, we’ll be looking at the beginnings of the second Batwing, Luke Fox, in Batwing issues 19-24, written by Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Grey, with art by Eduardo Pansica.
Once a member of Batman, Incorporated, and deputized by the Dark Knight himself, Batwing, the Batman of Africa, has quit. A new, different hero has emerged in his place…but will his actions do more harm than good? And what is his connection to Bruce Wayne and Gotham City?
Reading will last from 2023-02-04T06:00:00Z→2023-02-10T06:00:00Z, but if you’re tending to your cadre of lion-girl wives (no kinkshame), you can always come back later.
Looking forward to discussing these issues with you all!
This is a fun introduction to Luke as Batwing. It was neat to see him do things a little differently than Batman, such as using the gas for interrogations rather than threatening violence. The conflict between him and his family made for some interesting reading too. It’s not exactly a one to one comparison, but Luke’s struggle to balance his personal life with being a superhero reminded me of Spider-Man.
Luke carries out finishing the work of his predecessor. Taking on the Marunbunta shows a distinct way this Batwing takes out enemies. Instead of using the suit mobility and flight, this Batwing perfers to rely on the armored bulletproofing for close quarters combat against people. Incorporating martial arts experience with his agility to take out his opponents with speed.
Similar to heroes like Nightwing, Luke banters while he fights. Sometimes these sarcastic smart aleck remarks can work in his favor, but other times they can be a detriment for him. Fortunately Batwing’s combat skills are not the only thing he has to his advantage as he doesn’t fight harder but smarter than his enemies. Using more advanced tech gear and armory as well as toxins to disarm even most powerful opponents.
Luke Fox’s enemy in the start of this series may be the Marunbunta and their assassins but his character real problem is finding the balance between his family, his social life and that of Batwing. Unlike the older David who worked as a police officer. Luke is someone with other responsibilities besides crime-fighting. It’s difficult to find that balance in his life which he never truly solves. However, towards the end, Luke shows how his family and relationships are still important to him even as he committed himself as a hero now.
Luke’s first ever adventure as Batwing is not his finest moments but they are still very important and impressive for this character. It’s a great introduction to a new Batwing who will prove himself unique in the Bat-family.
