Batman: Dark Patterns #6 Review

Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Colorist: Tríona Farrell
Letterer: Frank Cvetkovic
Cover Artist: Hayden Sherman (Cover A)
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 14, 2025

Recap

"The Voice of the Tower" Part 3 - Scarface has taken control of Bledin Towers. His followers have kidnapped a cop and barricaded themselves inside. Batman is also inside and is fighting his way to the kidnapped officer. Can he get there in time to save her life? And why have Scarface and the Ventriloquist seemingly split up?

Plot Summary

After last issue's cliffhanger ending, we open on a grisly scene of blood and death in the tower block. Michelle's husband and the hostage cop are both lying dead in a large pool of blood. We saw Michelle stab her husband at the end of last issue, then approach the hostage cop brandishing the knife. It appears she killed the officer too. A couple of the residents are panicking because they know what this means. Without their hostage as a bargaining chip, the cops won't hesitate to light the place up.

Batman is with the Ventriloquist Wesker. They're taking an old service stairwell as Batman searches for the hostage cop, Officer Pryce. We get some Batman narration about Wesker's childhood. He surmises that Wesker grew up in this tower block because he knows his way around it so well. The scene shifts to the bathroom of another room where the two bodies have been dumped. It's Officer Pryce and Michelle's husband. Suddenly the cop wakes up coughing and grasping at her throat. She's not dead after all, but looks to be in severe pain. She is unable to call for help due to the injury to her throat. At least she's alive!

Batman and Wesker reach the apartment where they were holding the cop but it's empty. The Dark Knight finds traces of blood on the floor and fears the worst. He radios Gordon that the hostage is very likely dead and Gordon orders his men inside. Wesker goes to the fridge and takes out a box. Inside is his severed tongue on a bed of ice cubes. Weirdly, whoever cut it out has preserved the tongue in this way. Batman wonders if it was someone who actually cares for Wesker and seems surprised by that possibility. Cold, Batman, cold!

Back to Michelle and she's losing the support of her fellow residents. They know it's all over and just want to get out alive. There are some angry cops heading their way and it's not looking good for them. One of the residents says he doesn't believe Scarface is really controlling the tower block or that he's even real, "You're just a voice!" Michelle knocks him to the ground in anger, but she's losing her power over them and appears to admit "it's over."

Meanwhile, Batman is mentally constructing the story of Michelle's life in the tower block. She was already living here before she met her husband Rickson and he moved in. There are signs of domestic abuse which Batman believes sent Michelle over the edge. Wesker saw her as a fellow victim and taught her ventriloquist skills believing that Scarface would protect her too. Instead, she used Scarface to take over the tower and cemented her control by cutting off Wesker's tongue.

Michelle starts a fire in the basement of the building, all the while hearing the voice of what she thinks is Scarface. But is it? The building quickly becomes a towering inferno and the residents are rushing to the exit. Officer Pryce is still trapped in the bathroom of one of the empty rooms. She hears a voice telling her "the sink is loose" and manages to break through the locked door using the sink. This mysterious voice gives her directions through the burning building and Batman finds her near the stairwell.

As Batman escorts her safely out of the tower, he sees Wesker staring up at the burning building. We see what looks like a giant image of Scarface in the smoke. Then the scene shifts to the city morgue. Batman, Gordon and Dr. Sereika are discussing the fire. Michelle Rickson's body hasn't been found yet and they're wondering just exactly how Officer Pryce got out alive. She claims she was guided by the voice of her dead partner. "Another ghostly voice of Bledin Towers, perhaps?" But Dr. Sereika dismisses it as the "side effects of carbon monoxide inhalation." Batman agrees.

Sharp Points!

Both Hayden Sherman's art and Triona Farrell's coloring are very good and suit the story. And there is a LOT of story in this issue, so you certainly get your money's worth.

Dull Points!

This issue feels pretty dense as Dan Watters tries to tie up all the plot threads in just 21 pages. I had to re-read it to catch everything and I still feel like I might've missed something. Some of Batman's dialogue reads a bit strange at times and I wonder if Dan Watters has really found his voice yet.

Final Thoughts

"The Voice of the Tower" has been an ambitious story by Watters & co. Maybe too ambitious because it took me a couple of reads to follow everything. There are some really good ideas in here, but it feels like they rushed the ending and so didn't stick the landing in a satisfying way. It all looks very good though, so credit to the art team.

7/10

                                                                                                                                                                     

About the reviewer: Wakizashi Gray has a YouTube channel where he reviews comics. It has the rather bizarre name of Wakizashi’s Teahouse. He also keeps a WordPress blog called Wakizashi Teahouse Blog.