I stopped collecting monthly comics some years ago but I still keep up with the "big two" publishers via Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe Infinite Ultra. On the latter, I've been on a Batman kick lately. I came across this little gem from 2014: Detective Comics 35-36, a two part story by Benjamin Percy and John Paul Leon called Terminal.
The cover is unusual. Usually, editors prefer the hero to be prominent on the cover. Here, Batman is in the background, although the vanishing point draws you to his image. The story concept is somewhat reminiscent of the Fox TV series Fringe. In the 2008 pilot episode of Fringe, a plane mysterious lands at Boston airport: all the passengers are dead, due to a biological agent released. The plane landed on autopilot (which doesn't seem right). In Percy's story, all passengers are dead, but it is due to a virus that ages them super fast over a 24 hour period. However, the plane does NOT land on autopilot...
...it actually crashes into the airplane terminal, which John Paul Leon illustrates in terrific detail. I think this makes the story both more exciting and believable at the same time. I can't help but think of Tom King's 2016 Batman #1 rebirth/relaunch, where he had Batman get on top of a jumbo jet and try to divert it from crashing into Gotham City. Here, there's nothing Batman can do to avoid the disaster. His role is to play Detective, which matches the name of the comic.
How does Batman get involved with all of this? The story starts off establishing a mood right away, where Bruce Wayne is being driven to the airport by Alfred. Alfred wants Bruce to take a vacation. But Bruce will not be getting a trip to paradise.
Bruce, a billionaire, naturally has his own luxury private jet. While he's waiting inside, drinking tea and reading the paper, Alfred tells him they can't take off because of the emergency. I love this page, the way it is illustrated and the relationship between Bruce and Alfred. There is some Mazzucchelli influence here. (Bruce/Batman needs Alfred in his life; DC made a huge mistake getting rid of him.) Note the headline on the newspaper, that's not a throwaway gag.
Batman is the first one into the crashed airplane, naturally, investigating the crime scene before the airport police get in. The head of the airport cops is stunned to see what's inside, and to learn from Batman, that the airport must be sealed immediately - no one should come in or leave. The decaying virus is spreading and both Batman and the police chief are infected. They've only got 24 hours or less to live.
The terrorist who released this virus on the plane is revealed as an eco-terrorist, Mangus Magnuson, who wants the United States to withdraw from the Middle East, in return for the antidote. And what's remarkable is that this story is concluded in the next issue: something we don't see much anymore, a two part story. Usually the editors want to drag stuff out for six issues to put into a collection. Perhaps it was conceived as a fill in to give the regular artist a break.
It's not a perfect story. As I mentioned, the plane with the people dead seems way too similar to the Fringe pilot. The antidote is eventually discovered - but after Batman and the police chief have aged up. So the antidote not only cures the virus but reverses the aging process? Isolate the latter please and mass market it, no one needs to be old anymore.
But I do like this moody, suspenseful type of Batman story where he's working in darkness and using his detective skills to solve a problem. I probably wouldn't like it if John Paul Leon hadn't done such a good job of illustrating it. We lost him in 2021, way too soon.
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