Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire #1

Batman

by Dennis O'Neil, illustrated (Illustrator)

It's Batman! It's The Punisher! C'mon, it'll be fun....This prestige format one-shot pits the Azrael version of Batman against Marvel's The Punisher, resulting in mindless slugfests aplenty.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book

48 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

About the author

Dennis "Denny" O'Neil was a comic book writer and editor best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retirement.

His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.

Reviews

[Sud666 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this blast from the past at my local comic store and couldn't resist. Dennis O'Niel pens this crossover tale.

Jigsaw, one of Punisher's arch-nemesis, has a scheme to blow up Gotham's water supply and then corner the market on the reconstruction bids. In an effort to prevent this, the Punisher travels to Gotham City. We are treated to the classic line "Few places are worse than New York. Gotham is one of them."
In this Gotham City it is Jean Paul Valley that is the current Batman. JPV is the former Azrael (Dennis O'Neil's baby) and has taken on the mantle of the Bat in light of the events of Knightfall (Bane break's Batman's back-Azrael becomes Batman arc). JPV is becoming mentally unhinged and often converses with St. Dumas (his order's patron saint) and his Batman gear has many Azrael modifications- the claws, the Batman mask style and the chest piece. JPV's Batman is more violent than Wayne and is spiritually closer to the Punisher.
The rest of the story was fairly predictable and I won't give away spoilers, but there will be an obligatory Batman-Punisher tussle. Though, to be fair, I don't think the Punisher would have much of a chance against Wayne's Batman in a hand to hand effort he does reasonably well against JPV. There is a bizzare cameo by the Joker and it makes me wonder if there was more to this storyline than a one-shot.
The art is typical of the 90's look. It isn't bad though and was rather popular for it's time. The story isn't anything new and while I appreciate Mr. O'Niel's writing he doesn't rank amongst my favorites. Still, all things considered this is a good read for any Punisher fan or if you liked the JPV Batman. An interesting addition.

[A.J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the crossover with Azrael Batman, not Bruce, and it basically boils down to a bunch of mindless fights stitched together. The ending does set up the sequel, but it’s not necessary to enjoying Deadly Knights. Only read if you love Azrael as Batman. I’d just recommend Deadly Knights, as it’s the superior Batman and Punisher crossover.

[Alex Sarll · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Punisher comes to Gotham! It's the nineties, so Batman has been replaced with Azrael, who has basically the same attitude towards crooks as the Punisher, ie DESTROY! So they subvert crossover protocol by teaming up straight away, but then they fight later, for reasons which are never defined! Both of them keep doing really stupid things to drag it all out! The dialogue reads like it's already been detourned by this guy (Punisher, on being punched by an armoured Batman: "This one really hurts!")!

Sometimes comics are incredibly stupid.

[JD Comics · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crossover books between two publishers have the potential to produce good stories. The key to a good crossover comic is to choose the correct characters. A Batman-Punisher crossover is a no-brainer because the two have two different ideologies. Unfortunately, Bruce Wayne was indisposed when Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire was released. Jean Paul-Valley (Azrael) was the Batman at that time.

Even if Bruce Wayne is not the Batman in the story, the combination of Azrael and the Punisher should have worked because both characters are not afraid to cross the line to get what they want. These two should have been the perfect combination. However, that is not the case.

I am not a fan of this book. In fact, I was speed-reading, so I could get to the next book on my list (I rarely do that). The plan of Jigsaw, the main antagonist in this story, to destroy Gotham’s water supply is uninspired. How many times was this used already? Aside from the unexceptional plot, I did not find the antagonist interesting. I do not read Punisher comics, so that might be a factor. However, nothing in the story made me want to know the character more.

Another gripe I have with this story is that Dennis O'Neil made no effort to explain how the Marvel and DC worlds intersected. It is as if both worlds magically co-existed ever since. Also, the fight at the end between Batman and the Punisher felt forced. It is fun to imagine which superhero would win a match, but set it up properly, please.

The only thing that I liked about this book is the art. I enjoyed the art of Barry Kitson, and Matt Hollingsworth’s colors were superb.

