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Sean Gordon Murphy is the master copy of Bat - Easter egg , and no greater example of this can be found anywhere other than in his late workBatman : Curse of the White Knight . His ego - contained Black Label series , or " Murphy - poesy " as his fans have been known to call it , read many autonomy in regards to the Dark Knight ’s reference stuff , but still pays tribute to Batman ’s longsighted and rich history – reference everything from the Nolan trilogy all the way back to the ' 66 TV show .
Make no mistake , Murphy ’s grounded and gritty take on the Caped Crusader is nothing to express joy at , as it take on operose subjects such as systemic inequality andmistrust in law enforcement . But it ’s lighthearted references to the happier second in Batman ’s history that make the story play by adding subtle drops of comic relief from an otherwise earnestness narration . And Murphy does a great Book of Job at juggling the mirth with the menace .
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InCurse of the White Knight # 8 , a scrupulously - radicalize Azrael attempt to flood Gotham by breaking the reservoir . While fans may be familiar with Azrael ( AKA Jean - Paul Valley ) from the cartoon strip , Murphy ’s Azrael feel like a genuine domestic terrorist , inflicting cataclysm upon civilian in the name of his fanatical beliefs . But Batman ’s former crony , Dick Grayson , palm the horrific situation with a cereal of ' 60s salt – muttering " Holy biblical flood , Batman . "
Leave it to the original Robin to pull off a one - liner in the midst of a citywide calamity . While Murphy ’s Grayson is n’t as jovial as the one readers are used to ( he ’s essentially a SWAT agent in a domino masquerade party ) , he can still deplume off a zinger or two even in the darkest of minute . And that ’s what makes theWhite Knightbooks so lovely .
Fans ofBatman : The Animated Serieswill also notice plenty of ' 90 nostalgia in the Murphyverse . References to sequence such as " Baby - Doll " and " Harley ’s Holiday " are peppered in throughout theWhite Knightsaga . He also cite the Tim Burton movies frequently , with Batman claimingthe Keaton Batmobile is his favorite vehicleand also using the name " Jack Napier " as the Joker ’s civilian name .
With fan praising bothBatman : White KnightandBatman : Curse of the White Knight , DC has given Sean Murphy an opportunity seldom granted to their writer – the ability to create his ownself - contained universe . Some of the greatestBatmanstories exist in " Elseworld " canyon , allowed to break innocent from the burden of persistence . Murphy is already working on his next installment in theWhite Knightuniverse , currently titledBatman : Beyond the White Knight .
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