More than a year after the death of Damian Wayne and the subsequent theft of his casket brought emotional turmoil down on the Bat-family, Batman has finally caught up with Ra’s al Ghul — but soon an even more dangerous threat than the League Of Shadows appears.
As a note, some spoilers are discussed.
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Illustrated by Andy KubertThe hunt for Robin is over, and the battle joined! But Batman’s family feud with Ra’s al Ghul is about to erupt into something bigger when it’s interrupted by the forces of Apokolips! This epic story continues in this month’s BATMAN AND ROBIN #33!
There’s a famous cliché that often shows up in pop songs and mediocre television that equally applies to comic books: “what goes around comes around.” Almost from the moment that Damian Wayne was killed at the hand of his own evil clone (long story), readers and CBR forum trolls began to guess how soon the character would be resurrected. Fifteen issues later, the story seeds planted from the moment Damian died have come to fruition in some surprising and not surprising ways.
While the folks at Marvel have mastered the art of the brisk recap page, DC has been reticent to adopt such a feature at the start of their comics. This makes it a bit of a surprise when this supersized one-shot begins with not one, not three, but seven pages of recap. And it doesn’t just cover the death of Robin and the subsequent search for his body, but every major event since Damian first showed up in the pre-New 52 days. Everything from ‘Batman and Son’ to ‘Death of the Family’ is covered; even the ambiguously canonical ‘Final Crisis’ gets a nod. If you’re eight years behind on Batman comics, this is the issue for you.
Considering this chunk of exposition is a third of the size of a regular comic, Peter Tomasi scripts the sequence in a fairly concise and graceful manner. It absolutely could have been shorter, and if you have kept up with the stories from various series it at best will be a fun romp down memory lane, and at worse it will seem incredibly repetitious and boring. Having said that, the fact that this issue is over 40 pages long, the length of the recap becomes understandable, and not like they’re bilking the reader for money. Andy Kubert adds a touch of haze and large minimalist backgrounds to give the sequence a different look. Kubert co-created Damian Wayne with Grant Morrison back in “Batman” #655, and it feels very fitting that he returns to pencil another important event for the character. It is a bit odd when he’s created new versions of scenes he drew years ago, but none of it looks rushed or dashed off.
Once the issue proper begins, the just arrived forces of New God Glorious Godfrey have a staredown with Batman, Frankenstein, Ra’s al Ghul and his assassins. Godfrey wants the Chaos Shard that he detects in the area. Batman has no idea what the New God is talking about, but immediately knows that Ra’s has something to do with it. Ra’s has hidden the shard in Damian’s casket, hopefully for a soon-to-be-revealed reason (or else that was an incredibly stupid idea). They want the casket, Batman and Ra’s won’t give it to them, and a 20-page fight scene ensues.
One of the things that has always elevated “Batman and Robin” apart from the run of the mill Batman-broods-and-punches-criminals stories is that Tomasi is quietly a master of character voice and development. While the main “Batman” title has been preoccupied with retelling the Dark Knight’s origins, it’s been “Batman and Robin” that kept the memory of Damian alive and the audience invested in the character. That’s why the apparent resurrection doesn’t feel like an out of the blue stunt (cough’DeathOfSuperman’cough), but the next iteration of a story that didn’t really end.
Unfortunately, a gigantic fight scene doesn’t play into Tomasi’s character based strengths. He does still manage to fit in small moments that stand above the fray of mindless actions such as the temporary truce agreement between Batman and Ra’s, but it almost gets buried in the fighting. Kubert, on the other hand, shines throughout the onslaught and fills page after page with gorgeous art. There are more than a dozen characters fighting each other at the same time, but it doesn’t get confusing or just plain blurry. His character design for Glorious Godfrey manages to strike a good balance between New 52 realism and Morrison/Silver Age strangeness. It would be nice if they could move away from a somewhat standard black and red color scheme, but it’s still a descent start.
Continued belowThe best surprise in this issue is the sudden appearance of the post-‘Forever Evil’ Justice League. Ra’s al Ghul drops off a cliff, Frankenstein plunges into a frozen lake, and Godfrey gets his hands on the shard, when Lex Luthor and the gang show up to save the day. This is where Tomasi’s knack for characters really stands out, as each member of the League gets one moment to shine and Tomasi just nails their personalities. Aquaman and Wonder Woman are determined, Luthor is blunt and patronizing, and Shazam is just a massive tool. Seriously, it takes all of half a page for Shazam to get annoying. Of course Tomasi realizes this, and is quick with a bit of fan service as Batman just punches him in the face.
When the Justice League shows up and everything gets a little more superpowered, Kubert steps up the art even more. Every panel becomes a stand out page, especially when Aquaman summons the killer whales (just as awesome as it sounds) and when Shazam leads the charge against Godfrey’s troops. In the closing page Kubert renders Batman in such a way that his anger and rage is obvious just from looking at him. If you like your Batman growling intentions with teeth and fists both clenched, the ending will be extremely satisfying.
This one shot mainly functions as a recap/setup issue, and in that respect it is very successful. The stakes are laid out and all the necessary information is provided, and Tomasi and Kubert keep the whole thing entertaining. The enormous fight scene doesn’t mesh incredibly well with Tomasi’s ability for strong characterization, but he gets in plenty of small moments that add another layer to the issue. Kubert’s art is great from start to finish, and doesn’t get confusing or overwhelming. The appearance of the Justice League is a real highlight that lets Tomasi and Kubert shine, and hopefully demonstrates the heights that the story can reach in the near future.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – A strong start from what could’ve seemed like a stunt story, but is being treated rather well