My Batman Collected Editions Instagram page

[Vigneswara Prabhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3 out of 5 | Grade: C ; A Blast from the past

God, the Jean Paul Valley Batman, that takes you back. Remember when Batman's back was broken by Bane in the now infamous Batman: Knightfall, Part One: Broken Bat storyline. And how he chose the antihero, or rather the overzealous hero Azrael as his successor. You know, the guy that was indoctrinated & brainwashed by a religious cult to be the enforcer for St. Dumas, and was not all right up in the head?



Who then ended up doing a shit poor job donning the cowl, let a bunch of people die, and had to be taken down by the OG Batman? Man, the 90s comics landscape was a real wild time. Frankly, the only decent thing he did was take down Bane, like a beast.



Anyways, this comic crossover, takes place in that brief period where, Jean Paul Valley was still the Batman. As you'd expect from the era, it's dark, depressing and filled with gut punching, balls to the walls action. With gritting action hero like sculpted protagonists, and sinister, in hindsight comical villains.

But got to give it to him; the cape work of this version of Batman, is just so epic. Plus, he has the all roided out mecha suit thing going on.



A crossover between Punisher & Batman gives you pretty much what you'd expect. A predictable storyline where the villain of hero A, crossed over to the city of the other, and teams up with villain of Hero B. They form some contrived, easy to resolve within one issue villainess plot.

The two heroes meet, first in conflict, then in begrudging alliance to take down the bad guys. The end of which, the good guys win, the villains are arrested, and everyone goes back to their respective corners, reestablishing the status quo. And Action, lots and lots of adrenaline filled action.

In that regards, this crossover delivers. Just don't expect anything more cerebral from it. Maybe, if it was the Bruce Wayne version of the caped crusader. But, No. I personally am a simp to any crossover with the Batman, so don't take my word for it.

[Alejandro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hardboiled vigilantes united!


I haven’t bought this particular comic book per se, but I did buy the “DC vrs Marvel” Omnibus Vol 1, and this story is featured there. I’ll do a review of the omnibus later, but I want to make individual reviews of each crossover stories contained there.


Creative Team

Writer: Dennis O’Neill

Illustrator: Barry Kitson


LAKE OF FIRE

Finally, two of the most famous vigilantes of both comic book houses did a crossover, Batman and The Punisher,…

…HOWEVER…

…in that particular time, in comics, Batman wasn’t Bruce Wayne, since this crossover was finally negotiated during the Knighfall saga, therefore, the Batman mantle is currently in possession of Jean-Paul Valley (why Bruce Wayned picked up that psychopath (not that Bruce was that mentally healthy) when he had a whole Bat-familly to choose from, is something totally odd)…

…HOWEVER…

…since The Punisher is a hardboiled vigilante who doesn’t have mercy to leave criminals alive, I guess that it wasn’t such a bad idea to team-up Frank Castle (aka The Punisher) with Jean-Paul Valley whose ternure as Batman was indeed quite violent.

In this occasion, they didn’t bother to think about being in different dimensions (I guess that that was way later) and The Punisher just drive to be in Gotham City.

Meanwhile, Jean-Paul Valley was suffering some nighmarish dreams leading to some doubts if leaving the Order of Saint Dumas for taking the Batsuit could be a wrong call.

In any case, this new Batman started to track a nobody criminal but having a stolen rocket fuel formula, at the same time, The Punisher is looking for Jigsaw that it seems to be in Gotham City.
The Punisher falls into a trap and left to die in the middle of a fire, from which, Batman saved him.

Incredible enough, those two psychopaths didn’t interchange fists (at least in the first contact moment) and soon enough agree to cooperate to bring down that nobdy criminal and Jigsaw (of course, in the understanding that it’s better for The Punisher to leave town afterwards).

I won’t detail any further to avoid spoiler, I just will comment that there is an unnecesary cameo of an indeed famous Batman’s villain (it’s not like Jigsaw was that famous or cool but in comparison for DC to have a nobody criminal involved, at least that unnnecesary cameo helped to balance the odds).

Still, it wasn’t one of the best crossovers in any case, but readable, and certainly interesting and unusual at some degree for the use of Jean-Paul Valley as Batman.

´Nuff Said!

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a typical Marvel style hero meets hero, they are sorta cross purposes so they fight, then team up type story... but then there is a sorta secret team up between one of Franchise One's villains and Franchise B's villain... then this story is perfectly serviceable.

