If the cover didn't make it clear, writer Greg Rucka's choice to bring back a relatively obscure supporting character from his run on Detective Comics in a significant role in this series does -- this is a Batman story. Rucka's plot and script suffers from a significant problem, though: accessibility. I know who Sasha Bordeaux is, but I'm betting a majority of the readership on this high-profile limited series won't. There's also a lot of DC history that factors into the script, and while it will be an enjoyable trip down memory lane for longtime readers such as myself, those not as well versed all things DC might find themselves scratching their heads. Ultimately, this story is a success, but it's not due to the coolness factor of some plot elements or the connection to past continuity. It's the relevance of the ideas Rucka explores that involves the reader in the adventure and intrigue.
Friends and Justice League comrades of the Blue Beetle begin to realize their acrobatic, tehcnologically minded ally hasn't been heard from in days, and they begin the investigation into his whereabouts. Meanwhile, the Batman discovers that a surveillance satellite he put into orbit is no longer responding to commands from his Batcave terminal. Elsewhere, Maxwell Lord, Black King of Checkmate, orders his enforcer, Black Knight Sasha Bordeaux, to eradicate any trace of the Blue Beetle's infiltration of the Checkmate headquarters and Lord's murder of the one-time Justice Leaguer.
Saiz offers some solid artwork here. He conveys the cold, creepy quality of the Brother satellite's long-distance surveillance perfectly, and the Checkmate tech elements really make it look like the powerhouse we need to see it as for the story to work. There's a nicely realistic feel to the art that reinforces the darker mood as well. My one qualm with the art is Saiz's depiction of Sasha and her Checkmate rival. Was making both of them caucasian women with short, black hair a wise idea? There's no confusion in this issue, but there's potential for it later on.
The notion of a corrupt Sasha Bordeaux is a difficult concept for those of us familiar with the character to accept, but Rucka manages to sell it with the narration. The writer puts her crisis of conscience in the forefront, and by making it a focal conflict of this issue, it makes the character's harsher actions more believable in the context of the story and her history with the Batman. Another aspect of the plot I thoroughly enjoyed was seeing the Batman being bested without even knowing it. At the same time, the character is elevated by the "Creator" label, which makes his failings even more compelling reading.
To fully appreciate elements in the script, small and significant ones, the reader really needs to be up on his DC history, and not just the major events. One needs to be aware that the Blue Beetle fought an obscure villain named Overthrow during the Millennium crossover in the 1980s. One needs to know Booster Gold once stole a Legion flight ring. One needs to be aware of who Sasha Bordeaux is and how he went from being Bruce Wayne's bodyguard to a Checkmate agent. One definitely needs to have read DC Countdown and needs to ignore Maxwell Lord's goofy past (which is made more difficult by the current story arc on JLA: Classified). Accessibiity seems not to have been a major concern for this issue, and that's unfortunate.
Rucka taps into a very real and disconcerting problem as the basis of this story, and that's the sense of privacy we've sacrificed as a result of our technological advancements and political backsteps. There are cameras everywhere, and there are few places our movements can't be tracked. Fears over terrorism has resulted in a loss of personal freedoms and rights. And in some ways, the age of the 24-hour news channel as robbed us of dignity (just look at the media circus that grew around the Terry Schiavo case). That's what this story is about: technology that was meant to protect but has been corrupted for a sinister purpose. The name of the Brother satellite puts one in mind of another "Brother" from decades old fantastic fiction: a certain Big Brother. 7/10
