Batman versus Predator II: Bloodmatch

Batman versus Predator #4-7

by Doug Moench, Paul Gulacy (Illustrator)

/Paul Gulacy and Terry Austin, illustrators Second printing. The World's greatest Detective stalks the fiercest killers Gotham City has ever known in these collections that bring together two major forces in comic

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Batman, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Action

144 pages, Comic

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

Doug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok. Moench has worked for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics and many other smaller companies; he has written hundreds of issues of many different comics, and created dozens of characters, such as Moon Knight. In 1973, Moench became the de facto lead writer for the Marvel black-and-white magazine imprint Curtis Magazines. He contributed to the entire runs of Planet of the Apes, Rampaging Hulk (continuing on the title when it changed its name to The Hulk!) and Doc Savage, while also serving as a regular scribe for virtually every other Curtis title during the course of the imprint's existence. Moench is perhaps best known for his work on Batman, whose title he wrote from 1983–1986 and then again from 1992–1998. (He also wrote the companion title Detective Comics from 1983–1986.)

Moench is a frequent and longtime collaborator with comics artist Paul Gulacy. The pair are probably best known for their work on Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, which they worked on together from 1974–1977. They also co-created Six from Sirius, Slash Maraud, and S.C.I. Spy, and have worked together on comics projects featuring Batman, Conan the Barbarian and James Bond.

Moench has frequently been paired with the artist and inker team of Kelley Jones and John Beatty on several Elseworlds Graphic Novels and a long run of the monthly Batman comic.

Reviews

[✨Bean's Books✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the mob boss Terraro put a price on Batman's head, he has to deal with both Terraro's assassins and the Predator. He's going to need some help. Good thing Huntress there to lend a hand!
Such a great sequel series! Great story, great artwork, great comics! Highly recommend.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more than good sequel by Batman: Prey dream-team Moench/Gulacy to first Batman vs Predator crossover. At last this time the alien acts much more in character than first volume, storyline was so good that you can almost hear Alan Silvestri's Predator theme and Moench is the master of comics sound effects... but was the Huntress and her sexy outfit just added for fan service or what???

[Benji's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally preferred the first entry, with Dave Gibbons on the artwork, though yes, the Predator does act more like he should in this sequel. The story was a little better, but I wasn't a big fan of the artwork in this one. I will say the story in this one beats most of the DC/Dark Horse crossovers any day of the week.

Things got ridiculous in the 90s, as we eventually saw a Predator version of the Justice League at one point. They're fun and you shake your head and smirk every now and then, but at the end of the day, that's why I love crossovers. This one takes itself seriously enough and I plan on reading Batman vs Predator III soon. It's about time I do.

Also, there's no way the Huntress just had to land in all those positions wearing the outfit she wore. Or maybe she did. It was the 90s after all.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than the first Batman Vs. Predator. The Predator acts much more in character. Strange use of 7 hitmen who were hired to go after Batman. I thought for sure the Predator would hunt them all down but that wasn't the case at all. Much more straight forward series with Batman teaming up with the Huntress to take down the Predator. Paul Gulacy's art is pretty grand.

[Vigneswara Prabhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A crime lord in Gotham has placed a huge bounty on the caped crusader; 7 assassins from across the globe have assembled to cash in on the Bat's head. But the human hunters are the least of his problems. An old visitor, or visitors have returned from the stars and is keen to initiate round two of the intergalactic death game between Predator & Prey. However Batman is not alone this time around; His on again off again partner The Huntress is right in her element as she and Batman track down the trophy hunters from outer space.

Right from the get go, one thing which I found jarring was the drop in quality of the artwork, which lacked the polish, grittiness and kinetic aesthetic which made the first so picturesque.

Then there is the storyline, which is pretty generic, well as generic as the bout between Batman, Huntress, human assassins and the Predators can be made. It lacks the distinct horror aesthetic of the first and this might the problem with the premise.

The predator is one of those adversaries which gets less intimidating following each appearance. Not that it has any interesting character trait to keep us invested. In fact, for such a top heavy roster of characters, none of them come across as particularly interesting.

