This was originally posted as a current comic book review, on my old Batman site in March 1998.
Batman #554 (May 98)
"Master Of Destruction (Cataclysm Part 12)"
Writer: Doug Moench
Penciller: Klaus Janson
Inker: Sal Buscema
What a nasty time to start doing reviews.. we're in the middle of this "massive crossover". About 18 months ago, Batman editor Denny O'Neil declared that all the Batman titles had been bogged down by too many crossovers. A temporary moratorium was delcared on all crossovers.. stories that began in "Batman", ENDED in "Batman", stories that began in"Detective Comics" ENDED in "Detective Comics". and so forth. He mentioned that the crossovers would someday be back, but only when they could do it right and if it was a really great story.
Well, the crossover dealie is back.... and it's not too great. It's an 18 part story about an earthquake. I suppose the recent "disaster movie" bug reached Denny O'Neil and DC. They mention that this will be a catastrohic event, becasue over half of Gotham City will be destroyed. Sure, thats fine.. but they already went through this angle in early 1996 with the "Contagion" crossover. In that, supposedly a good portion of Gotham City was wiped out by an outbreak of Ebola. Of course, if you picked up a Batman comic BEFORE the Contagion, and picked up one AFTER it, you couldnt tell the difference. So, what we get is 18 installments of "Rescue:911- on location in Gotham". This story just doesnt excite me. Plus, we KNOW in another 18 months, things will be status quo again in Gotham City. A similar situation happened in Superman, circa 1994.. Metropolis was completely leveled..... but it looks fine now. Oh well, if seeing Batman pull people out of rubble for 18 issues excites you, then thats cool.
Finally, I thought I'd get to the story. This story picks up with Batman undressing from his newest alter-ego : Gotham City Detective Hawke. The funny thing about this is, that when he debuted it, over in "Nightwing", Comissioner Gordon recognized Batman almsot instantly. Gordon's eyes lit up when he realized that this unknown detective was Batman. He didnt care WHY or even try to expose him.. he knew that Batman in any guise is a tremendous help. (Probably my favorite scene between Batman and Gordon this year) Anyway, as this opens, we get a break from the rubble scenes as Gordon, Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya are reviewing a video tape from some guy named "QuakeMaster". Typically, its a blackmail tape, demanding a sack o money, or else he'll drop another earthquake on Gotham. Quakemaster is seen only in shadows and he recites a bunch of technical jargon, detailing how he supposedly triggered the last earthquake. Of course, everybody's skeptical, and Quakemaster is being played up as a phony. Nevertheless, they arrange a drop off for the cash.
Meanwhile, we see Quakemaster holding seismology expert Jolene Relazzo hostage. She supplied him with the technical jumble, to make him seem credible on the videotape. But, she slipped in a phony line, sort of a secret message for anybody who may have heard the tape. Quakemaster himself looks like a Carmen Infantino character from the 1970's. (note: Carmen Infantino was a longtime "FLASH" artist, who made these angular, streaky characters.. all with goggles or sunglasses... you may have seen some of his work in Marvels' "STAR WARS" in the late 70's). He's supposed to look phony, so it's allright. Indeed, the biggest question that come out of this book is "who is Quakemaster?"
Quakemaster's thugs pick up the cash in a helicopter and also, unintentionally pick up Batman. Batman punks them and demands to know about their mysterious boss. As he is interrogating him, he suddenly turns around to find the bag o' money stolen (dont worry taxpayers.. it wasnt public funds.. it was a bag full of newspapers). Quakemaster is apparently one step ahead of Batman. Batman turns in the two thugs and then anaylzes the tape. Here, he picks up Relazzo's "secret code", a line of bullharkey recited by Quakemaster about "crustal displacement" and "wooly mammoths"( an intersting theory..pick up the book if you want the details). Robin notes how it's scary that Batman picks up on stuff like this.. and can actually recite the crustal displacement theory. Batman concludes that Quakemaster IS a fraud, but he still remains a threat because he holds Jolene Relazzo hostage.
Not too bad.. as you can tell, I am already sick of seeing Batman and Nightwing pull people out of rubble. So, this issue brought more suspense and plot advancements to this crossover. I'm now more interested in finding Quakemaster's ID than watching buildings collapse. Plus, Batman did some serious detective work in this one. Too often in the past months, when Batman needed something figured out, he was the "Dialing Detective", he simply called up Oracle. He found out about Relazzo's kidnapping and deducted that Quakemaster is a fraud, via that crustal dismemberment thing. The other little plot device is that Wayne Manor is in a shambles.. leaving the Batcave exposed to any passers-by. Of course, knowing that Bruce Wayne had buttloads of money sort of tells us that it'll be comcealed. Heck, with one phonecall, dude could have Superman and Green Lantern rebuilding his house ( he IS in the Justice League , y'know..). Finally, we've seen that Alfred, Robin and Weird HArold have survived the quake... but one question still remains.. one that I've had since 1993... where the HECK IS ACE??
Probably the best installment of this "cataclysm". But I still dont feel like this is an "epic". In fact.. I think it's more annoying than anything.... just when Batman was settling down after the whole KnightFall/Quest/End - Contagion/Legacy thing. Perhaps the lamest thing about this crossover is the forced inclusion of Barbara Gordon, aka Orcale (and former Batgirl). I love it.. the entire city's been totaled, but she had no problem driving her wheelchair down main street. However, her inclusion has sort of stepped things up between her and Nightwing. (You may remember that, as Robin and Batgirl, these two were sort of a couple in the 70's). Bottom line is : this comic's worth 1.50.. not too shabby.
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