[Review] Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu 

Series: DC Icons #2

Rating: 3.5 stars

Format: ARC Paperback

Published: January 2nd 2018

Goodreads Synopsis:

Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.
The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list.
One by one, the city's elites are being executed as their mansions' security systems turn against them, trapping them like prey. Meanwhile, Bruce is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family's fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises and all the tech gadgetry his heart could ever desire. But after a run-in with the police, he's forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison that holds the city's most brutal criminals.
Madeleine Wallace is a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce's only hope.
In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers. What is she hiding? And why will she speak only to Bruce? Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce will walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer.

I'm not much of a DC fan, but with all the superhero hype, I had to check this out. Batman: Nightwalker acts as an origin story for Bruce Wayne. He's just finished high school and has the rest of the world awaiting him, until he lands a stint of community service at Arkham Asylum for interfering in a police chase.

I enjoyed the callbacks to Batman canon - Harvey Dent is one of Wayne's best friends, and how can this be a Batman story without Alfred? Plus, there's a Filipina supporting character, Dianne, who I loved and related to. If only she had more of a role!

I was honestly expecting more of the actual Batman... the suit and the fighting bad guys doesn't really come in until a little more than halfway through the book. The entire time I was wondering, "When is Batman going to show up?" Most of the book is Bruce Wayne brooding and mulling over this girl, Madeline, who is been questioned in Arkham. When the action does start, though, it gets very good - so I can say I liked the ending more than the beginning.

The thing about Batman: Nightwalker, is that while it does set up a good origin story for Bruce Wayne and how he comes into becoming Batman, it isn't necessarily the follow up on nitty gritty darkness of the Batman universe. It's very much a watered down version of it. I wanted more compelling twists and turns, but much of what was revealed was very expected. I wanted all the badassery, but I didn't get all of it.

Someone who is more knowledgeable on Batman lore can dig deeper into this, so while it was a good book, it just wasn't... Batman-y enough for me.