Aztek: The Ultimate Man #6

This is the start of a Joker/Batman two-parter, with a very different, and very Morrison structure. Actually, I see almost no Millar influence in these two issues at all, so I'm approaching these entirely as a Morrison comic. Also, I'm again going to try and stay away from a scene by scene recap (although I did kind of slip back into that in the last post).

I say two-parter, but this has a very atypical structure for a two-part story. Batman doesn't appear in this issue till the last page, although his presence is felt throughout (of course you can't read a Joker appearance without thinking of Batman). The Joker, conversely, only appears in a few panels here and there in the following issue, but again, his presence is felt throughout as Batman and Aztek race around Vanity sabotaging his plans. Batman & the Joker never appear together in a single panel of this story, relegating Aztek to simultaenously being the main character, as well as a supporting character in someone else's conflict - as Batman says next issue, the Joker plays these games to mess with Batman, and Aztek just got sucked in. Even when he's the star, he's still c-list.

A quick word on the Joker in these issues: as the attached scan shows, this is the Joker from Arkham Asylum. The art is very clearly based on the Dave McKean design, as I've never seen such a distinctive look for the Joker anywhere else. Note also what the Joker is saying in this page - he's directly addressing Morrison's idea of the Joker having shifting personalities, shifting methods. He's also - in the top panel - looking over his shoulder, directly at the reader, telling us to be quiet. This entire issue just screams Morrison, and he's fleshing out his ideas for the Joker here, making this story an interesting midpoint between the Joker in Arkham Asylum - vague, creepy, wild-haired and impenetrable; and his Joker in RIP - sleek, refined, (theoretically) terrifying, speaks & moves with laser precision.

This issue is also an interesting look into Morrison's evolving creative process. People say that he writes like he lives in the future. This issue, Morrison is writing like HIMSELF ten years in the future - the use of quick jumps between scenes, with minimum connective narrative forcing the reader to make connections on their own - is used throughout this issue. Aztek's in the hospital hearing about the Joker's attacks, then he's talking to the police chief (noting that the attack patterns form a large letter "A"), then he's flying around the city, all jumping from one panel to the next.

The Joker's plot - using hypnotic dancing crickets to drive the people of Vanity insane & commit horrible acts of violence- is also very Morrison, although perhaps there's a little bit of Millar's playfulness in the idea. Once he's finally arrested (after putting up virtually no struggle - escaping, after all, is something he can do any time), there's hints of a larger scheme that he's working, and Batman shows up to help Aztek clean up the mess, essentially.

It's also worth noting that once again, while Aztek flies around "saving the day" on an individual level - saving various people from their cricket-induced nightmares - the police arrest Joker off-panel, and a doctor at the hospital comes up with a cure for the hallucinations. It plays really nicely with Morrisonon's themes that the hero meant to defend all of creation from The Shadow God is more effective - and interested - in small, important victories for individuals. He's already combatting te influence of The Shadow God on Vanity, or at least I believe that's where thi series would have gone if it hadn't been cancelled.