Batman: Knightfall Vol. 3: Knightsend

After all of the build up and attention it received, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES finally hit the movie theaters this past summer, which I'm sure just about everyone has gone and seen for themselves by now. And how fitting that the wait finally came to an end, that the last new volume of Knighfall--or more appropriately Knightsend--has finally come out after this long. We waited and read the exquisite first volume  Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 1 , and then the hate-it-or-love-it affair with Jean Paul Valley in the follow up  Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2: Knightquest  as advertisements for the film. While Knightfall got the entire story arc and vengeance of Bane collected, Knightsquest was the first time ever was collected (though not complete). Knightsend is a big deal, not because it has been collected in other trades before, but the big payoff in this new 2012 edition is the inclusion of the rare and pricey "Prodigal" trade. Is this new 2012 trade perfect? Close. Real close.BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL VOL.3, KNIGHTSEND collects:BATMAN 509-510 and 512-514BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT 29-30 and 32-34DETECTIVE COMICS 676-677 and 679-681BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT 62-63ROBIN 8-9 and 11-13CATWOMAN 12-13SHOWCASE 94 #10 (thanks to reviewer P.Soliman for the correction)[All of the collected issues can be reviewed and found on  Batman: Knightfall, Part Three: KnightsEnd  and  Batman: Prodigal . Please click and review each link for further detail. I won't go into as much information, since the links do it far better.]Batman Knightsend picks up where vol.2 left off where Bruce has returned to Gotham and seen at his replacement, Jean Paul-Valley has gone overboard with the Batman persona and taking over Gotham with his form of justice. Bruce can't stand for Valley's rule, but is no match for him since he has forgotten much of his training, so he's in no position to fight Valley for title of Batman again. So Bruce decides to retrain under one of the most deadliest assassins in the DC Universe, Lady Shiva. After extensive training, Bruce returns to Gotham to take back the mantle of Batman. After Valley's defeat, Bruce suffers from his back problems again and reluctantly ask Dick Grayson to take up being Batman while Bruce heals.After so much time out of the spot light, Bruce finally coming back is a breath of fresh air. If you read Knightsquest, you get so tired of Valley after awhile that you really want Bruce back, and it makes the build-up finally seeing it happen flawlessly. Seeing Bruce retrain himself and to the point of perfection again, as well as it clashing with his ideology of not killing is fascinating. It's all a huge buildup for the main event, with Bruce and Valley fighting in the Batcave. Unlike Knightsquest where so much focus was on Valley, it didn't have the same impact or enthusiasm like Knightfall had, and that's where Knightsend succeeds. It's all about the buildup and Knightsend is a fitting bookend.Then there is the crème de la crème of this collection: Prodigal. If your one who read, enjoyed, and thought  Batman: The Black Mirror  was the first and ultimate Dick Grayson tale about taking on the mantle of Batman, you'll want to check this out. This is not only the first time Dick Grayson becomes Batman, but it does a couple of things to make it worth it's while. The first one is the connection of Bruce and Dick being father and son. The other is that this arc clears up many of the loose plots left over throughout the entire Knightfall saga. And thirdly, are the differences between Valley as Batman and Dick Grayson as Batman. For example; whereas Valley was arrogant and serious, Dick is more sincere and light-hearted. And yet, both characters openly admit just how difficult being Batman really is. Great read overall.As for complaints, the first one is this: THIS IS NOT COMPLETE. Just like volume 2, this isn't complete, which is what every person wanted out of these new editions. What issues are missing are Batman #515, Shadow of the Bat #35, Detective Comics #682, and Robin #14. All four of these missing issues make up the "Troika" arc, where Bruce becomes Batman again with a new suit, new bat-mobile and overall better working relationship Dick Grayson and Tim Drake. Missing these last four issues not only are important and good, but without them, "Prodigal" ends on a cliffhanger because of it. Like volume 2, we all hoped these new editions would be complete, but the lack of a mere four issues to properly end the entire saga is let down. It overall keeps this collection from perfect.Art is out of 1994 and 1995, so be prepared for this type of older art, as well as the same type of paper used from the other volumes. I grew up with this type of art and paper, so I don't mind it all. But if you've got volumes 1 & 2, then you'll know what to expect.BATMAN VOL 3, KNIGHTSEND is not complete, so it doesn't quite get it perfect. But overall the massive amount of content for the money, added with great material, and the inclusion of the pricy and rare Prodigal makes this collection a saving grace. I'll give it an 4 ½ score review, just close to perfect. Overall, I'm very happy with all three new 2012 Knightfall editions, even if there is missing some of the content from volumes 2 & 3. I only ask that DC please reprint the remaining missing issues (and maybe lead-up issues to Knightfall) in another trade collection in the future. Once all the issues are collected, then the readers may have your permission to die. Happy reading, Bat-fans.

