Batman and Robin #5:
What Happened: Damian Wayne(that would be Robin) has left Batman and apparently joined up with Nobody. Damian is tired of playing by Batman's rules, and is even more tired of being treated as a simple underling when he feels as Batman's son, he should have been more, thus the sudden change in allegiance. Nobody is pleased by this, and takes Damian under his wing, telling Damian that they were going to put an end to a human trafficking ring... Permanently. Meanwhile, Batman is scouring the streets trying to find any trace of Damian, while recalling his own first meeting with Nobody years ago. This issue concludes with Damian and Nobody fighting their way to the head of the human trafficking ring with Nobody handing Damian a gun and telling him to shoot the trafficker in the head.
Thoughts: Even though the Nobody origin tale took up WAY too much of this comic for my tastes(I can't help but feel it could have been condensed some), the parts set in the present between Damian, Bats and Nobody were VERY well done. I liked the interaction between Nobody and Damian, and it was nice to see that Bruce felt that he had been wrong with the way he had been treating Damian... Damian isn't just another Robin for Bruce, he SHOULD be more than that. The cliffhanger was good as well. I don't expect Damian to pull the trigger and kill the trafficker, but it IS a possibility as Damian has killed villains before, just not since becoming Robin. That's the sure sign of a good cliffhanger, when things could legitimately go either way. So yeah, after a few so-so issues, this one was a major improvement. I still think if DC wanted to do an angsty Damian storyline, they should have added 3 or 4 years to his age with the reboot, but what can ya do?
Score: 8 out of 10.
Shoot, shoot, shoot!!!
Bruce is just ruining all that progress with Damien that Dick Grayson has made.
ReplyDeleteTotally agreed. Bruce just isn't the right type of partner for Damian. Damian needs a more light-hearted partner to temper him. That's why the Dick/Damian pairing worked so well.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving having both Bruce and Damien in this series, if its a Bat series then it should definitely be angst galore in my opinion, plus I get a little gushy for the father-son stuff.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion they should have left this story-line for a little later, spend more time showing Damien's struggle against how he was raised and properly setting it in the foundations of the series while they battle other villains before bringing in Nobody to tempt him. But I am enjoying it so I can't complain too much.
I like the idea of pushing this particular storyline off for a bit actually. Damian taking off with Nobody seemed so sudden, it probably could have used another storyline or so really showing the difficulties Damian and Bruce were having coexisting. Agreed with the angst, but I still say it would have been a bit more convincing if Damian was a few years older. 13 or 14 year old Damian rebelling against his father makes more sense to me than 10 year old Damian. But that is definitely a minor quibble.
ReplyDelete