Detective Comics #842 - DC

This issue, Batman is looking in to the origin of the "bat-suit" that Talia gave him during the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul story-line. It seems like it's been messing with his head a bit, so he wants to figure out if there's something to it. Talia leaves him a letter with the suit saying that it's called the Suit of Sorrows. It's rumored to impart strength and speed to those who wear it, but it also came with a warning that it will destroy anyone who is not pure. The clues he has to work with are the fibers from the suit itself. Which he is carbon dating. And, he found some organic tissue in the suit, probably plant life, that he figures has probably been in the suit as long as it's existed. The plant life is a Mountain Snowdrop, which is indigenous to certain valleys of the French Alps. The carbon dating puts the suit between AD 1000 and 1200. I'm sure not coincidentally, but this is all, in a way, attached to the Order of St.Dumas. Or, to be more specific, a splinter group. The Order of the Pure. It takes him a little while, and more than a little convincing, but eventually one of the monks tells him the secret. It's a little long winded, but suffice it to say, someone that went down in history as a hero was actually responsible for a huge loss of life because of the suits control over him. History, however, was rewritten so that his name would not be diminished. Bruce's first thought is to melt down the suit. To stop it's influence. But then he decides to keep it as a souvenir. With the rest of his old suits. His reasoning is, if he destroys the suit, it shows a lack of faith in himself. It was an interesting story. I'm sure this isn't the last we've heard of this. Peter Milligan and Dustin Nguyen did a great job with this issue. Really my only complaint, and it's a small one, is the coloring. I just didn't get it. I know a mood was trying to be created, but I just didn't like the way the tones kept switching. Anyways, like I said, it's a small complaint. I still enjoyed the issue.