Published by Urban Comics, Batman Last Knight on Earth marks the return of a duo of artists who have strongly left their mark on the regular Batman series. They renewed the origins of the Dark Knight and his possible future: Bruce Wayne has built a machine that allows him to regenerate. What would happen if Batman woke up in a devastated future?
Is Batman crazy?
The beginning is very dark and disturbing. After being trapped, Batman wakes up in Arkham Asylum thanks to a new treatment. His butler Alfred tells him that he has been locked up there for years… since he killed his parents. He must stay there until he gives up his superhero delusion. Convinced that this asylum is a lie, Bruce tries to find the flaws but Alfred has answers to everything down to the smallest detail: Lazarus' well is actually the pool of the asylum, his mask is the camisole. 
The last hero of a devastated world
Once this first episode is over, Batman wakes up in a desert world. All of the above was just a program waiting for Bruce's clone to be completed. The hero will then travel through this ravaged world. He first finds a group of survivors in the Gemworld. He then flies over a camp of scientists fed by Nuclear Man but attacked by animal men. These baroque elements create an interesting atmosphere. The screenwriter is very good at setting a scene and atmosphere with original elements – the storm of swift force that makes you age is composed of all the speedsters screaming for help – but his explanations are often confusing. Some secondary characters come out of the anecdotal. Diana is the protector of the shreds of humanity that remain, Luthor is the speaker for the evil that tipped the world into hell. This world went to its doom when the citizens supported Lex Luthor. The latter said that since everything is lost we might as well make the most of it. Above all, the Joker is the closest personality to Batman because it is the doctor who treats him in Arkham and Bruce carries his head in a jar throughout the story. 
Since most superheroes have disappeared, the world has been in ruins. Snyder offers two models without really taking a position at first. Bruce's young clone out of the ground is an apology for idealism while Gotham is in the hands of Omega, the original perverted Bruce. Capullo's layout and framing are brilliant without ever being gratuitous. In this parallel world, the cartoonist's way of reinterpreting the mythical characters of DC is superb… or appalling. Last Knight on Earth is a tale full of landscapes, its reinvention of familiar characters. The beginning about the possible madness of the hero is fantastic.
