What happens when Gotham’s Dark Knight crosses paths with Jackie Estacado, the supernatural mob enforcer known as The Darkness? Jesse and Chris crack open the 1999 Top Cow/DC one-shot The Darkness/Batman to find out—and dive into one of the most visually intense and strangely pivotal crossovers of the ‘90s.

In this episode of Unspoken Issues, we explore how the story fuses Gotham’s gritty crime atmosphere with Jackie’s demonic shadow power, all while delivering moody visuals from Mark Silvestri, David Finch, and a team of talented artists. From mob showdowns and Batman’s investigation, to glimpses of Gotham’s rogues gallery and the unexpected emotional tension between Jackie and his long-lost love Jenny, the book walks a fine line between spectacle and substance.

Is this crossover just eye candy, or is there a surprisingly meaningful turning point here for The Darkness? We also look at how this issue impacted Jackie’s continuity in the Top Cow universe, compare Batman and Jackie’s parallel orphan-to-shadow-warrior paths, and point out the many splash pages, cameos, and missed opportunities along the way.