YMMV / Batman: Earth One

• Broken Base: A point of contention about the series is Batman is portrayed as far less Crazy-Prepared and emotionally ready to be a crime fighting vigilante than he normally he is in most continuities and adaptations, having apparently done no preparation or training at all before becoming Batman apart from making his costume. Some think this makes him Unintentionally Unsympathetic, while those who have gotten sick of Bat-God hold up this version of Bruce as one who has to actually earn his victories. Others just find it to be a poorly written story, regardless of the premise.
• Complete Monster:
  • Volume One: Mayor Oswald Cobblepot ^note The Penguin's real name, although he is not referred to as such takes Corrupt Politician to new levels. Cobblepot runs Gotham like his own private Mafia and tried to have Thomas Wayne killed for running against him as Mayor. He represses the courts through fear and intimidation, allows crime to run rampant and utilizes an insane Serial Killer called Birthday Boy by providing him with young, female victims. When a judge fails to stop Harvey and Jessica Dent from investigating him, Cobblepot has the judge's eldest daughter given to Birthday Boy in payment for the assassination of a corrupt officer who has become a liability, promising that should he fail again, the judge's younger daughter will be next. When he finally confronts Batman, Cobblepot tries to slice him to pieces with a sword umbrella, laughing about the corrupt nature of Gotham City and how his only regret was that a mugger got to Thomas Wayne before his plan went off.
  • Volume Two: The Riddler is a nobody attempting to be somebody. To that end, after Mayor Cobblepot's death, he takes over one fifth of his criminal empire and has aspirations on the other 80 percent. Framing his assassinations as mass killings, the Riddler rigs an elevator with a bomb and gives the inhabitants sixty seconds to answer a riddle, killing all on board, including his target, when time is up. His next target is killed when he bombs an art museum. The third is onboard a public train with families and children aboard. When Batman gets the riddle correct, the Riddler blows up the train anyways and later attempts to blow up the police precinct to tie up loose ends.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: The Wayne Enterprises R&D scientists who Bruce uses to build the bat gadgets are well-liked for their comic relief moments, even though they are minor, mostly unnamed characters.
• Even Better Sequel: The first volume is generally well liked, but the second volume is considered better for providing interesting takes on the Riddler and Killer Croc, and for giving Batman more Character Development.
• Narm:
  • Catwoman's outfit◊ is absolutely hideous by all measures.
  • The third volume ends with a group shot of the new Batfamily... a group of mismatched characters, most of whom had no actual speaking lines in the series.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: In Volume 2, the Riddler's victims are Jack Drake and Alvin Pierce, the father of Tim Drake (the third Robin) and Jefferson Pierce (Black Lightning) in most continuities (although Jack Drake looks a couple of decades older than his main universe counterpart, making it possible he and Tim are Related Differently in the Adaptation). However, neither Tim nor Jefferson is mentioned when Batman starts forming a hero team in the next book, even though their relatives' deaths and roles as publicly outed crime bosses could have given them some interesting dimensions.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: In the first volume Bruce Wayne is arguably portrayed as an immature and incompetent Jerkass that undergoes very little character development. The second volume fares a bit better, though.
• WTH, Costuming Department?: Catwoman's costume has been criticized for its extremely skimpy and garish appearance, akin more to a cat-themed stripper outfit than anything practical. In a series that otherwise tries to ground the various members of the Batman mythos more, it stands out like a sore thumb.
• The Woobie: Killer Croc. You want to give him a hug, once you've washed the smell of the sewer off him. Even Bruce develops a soft spot for him.

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