DCU Comic Book Reviews

ROBIN #123

Nemesis

April 2004

Written by Bill Willingham

Pencils by Francisco Rodrigues de la Fuente

Inks by Aaron Sowd

Cover by Jason Pearson

Synopsis

In the batcave, Tim Drake (aka Robin) learns the “superhero” trade from Batman.  At school, Tim learns that Darla Aquista is the daughter of mob leader Henry Aquista.  Elsewhere, two undercover cops are on surveillance outside one of Henry Aquista’s night clubs when Johnny Warren arrives and with the help of the talisman attached to his chest disposes of both cops.  Johnny then enters the night club and disposes of Aquista’s thugs, but leaves Aquista alive as he has plans for him.  Across town at the home of Johnny’s mother, Robin finds her nearly mummified body.  Back at the nightclub, Spoiler comes across the bodies of the two dead cops, also mummified.  She calls Robin.  When he arrives, Johnny is waiting for him.  In the fight, Johnny is so focused on Robin, he forgets about the Spoiler who kicks Johnny so hard she literally almost knocks his head off.  Johnny knocks Spoiler down.  Angered, Robin repeatedly punches Johnny until he literally rips Johnny in half, killing him.  Later, at the morgue, the coroner can’t find Johnny’s body.  Several weeks later, Johnny is in Istanbul, still obsessed with killing Robin, but he must wait until he fully understands the talisman’s abilities. 

Review

This was a good issue in the sense that all of the different bits and pieces to the story came together when needed and it did not seem at all choppy.  Yet, the issue was really all over the place from the batcave to the school to Aquista’s to Johnny’s mother’s place.  This is the type of issue that easily could have been choppy as it moved to put all the right pieces into play for the ending, but Willingham makes it all work. 

In the issue, Johnny mentions he will be back in a couple of “years.”  I can’t imagine the series would jump a head a full year, but nor can I imagine they would allow Robin to continue to think he killed someone.  So, either this will get swept under the rug or Johnny will be back.  I am betting on the latter.  The fight scene between Johnny and Robin was so short that it does not really satisfying, but if Willingham plays his card right, he can built up their eventual encounter and make it a single issue long battle.  Both Johnny and Robin (due to Spoiler’s injury that put her into the hospital) have personal reasons for the fight, which should make the encounter even more intense. 

I am curious to see where this whole “Robin killed someone” deal is going to lead.  I like the idea of exploring this idea, especially from someone so young.  This actually is a recurring theme in the series so far, that Robin is young and is constantly being taught to be a super hero.  Contrasting his training scenes are the high school scenes, although not much of that happens except when his father visits. 

The little yellow or orange or whatever double-dash lines next to the characters’ faces to show emotion was extremely annoying.  It actually seems sloppy to me, as if the artist was not confident he could draw the right expression on each face to describe what he wanted.  But I think de la Fuente did a good job, so those marks were even more doubly annoying.-- MRB

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