It resolves itself in a predictable Hollywood action moviesque climax which doesn't really leave you with any lasting impression. Still, it is another deathmatch between Batman and the Predator, so I'm willing it give it a tentative 3 out of 5

[Garrett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just awful. The first crossover was really good but this is boring and cliche. The artwork is also nowhere near as good as the first one and it’s just boring as hell

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice 2nd series in this crossover story line. A good plot that doesn't just repeat the 1st series. Recommended

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't read cursive so batman's inner monologue was impossible to follow

[Rodrigo Tello · Rating 2 out of 5]

El equipo creativo es de los que más me gustan para Batman, pero esto que han perpetrado... no tiene nombre. Totalmente innecesario. Me quedo con la primera parte de Gibbons y los hermanos Kubert que está bastante bien, y me olvido de leer la tercera

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read. The tone was definitely different than the first series, which, on the one hand, can only make sense since there was a different writer/artist team on this series. Also, I suppose you could say it was 'closer in tone' with the Predator movies, or that the Predator was written more in keeping with the movies i.e. - not killing "harmless prey" or unarmed humans; the temperature being unseasonably hot, even for Gotham . Be that as it may, it does move at a fast pace, taking place over the course of a few days. I think this series was my 'first introduction' to the Huntress, too, so it was interesting to see Batman trying to get along with another kid (and female!) in the playground. On the one hand, you could probably have replaced Huntress with Nightwing and I am not sure how much it would have changed the story, other than Batman maybe not being such a jerk to Nightwing like he was to Huntress in how he treated her.

The artwork was decent; had some "great moments" in it granted, most of those 'great shots' seemed to focus on the Huntress standing in sexy poses. I did like the 'shot' of the two other Predators walking up the steps out of the river; that was pretty cool! I am sure it had some other "great shots" in it, but none come immediately to mind. I thought the artist did a decent job trying to portray the Predator as it moved through the city while cloaked. Otherwise, it'd just be 'empty pictures' of the city and the writer'd probably have to insert a line of script to imply the Predator is moving through the scene but cannot be seen because of its camouflage.

It definitely has some humor in it such as when Huntress and Batman are bickering over her methods at the beginning, and then Batman knocks out his 'mark' while chastising Helen for the way she operates. Or, the comments the explosives expert makes right before he dies at the hands of the Predator. Also, how 'pompous and stooopid' they make the Feds before the two agents leading the task force are killed (granted, the one Fed's comment about Gordon and the GCPD losing either their minds or their heads right before he himself is decapitated was funny); not denying that stupidity does seem to rise like cream to the top, but it's always funny how the Feds are always portrayed so poorly when they can't all be as stupid as they are portrayed. I also found it humorous that the Asian assassin defeated some of the crime boss's bodyguards so handily, yet she herself was pretty easily defeated by Huntress. Discovering Alfred supposedly watches soaps was pretty funny - I would never expected that of him! Finally, I found it hilarious that Huntress was 'right' about some things AND was able to acquire information to both help Batman defend himself and find the Predator's "hide-out", and Batman is still not able to give her 'any respect.' He really comes off as a bit of a jerk in this series in how he treats her and is unable to acknowledge when she does provide him with assistance or does save his life. (I realize there are valid excuses for how he treats her, but he's still a jerk.) Regardless, the humor was pretty unexpected (considering the overall "dark, serious" tone of the series).

I could not decide if the suits of armor worn by the Federal task force was some kind of shout-out to Robocop, but their armor definitely reminded me of how Robocop is presented (drawn?) in comics.

