WRITER: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
ARTIST: Colin MacNeil
COLORIST: Olyoptics
LETTERER: Ken Holewczynski
ASSOC. EDITOR: Bill Kaplan
EDITOR: Archie Goodwin
COVER ART: Colin MacNeil
CREATOR: Bob Kane & Bill Finger
CAST: Batman, Officer Mercedes Stone, the Cossack
DATE: September, 1992
COVER PRICE: $1.75
TITLE: Mercy
PLOT: Batman takes a rookie cop under his wing but ultimately pays the price.

SUMMARY:
Batman is seen taking a beating while beginning a narration of the events leading up to this chaotic moment. Five years prior, Batman is outside an illegal bare knuckle fight-turned-riot. A young rookie police officer names Mercedes Stone requests that he stay out of it, recalling no mention of vigilantes in her training. Batman agrees not to enter the door and, instead, goes rooftop. He finds that a notorious brawler known as "the Cossack," a merchant seaman from the Baltic ports, has annihilated the entire force.

The Dark Knight visits the bruised Officer Stone in the hospital. Stone shows obvious guilt over her partner's death in the ordeal, and Batman agrees to personally train her in an abandoned gym.

Within six months, Stone is suspended from police duty due to excessive violence. She soon finds her way into the illegal fighting circuit, battling her way to a face-to-face confrontation with the one responsible for her partner's death, the Cossack. Batman confronts her in a locker room over her poor behavior, only to have Stone angrily shove him away and pledge vengeance on Cossack.

Eventually, Stone finds herself murdering an aged opponent. Batman finds her again, sitting on a building ledge sipping booze. It becomes obvious that Stone had gotten lost in the thrill of fighting and lost sight of her original intent.

Later, Batman breaks into the penthouse of Jimmy Gluck who had been setting up a wager over another illegal gladiatorial contest broadcast live on a closed-circuit channel. Just as he's calling Commissioner Gordon, he notices Stone on the TV screen. He quickly makes his way across town to the battle arena and finds the massive Cossack laying brutal punishment on Stone.

He quickly interferes and tosses down Gluck's briefcase of $20,000 as a challenge. The crowd cheering loudly, the Dark Knight stands toe-to-toe with the Cossack. Batman is quick to the offensive and, with a series of strikes, sends Cossack reeling to the hard floor. But the mountainous seaman strikes back with a long rock pick, slicing Batman's shoulder. He continues a vicious assault using several hand weapons until Stone offers some distraction.

Cossack is unphased and quickly floors Stone, finishing her off with a deadly staking. Shocked at the scene before him, an angered Batman brings the fight back into his favor with a crowbar. With the audience chanting "KILL! KILL! KILL!," Batman nearly finishes him off, but drops his weapon in disgust. An armored GCPD squad breaks in and puts a lid on the scene. Gordon begins talking to Batman, but is ignored as the Dark Knight takes Stone's body unconscious away through the nearby tunnel.

Batman is then seen in the Batcave reading a letter from Stone stating that she had kicked her fighting habit and wanted to make it up the family of the man she killed. Soon after, Batman approaches a woman and her infant, handing her a briefcase before wandering back into the cityscape.

REVIEW:
"Mercy" offers a great focus on the desire for vengeance and the corruption it can lead to, and I found it quite an enjoyable tale. It features, from my knowledge, one-shot characters like Mercedes Stone and the Cossack that I would find interesting if explored further in later stories.

I was unfamiliar with Colin MacNeil's work prior to this issue, but I took a liking to it. MacNeil's grimy style shares elements with that of Frank Miller and Tim Sale in its often simplified manner. It fits the brutality and violence of story well, however, seems to vary throughout the pages. MacNeil proves he can work in the aforementioned style but, at times, likes to utilize a greater span of detail; one of my favorite pieces in this issue is his beautifully portrayed, single-page splash of the Cossack. The painted cover art also shows yet another side of MacNeil not exhibited during the actual story.

Of my more minor complaints, the story often switches back and forth from Batman's telling of the story to the situation he's seen in at the start, being beaten down by Cossack. The fighting between Batman and Cossack could've used a slight color tinting or texturizing to better definite it as separate from the actual story; certain scenes could easily confuse the two. I also presumed Stone dead at the hands of Cossack, but her letter obviously proves otherwise. Some sign of life would have meant less confusion on my part.

One of my biggest complaints, however, relates to the fast pace of the story. The idea that Batman would spend several months personally training a member of GCPD seems quite outstanding to me. I have difficulty realizing it as just a run-of-the-mill concept to be quickly summarized within a few panels. And as far her training is concerned, why on earth was she seen practicing with a chainsaw? That's certainly not Batman's style.

At the same time, however, the racing plot with its concept of illegal, underground fighting allowed for a very entertaining read. At times, its grim theme is reminiscent of Miller's Dark Knight Returns. And while that theme may not be my favorite, it feels appropriate with this story, and I'd certainly look forward to reading more work from the team of Abnett & Lanning.
- 10/31/06

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