Batman #17
Batman #17 is the second chapter of Tom King's five-part 'I Am Bane' storyline — the concluding act of his 'I Am' trilogy that opened the DC Rebirth era's Batman run — and it is the issue where Bane's attack on everything Bruce Wayne holds dear shifts from threat to reality. King uses this installment to establish a psychological warfare dynamic rarely seen in Bane stories since 'Knightfall': the villain is weaponising Batman's love for his extended family rather than simply breaking his back. The issue's Day Two structure, with its tightly compressed countdown format, demonstrated King's ambition to write Bane as both a physical colossus and a tactician of emotional destruction, an approach that would shape how the character was written through King's entire 85-issue run. The arc as a whole — with this issue as a pivotal escalation point — is widely regarded as one of the strongest Bane-centric storylines produced since the 1990s 'Knightfall' saga.
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Batman (Vol. 3) launched in 2016 as part of DC's Rebirth initiative, with Tom King — who had previously written 'The Vision' for Marvel and 'Omega Men' for DC — taking the lead writing role. 'I Am Bane' (issues #16–20) was designed as the third pillar of King's opening 'I Am' trilogy, following 'I Am Gotham' and 'I Am Suicide,' with the narrative spine of the arc being Batman's race to use the Psycho-Pirate's emotion-altering powers to heal the fractured mind of Gotham Girl, the new hero introduced at the start of King's run. David Finch returned as the arc's primary artist, joined by inker Danny Miki and colorist Jordie Bellaire, with a variant cover for issue #17 supplied by Tim Sale. The entire arc was subsequently collected in the trade paperback *Batman Vol. 3: I Am Bane* (August 2017), which also included issues #23–24 and material from Batman Annual #1.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published February 15, 2017 (cover-dated April 2017); written by Tom King, pencilled by David Finch, inked by Danny Miki, colored by Jordie Bellaire, lettered by John Workman.
- Second chapter ('Day Two') of the five-part 'I Am Bane' arc — the third and final installment of King's opening 'I Am' trilogy in the DC Rebirth Batman series.
- Core plot: Batman places Dick Grayson (Nightwing), Jason Todd (Red Hood), and Damian Wayne (Robin) in cryostasis at Superman's Fortress of Solitude to keep them safely out of Bane's reach, while Alfred — disguised as Arkham director Jeremiah Arkham — covertly brings Claire Clover (Gotham Girl) to Arkham to receive emotional-repair treatment from the Psycho-Pirate (Roger Hayden).
- Bane's classic 'Knightfall'-era henchmen Bird, Trogg, and Zombie appear as his Gotham strike team, attacking Bronze Tiger (Benjamin Turner), Catwoman (Selina Kyle, undercover at the Thomas and Martha Wayne Home for Boys and Girls), James Gordon, and Duke Thomas (The Signal) — all four are captured and bound by issue's end.
- Issue closes on Bane dramatically revealing himself by flare atop a Gotham rooftop, his four captives bound beside him — one of the arc's most-discussed cliffhangers.
- Alfred's undercover infiltration of Arkham Asylum — impersonating Jeremiah Arkham to smuggle Gotham Girl inside for Psycho-Pirate treatment — was singled out by multiple reviewers as a highlight showcasing King's characterisation of Alfred as a full-fledged, capable Bat-family member.
- Tim Sale provided a variant cover for this issue; the collected edition trade paperback Batman Vol. 3: I Am Bane (released August 30, 2017) reprints Batman #16–20 and #23–24, along with stories from Batman Annual #1.
- The 'I Am Bane' arc established the narrative groundwork for King's later 'City of Bane' (issues #75–85), in which Bane's master plan — seeded here — reaches its culmination as the capstone of King's 85-issue run.