All-Star Batman: My Own Worst Enemy by Scott Snyder

Title

After handing the mantle of the Batman canon series to Tom King as the DC Universe Rebirth was introduced, Scott Snyder has embarked on new adventures and continues to reshape and innovate titles like no other writer has done before. Including his ongoing ambitious and mind-blowing Metal event, Scott Snyder, the very man who has written the game-changing New 52 Batman series, American Vampire, Batman Eternal and Superman Unchained, is now masterly coming up with stories for the All-Star Batman series.

In My Own Worst Enemy, Batman goes on a road trip alongside Harvey Dent, also known as Two-Face, in hunt for a cure for his old friend’s split-personality. With 500 miles separating him from his goal, the Caped Crusader runs into countless obstacles, notably individuals who seek to prevent him from reaching his destination.

Why would anyone want to stop Batman from doing something that seems so harmless?

Over the years Two-Face successfully gathered the deepest and darkest secrets of every single person in Gotham. He has unveiled an evil offer to these citizens where their secrets will be exposed to the world if they don’t stop Batman from bringing Harvey Dent to the indicated location. Whoever is able to take down the Dark Knight would be rewarded with an incredible sum of money. Batman however plans on reaching that goal through hell and high waters. Will he find a cure? Will he be stopped?

In this five part story arc, Batman and Harvey Dent are faced with not only criminals of all ranks, known and unknown to casual readers, but also the citizens of Gotham who just can’t let the world know about their sins.

It is a bit destabilizing to jump into this story knowing that Harvey Dent holds the kryptonite of every single person out there. How he even achieves such a feat is beyond my understanding and being able to accept this without hindering my appreciation for the story was a colossal task.

The writing is however excellent and plays beautifully with the artwork. With puns that foreshadow the imminent panel, transitions are done perfectly. The action is also top-notch, with Batman’s suit being the main attraction. You’ll be amazed by the tricks he has up his sleeves. Always a billion steps ahead of danger, his ability to withstand pain is also showcased throughout the story.

While the artwork complements the writing quite well, it isn’t a style that can be easily chugged down. John Romita Jr’s artwork continues to be a hard pill to swallow with the odd facial shapes, but as soon as you find yourself used to it, it isn’t so bad. There are moments where you question the artwork for certain characters, especially Batman, but there are also plenty of instances where everything is drawn with purpose.

An extra small story arc is also incorporated within this volume called “The Cursed Wheel”. It doesn’t have much to do with the main story arc and simply offers us a look at Duke, the same boy straight out of We Are Robin, Batman’s latest partner, who no one should ever refer to as a Robin. This story offers us a glimpse into Duke’s motivations and into what kind of hero he wants to become. It was a very clean story that was pretty well-thought out, but was nothing too mind-blowing.

All-Star Batman: My Own Worst Enemy is an entertaining ride to the finish. It explores the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent in ways that past stories have not done in a while. With sneaky Easter eggs for long-time Batman fans, this first volume promises great stories for this series.

In Scott Snyder, I trust.

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