Following up the powerful Batman #44 is no small task, but while Scott Snyer and Greg Capullo don't manage to surpass the potent storytelling found in the previous issue, they do deliver plenty of action for Batman fans to sink their teeth into.

If you'll think about to the end of issue #43, Jim Gordon is trapped in an industrial furnace and soon to be reduced to ash. It seems like it has been an eternity, but we finally get to see Batman fight his way out of that furnace. It isn't graceful or pretty, but he manages to do it, only to fall into the violent hands of the Devil Pigs gang. We get to see Jim use his deductive reasoning skills in a way that isn't so different from Bruce Wayne-Batman, as he analyzes the situation and looks for the best possible route of escape.

It's in these scenes where Capullo's artwork shines. It's detailed, violent and dirty, as Jim is pulled to the ground and stabbed by the gang members, his Batsuit charred and still smoking from the intense heat of the furnace.

But though he manages to escape with a little help from his friend (a robotic friend that we get to see beat up gang members with sharks), Jim's bad day is just beginning. Snyder has repeatedly touched on the idea of a publicly accountable Batman, one that is operated by the government using citizen tax dollars. That's what Jim as Batman is: not a vigilante hero but just another arm of the police force. It's a job.

So what happens when Jim is fired? Being accountable to the taxpayers of Gotham, the police department and the government means nearly anything Jim does will create disapproval, and his giant brawl with the Devil Pigs gang did just that. He is asked to publicly resign, to hand over the reigns of Batman to a new, more capable person. Just as Gordon is about to give a rousing speech (it's unclear if he aims to resign or if he is going to ask for the public's approval in continuing his service as Batman), an unexpected arrival throws the proceedings into chaos.

It's the first time in a long time that I wish a major action set piece hadn't erupted onto the page. I was more interested in seeing what Gordon would say up on that podium, to see if he would fight to stay Batman or admit that maybe he isn't the right person for the job. Instead we get a stereotypical massacre, where the villain arrives at a public event to maim and destroy.

Batman #45 looks great and delivers some solid action, but not much more.

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Batman #44
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