This article contains major spoilers for a book that is not currently finished and will not be finished until December. Unfortunately, spoilers have entered into conversations about comics as part of the norm, as opposed to something we avoid in order to keep aspects of the books fresh and exciting per individual reads.
In this case, it’s due to the nature of solicitations. Given that solicits for January are upon us, writer Peter Tomasi has taken it upon himself to address an upcoming cover for “Batman and Robin” #38, January’s issue of the series that follows on the aftermath of the finale to the “Robin Rises” arc that sees the role of Batman’s famous sidekick finally being filled after a wave of casual partners took the title temporarily.
This is information that will come out online when DC’s solicitations arrive in full soon, so unless you completely ignore those (as some readers do) this will unfortunately be revealed to you. I’ve also seen it appear in certain headlines as well from sites that don’t care to write paragraph upon paragraph to bury spoilers, so there’s that to consider as well. Regardless, as this is a major spoiler, turn away now if I’ve not successfully talked you out of going deeper.
If you’re still here, then take a look at your new Robin:
That’s right: as tweeted by writer Peter Tomasi in advance of spoiler-y solicitations, it appears that Damian Wayne has returned to his role of Robin at the end of the storyline. I gave a lot of guff over major spoilers based on the way Tomasi built it up, but really, those that had been reading the “Robin Rises” storyline probably aren’t too surprised; the book’s entire premise revolved around Batman getting into a whole mess of a trouble over the body of his dead sone Damian, and it seemed pretty heavily implied from the get-go that Damian’s resurrection was a key part to the storyline.
That said, the book is not out yet so there is potential for there to be more to it than just him coming back to life, throwing on some tights with an R emblazoned on them and getting back to work. Tomasi had originally promised that the story would bring a “one-two punch” in its finale, and I imagine this is only one of the two punches; there’s a second fist lurking somewhere. After all, if years of fiction have taught us anything it’s that coming back to life is the easy part; what comes next is where the real challenge begins.
The cover and its coy allusions to classic Superman covers aside, I imagine quite a few people will be excited to see the famous little brat back in action. With the Tomasi/Gleason run on “Batman and Robin” launching as a book about the father/son dynamic and with family relationships permeating throughout the book rather heavily as of late, it’ll be interesting to see what else Tomasi and Gleason have up their sleeves with the return of Damian.
