Batman: Holy Terror

Rating:
Summary: DC Elseworlds are the best!
Review: Bruce Wayne, an acolyte in the holy church, wants to know why his parents were murdered. On the way to finding out, he discovers that the church and government aren't nearly as pure as he thought they were. And so he dons the mantle of the bat in a terrifying world without superheroes.

Rating:
Summary: DC Elseworlds are the best!
Review: Bruce Wayne, an acolyte in the holy church, wants to know why his parents were murdered. On the way to finding out, he discovers that the church and government aren't nearly as pure as he thought they were. And so he dons the mantle of the bat in a terrifying world without superheroes.

Rating:
Summary: Elseworld Batman as its best
Review: This is an alternate reality or elseworlds of Batman. In this era, the holy church still rule. Bruce Wayne's parents, both doctors to the inner circle of the holy church get murdered by a small time criminal, young bruce swore revenge. Little did he knows that the murderer of his parents is not just a small time criminal.. his parents are not just a victim of random street crime.. They are victims of much more larger and sinister entity.
The story has great opening and great ending (although not so satisfactory for me anyway). But in the middle,it dwindle a bit. And the run-of-the-mill genetic re-engineering side story is a bit silly IMHO.
If you are familiar with DC characters like Oliver (Green Arrow), Flash, Aquaman, Superman..you can get the amusment at the background story. Otherwise, it doesn't much make sense anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Full of mistakes, but very enjoyable
Review: This is, as far as I know, the first official Elseworlds book. The "What If" is Oliver Cromwell's survival for a decade, which ensures that the Puritan Commonwealth remains in place indefinitely in Britain and its colonies, including North America. Bruce Wayne's parents, dissidents in this harsh, totalitarian theocracy, are murdered by order of the Court of Star Chamber, a shadowy religious authority. This sets in motion the cogs and wheels that will lead to Batman's advent. Seeking answers, Batman penetrates the bowels of Gotham Cathedral and runs into a government project, run by the demented scientist Erdel, to control superhumans and turn them into government stooges. Flash, Green Lantern, Vicky Vale, Aquaman, Lori Lemaris, Clayface, Zatanna, Metamorpho and, most memorably, Superman, turn up and are either crushed by the government and turned into slaves. The story is well told, and remarkably sophisticated. The artwork is acceptable, though not brilliant.

The book is, nonetheless, full of mistakes. The Commonwealth police were never called "Inquisitors", and in fact the term would have been repugnant to them, since it would have smelled of Catholic popery. The same goes for the flagrant use of religious imagery in Bruce Wayne's gymnasium and in a Church where he is ordained. The Puritans were iconoclasts and did not accept the use of human representation in a religious context. In fact, they destroyed most of Britain's medieval imagery, which was a significant part of its culture. The religious structure, with Bishops and ordained priests, looks rather Episcopal, and would have been inconsistent with the Puritans, many of whom were Presbiterians who did not accept tbe bishopry. And also, the Puritans were very divided among themselves and could never have held power for 350 years irrespective of Cromwell's survival. Plus the book is clearly intended as a heavy-handed criticism of the American religious right. Comic books can do social criticism, but then they need to be better informed (cf. The Watchmen is still the gold standard for this).

Having said this, who cares? The story is nonsensical but fun and memorable. So buy it, already!