This omnibus collects in oversized format the epic conclusion to the Knightfall saga. The book consists of three crossover storylines followed by two one-shots which act as epilogues for various characters.The first part is KnightsEnd, the proper ending to the Knightfall story. Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham and is joined by Nightwing and Robin as he prepares to reclaim the mantle of the Bat from the unhinged Jean-Paul Valley.After KnightsEnd we get the Prodigal storyline. Still needing time to assess matters, Bruce temporarily abdicates the mantle again, but this time he passes it to the man he should've originally, Dick Grayson, Nightwing, the first Robin. I'm a sucker for Batman and Nightwing father-son stories and Prodigal is one of my absolute favorites.The final major story arc is Troika, a short 4-issue crossover that sees Bruce back in action as Batman with a good focus on Robin/Tim Drake as he works with Batman against a new criminal alliance in Gotham.This volume ends with two one-shots: Nightwing: Alfred's Returin #1 and Batman: Vengeance of Bane II: The Redemption. The first follows Dick Grayson after relinquishing the cowl back to Bruce as he heads over to the U.K. to find his other surrogate father Alfred Pennyworth (Alfred having left Bruce's employ during the events of Knightquest). The second of these brings the saga full circle by going back to Bane, the man who broke the Bat and who was subsequently defeated by the new Batman, Azrael. Bane rebuilds himself and sets out on a course for "redemption," well at least in his own mind! He's still very much a villain. Its a great send off and ties the entire saga together.Why only 4 stars instead of 5? Though not officially part of the Prodigal storyline, Robin #0 is basically the prelude to Prodigal and introduces the reader to the dark history between Dick Grayson and Two-face/Harvey Dent (see Robin: Year One). Two-face has often been the villain of the Robin mantle and this issue sets up that back story. Though collected in the 25th anniversary paperback edition of Prodigal, Robin #0 is missing from this Omnibus. Kinda undermines the name "Omnibus" if material is missing.If you're wondering how this Omnibus compares to the 25th anniversary paperback editions, it basically collects the contents of Batman: KnightsEnd, Batman: Prodigal, and Batman: Troika.

The best part of volume three of the KnightsFall trilogy, KnightsEnd, is that it included the entire KnightsEnd, Prodigal and Troika stories. KnightsEnd is about the battle between Bruce Wayne and John Paul Valley and when Bruce defeated John Paul Valley to reclaim the mantle of the Bat. The story sort of just ends and no big fight scene with Valley just suddenly realizing he is not the Batman and Bruce telling him to "go find yourself". Very unsatisfying. Prodigal is a 12 part story where Dick Grayson takes over as the Batman while Bruce goes off to "find himself". I really like this story as it resolved around the relationship between Dick and Tim (more like a big brother/little brother relationship). The final story is Troika when Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham and resumed the Batman identity. In this story, it is Batman and Robin against ex-Soviet agents armed with a baseball size nuclear device. The most entertaining villain is the KGBeast! This volume concluded with The Vengeance of Bane II where Bane broke out of prison to track down and stop the spread of venom. Sort of full circle as volume I opened with the Vengeance of Bane. All of this deserves 4.5 stars.However, this volume suffered the same problems as volumes I and II. The hard cover is great but the spine binding is terrible. You can hear the spine come unglued with each turning of the page. My recommendation for this volume is the same as the previous two. Don't stand up this book on a shelf. Have it laid down flat otherwise, the binding will come off over time and ruin the book. Wish DC would provide better binding.

If you love Knightfall, Batman or DC then you know how good this story is and you don’t need cam to repeat what you know already (Flaws and all)My major gripe is the paper quality is so damn cheap!I know this is more or less a budget version of other versions of Knightfall, but bloody hell this is shockingly feeling paper and a very thin paper cover!If a blew wind too close to the comic I’d probably shred the paper into pieces!Three stars for the content alone, it’s a lovely big book and price wise isn’t shabby, but I can’t forgive the awful paper quality.

This volume contains mostly adventures with Dick Grayson (Nightwing) filling in for Bruce Wayne's Batman, alongside Tim Drake as robing, and that's a good thing. The stories are enjoyable, the duo click, a well written collection.

A really nice trip down memory lane, reading this all over again. Back when Barman was at it's very best.

Only the start really carries over from the previous volumes. The rest is pretty much unrelated. The whole of Knightfall could have been wrapped up in two volumes. Aside from that, it arrived on time and in great condition.

The item arrived in perfect state/conditions