Batman: Nightwalker is a young adult novel written by Marie Lu as part of the DC Icons series. The story follows a young Bruce Wayne before he becomes Batman. After an encounter with the police, Bruce is sentenced to community service at Arkham Asylum, where he meets Madeleine, a mysterious and enigmatic inmate. As Bruce investigates a series of crimes in Gotham City, he becomes entangled in a dangerous web of corruption and intrigue. The novel dives into Bruce's determination to seek justice and his journey towards becoming the Dark Knight.
The most compelling aspect for me was how the book managed to show Bruce Wayne's character before he wore the iconic cape and cowl. We often see Batman as this almost mythical figure, but here, he's a teenager dealing with his own dilemmas and moral complexities. The exploration of his formative years and the choices that set him on the path to becoming Batman adds a very refreshing backstory, just like Spiderman with his high school years. I was not disappointed in this book at all. This very successfully showed how Bruce Wayne is not just Batman and how he also has his personal life to deal with as well and how his Batman and Bruce Wayne life could intertwine. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys some mystery, action, and a whole lot of character development. Even if you're not a die-hard Batman fan, it's still a very good book in the superhero genre that might just surprise you. So, whether you like Batman or not, I would still recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and action. I give this book a 5/5.