Title: Batman vs Predator
Publisher(s): DC, Dark Horse
This is one of those nerd joke matchups that just had to be done.
The collected volume released in 2017 is comprised of Batman vs Predator 1–3 (1991), Batman vs Predator II: Bloodmatch 1–4 (1995) and Batman vs Predator III: Blood Ties 1–4 (1997). All three are set in Gotham City.
Title: Batman vs Predator
Writer(s): Dave Gibbons
Penciller: Andy Kubert
Inker: Adam Kubert
Colors: Sherilyn van Valkenburgh
Lettering: Adam Kubert
Cover Art: Arthur Suydam
Batman vs Predator begins with a boxing match in which the two fighters are backed by rival gangs, one led by Alex Yeager and the other Leo Brodin. The Predator kills the champion boxer afterwards and then picks off high-level gang members one by one. As Batman investigates, the Predator soon sees Batman as the biggest prey in the city.
Whilst Batman needs time to work out what he is dealing with, the narrative wisely avoids retelling how Dutch worked things out in the original 1987 film. It may be a mystery to Batman and the Gotham police but not to the audience.
By having the Predator take out gang members, it is plausible that Batman quickly works out that the Predator has a “code” and acts accordingly. [Minor Spoiler] Also, it wisely avoids having Batman work out Predator’s vision as it is mostly not an issue given the environment and circumstances.
Title: Batman vs Predator II: Bloodmatch
Writer(s): Doug Moench
Penciller: Paul Gulacy
Inker: Terry Austin
Colors: Carla Feeny, Lovern Kindzierski, Digital Chameleon
Lettering: Todd Klein
Cover Art: Paul Gulacy, Terry Austin & Others
In the sequel, Batman is in the midst of dealing with gangs and their drug business during a heatwave. Gang boss Terraro orders a hit on Batman, offering a contract to seven assassins. Meanwhile, another Predator visits with the intention of hunting Batman; after all, he is considered the “champion”. This story also features the Helena Bertinelli as a teacher. Fed up with drugs influencing or killing her students, she takes matters into her own hands as the Huntress.
Although there are more criminals who are actually after Batman, the threat against Batman does not come across as intense. Although it is interesting to see the seven assassins go down in various ways—after all, they provide the opportunity for the Predator and Huntress to get into the action—Batman could be more active against them.
The plot makes enough sense as a follow-up but it is more of the same. The other problem is that Batman’s internal speech uses a cursive font which is sometimes difficult to read and arguably not fitting to Batman anyway.
Title: Batman vs Predator III: Blood Ties
Writer(s): Chuck Dixon
Penciller: Rodolfo Damaggio
Inker: Robert Campanella
Colors: Pat Garrahy, Lee Loughridge
Lettering: John Costanza
Cover Art: Rodolfo Damaggio & Robert Campanella
This also starts with gang conflicts during summer. In the midst of that, Mr Freeze pulls off a major robbery so Batman and Robin (Tim Drake) have to hunt him as well. With Freeze in the story, it is obvious that Predator’s vision finally becomes a question.
There are two Predators so it is basically two against two. There is no backstory or explanation as to how Drake became Robin before the start of Blood Ties given that neither he nor any other Robin was present in the first two works. It is simply something the audience is assumed to know and accept.
The premise for all three clearly takes after the 1990 sequel film Predator 2. Although that film has its flaws, there are a lot of good ideas that are fitting to Batman and it is satisfying to those ideas applied to Gotham City: the Predator is on his hunt in a hot concrete jungle, targeting the “biggest” prey. The theme is apparent in the films Predators (2010) and Prey (2022).
The second work Bloodmatch even briefly involves [Minor Spoiler] additional Predators who are apparently after the main antagonist. This is not a bad idea but unfortunately, their involvement is too brief and superficial. Granted, with Batman as the main viewpoint character, we cannot know too much about them anyway but it would make the plot more interesting if they are brought in earlier and are more involved. The 2018 film The Predator uses a variation of this idea.
As already mentioned, Bloodmatch is more of the same and although there is nothing particularly stunning in any of the three works, Blood Ties is perhaps the one that is most original with its ideas and themes whilst maintaining the spirit of the two fictional universes. Not only does it involve a pair going against a pair, Batman is forced to be more reliant on the resources of Wayne Enterprises in his fight—and it’s not just the tech.
The overall pacing for all three works is quick in a measured way. It hits its beats and then moves on, which is expected given the typical page-count of an issue. Thankfully, it does not rely on constant action (that is, fighting) to keep it interesting. Setting aside the cheapness of that tactic, it is also unrealistic since Batman is no physical match for a Predator. This is very apparent in the first work.
It also, perhaps surprisingly, avoids introducing new tech for the Predator. It is appreciated that is not resorted to just to be gimmicky and all three works avoids the tech-vs-tech battle, but new Predator tech could still be utilized for plot and action. The Predator may be about the hunt and honor rather than tech and Batman is more about being a detective and theatrics rather than tech, but both use tech.
The artwork is mostly done well with nice linework and solid inking and coloring. The first two works have a more classic style whereas the third has a more modern and sleeker look.
As expected, the Predator when partially or fully cloaked is the main weakness, mostly relying on a white or lighter-color silhouette. Crude linework is sometimes used to convey the staggered distortion the cloak produces. To be fair, although Photoshop existed at the time of production, it was not that popular until around the time of Blood Ties which, by the way, seems to take advantage of the layer transparency functionality.
In the context of comic art, especially if Photoshop is available, I would generally draw highlights only for a cloaked Predator which would convey enough detail of its form (and what it is doing) whilst maintaining the cloaked effect without looking cheap. The aforementioned distortion is fine for film but too limited for comic art even though it is relatively easy to do with the aid of Photoshop.
The other weakness is that the designs of the Batmobiles and Predators’ ships are ordinary. The former in particular is essentially a character and deserves more attention. Batman’s alternate suits are, however, nicely done.
Overall, although there is nothing particularly new or stunning (with Bloodmatch being relatively the weakest of the three), it is still sufficiently interesting and entertaining with good pacing and consistently solid production. If there are to be future instalments, it will have to do what Blood Ties attempts and go further with more innovative elements and plot.
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