Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Oswald Cobblepot, formerly the ruthless crime boss known as the Penguin, has left behind his life of crime to live in relative retirement. But pressed into action by one of Amanda Waller's underlings to take control of Gotham's underworld, the Penguin assembles a crew mixed with new faces and old to take down his primary competition - his own children. The first volume served as setup for the eventual war to come, with the Penguin putting together his new organization with the aid of his manservant, the Help, and a former lover, Lisa St. Claire. Revealed in the first volume was the relationship between Batman and the Penguin - one that served both men mutually. The Penguin got to head up organized crime, while Batman got to use the Penguin for information on bigger threats. But who was really using who? That served as the central mystery to be answered in this volume.

And unfortunately, this volume resolves little. It's tough to find much interest in the antagonists of this story as the Penguin's children aren't really very well established characters. And thus, the ensuing gang war has very little emotional heft. And as for the Penguin/Batman partnership - the story doesn't really feel the need to dig much further beyond the initial premise. Sure, we get to see the Penguin be a ruthless figure that pulled a lot of strings, but ultimately it doesn't actually do anything for the character that hasn't been done before. It's clear that the series is taking tonal queues from Matt Reeves' film and television iteration of the character by using a more grounded crime story aesthetic, but the execution is quite bland. Leaving it open ended just shows a desire to return to a status quo that isn't all that interesting. A shame, because the initial hook to the series was quite good.