Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman: Reptilian #1!
Something has infected the minds of Batman's villains in such a way that's almost identical to how Night Howlers affect the minds of civilized animals in Disney's Zootopia.
In Zootopia, the scorned sheep Assistant Mayor Bellwether concocts a diabolical scheme to ensure that prey animals will one day dominate predators in the film's titular city after years of mistreatment from her boss and lion Mayor Lionheart. The basis of her dastardly plot involves exposing predators to toxic flowers called Night Howlers that can transform civilized animals into savage beasts to create the allusion that they are reverting back to their primitive state of mind. Her hope is that the entire city will turn against all predators and have no option but to restrain them. The added benefit for Bellwether is that she would naturally assume the role as Mayor since she's currently the Assistant Mayor.
All of this is quite similar to a strange phenomenon that's causing the villains of Gotham to become more violent than usual in Batman: Reptilian #1 by writer Garth Ennis and artist Liam Sharp. Batman learns of this unsettling development while carrying out one of his classic interrogation methods that involves high ledges and is contingent on man's fear of plummeting to their death. When subjecting one of Scarecrow's goons to this unpleasant form of coercion, the victim immediately divulges what the Dark Knight wants to know.
The thug explains that, during the latest monthly gathering between Gotham's worst to decide on how best to dispose of the Bat, they could all tell something was wrong. There had been something in the air that was so strong they could smell it, and the moment everyone walked in the door, they became overwhelmed with feelings of such extreme irritation that they couldn't prevent themselves from resorting to violence. Even more peculiar is that a moment later, everyone came to their senses. Later, a dozen criminals including the Penguin and the Riddler were found horribly mutilated in what ended up being a bloodbath.
Much like how Zootopia's Night Howlers can cause cute, little animals like Mr. Otterton to tear apart the back of a limo to shreds, some sort of substance has been released in Gotham that can tap into the reptilian part of the brain of those infected, causing the victim to fall into a fit of extreme rage at the slightest provocation. Although the concept of Night Howlers is already quite dark for a Disney film, the savagery of those affected is greatly minimized in the film, especially since they're usually depicted in some sort of confinement and only for a moment. As such, it's incredible that a comic so dark and grotesque as the gothic Batman: Reptilian series could have any sort of correlation to a Disney film like Zootopia that is, for the most part, overly adorable and overflowing with cuteness.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3hFNcg3
0 Comments