Batman - the Widening Gyre #5 - DC

I'm enjoying this series . . I like the various stories about Gotham City. But . . I'm just having a hard time figuring out what the theme of this story is. On one hand, it seems like it's a story about Bruce and Silver's relationship. It seems to be about the influence that she is having on him, as far as pulling him out of his self-imposed mission . . loosening up his view of the world a little bit. He's even able to distance himself from Selina's advances because of her influence. There's no doubt that there's still an attraction there, but . . I think he's able to talk his way out of it a little bit easier. On the other hand . . there is this new vigilante in town . . Baphomet. Obviously Batman is a huge influence, or inspiration for him, but . . we don't really know a lot about the guy. He's worked with Batman once or twice . . and with Tim this issue. He seems to be able to hold his own. And if I had to guess . . I'd say the guy definitely wants to open up to them. I think that's why he's so nonchalant about his identity around them. I think he feels close to them . . or of kindred spirits. Kind of like a stalker. I'd guess. Anyways, upon Bruce's return to Gotham . . he's spends a night away in Aspen with Silver . . he decides to follow Baphomet and see what he's all about. 'Sometimes I hate who I have to be. But I live in a world of flip-flopping loyalties, costumed terrorism, and mind-controlling alien starfish. Trust is a luxury I can't afford.' Which is actually pretty sad. When you think about it. Anyways, when he follows him to his home, the guy just opens up to Batman. It turns out that he's doing all of this because he to also suffered a loss . . his younger brother, Jerry. We don't know all the details yet, but . . I'm sure that'll all be explained next issue . . the final in this series. So . . like I said . . I enjoy Kevin Smith's story. But I'm a bit confused. I guess I'm leaning towards the Baphomet part of this tale. I mean, Silver is a pretty big part of Bruce's history, so . . we know what's going to happen there. For the most part. But Baphomet is an unknown . . a new player. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how everything wraps up next issue to put it all in perspective. I'm also enjoying Walter Flanagan's art more and more as this series progress'. In the beginning of this story, Mr Freeze kills a local shock-jock for crackin' on him. It might be just me, but I think the guy looks like Kevin Smith. It's just something I noticed.