Warning: Incorporates spoilers for Batman Past: Neo-Gothic #3!
Batman Past’s journey into the labyrinth beneath Gotham Deep takes a magical flip as Kyle the Catboi’s previous is lastly revealed. Terry McGinnis’ touring companion has saved his life a guarded secret for the reason that begin of their journey, however a confrontation with a husk of the Court docket of Owls pulls the reality to the floor. Kyle didn’t decide up magic by likelihood; he was skilled and betrayed by grasp magician John Constantine and went into the depths with Batman to seek out him.
In Batman Past: Neo-Gothic #3 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Max Dunbar, Sebastian Cheng, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Batman and Kyle confront a facade of the Court docket of Owls and be taught of the existence of their mysterious Backyard. Because the strain mounts, Kyle reveals that he isn’t touring with Terry simply because Batman employed him. Kyle is following him to seek out the ultimate resting place of John Constantine, who taught him magic and “left [him] to die the identical sluggish demise that saved him kicking by way of the final century.”
The difficulty features a transient flashback to a younger Kyle assembly a grizzled “outdated man” model of Constantine. Not solely did Kyle be part of Batman’s quest underneath false pretenses, however he hid the extent and energy of his magic, too.
John Constantine was a strong and resourceful magician in his personal proper, evidenced by his unexpectedly lengthy life. Nonetheless, in line with Terry, even Bruce Wayne assumed that Constantine was lifeless. However Kyle admits that Constantine leveraged each demise to purchase himself extra time, which left him the “single most cursed individual in existence” earlier than he disappeared into the darkness. John was the primary individual he noticed make the descent into Gotham Deep, and he supposedly left all his burdens to his protégé. The complete nature of Constantine’s betrayal continues to be a thriller, however Batman’s companion has a wealth of magical expertise and a chip on his shoulder to match.
No matter transpired with Constantine ruined his life alongside his means to belief others, and as Kyle and Batman proceed to combat for his or her lives, an absence of belief is a curse all its personal. As they navigate the Court docket of Owls’ maze, Terry mentions that he can’t be trapped at nighttime with somebody withholding the reality. Sadly for him, studying Kyle’s secret isn’t the tip of issues; there are numerous items nonetheless lacking. The Court docket of Owls is set to feed Kyle to their Backyard, going as far as to say he has its secrets and techniques beneath his pores and skin, as he mentions that Constantine bought a “backyard of sunshine” on the finish of his life. If Kyle is just too preoccupied with settling his personal grudges or righting the wrongs of his life, he may wind up on a distinct web page than Batman, endangering them bot.
In the long run, there is no such thing as a actual proof that John Constantine is really gone. There could also be causes behind his disappearance past something Kyle understands, particularly given John’s propensity for involving himself in magical and supernatural messes. He could have already got a number of the data they’re looking for, or he might be yet one more secret that Batman left sealed away. For now, touring additional into the darkness has not yielded solutions for Batman Past — solely extra questions that will deliver Gotham’s demise.
Batman Past: Neo-Gothic #3 is accessible now from DC Comics!