In regards to the story, I thought it was an interesting premise, to have another team of Predators come into Gotham to try and take this one out. We are never told why they came after the first one, unless it had to do with Gotham being placed 'off-limits' after the first one was killed and the second one that came to Gotham violated some rule on the Predator's "Honorable Conduct Code of the Hunt" or something? Well, a two-fold premise - two teams of Predators hunting in the city for their respective prey while seven assassins were vying for the $5,000,000 reward going to whoever killed Batman. I honestly thought the Predator was going to kill all seven assassins; I never expected two of them to be captured and two of them to kill each other. That was a bit of a shock to me! I was also surprised that Batman uses very little of his detective skills in regards to the Predator in this story. He just seems to drive around town, making himself a target, and hoping he 'gets lucky' in regards to whoever finds him first, be it one of the assassins or the Predator. There is no real rhyme or reason to or for his actions, so it did seem out of keeping for him. I did like how Helen talked about how hard it is to hold a full-time job during the day and then go out at night as the Huntress to practice vigilantism upon criminals. What with Batman being so super-rich and having people under him at Wayne Enterprises he can trust, he can 'afford' to sleep in and goof off as needed after being out all night working as Batman. Even in the Predator movies, there is an element of 'mystery' to them, whereas, in this story, it seemed more of a straight-up 'action movie-type'story. Not that I did not like it, but it was definitely a bit different in style, tone, and narrative than the first series.

Also, in regard to the story, it was told from two different perspectives. It has script written in cursive that is supposed to be Batman's perspective. The other perspective is Helen's, and her "script" is typed out. Sometimes trying to tell a story from multiple perspectives does not always work, but I thought it worked in this case. Furthermore, not being familiar with the Huntress or her civilian identity (still not, really), I thought adding her thoughts 'in writing' helped give depth to her character and made it easy (or, easier) to understand her motivations and why she does what she does. One last thing about the Huntress -I actually thought when I first read this that they were introducing the Huntress to be a 'love interest' for Batman! Hahahah! Funny, I know! But, yeah, I thought that might be the case. Obviously, I was a bit off the mark on that one.

It was a fun story to read. I thought it was a bit original in terms of its premise, personally. The art work was decent overall, the story moved at a steady pace. The action was pretty good. I am glad that I revisited this series.

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman vs. Predator II: Bloodmatch is a comic book crossover featuring a duel between Batman and a member of the titular extraterrestrial race from the Predator film franchise with Helena Bertinelli as the Huntress. Batman vs. Predator II: Bloodmatch collects all four issues of the 1993–1994 limited series. It was written by Dough Moench with art by Paul Gulacy, and was published by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics.

During their last encounter, a month ago, when Bruce Wayne as Batman narrowly defeated an alien hunter that terrorized Gotham City, they vowed never to use Gotham City as a hunting ground again. However, a young Predator with dreams of glory has chosen to break that vow and renews the hunt in order to overthrow the upstart human champion. Meanwhile, Batman is being target for assassination from the criminal underground and Helena Bertinelli as the Huntress managed to get herself mixed into this mess.

Batman vs. Predator II: Bloodmatch is written and constructed moderately well. Dough Moench's narrative had the same problems as his predecessor – that the Predator as an antagonist is not really a character, but an unstoppable killing machine. However, the narrative fair slightly better with the inclusion of Helena Bertinelli as the Huntress, but marginally so. Paul Gulacy's penciling is done rather well and accentuates the narrative rather well.

All in all, Batman vs. Predator II: Bloodmatch is a mediocre continuation of the original graphic novel that postulates a fight between Bruce Wayne as Batman and the Predator race.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Side note: My intent is to read a comics related something a few times a month, due to my profession. I haven't even gotten comics anything read in many months. Maybe I can slip in a few before the end of 2024. I need to.

A better plotted set of comics in a trade paperback form. The writing over all is very good.
I've been a fan of Paul Gulacy since I got to meet him and watch him draw more than 40 years ago. I must write this is not his top work, but time has passed and all abilities get tired over times. it could also be the inking of, another I'm a huge fan of, Terry Austin. May the duo don't compliment each other. Gulacy is very smooth and Austin takes more and engineer's approach.

Most of the Predator/Alien cross overs with various whoevers are OK. This one has a solidly written Batman. The interaction is more logical in it's science fiction way, but with a solid layout graphically of the story and a satisfying conclusion.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 out of ten points.

