Noteworthy Issues: Batman: Off-World #6 (February, 2025)

I decided last week to cover the final issue of a mini-series I started reviewing here and then stopped so I could keep reading it without falling too far behind.  That was the Jenny Sparks mini-series that I ultimately didn’t like very much.

Why not do it again with something I liked much better?

Issue:  Batman: Off-World #6, February 2025

Writer:  Jason Aaron

Artists:  Doug Mahnke and Jamie Mendoza

The Plot:  Batman takes the fight to the twins that run Blakksun Mining, the corporation that runs the Slagg Galaxy.

Commentary:  I guess I’ll just say it up-front:  this mini-series is what a good Jason Aaron story usually feels like.  I haven’t seen it as much in his Absolute Superman or some of his other projects, but when he’s on, he’s on.  With Batman: Off-World, he’s on.

Considering he’s only working with one established DC character, namely Batman–Commissioner Gordon pops in briefly in one issue–the story could have gone many ways, but Aaron has a way of showing Batman as a somewhat mythical character, one who inspires others to be more like him in a galaxy full of injustice, as seen here with his squad in the form of a Tamaranian bounty hunter, a giant space wolf, and a robot designed to be punched that found its own worth because Batman saw its worth.  Toss in as well some really bad villains, namely a pair of alien superpowered twins, and these are the kind of bad guys who the reader probably wants to see go down hard, and it’s just a great, fun story.  I had a minor quibble about how Batman defeated one of the twins, the one whose whispers can pain and death to whoever hears them, but overall, it’s just a fun Batman story for people who like Batman to be the ultimate badass.

Factor in as well that Bruce never intended to become an intergalactic hero, that he went to outer space literally just to teach himself how to fight one giant alien mob enforcer who took up living in Gotham, and it’s really just a Batman story where Batman is beating up aliens instead of Arkham inmates.  I don’t think I ever doubted Batman was going to save the day, but seeing him do it was still just a lot of fun, and frankly, I think we could all use more fun once in a while.

Grade:  A-