I’ve seen my fair share of Batman interpretations. They range from beloved campy television series to dark video games. While the events starting Bruce Wayne on the path to becoming Batman are fairly consistent there are a variety of interpretations of how he ended up donning the iconic cape and cowl.

Marie Lu offers her version of Bruce Wayne’s journey from wealthy teen to superhero. Bruce was a young boy when his parents were murdered in front of him. Batman Nightwalker picks the story up in Bruce’s senior year of highschool. With graduation approaching his thoughts are more on the responsibility of taking over Wayne Industries than fighting crime.

We are introduced to two of Bruce’s closest friends from school. Dianne Garcia and Harvey Dent. The trio were inseparable and in their company Bruce can just be himself. The morbid fascination the media has with Bruce results in his being hounded by paparazzi from the day his parents died. His every action was followed, reported, and critiqued. Now, as he turned 18, the pressure and attention will only grow.

Lu uses Bruce’s 18th birthday party, an elaborate affair that was covered by every media source in Gotham, to launch us into the action. After an encounter that unsettles him Bruce decides to ditch his party. He intends to get away from all of the glitz and attention to clear his mind when he sees a car racing from a shootout with the police. The gunfire trigger his memories of that fateful night with his parents in the alley and he decides this criminal is not escaping.

Unfortunately for Bruce successfully stopping the escaping car is not looked upon favorably. He is sentenced to community service to be filled by volunteering time after school at Arkham Asylum.

At Arkham Bruce encounters a member of the Nightwalkers. A group of murders hunting Gotham’s wealthiest people. Madeleine Wallace is accused of being one of the Nightwalkers and murdering a wealthy businessman several nights earlier. The Nightwalkers mission is to violently end the corruption being perpetrated by the rich in Gotham. Under pressure to crack the case the police have no solid leads other than Madeleine. She’s the only connection they have to the organization. The problem is she won’t talk. Despite daily interrogations she won’t speak to anyone.

Until she meets Bruce Wayne. She talks with cryptic statements that Bruce finds himself intrigued and then genuinely attracted to Madeleine and tries to help.

But there is the chance she is setting Bruce up. Having assumed control of his company and family fortune he is now a potential target. Because the Nightwalkers don’t just kill their targets. Each wealthy individual has their fortunes drained. Vast amounts of money vanish without a trace.

Lu writes an intriguing cat and mouse game between Bruce and Madeleine. This is a young adult novel so the dialogue is fairly simple but it doesn’t effect the story. Both characters are complicated and dealing with more than appears on the surface. Bruce feels alienated from most people. Besides Alfred his only other confidant is Lucius Fox who has managed Wayne Industries until Bruce is legally able to. Madeleine is a puzzle Bruce wants to and eventually needs to solve.

As the story develops you begin to wonder who actually is pulling the strings. Madeleine may be behind bars but she seems content, almost too much so, for someone facing murder charges and life imprisonment. Bruce for his own part wants to stop the Nightwalkers and sees Madeleine as his way to accomplish that goal. He also feels he might be able to help Madeleine.

We don’t have a traditional Batman archnemesis to deal with. Lu instead crafts an origin story with her own villains. Batman Nightwalker isn’t actually about Batman per se. This book is about Bruce Wayne. In the comic books stories revolve around Batman and Bruce Wayne is just an alter ego. Here we are seeing the world through Bruce Wayne’s eyes. It isn’t campy costumes and funny gadgets nor is it a dark descent into the mind of a vigilante. Lu takles the challenges of a young person, someone who doesn’t fit in, trying to do the right thing. Unfortunately the right thing involves breaking a few rules.

Batman Nightwalker is a fast read and ideal for younger readers. Even as an adult reader I found this to be an entertaining story. It is also one in the series DC Icons books exploring the origins of several DC characters.

The plot in Batman Nightwalker is straightforward but not simplistic. The drama and suspense are built on the characters interacting with one another. Don’t worry though, the ending is exciting and fast paced. We even get a couple of subtle hints and foreshadowing of Bruce’s future crime fighting career.

Bruce Wayne in Batman Nightwalker is not a man obsessed with the death of his parent and hellbent on hunting criminals. This version of Bruce is hurt by what he experienced and he’s dealing with it as best he can. Out of that pain comes a desire to help people and if needed put himself in harms way to protect the innocent. I liked this interpretation of the character, it felt heroic. I could see this young man growing and maturing into the crimefighter whose stories have lived on for decades.

If you are a younger reader and looking for a Batman novel I would recommend Marie Lu’s Batman Nightwalker. You might also want to check out the other DC Icon books Wonder Woman Warbringer, Catwoman Soulstealer, and Superman Dawnbreaker.

Older readers will probably enjoy this book too but if you are looking for a more mature interpretation of Batman then I might recommend Tracy Hickman’s Wayne of Gotham. The two books both deal with original versions of Batman’s history but in different ways.

Batman Nightwalker was an entertaining, fast read and I think established Batman fans and new readers looking for good superhero stories will enjoy the book. As always I welcome your thoughts and invite you to share your opinions in the comments below.

Greytome