Batman Vol. 9: Bloom

The second volume of Jim Gordon as the caped crusader and continuing the Superheavy story-arc.  This ups the action after Mr. Bloom crashed Geri Powers party.  While Batman is attempting to find a way to stop Bloom, Bruce Wayne is looking to find out who he is.  There is a really well done seen where he is sitting on bench by this lake talking to a pale skinned man in a while suit.  This scene is so full of tension as you know in the back of your mind that it is the Joker.  

Mr. Bloom has tricked Gordon and taken him hostage as he is wreaking havoc on Gotham City.  This is almost worse than the War Games story-arc.  In the previous volume Mr. Bloom came off creepy and mysterious, all of that has been thrown out the window with this volume.  I think Snyder jumped the shark with him in this volume.  Bloom is doing just what the Joker did in Endgame arming or infecting the citizens of the city to fight for him.  

The real gem of this story is how Bruce Wayne becomes Batman again the dialog between him and Alfred is touching and amazing.  The idea that Bruce Wayne has to die to become Batman, is simple but well executed.  Also the fact the Julie Madison came down to the cave to be the person to press the button because Alfred couldn't sacrificing her own happiness it was truly touching is probably one of the best things Snyder has written.  

Batman the real Batman has returned to take down Bloom and rescue this city and he doesn't disappoint.  Bloom is taken down but I feel it is a cop out as we never find out who Bloom was but we do find out who created him Daryl Gutierrez who was the engineer for Jim Gordon's bunny-bat suit.  One the things I really liked about this two volume story-arc is that it was written in a very self aware style.  that Snyder knew how much hate he was going to get for doing this to Batman similar to the what Dan Slott did to Spider-Man over at Marvel.  This is the last main story of Scott Snyder's the next and final volume is an epilogue of sorts to the run as a whole and set up for what is to come with Rebirth.