Written by Alan Grant.
Art by Barry Kitson; Ray McCarthy; Adrienne Roy; & John Costanza.
Cover Art by Brian Stelfreeze.
SUMMARY:
Entitled “Troika, Part 2,” DC Comics released this issue for February 1995. Interrogating the dying Russian thug known as ‘Dark Rider,’ Batman & Tim Drake’s Robin confirm that a Russian terrorist Cell, the Troika, will imminently threaten Gotham City with a plutonium bomb.
While Batman has no success probing Gotham’s Little Odessa neighborhood, the Troika (including KGBeast, Colonel Vega, & Romana) scheme to extort a billion dollars from the city. The problem is neither Batman nor the Troika know where Dark Rider’s baseball-shaped mega-bomb is hidden.
Having located the elusive Vega, the Dark Knight gets a master class in Vega’s techno-powered disruption weaponry from his goon squad. Yet, the ruthless Troika will not tolerate failure should he not eliminate Batman.
Elsewhere, as the overworked Gordons experience some marital strife, Robin leaves Batman short-handed having to safeguard his recently-threatened friend, Ariana. Worse yet, an overwhelmed Bruce Wayne is sorely missing Alfred – it’s up to him to hire a limo service, order pizza delivery, and that worst nightmare task of all … doing the laundry.
Note: “Troika, Part 3” shifts over to Detective Comics # 682.
REVIEW:
Devising a solid second salvo in the “Troika” storyline, writer Alan Grant gets this art squad’s reliable visual support. Taken as a solo read, however, this Bat-caper frankly is not a must-have. To enjoy “Troika” in its four-issue entirety, then obtaining Batman: Shadow of the Bat # 35 within a trade paperback makes the best consumer sense.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
A single-page letters-and-answers column precedes “DC Universe # 27,” which teases visual clues of the in-production Showcase ’95 mini-series.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6 Stars
