Not a Marvel

Rating: 7/10 (29 October 2019)

A tour de force by Phoenix but a bleak narrative of mental illness rather than a Marvel "origin" story. While the action takes place in Marvel's Gotham City with Batman's parents in attendance, there is no redeeming super power presence nor any sign of any positive constraint. The story could have survived on its own merits without the Marvel tag but then it would be seen for what it truly was - the debilitating effects of child abuse and mental illness and society's failure to deal with it.