ROBIN #13 - January 1995

 

Wings over Gotham

Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), John Cleary and Phil Jimenez (pencilers), Ray Kryssing w/Phil Jimenez (inks), Albert DeGuzman (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Robin attaches a line to Steeljacket, and finds himself dragged through the sky with the Gotham police force in pursuit.  Meanwhile, Dick and Bruce discuss Bruce’s decision to have Jean-Paul replace him, and whether or not Bruce will resume the role of Batman.  After the Gotham police overwhelm Steeljacket in a hail of bullets, Robin returns to the Batcave.  He discovers Dick wearing his Nightwing outfit, while Bruce is lurking in the shadows in a new Batman costume.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• Robin’s suspicion that Steeljacket isn’t human is given dramatic emphasis.  I have no idea if this was ever paid off.
• This new Batman costume is essentially the Tim Burton movie outfit.  All black, with no trunks on the outside.  Dick and Tim act as if this is a dramatic change, which is just ridiculous.  I believe Chuck Dixon has stated that Batman was supposed to get a more dramatic make-over following “Prodigal,” but DC backed out at the last minute.

Review:  After three volumes and around 2,000 pages, we’ve reached the end of the Knightfall trades.  And if you think this isn’t much of a conclusion, you’re right, but this is the last comic with “Prodigal” on the cover, so it must be the last comic reprinted in the collection.  Those are the rules and we all must accept them.  If there's another way to do research while compiling a trade outside of scrolling through the comics.org cover gallery, I don't want to hear about it.  Unfortunately, the final volume is going out on what’s likely the weakest artwork from the entire event.  For reasons I’ll never understand, an editor decided to pair John Cleary and Phil Jimenez as artists this issue.  Phil Jimenez is still doing a George Perez pastiche at this point, while John Clearly is a sub-par McFarlane double.  Remember Boof?  (How could anyone forget Boof?)  No sane individual would pair these guys on the same story, but that’s what happened somehow.  Not surprisingly, the issue looks like an absolute mess.

While there are numerous plot lines that remain unresolved at this point, there is at least some sense of closure, as Bruce and Dick finally discuss why on earth Azrael was hired as the replacement Batman.  Dixon plays their partnership as a father/son relationship, strained over the years as Dick entered adulthood.  The creators are still going with the “he’s his own man now” rationalization for why Bruce didn’t ask Dick to replace him, but Dixon is now putting more weight behind the argument.  And Dick is also able to voice the readers’ complaints and call Bruce out on his lack of faith; Dick didn’t want to become Batman, but of course he would do it if Bruce needed him.  It’s hard to deny that DC always had a flimsy excuse for bringing in Azrael instead of Dick at the start of this event, but Dixon does about as good a job imaginable justifying the decision. 

ROBIN #12 - December 1994

Bullies

Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Phil Jimenez (penciler), John Stokes (inker), Albert DeGuzman (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Tim Drake is harassed by two punks while at the movies with Ariana.  In order to protect his secret identity, Tim allows the punks to embarrass him in front of his girlfriend.  That night, as Robin, he tries to make himself feel better while taking down hoods with Batman.  The next day, he runs into the punks again.  He easily defeats them when alone in an alley, but is later upset to learn the store belonging to Ariana’s family has been vandalized by gangsters seeking protection money.  Later, the heads of the Troika meet.  An assassin enters, declaring he will kill Batman and Robin.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• I don’t believe this assassin appears in any future chapter of “Prodigal,” which means his identity is never revealed in this reprint collection.  I suspect he’s supposed to be an update of the KGBeast, or NKVDemon.
• Tim Drake’s future stepmother, Dana Winters, is introduced as his father’s physical therapist.

Review:  There’s no obvious reason for this story to be reprinted, aside from the “Prodigal” logo appearing on the cover.  The reprint collection has currently reached an awkward stage, now that Two-Face has been defeated but Bruce Wayne hasn’t returned yet.  Ideally, there should be more of a character arc for Dick Grayson to go through, but he really doesn’t have that much to deal with by this point.  That means this issue of Robin reads like almost any other issue from this era, except a different guy is playing Batman during his brief appearance in the issue.  And that’s not to say it’s a bad issue of Robin at all; in fact, I first read this as a random back issue years ago and have always enjoyed it.  Dixon captures a teenage boy’s fear of being embarrassed in front of his girlfriend remarkably well, and he manages to make Tim thoroughly likable throughout the ordeal.  Dixon always knew how to handle the teen superhero drama during this run, and I have to reiterate that it’s a shame DC doesn’t realize what a great Robin Tim Drake made during the ‘90s.  From the perspective of putting together a truly complete trade paperback, however, I have to say that Robin #0 should’ve taken this story’s place several chapters ago.

