Batman And Robin #4

Title: Batman And Robin
Issue: 4
Date: January 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter J Tomasi
Penciler: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Mick Gray
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Editor: Harvey Richards, Katie Kubert, Mike Marts
Cover: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, John Kalisz

We open with our heroes (Batman and Robin, AKA Bruce and Damian Wayne) tied up in the front seat of a junk car and an abandoned drive-in theater.

Nobody (who, if you recall, is somebody; specifically, he's Morgan Ducard) proceeds to try to lecture the Batman about the foolishness of his code against killing.

And you know what? It's boring.

The moral dilemma of why the Batman doesn't just kill the Joker (or whatever other villain is sure to escape and cause more mayhem every time they are thrown in Arkham) was interesting around 1988 in stories The Killing Joke and Ten Nights of the Beast. It has ceased to be interesting, not because it's been resolved, but because it's obvious that it never will be. The whole thing is based on the patently ludicrous assumption that the legal system is incapable of ever keeping these psychos in jail, and thus the entire argument boils down to a thought experiment that has long since grown tiresome.

In this particular instance, the Batman really has nothing to say, and in fact makes the (valid) point that Ducard isn't worthy of an explanation.

Then things commence blowing up.

The Dynamic Duo makes it back to the Batcave and Damian argues with Bruce about the fact that Bruce is holding back information. Damian is probably in the right here (scratch that; Alfred sides with him so Damian is definitely in the right).

Damian leaves in a huff and displays a bit more of his cruelty to animals tendencies, although this time he's just squishing fireflies. On the bright side, Damian is actually taking a liking to his dog, and displays an interest in Shakespeare when choosing the name Titus for the pup. I'm hoping this will end well, but I don't think it's likely.

And speaking of not ending well, here's Nobody to try to seduce Damian over to the Dark Side. We end with the kid considering it.

Too much rehashing of old issues without any real creativity. A clever escape from the opening imperilment isn't enough to save this.

And Damian is still annoying.

Rating: 4.5/10

Batman And Robin #3

Title: Batman And Robin
Issue: 3
Date: January 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter J Tomasi
Penciler: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Mick Gray
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Editor: Harvey Richards, Katie Kubert, Mike Marts
Cover: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, John Kalisz

Bruce Wayne is busy upgrading the Wayne Manor defenses (like THAT is going to help), and he's not letting Damian go out on patrol (which actually would have been a good idea if he'd done that from the start).

He's also bought Damian a dog, and Damian is getting repeatedly outwitted by Alfred.

Eventually, Damian heads out anyway, lays a severe beatdown on a couple of muggers, and then gets mugged himself by Nobody (AKA Morgan; can you explain to me again why the we know the identity of a villain named Nobody?).

The Batman shows up, mayhem occurs and we end with Batman and Robin waking up locked in a junk car in an abandoned drive-in theater. No, really! The only thing missing was a narrator to tell us to tune in "Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!"

This was a lot better than the previous two issues, mostly due to Alfred, who was awesome in all the right ways.

Unfortunately, the attempt to humanize Damian is handled in a clunky and inconsistent way. The boy-assassin is suddenly hesitant when Nobody tells him to go ahead and finish off one of the muggers. Sorry, not buying it. Not the way it was handled here. Accusing Nobody of "cold-blooded murder" is just about the most idiotically out-of-character line that Damian could possibly be saddled with. I realize the objective is to get Damian to be one of the good guys, but it needs to be done in a way that is consistent with the character as established.

Some improvements here. Still a long way to go.

And did I mention that Damian is still annoying?

Rating: 4.5/10

Batman And Robin #2

One of the leftover #2's that I originally hadn't planned to buy. Probably should have stuck with that plan.

Title: Batman And Robin
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter J Tomasi
Penciler: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Mick Gray
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Editor: Harvey Richards, Katie Kubert
Cover: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, John Kalisz

Welcome to the world of Damian Wayne, where common sense is the most uncommon trait of all. You know, given that Damian Wayne's problem is that he was trained from in-utero to be the perfect killing machine, one would think that the solution would be to have him in art therapy or something, or at least to, you know, not continually take him into violent situations.

Apparently, this is not quite so obvious to the Batman.

There are only two ways this mess can end. Either Damian becomes a full-fledged villain, and the Batman looks stupid for putting up with him this whole time, or Damian really does turn into a good guy, in which case the readers still won't like him because this series has spent so much time making him unlikable.

I suppose that he could also meet a horrible demise, as Robins are wont to do, but that is probably asking too much.

And while I'm on the subject of logical plot development or lack thereof, does it seem a bit odd to give a villain the (dumb) name of "Nobody" and then reveal his identity in the second issue? Nobody, as it turns out is somebody after all!

In between Bruce bemoaning Damian's scarred soul and the big reveal of Nobody, there's, well, not much. A generic action scene followed by the revelation that Damian engages in cruelty to animals. Wonderful. That's really going to make us care about him. Not.

Can we have Tim Drake back now? Please?

Rating: 3.5/10

Batman And Robin #1

Title: Batman And Robin
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter J Tomasi
Penciler: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Mick Gray
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Editor: Harvey Richards, Mike Marts
Cover: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray

Introductory sequence introduces the new villain, Nobody (talk about a name with some epic potential!). Nobody can be best summed up by the words Tom Baker used to describe the monsters in an old Dr. Who episode: Big, bad, and invisible. Kudos to the art team of Gleason, Gray, and Kalisz for their handling of a really challenging opening fight scene. It still took me two readings before I figured out exactly what was going on, but I'm impressed they managed to successfully get it across at all.

From there it's off to (stately!) Wayne Manor and the Batman, who unfortunately has to share half the billing in this book with Damian Wayne. Damian manages to be both a liability AND a complete jerk for the entire book, which is just about par for the course for this character.

The problem here isn't so much the writing as the basic concept. And I freely admit that there are probably readers who love Damian. Those people probably also think Hit Girl is pretty awesome. I guess I'm old fashioned. Children as cold-blooded killers don't do much for me. Or maybe it's because I work with real teenagers in my day job. Heck, I didn't even like the Cassandra Cain version of Batgirl (Wonder where she'll show up in the DCNU? Teen Titans villain, maybe?).

So the writer isn't doing anything more than following precedent. Damian Wayne's unique talent for being both lethal and incredibly annoying is quickly becoming established tradition.

There are even a couple of decent moments. I already mentioned the opening scene that introduces Nobody. The bit with Damian lying awake on his bed waiting for the call to action was a great visual.

But the second half of the book is a generic takedown of random terrorists trying to steal nuclear material. Aside from the Batman's somewhat amusing solution to keeping the reactor from melting down, the only thing that distinguishes this from any other Batman/Robin brawl is Damian doing his loose cannon routine.

Can we just have Tim Drake back please? I'd ask for Stephanie Brown back (at least she manages to not be a jerk while she's being a liability), but they'd probably just kill her around issue 4.

Rating: 4/10