BATMAN AND ROBIN #1
Born To Kill

November 2011

Written by Peter J. Tomasi

Pencils by Patrick Gleason

Inks by Mick Gray

 

Cover by Patrick Gleason

Synopsis

In Moscow, NoBody attacks and subdues an ally of the bat.  In Gotham City, Bruce Wayne decides it is time for a change.  Tonight he takes his son Damian with him to Crime Alley to celebrate the death of his parents.  But it will be the last night.  From now on, he will celebrate their wedding anniversary to remember how they lived.  At Gotham University, thieves are after irradiate fuel rods.  Batman and Robin arrive to stop them.  Several thieves attempt to run away, jumping into a getaway vehicle.  Damian goes after them, despite Batman telling him not to.  In the ruckus, the vehicle explodes.  Batman alertly manages to contain the blast and the radiation.  Afterwards, Batman expresses displeasure at Damian’s actions and tells his son that he needs to earn his trust.  In Moscow, NoBody kills the ally of the bat.  Then claims it is time to pay Bruce Wayne a visit. 

 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

There is a real danger with this book to make it feel too much like the previous book, especially since it features the same writer and the same artist.  It would be easy to just do what they had been doing.  The problem is that while the book still contains Batman and Robin, there is a different Batman under the cowl.  As such, there is a different character.  The trap is that is becomes too tempting to continue to write Batman the same way and not worry about whether it is Bruce or Dick.  After this issue, I feel fairly good about Tomasi’s ability to write Bruce and too approach the relationship between Batman and Robin as father and son rather than mentor and mentee, as it had been with Dick and Damian.  The key, I think, is that Damian is essentially replaying this scene before, once more attempting to prove his worth to Batman.  This moment is reflective in the last discussion, where Damian whines that Dick trusted him and wasn’t that enough for him only to get Bruce’s reply that it was not.  Reading that, you can see why Damian acts like such a spoiled brat.  He has to fight once more to prove his worth.  The fact that Tomasi gets this, and gets that the dynamic of Batman and Robin has changed because Batman is different is a good sign that this book is capable hands and definitely worth checking out again. 

 

As for the beginning and the ending with the new villain, I will for the moment reserve the right to judge once we get more into the story.  Tomasi has this rather frustrating habit of introducing some cool villains or cool story ideas, but then fails to really deliver anything interesting.  As much as I liked the tone of these pages, it is vague enough that the coolness factor could go either way. 

 

Near the end, Damian confirms that much of Batman continuity is intact as he checks off Dick (to appear in Nightwing), Jason (Red Hood And the Outlaws), and Tim (Teen Titans) as former Robins.  In addition, Commissioner Gordon once more appears with red hair, confirming last week that Gordon has been de-aged a little bit (or finally broke down and bought Just For Men Touch Of Gray). 

 

Hopefully, the other Bat-books will reflect the news that Crime Alley was going to be demolished.

 

On the cover, is that a homage to the Twin Towers in the bottom center?

 

 

Strange Sighting

Page 17, middle panel, on the left hand side of the pool, visible over the shoulder of the swimming coach. 

 

 

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