ROBIN #11 - November 1994

Two in Every Crowd

Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Phil Jimenez (penciler), Ray Kryssing (inker), Albert DeGuzman (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  As Robin tries to find time for his personal life, Two-Face begins his crime spree.  He kills dozens of lawyers at a banquet, attracting the attention of Batman and Robin.  When Robin looks into the city’s database to discern clues for Two-Face’s next move, he notices a distress call being sent from the basement of the city courthouse.  Two-Face is inside with his henchmen, destroying the computer servers, claiming that Gotham’s criminals will now have to be freed.  Batman and Robin arrive to stop him.

Irrelevant Continuity:

• Two-Face again claims that he was released due to a computer glitch, which doesn’t match the actual events of Shadow of the Bat #32.  His scheme of disrupting the city’s computer system is even based on this “computer glitch” that never actually happened.
• I believe this is the first issue to have Two-Face wear a white and black ensemble, inspired by the one made popular on the ‘90s animated series.  Note that the cover still has him in the tacky multi-colored suit.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority:  The shot of Two-Face standing over the bodies of dozens of dead lawyers is unusually graphic.

Total N00B:  Two-Face and Robin/Batman continue to reference the events of Robin #0, which I’ll point out again isn’t reprinted in this collection.

Review:  Even Robin remarks that it feels as if he’s been marking time lately, referencing the previous month’s trio of rather ineffective villains.  That means it’s time for Two-Face to finally move into the foreground and kick off this vague “ones and ohs” plot he’s been hatching for a few issues now.  There is a germ of a good idea here -- Two-Face is now obsessed with computers because they operate on binary code, and even back in 1994, society was computerized enough for this to be a viable scheme for a supervillain.  Unfortunately, some shaky continuity between the titles hampers the setup; not to mention Two-Face has a very fuzzy idea of how this is going to work.  Destroying the city’s servers would inconvenience some government employees, but it wouldn’t lead them to just open up the prisons.  Perhaps a better avenue to explore would be Two-Face drafting the aid of a computer hacker and using his skills to disrupt Gotham City operations.  (Although that might be too similar to Clock King’s debut in the animated series.)  

Outside of the main crossover plot, Dixon continues to play off the return of Tim Drake’s father for some superheroic teen angst.  Tim wants to spend time with his father, but he’s now demanding all of Tim’s time, making his life as Robin much more difficult.  It’s also placed a strain on his relationship with his girlfriend Ariana, although Dixon does write a nice scene this issue that humanizes Ariana a bit and allows her to be more than a stereotypical nagging comic book girlfriend.  Phil Jimenez might seem like an obvious choice to draw scenes like this, but his best moments this issue are his pin-up shots of Batman, or the close-ups of Two-Face’s scarred half.   His human characters are covered in detail lines, which is of course his style, but they look oddly artificial.  Jimenez still does competent work, and this series will soon have much worse fill-in artists, but it’s not on the level that Tom Grummett was doing on a regular basis.

ROBIN #9 - August 1994

 

The Triumph

Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Tom Grummett (layouts), Ray Kryssing (finishes), Albert De Guzman (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Robin returns to the Batcave and is relieved to find Bruce inside instead of Jean-Paul.  He tries to go about his daily life as Tim Drake, but is exhausted following the previous forty-eight hours.  The next night, he responds to a hostage situation at a museum.  Robin tricks the criminals into revealing their locations over their walkie-talkies, allowing Batman to pick them off.  After Robin helps Batman finish the final criminal, Batman assures him that the job is still his if he wants it.

Review:  Oddly enough, this issue marks Bruce Wayne’s full return as Batman.  Since DC didn’t make a big deal about it, there’s a sense that the other shoe is about to drop.  Dixon leaves a few hints regarding Bruce’s attitude that “changes must be made,” but he spends the vast majority of the issue touching base with the series’ ongoing subplots and giving the audience an old-school Batman/Robin team-up.  The museum fight scene is fun, and it’s worth noting that Batman actually cracks a smile at one point, but the best moments of the story deal with Tim Drake’s normal life.  I can’t imagine that launching this ongoing series in the middle of a massive crossover event did the continuing subplots any favors, but Dixon is able to explore how exactly the major upheavals in the Batman’s world can impact Tim’s life.  If you really did just endure six straight issues of fight scenes, you probably would fall asleep while on a date with your girlfriend.  The small human touches are what made the Robin series so enjoyable throughout the ‘90s.  Hopefully these brief glimpses in the Knightfall trades will encourage anyone who missed out on the book the first time to hunt down the back issues.

