Title: Batman 1939: The Dangers of Being Cold
Author: Stewart M
Rating: T
Genre: Action
Chapters: 20
Words: 103,419
Updated: July 28, 2014
Published: September 22, 2012
Status: Complete
Fandom: Batman
Pairings: NA
Summary: December, 1940. Bodies are disappearing from morgues. A couple lies murdered in the street. To solve the mystery, Batman must seek the help of the most frustrating thief he's ever crossed. But the conspiracy behind it may still be too powerful. Chased on the coldest night of the year, has the Dark Knight found a foe so above the law even he cannot deliver the offender to justice?
Link: Here (SB) Here (FFN)

This story is a complete Batman adventure, set during the run up to WWII if not quite 1939. In the course of events Batman, this incarnation far more grounded than almost any version I've ever seen, must seek Catwoman's help to infiltrate a heavily guarded facility. The author maintains a high level of excitement throughout as well as making Batman's eventual triumph both meaningful and well deserved.

If that isn't enough to sell you, the attention to detail about the time period as well as the seamless transfer of other DC characters back in time is well worth your time. There's also an inprogress sequel, not directly connected, which may be found here.

5/5

 

Pardon me for bumping a thread from 3 months ago, but I just read this fic on a long car ride and I have to say, it was amazing. And since this currently has no reviews besides the OP, I thought I would leave one.

If you were ever on the fence about reading this, do it. It's well worth it. Even if you aren't really familiar with the Batman universe. I'm not super knowledgeable about the universe either, beyond the basics, but this work still managed to be completely readable.

Anyways, when this fic claims to be set in the 1940's, it really means it. There are plenty of elements that make you feel like you're in the time period, from mentions of the looming spectre of World War II to the new inventions of the handheld radio and the seatbelt to the usage of typical noir elements. The author really makes the characters work in the shifted timeframe. Batman still feels like Batman, for example. Only he is now dealing with the problems of the 1940's.

The action is also very well done. Batman feels powerful and indomitable, as he should. But he is not invincible. The story scales to his capability, throwing challenge after challenge in his way. And at times he is struggling desperately to stay on top of things. The tension is really turned up in the story from the get-go. You know Batman will eventually pull through somehow, because he's the protagonist of the story and he's the goddamn Batman, but when he does it really is a sigh of relief.

Another excellent thing about this story is the characters. Batman and Catwoman have a great dynamic of grudging respect and somewhat uneasy attraction that really fits their role as the two main protagonists. The story mainly skips between their two point of views, and both characters are explored pretty deeply, especially in relation to each other. In fact, the story does a great job at making almost every character, no matter how insignificant, feel like a real, living, breathing human being. It doesn't matter if we are briefly inhabiting the viewpoint of a random grunt. For that small moment, we feel his confusion, see his thoughts, and we sympathize. The author even makes the main antagonist feel like a real person, with their own thoughts, goals, opinions, and backstory. She is definitely still the antagonist, but she is not a villain. At least not in the typical storybook fashion.

Finally, what really sealed the deal for me is this story's excellent writing. The story consistently had great phrases. I found myself thinking quite frequently that the line I was reading was particularly poignant or powerful. Outside of a few spots where I felt that the phrasing was a little bit awkward, this prose is consistently top quality throughout. Probably some of the best technical writing that I've seen outside of actual published authors.

Overall, this story is an easy 5/5 for me. I have certainly given lesser fics the same rating. If you haven't read it yet, please, go read it. It really is that excellent.

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On a side note, I haven't started the sequel of the story yet, but I heard that it doesn't relate too much to the events of this story. This is disappointing, because this story currently leaves a lot of plot points that could be explored much further. Maybe in the future, in book 6 everything ends up tied neatly together. But at the reasonable non-manic rate the author is posting at, I fear that the potential stories will forever far outnumber the ones that actually end up written.