CREDITS: Written by Kelley Puckett; art by Rick Burchett and Terry Beatty.
REVIEW: I really love the trio known as the "Threatening Three" created for Batman's DCAU comics, and I wish they'd shown up in other Batman adventures (not in anything grimdark, you understand, but maybe a '66 project or even The Brave and the Bold cartoon show). Kelley Puckett returns to the DCAUniverse to give them a fond farewell, and it's pretty sweet, and characteristically humorous. This is a story told by the Perfesser to his grandchild, from a story book, so there are odd liberties taken, like a strange walk into glowing door, normally reserved for a character death, and the issue sometimes comes off as disjointed, until you realize Mastermind's usual long game is being played... These are valid complaints, but they don't really undermine the issue's quality.
Because we DO have Mastermind's foresight driving the story, the Perfesser covering all bases thanks to his ability to gain highly specific skills and retain absurd levels of trivia, and Mister Nice violently punching his way through the issue while apologizing to his victims. It's the latter who will disband the team when a non-vocal child (the joke is that he is a fount of appropriate written notes) from a remote country comes to the door and asks for help, which in his pathological niceness, he can't refuse. The "one last job" trope is turned on its head when it's revealed Mastermind's ultimatum is just to force Mister Nice to stay. One last ditch effort, a couple manly tears, a sweet hug. Good friends saying goodbye as Batman stands sternly by.
I could have suffered through many more stories with these guys, so I'm a little ferklempt myself to see them shuffle off stage.
REREADABILITY: Medium-High - Some pacing issues shouldn't keep you from reading this fun final chapter in the Threatening Three Trilogy.
Comments
Weren't they published by DC as well?