The Silent Dark Knight In Batman #13 For Bad Seeds (Spoilers)

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Posted in: Batman, Comic Spoilers, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: Bad Seeds, Batman #13, matt fraction, Matteo Scalera


The Silent Dark Knight In Batman #13 For Bad Seeds (Spoilers)

The Silent Dark Knight In Batman #13 For Bad Seeds by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera (Spoilers)


Published Wed, 02 Sep 2026 03:29:11 -0500
by Rich Johnston
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Article Summary

  • Batman #13 turns the Dark Knight nearly silent as Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera let action and tension drive Bad Seeds.
  • Batman heads to Commissioner Vandal Savage to stop a plan targeting Mayor Poison Ivy and a chemical weapon tied to Gotham’s crisis.
  • When Batman finally speaks in Batman #13, every word lands hard as he tries to sway Savage’s forces during the siege.
  • The issue also fits a tradition of silent Batman stories, with Fraction bringing the same word-light storytelling seen in Hawkeye.

I mentioned yesterday that today's Batman #13 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera was going to be a bit easier on the letterer than usual. And so it has proved. With Batman making his way to Vandal Savage, Gotham Police Commissioner, regarding his plan to take down Mayor Poison Ivy over the Bat Seeds event kicking off. And between the two of them, police and military private contractors…

Batman #13 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera

Saying a little less than usual. And in some cases seeing a little less as well.

Batman #13 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera

Not that Batman doesn't have anything to say, that is.

Batman #13 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera

Just when he does say something, he makes it count and bumps up the font size.

Batman #13 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera

And while others say something, that gets rather Mouse Man for a bit…

Batman #13 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera

When he does speak, he leaves everyone silent…

Batman #13 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera

Well, almost everyone…

Batman #13 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera

You may recall Vandal Savage poison gas plans from Bad Seeds: Sunset…

Bad Seeds: Sunset by Matt Fraction, G. Willow Wilson, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cliff Rathburn

As long as you know it doesn't leak or kill people. Oh wait…

Bad Seeds: Sunset by Matt Fraction, G. Willow Wilson, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cliff Rathburn

So, can Batman turn any of Police Commissioner Vandal Savage's TUCO Squad on the blimp, the way he did those in the GCPD?

There is a small history of silent Batman comics. Such as Detective Comics #1100, with a lead story by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin, in which Batman and Ace the Bat-Hound help a deaf boy find his lost dog from 2025.

Interior preview page from 0625DC106 Detective Comics #1100 Mikel Janin Cover, by (W) Various (A) Various (CA) Mikel Janin, in stores Wednesday, August 20, 2025 from DC Comics

Batman #67 by Tom King, Lee Weeks and Jorge Fornes from 2019.

Batman #67 by Tom King, Lee Weeks and Jorge Fornes

Batman #18 by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason from 2009.

Batman #18 by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Batman #18 by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

Or Batman #434 by John Byrne and Jim Aparo from 1989.

Batman #434 by John Byrne and Jim Aparo
Batman #434 by John Byrne and Jim Aparo

Matt Fraction of course also wrote silent Hawkeye issues with David Aja not just once…

Hawkeye #11 by Matt Fraction and David Aja
Hawkeye #11 by Matt Fraction and David Aja

… but twice…

Hawkeye #19 by Matt Fraction and David Aja
Hawkeye #19 by Matt Fraction and David Aja

But right here, right now, is Batman #13.

  • BATMAN #13
    (W) Matt Fraction (A/CA) Matteo Scalera
    VANDAL SAVAGE PUTS IVY IN THE CROSSHAIRS! Somewhere in the headquarters of the Gotham City Police Department, Vandal Savage hides a chemical weapon designed to kill Poison Ivy…but if Ivy dies, there will be no ending the bad night of Bad Seeds, for Gotham City or anywhere else. No power. No comms. A heavily-armed private militia tasked with bringing him down on orders of the worst person in Gotham. All holed up together within an impenetrable fortress. This sounds like a job for Batman. Eisner winner Matt Fraction and superstar artist Matteo Scalera deliver a crucial chapter of the Batman: Bad Seeds event! $4.99 9/2/2026

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