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Review: Robin becomes Batman and Batman's son becomes Robin in Batman and Robin #1
So here's the bad news. Batman, whose funeral we covered a while back, is still missing and presumed dead. There's still no body, no death certificate and no absolute proof that the pump beneath that chest symbol has stopped beating, which wouldn't be a definitive demise anyway since he exists in a genre and a universe where folks frequently shrug off death the way we shrug off bad head colds; but for now and for the foreseeable future he's as dead as Thomas and Martha Wayne, which is bad news for a Gotham City still under regular assault by various arcane and demented bad guys.
There was a short-lived Battle for the Cowl, during which the various members of his extended family argued at length over who got to don his mantle, but now that's done, and we have Batman and Robin #1 (DC Comics, $2.99), the continuing adventures of the new caped crusader and the new Robin as they attempt to pick up the slack.
The good news is that the batsuit is now being worn by Dick Grayson, who has grown out of the Robin identity and (temporarily?) put aside the Nightwing in which he fought crime as a young adult. And much is being made of his unease in the role, which he's assumed before but which he now believes might be permanent. Less happy is the identity of his new Robin, one Damien Wayne, the son of Bruce Wayne and Ra's al Ghul's daughter, Talia. Damien has the chops, but he's also a cold and entitled little snot, dismissive toward Alfred and condescending toward the new caped crusader. He is, in short, one Robin whose attitude could only be improved by a few THOCKs and WHAMs.
And all of this is told by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, whose prior runs on X-Men and Superman were transcendently imaginative, with gosh-wow thrills and startling new twists doled out in equal measure. Their first outing on this new title doesn't burst out of the starting gate with all the power those earlier triumphs might lead readers to expect, but there's some terrific stuff: notably an opening chase in the Batmobile (which, we find out in one gorgeous two-page spread, now flies) and the closing introduction of a new villain named Pyg, whose gig seems to be turning people into obedient zombies by giving them new faces that look like Cabbage Patch dolls.
"I want you to know and feel every moment of your glorious transformation," he tells one immobilized victim. "Strange how the worst place in the world can be ... anywhere." It's a genuinely horrific moment, seen through the eyes of the young daughter who's next in line to be changed, and it has an impact on the page that's about a hundred times darker than simply, you know, trotting out the Joker one more time. Long live Pyg.
And may Bruce Wayne have a long rest before he ambles back into town.
By Auryn at 7:03 AM ON 06/09/09
Wait...I thought we had the body. Wasn't there a steaming pile of bones left after Batman kicked Darkseid's butt?
By Mundxanth at 7:55 AM ON 06/09/09
According to what I read, Darkseid's beams do not kill, but displace. Bruce Wayne was actually sent back in time and was seen with cavemen.
By Mythic Web Design at 8:00 AM ON 06/09/09
SPOILER WARNING
That's right. We also saw Bruce Wayne in the past, drawing cave paintings. So saying he's "as dead as Thomas and Martha Wayne" isn't entirely fair; even if the Batman RIP storyline created any uncertainty on that point, there's no uncertainty that Batman is alive; he's just trapped in the distant past.
By non-believer at 9:00 AM ON 06/09/09
DC doesn't have the chops to kill off Batman permanently. Nuff said!
By hitchhiker at 9:09 AM ON 06/09/09
Batman (ie Bruce Wayne) is not dead. As was already said he is trapped in the past and I believe that at some point Rip Hunter will come upon the clues Bruce is leaving and go back to the past to get him. Maybe Booster Gold will have a fight with Vandal Savage who will let slip some vital information unknowingly. The REAL Batman lives.
By stargazer_1682 at 10:13 AM ON 06/09/09
I read the "Omega Sanction", compared to being a living death, sent Bruce untethered through the multiverse.
By Chedak825 at 11:22 AM ON 06/09/09
Is it too soon to do another 1-900-KILLYOUR PARTNER contest?
By Darth_Andrea at 12:49 PM ON 06/09/09
There was a Body, The Omega Sanction sent Bruce into the past of a Alternate universe. And the body we saw while it was Bruce's it's a "Alternate" Bruce Wayne,
By no at 3:18 PM ON 06/09/09
How is this a 'review' in the general meaning of the term?
Technically it is a 'review' in that it reviews some details of the comic, but it offers no coherent critique, either positive or negative.
By LT at 3:29 PM ON 06/09/09
In the past 24 years, DC has had 3 "Crises". In each Crisis, the most popular and most loved characters have died; and by some miracle, have come back or reborn. Flash(Barry Allen), Supergirl,Flash-3(Bart Allen),Superboy(who will be back) and the most recent death, Batman.
With this trend, Batman will be back. At the end of Final Crisis #6, you see Batman placing his utility belt next to the shaman, and next you see him drawing murals on the cave wall. Whether this is a message for the future on his location, or there will be another Bruce Wayne "super-hero" in the making. Only time will tell.
By Gill Avila at 7:02 PM ON 06/09/09
Perhaps Bruce Wayne can put on a fur cape and become "CaveMan." He could team up with the Mighty Mightor.
By John Duncan Yoyo at 8:54 PM ON 06/09/09
Given the current Booster Gold book Bruce has a ride home if BG and Rip ever find that cave.
Headline needs fixing- Nightwing (first Robin) becomes Batman....
By Whisperfoot at 2:04 PM ON 06/11/09
I always liked Nightwing. I haven't bothered with comic books in years but I might have to check this one out.
By Jill aka The Nerdy Bird at 12:46 AM ON 06/12/09
I was happily surprised with this issue. Batman RIP and Final Crisis were so off the wall I was worried this Morrison series would be too but it was actually very exciting and original. The new villains were a great idea.
I also did a review if anyone would like to read it:
http://www.girlsentertainmentnetwork.com/doubledcoverage-11/
And yes there was a body recovered that was wearing Bruce's cape and cowl etc. so no one has bothered thinking otherwise within the fictional world. Through clues, readers have realized he is not dead.
Visit mobile.syfy.com/wire on your mobile device.
Jill aka The Nerdy Bird:
I was happily surprised with this issue. Batman RIP and Final Crisis were so off the wall I was worried this Morri...More »