Well, apart from the fact that the first quarter of the book, Batman and Punisher don't meet. The two team up sections are very brief. It's more like a Batman story and a Punisher story that happen to intersect, just a little bit, for fifteen non consecutive pages.

Oh yeah, the real climax of the story is 12 pages before the end, just so can get another fight. So it seems a bit anticlimactic. Like they put it there so we could get another fight. The Joker bit really seems to serve no purpose in this story. More like set up for the sequel, which was already in the works. (Batman/Punsiher was, the billing order would indicate, handled mostly by DC's editorial team while Punisher/Batman was handled by Marvel's editorial team. While the stories were set months apart, their release date wasn't that far apart.)

But my biggest problem is that Dennis O'Neil is, perhaps, the best writer and DEFINITELY the best editor Batman has ever had. And he was more than a little familiar with The Punisher as well. If anyone else had written a near identical story, i would have said 'Yeah, great job'. But when it comes to these characters and Dennis O'Neil... I expect more.

That being said... yeah... I buy this is how the two characters would interact with each other. Weel, to a certain extent. Provided that this story actually takes place prior to Azrael/Batman's encounter with Abattoir. Otherwise, I don't buy Azrael having any problem with Punisher at all... apart from maybe Punisher's arsenal being too small and his methods too soft.

[Philmore Olazo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have thought that a crossover between Batman and Punisher would have been fun. I was mistaken.

Instead of feeling like a natural collision between two vigilantes with wildly different codes, the story plays out like they’re just tripping over each other. Jean-Paul Valley, Batman at the time, crosses paths with Frank Castle, The Punisher, who’s hunting down Jigsaw after he flees to Gotham. Jigsaw’s big plan? Take over Gotham... Because, apparently, that’s easy.

Jigsaw aimed to take control of the city, because it was apparently easy enough to do. But we do get Frank ruining his plans. Punisher and Batman have next to no interactions, aside from their brief fight scene and short alliance, they really don't compare notes, nor have any interesting banter. Granted, it would be weird if they were chatty, my criticism is that they don't really have any sort of interaction aside from action and that's it. They’re just… there.

For a short story, it drags. There’s no spark, no weight, and very little engagement. What should have been a gritty, explosive crossover ends up being flat and forgettable.

[Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questo primo incontro ed anche scontro tra i due personaggi vede Frank Castle affrontare il momentaneo sostituto di Batman, Jean Paul Valley, in linea con la continuity dell'epoca e considerando Gotham e New York come facenti parte dello stesso universo. Avversari di mezza tacca, Jigsaw e Rimer. Discreti disegni di Kitson e, nel complesso, una storia costruita abbastanza bene da Dennis O'Neil.
Diciamo che ancora oggi si avvicina alle 3 stelle, anche se non le raggiunge appieno.

[Jesse Baggs · Rating 1 out of 5]

Of the two Batman/Punisher crossover books that came out at the same time, this is definitely the worst, by far. I didn’t even remember it’s existence until I saw it here on GoodReads, and only then did I remember that it stars the “Azrael” Batman, not Bruce Wayne. I’m also a fan of Barry Kitson but he wasn’t the best pick for this book. Definitely avoidable.

[Printable Tire]

90's cro$$over ca$h-in complete with meaningless, stakeless slug-fests and a boring plot ripped from the movie Live Wire which is repeated by the villains at least 4 times. Read it waiting at a bus stop and then leave it there.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kraťas, až na žertovnou epizodu v ruských lázních vcelku průměrný. Trochu bizarní díky tomu, že je zasazen do doby, kdy Batmanem nebyl Bruce Wayne, ale nějaký náboženský fanatik.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great but interesting to see AzBat take on punisher after Knightfall. The sequel’s writing is better, though the art is better on this one.

[Andrew Robertson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Calling this a crossover is generous. Most of the time, the "heroes" didn't even interact with each other. There was also no real conclusion for the comic.

[Frederick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent artwork but forgettable storyline in a what appears to be just an excuse to get these two to fight each other and not even Bruce Wayne to boot.

[Rick Hunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating would be be a 2.5, but Goodreads only allows whole number ratings. I rounded down to 2 because this doesn't deserve 3 stars.

