It’s Batman! It can’t be Batman, though, because that’s against the nature of this entire series! Yes, Batman Superman and Wonder Woman are not to be part of this series at all, but that doesn’t mean that Clark Kent, Diana Prince and Bruce Wayne can’t show up.

That’s the deal with week 30 of 52. In the epilogue of Infinite Crisis, the big three of the DCU decided to take a little break from world-changing epic superhero battles and let the rest of the heroes take the lead. Now we pull back the curtains a bit and peek in on Batman, or Bruce Wayne, rather, as he picks up the pieces of his broken life.

“Why’s Batman so grim and dark,” you ask? Well, after a three-page spread of all the hell Batman’s gone through until now, I no longer have to ask that question. Batman wants to rid the world of crime, but when your adversaries are playing by their own wicked set of rules, some of your victories against evil are going to be pyhrric.

Bruce Wayne is in the desert trying to exorcise his demons, while Nightwing and Robin, two of Batman’s greatest proteges, get in some field training. All the while, Nightwing and Robin are curious as to what Bruce is up to. When Robin catches up to him in the desert, I wondered why this billionaire just didn’t find a less dangerous method of dealing with his demons. Couldn’t he try therapy over being attacked by men with ten eyes on their hands?

Bat fans will be distressed at the last thing Bruce says, and it leaves you to wonder if more of his year’s journey is going to be revealed before 52 wraps up. We all know that it’s status quo after this missing year, but who can imagine a Gotham City without a Dark Knight?

Batwoman is trying her best to fill those shoes this week, but as graceful and athletic as she is, she’s no Batman. Lucky for her, a member of the bat family shows up to lend a hand. What’s funny about this team-up is that this guy falls in love at first sight, but no one has tipped him off that Ms. Kane plays for the Mets and not the Yankees, if you catch my drift.

The hybrid human/animal monsters have invaded Gotham. After Question, Montoya and Batwoman challenged destiny and Bruno Mannheim all at once, you would think that Intergang would start over from scratch with this whole “take over the world” thing.

This week’s supplement bio is of Doctor Magnus’ “family”, the Metal Men. It’s given the cartoony treatment by Duncan Rouleau, and I like his style. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his work, though.

So if you are a bat-fan, this is your week, because The first few panels alone are worth two bucks and two quarters.

To learn more check out 52's official site.