[Ανδρέας Μιχαηλίδης · Rating 1 out of 5]

So... this was almost unbelievably disappointing. From the cardboard "elite assassins" to nonsensical choreography and physics (and I am always referring to internal consistency, not real world physics), pointless internal narrative and rigid, token dialogs between Batman and Huntress, this comes nowhere near the first installment.

What is the Huntress even doing in this story, besides parading her tits? I am not terribly familiar with the character, but as far as I remember, her description was never "annoying -and unwanted- sidekick" used for some pitiful anti-drug rhetoric.

As for the Predator being "terrifying" as claimed in the TPB's intro? Yeah, no. Not even close. It's just another critter. Furthermore, the whole coloring rang dissonant to the theme and as a personal peeve, not Gulacy's best work in general, but more specifically, I hate the dreaded coat-hanger batarang.

Probably best to avoid this one.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doug Moench and Batman is always a WEIRD mix. You either get really good stuff or some of the WORST Batman stories ever. This time though... you get a really good story. A strong, straightforward story with something I ACTUALLY thought was lacking from the first Batman vs. Predator. The rest of the Batfamily. Yes, it was only Huntress.. but thematically-- with them going up a younger, inexperienced, adolescent edgelord Predator... it worked. It was nice dramatic paralell plot construction.

This time though... I have another quibble... the inclusion of the assassins hired to kill Batman. It's a neat idea but all of them seem similar.. but no identical to established DC characters. Almost like Moenech WANTED to use Deathstroke, Lady Shiva, Lobo, and a few other villains... but when it was decided that since The Predator was going to kill them, DC told him no. (Sidenote: Lobo vs. Predator? Why wasn't that a thing. I'm serious. Total missed opportunity.)

[Riccardo Caputi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less interesting than the first one, but still enjoyable. I found the mobsters pretty useless in this one. Sure, Gibbons used them mainly as pawns to develop the plot, but they had very distinct personalities, and their deaths served to enhance the scariness of the Predator, especially when Batman was gone. Moreover, the Huntress was a pretty boring character, and seemed to be involved mostly because the story involves a hunt (and to show off her goods, obviously).

In the final page, we could ask ourselves if our hero is closer to a Predator than to a human. It's not really subtle, but I still found it a nice touch.

[Mark Cain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good adventure, a shade better than the first Batman Vs Predator story. Batman hunted by a League of Assassins and a particularl powerful predator, with The Huntress in his corner.

[Andrew Shaffer]

DNF. When is TO CATCH A PREDATOR finally going to have a sitdown with Bruce Wayne about all these orphan boys he’s taking in?

[Tommy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once you get past the cursive font, which I found hard to read, of Batman's inner monologue and the story gets going, you have a great adventure! The artwork is stunning, worth a read just for that.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Left much to be desired. The huntress felt unnecessary, the 7 assassins were kinda anticlimactic. Good, but not great

[Tommy Hurrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shit was so good for no reason

[Kamil Henri · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

[Donavon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huntress seems tacked on, unfortunately.

The main Predator is being hunted himself, was not clear why.

Overall a good crossover.

[Bene Vogt · Rating 1 out of 5]

A complete failure in all regards, featuring downright terrible art and very dumb writing.

[Jungi Hong]

first Batman vs Predator does the idea to its max potential and this one is like, what is opportunity cost. There is Huntress thought, who is cool in a very 90s costume lmao

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be terrible, but I picked it up from the library anyway because picking were slim. Anyhoo, this is actually pretty good--nice and dark art, no over-the-top cheese (except for maybe the boxer angle), and Batman doesn't have too easy of a time of it. The whole Predator/Alien thing has gotten out of hand but I can honestly recommend this one strictly for Batman fans. I guess for Predator fans, too, but your guy loses, dudes.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huntress was pretty cool in this one. It wasn't as bad as I expected it would be, but it's nothing anyone has to read, I think.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huntress gets accused of murder until the predator is seen. Batman and Huntress vs predators. This is a fun idea, the character of Huntress really does add a lot to the storyline. A good read.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read but not that great for me since I don't care for the PvA series.