This week from DC Comics we get another Black Label release that answers one key question while leaving several more unanswered. Batman Reptilian 3 continues the slaughter of villains across Gotham. Someone mysterious is doing Batman’s job for him, but far more brutally than Batman would ever do. Whoever kills and maims Gotham’s villains may just put Batman out of a job. The tallies are mounting and we are down to the last man standing, and of course it would be him.

The events of Batman Reptilian 2 left me a bit puzzled. Normally the second issue in a five part series ends with some sort of revelation about who/what the heroes are dealing with. Issue 2 took down a bunch more faces, but it came no closer to give us any clue as to what in happening in Gotham. BR3 doesn’t really answer this question yet either, but it points us in the right direction. It looks as if the Batman Reptilian series is less about the crimes and more about the true nature of these crimes. Whatever is doing all this just doesn’t add up.

Of Course It’s Him

Of all the criminals and all the villains, of course Joker would be the last man standing. In his usual madness, he kidnaps a bunch of hostages and holes up in the botanical gardens. I love how Batman gets pissed that Joker would pull a stunt like this now when he needs to be focused on the mysterious killer. Joker, in all his whacked out wisdom, thinks the killer is actually Batman. Showing his infinite adaptability, Batman bullies a thug through text to shoot the three thugs behind him in the legs. Batman has an answer for everything.

Joker makes a desperate attack at Batman and then flees down a tunnel. He thinks he hears Batman and makes fun of his ‘grunting, snarling and growling’. Jokes on you clown boy. That ain’t Batman! Too late and Joker goes down. He lives, but the mutilated remains won’t be terrorizing anything but Gotham’s bed pans.

Last Man Standing – Getting Closer

One thing Batman and Alfred were discussing before Joker’s misguided adventure, was Killer Croc. As I pointed out initially, the MO doesn’t fit croc even thought the perp seems to be reptilian. They began discussing Croc himself. Even though he is not suspected, no one knows where he came from or how. Is Croc a mutated human? Or does he come from somewhere else? Could he somehow be connected to this perp? By next issue we should start to get some answers, and I do not think they will be quite what we expect. Besides, we just ran out of villains.

I’ll be curious to see what this creature is, but perhaps the bigger question might be can Batman handle what’s to come? Whatever this thing, it killed or maimed people with ease that Batman spent great effort to stop. Croc should appear next issue, but will even he be enough?

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