DCU Comic Book Reviews

ROBIN #131

War Games Act 3, Part 4: Too Many Ghosts

December 2004

Written by Bill Willingham

Pencils by Thomas Derenick

Inks by Robert Campanella

Cover by Dustin Nguyen

Synopsis

In Port Adams at Pier 17, Tim Drake (aka Robin) apprehends two members of the Ravens.  Oracle calls to tell him Mr. Fun is in Cathedral Square and the Trickster is in Grant Park.  Meanwhile, Black Mask is looking for Stephanie Brown (aka Spoiler), who had escaped.  Batman is also looking for the Spoiler and tells Oracle he is heading back to the Hill.  Oracle, however, is worried about Tim and feels he may be overcompensating for the loss of Darla.  Batman trusts Tim and his abilities.  At that moment, Tim apprehends the Trickster and then Mr. Fun.  Elsewhere, Black Mask pulls out a gun on the Spoiler, but she takes it from him and points the barrel at him!  She wants to kill him, but can’t because of Batman.  That one moment of hesitation allows Black Mask to take the gun from her.  He shoots her in the shoulder, kicks her down the stairs, and then leaves.  Elsewhere, Robin finally rests, sitting with his father, Jack, on the roof of Dr. Leslie Thompkins’ clinic.  Jack has been scrounging supplies for the clinic and got injured by some gang kids trying to take drugs from him.  Tim chides him to be careful.  Jack tells his son that he hates what Tim is doing, but he is proud of his son.  Just then they are both called back to duty and they leave to go back into the action.

Review

“I finally understand what Batman couldn’t teach me.  This isn’t a game!”

Then why is it called “War Games?”  Ba Da Bump!

Looking back at my previous review of Robin, I mentioned that there was something missing in the relationship between Jack and Tim.  In this issue, we get that moment I was looking for previously, which is Jack coming to terms with what his son does.  His grudging acceptance and his statement of pride in his son completed the circle began several issues ago.  For anyone reading Robin for awhile, I think that small moment was probably very cathartic. At least it would have been if it hadn’t been lost in the release of the fifth issue of Identity Crisis, which happened to come out on the exact same day.  It is a shame that DC could not have planned these two events a little better, to release Identity Crisis after War Games is over.

The moment quoted above was supposed to be the moment when Stephanie finally “gets it,” but of course now that she gets it, she has to die.  It is Writing 101 and (to me, at least) it shows that Stephanie’s death was more of an editorial decision than part of the natural flow of the story.  Granted she isn’t dead yet, but give it a couple of issues and it will happen. 

Interesting to note that in Acts 1 and 2, Robin was Part 5 but for Act 3 this issue is Part 4.  It looks as if this and Gotham Knights switched places.  It is a curious switch that was might have been done because of the release of Identity Crisis.-- Review by MRB   

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