Barry Kitson and James Pascoe give us some pretty bad art in this book. In 1994 when this came out, Image comics had taken all of the best artists in comics. The rest of the good ones worked at Marvel. DC got stuck with these guys. From the crappy art work, it is pretty evident why I've never heard of either guy. Not only is their art bad, but they got stuck drawing Azreal as Batman in the worst Batman costume in the character's history. It is not only the worst Batman costume of all time, but one of the worst comic book costumes of all time. Art gets 2 stars.

Denny O'Neil is one of the only guys at DC that I liked during the 1990's. He wrote some pretty good stories. He introduced Bane to comics, but he was also the person responsible for Azreal becoming Batman after Bane breaks Bruce Wayne's back. What happened to Bruce in that story was cool, but Azreal becoming Batman was one of the worst moves in the history of comics. It is stupid decisions like that that led to DC trailing behind Image and Marvel comics during the 1990's and me to stop reading DC comics for years. From 1995 to 2013 the only things that I read from DC was the occasional graphic novel. This book was written in 1994 and I'm just getting around to reading it in 2015. In the 21 years since this book was originally published,and since Azreal was Batman, my hatred for the character of Azreal has not diminished. This book just served as a reminder of how much I hated DC back and why I quit reading their books. This was below average work from O'Neil. It might be good writing for some other author, but I've read much better from Denny. Writing gets 3 stars.

I'm one of the people that likes the New 52 line of books DC has out now. Most of the new stuff makes me forget the things I hated about Dc from 1986ish to the mid 1990's. During that time period, they had terrible art, mediocre writing and messed up too many of their best characters. Examples of the latter include: Supergirl getting killed off, Wally replacing Barry as The Flash, Barbara Gordon getting paralyzed permanently, and Hal Jordan going off the deep end and becoming the villain Parallax. Add to that the fact that Bruce Wayne wasn't Batman anymore and it is easy to see why their sales were down back then. They ran off too many of their readers back in that time. I'm so glad that they have much better people running the company now.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this for very cheap at a used bookstore. I was rather young when this comic was published so I am not all that familiar with the timeline in which this fits in.
I am quite fanatical about all things Batman and I have a soft spot for Punisher, so when I stumbled across this, I figured for the price I would give it a shot... Not my best decision.

I actually did not read the blurb and it was after I made my purchase that I realized that Batman was not actually Batman, but instead Azrael. Truth be told, I have read nothing from the time that he moonlighted as Batman and I am not a fan.

The art is sort of what I would expect from something that was put out in '94. Granted, not everything from then sucked but compared to the greats of yesteryear and more modern guys, the drawing styles of Barry Kitson and James Pascoe seriously lack. There is a laziness that is evident by the absence of detailing and the blobs of color that make up backdrops and scenery. The faces are nothing to remember and costumes seem to be some what half-ass.

Denis O'Neil is a name that is known to me and one that I believe I have only read novel versions of things from him. I find little fault with his writing except for at times, it is quite simplistic. Seems like he was content to let the drawings tell the story with a few thought bubbles and dialogue boxes thrown in just so you have something to read.

For the price I paid and the very short amount of time that I killed with this comic, it wasn't a bad thing. But it still wasn't very good.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jigsaw has come to Gotham to destroy the water supply, so that he can make money out of the construction work. Punisher has followed him, intending to kill him. Batman is currently Azarel, and has a downer on himself for not being as good as Bruce Wayne. This is a fun, short story that is true to both characters. A good read.

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not actually Batman, but rather Azrael, who I find rather less interesting. A bigger problem is that the whole thing is too short. Too much of the story feels sketched in rather than properly told. Not awful, but not particularly memorable either. For a crossover of this level, that's a pretty big letdown.

[Matt Mazenauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was initially disappointed that the first Punisher/Batman was using the Azrael Batman, but upon closer examination... they are a perfect mix of vengeace and violence to play off of one another.

[Juan Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice comeback of the DC/Marvel Crossovers.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, so.

[Gregor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have been better with the Bruce batman Azrael is a dick.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid. not amazing, or anything like that. I have always liked Punisher and Batman. so, having the two together is pretty cool. even if it's not Bruce Wayne aka the real Batman in the suit.

[Paul Griggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set during Knightfall, this is interesting, but not as fun as some other DC/Marvel crossovers, mainly because AzBats and the Punisher are just too grim and gritty.