ROBIN #8 - July 1994

 

Death’s Door

Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Tom Grummett (penciler), Ray Kryssing (finishes), Albert De Guzman (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Robin and Nightwing are aghast at Bruce’s actions, as opposed to the recently-arrived Lady Shiva.  She tells Bruce his training is complete and takes the Tengu mask with her.  After she leaves, the master begins to revive, and Robin and Nightwing understand that Bruce used a non-lethal maneuver.  Meanwhile, the cyborg defeated by Jean-Paul implicates Batman to the police in what could be his final breath.  Jean-Paul escapes the crime scene and tracks down more gunrunners.  Later, Bruce dons the Batman costume again, ready to retake Gotham.

“Huh?” Moment:  Bane somehow has a mystic connection to Batman that lets him know when Bruce has donned the cowl once again.

Review:  Hey, wasn’t that cover blurb the name of a crossover in the early ‘00s?  Did that storyline ever expect you to believe Bruce Wayne killed someone, or did we always know he was framed?  Back in 1994, DC was serious about the feint, for the entire week or two in-between Legends of the Dark Knight #62 and Robin #8, at least.  Like the ending of the previous chapter, Dixon gets a lot of mileage out of the shock value, even if it makes the inevitable revival of the master feel like even more of a copout.  Thankfully, this tease only lasted for a week or so.  Given DC’s track record for its ‘90s event comics, I wouldn’t be surprised if a dozen issues teased the idea of Bruce killing someone at the end of his ninja training before we discovered he’s actually innocent.  

After the Shiva training scenes are mercifully over, we’re treated to even more pages of Jean-Paul brutalizing gunrunners while on his hunt for the mysterious “LeHah.”  Those are about as entertaining as you might expect, but fortunately the remainder of the issue is dedicated to Robin and Nightwing’s growing relationship.  Dixon handles both of the characters well, and Grummett shows he’s just as adept at conversation scenes as action scenes.  And seeing Bruce don the cowl again is kind of an emotional moment after such a lengthy storyline, but it’s marred by the knowledge that DC goes another six months before truly restoring Batman.

ROBIN #7 - June 1994

Turning Point

Credits:  Chuck Dixon (writer), Tom Grummett (penciler), Ray Kryssing (inker), Albert DeGuzman (letterer), Adrienne Roy (colorist)

Summary:  Tim Drake prepares for the return of his father, and reunites with Bruce Wayne.  After they take his father home, Tim shows Bruce the current condition of Wayne Manor.  When Bruce learns that Jean-Paul, as Batman, killed Abattoir, he’s adamant that Jean-Paul give up the cowl.  They break into the sealed-off Batcave and soon confront Jean-Paul.  He slams Bruce against the wall and leaves.  As Robin, Tim tries to chase him in his Redbird car, but can’t keep up.  Later, Bruce reveals to Tim his plan to retrain his body.

Irrelevant Continuity:  Bruce Wayne is walking again, although none of the stories in this collection explains how that happened.  Tim also mentions that Bruce “brought back my father,” which is another reference to events that are not reprinted.

Review:  After around sixty comics or so, the Knightfall trades finally get around to reprinting an issue of Robin, which I think leaves Legends of the Dark Knight as the only Bat-title not represented so far.  I have a random collection of Dixon’s Robin issues from the ‘90s, and the overwhelming majority of them are quite good.  He took the initial concept of Tim Drake as the more “intellectual” Robin and ran with it, essentially turning him into Peter Parker as Batman’s sidekick.  We see a few elements of this during the issue as Robin is placed in awkward secret identity situations, and deals with the guilt of abandoning his feeble father in order to play superhero.  The only action in the issue comes during a chase scene, which doesn’t do much to advance the ongoing storyline, but reminds anyone who’s missed the past year of stories that Jean-Paul is too reckless to be Batman.  (Seeing him drive against oncoming traffic while escaping Robin actually is kind of cool.)  

This is the last issue reprinted in the second Knightfall trade, which gives me another invitation to complain about what isn’t in the book.  More specifically, I’d like to gripe about what is included instead.  The Joker and Catwoman storylines do nothing to advance the major plotline, but I suppose they’re significant as the new Batman’s first meeting with the iconic characters.  While it’s hard to cut anything from the Joker arc, surely we didn’t need all four chapters of that Catwoman crossover.  At the very least, the first chapter in Catwoman could’ve been easily skipped.  Any issue of Shadow of the Bat could be dropped without disrupting the continuity, except for the debut of Jean-Paul’s new costume.  Dropping Bunny and Gunhawk wouldn’t hurt the flow, either.  And that Abattoir arc…yeesh.  Just spare us and reprint the first and last chapters.  Now, wouldn’t this leave plenty of room to explain why Bruce Wayne can walk again?