The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

THE DARK KNIGHT 3: THE MASTER RACE #3

Story by: Brian Azzarello and Frank Miller

Art by: Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson

Spoiler-free review

TDKPH rating: 7/10

 

LETS START WITH THE BAD

DK3 is starting to rear its ugly head. As much as I want to believe that DK3 is far better than The Dark Knight Strikes Again, I'm starting to think that its not. With Frank Miller on-board, and with the rumors that he's telling Azzarello what to write, it seems obvious that Miller is getting everything that he wants to happen in DK3. Well, its not that bad, per se, but some of the prominent elements of TDKSA (namely its lack of a coherent theme and direction) is starting to pop out in DK3.

When DK3 #1 came out, many fans were lead to believe that there will be a shift or the torch will be passed to Carrie Kelley. In #1, there was also a change in the paradigm. With the story focusing on Carrie and Supergirl, female superheroes became the center of Miller-verse. We all thought that Master Race starts with that premise. But with issue 3, they sorta regressed and brought back the focus to male superheroes. It was as if issue 1 is irrelevant and has a small role to play in the entire story.

Well at least issue 3 revealed what The Master Race is all about. But with issues 1-3 already out, I think they could've simplified those issues into 1 comicbook. If, in fact, it is true that DK3 is moving in that direction, where the male characters are the focus of the story, then they could've do away with the 1st issue.

DK3 is starting to look like TDKSA and I couldn't bear to see it happen again.

WELL, IT COULDN'T GET ANY UGLIER THAN THAT RIGHT?

Wrong! I can't believe we waited another month for issue 3. The pace of the story is slow as it is. The delay of it being available to the public made it worse.

Also, the mini-comicbook inserted inside used to be a great compliment to the issue. With this month's mini-comicbook, I couldn't say the same. In fact, I was actually disappointed with it. If you're a Green Lantern fan, you would understand what I mean.

There were a lot of plot-holes in this story. It even tried so hard to make a connection between the story in issue 3 and the mini-comicbook inserted in it. The mini-comicbook doesn't feel organic. I thought it was forced and a bit out of place.

AT LEAST THERE'S STILL SOME HOPE LEFT FOR THE BOOK

True! While DK3 #3 had its dull moments, the overall story is still interesting. It showed a lot of emotions especially when Bruce talks about Carrie Kelley. There are moments that it felt like Bruce loves Carrie romantically, but if you read and understand the context of what Bruce is saying, you'd feel that his love for Carrie is nothing like that.

I also like that Bruce explained what happened to him after TDKSA. He kind of gave an explanation why he's operating behind the shadows.

Also, I do think that DK3 is veering away from all that Batman beating the crap out of Superman. TDKR and TDKSA made that a staple for the franchise. But with DK3, I think its the other way around. It is Batman trying to ask for Superman's help. Or is it? (hehe). I guess, we'll find out soon enough.

Ow and before I forget, Kubert's art is starting to look like his again. With issues 1 and 2, it felt like he was trying so hard to make things look like Miller's. But with issue 3, he brought back his art style. And again, his sequences are amazing!