Category Archives: Batman
New Lady Robin Costume is the Bee’s Knees
In the wacky, wild world of Earth 2, anything goes. A female Robin who happens to be Bruce Wayne’s daughter? Sure! Why not! DC Comics released this teaser image to show us what Helena Wayne’s Earth 2 Robin costume looked like.
Everybody loves shoulder pads
I like it! It’s modern, it’s stylish and it’s definitely Robin. Though I’ve seen other websites point out that the ‘R’ symbol is positioned directly under her neck, right beneath an opening in her collar, in fact. Not to mention the ‘R’ symbols on her knees. Wouldn’t those make fantastic bullseyes for Robin’s enemies?
Everybody knows that Batman put a bat-symbol on his chest because he could cover his chest in padding and a bullet-proof vest, so he wants to draw the bad guy’s attention to his chest. You don’t want the bad guy aiming for your neck or your knee caps.
So a little misstep there.
Anyway, some of you may be asking, who the hell is this? A female Robin? Earth 2? Have you gone crazy!?
Nope, it all makes some insane sort of comic book sense. Allow me to explain.
Review: Justice League: Doom
‘Tower of Babel’ was better. But then the book is always better than the movie adaptation. Still, the latest release from DC Comics’ animated movies is an alright film, with a killer ending. Justice League: Doom features great animation, solid characters and a fun plot. The problem is that it’s kind of boring and run-of-the-mill. This could have been a made-for-TV movie of the Justice League cartoon from a few years ago. There’s just nothing special about it, nothing that warrants its existence in the animated movie library.
But who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? A Justice League movie is a Justice League movie.
Movie rating: 3/5: Alright!
Unless it’s a stupid Justice League movie. There were a lot of times during this film where I was rolling my eyes at just how stupid some of the ideas and plot points were. The villains, especially, were acting ridiculous, and some of their plans were downright dumb. These are the people Vandal Savage has hired to rid the world of the Justice League? These are the plans they come up with? But all of that foolishness is undercut by some pretty great characterization, especially on the part of the Justice League. They look fantastic, and the animation is top notch.
The ending is spectacular, really getting to the hearts of these characters. The problem, though, is that this is a stand alone movie. These character moments aren’t going to pay off anywhere else. There are aesthetic similarities with previous animated movies, so perhaps this is the same Justice League as those movies. But still, it’s mostly stand alone.
So what was the point?
6 Best Animated Robins
Batman and Robin are like a rock concert. Batman is this brilliant, blazing, glorious rock star, the idolized hero of millions who burns brighter and rocks harder than anyone else ever will. All the other superheroes, like Superman or Wonder Woman, they’re competing rock stars. Maybe they’ll do an album together or hang out at a charity together, but in the end they have their own bands and their own concerts. Batman views them as rivals. But Robin is unique among other superheroes.
Robin is the guy with the backstage pass.
Animated Batman Lego series anyone?
If Batman is arguably the greatest, most popular superhero, Robin is the fan who Batman lets hang out back stage. We can’t be our favorite rock star. We can’t be Batman. But in some ways, we can be like Robin. We can be the fan with the backstage pass. We can hang out with Batman and learn all of his secrets. We’ll be there for Batman when he’s in a tough spot, or we’ll be by his side when he’s kicking ass. We can be the fan that Batman actually likes hanging out with, the one he shares a beer with. And maybe someday, when Batman needs us the most, he’ll invite us on stage to jam with him.
And then we will prove that it has all be worth it, and we will rock hard enough to impress Batman.
I think that nicely sums up one of the reasons why I like Robin. He’s the guy that Batman trusts above all others, the one that Batman likes hanging out with. The one superhero who is truly in Batman’s inner circle. But Robin is not just ‘Batman’s Pal’, he’s Batman-in-training. He’s Batman’s assistant. That’s what it means to be his sidekick. I plan on doing a lot more with Robin on this blog, but for now let’s take a look at one enterprise that seems to do Robin right: animation.
Here are the top 6 animated Robins, ranked worst to best!
***This list was inspired by friend-of-the-site Momma Pwncess! Thank you!
Top 6 Current Superhero Relationships
Romance is dead in comic books. And I’m not just talking about the lack of actual ‘romance’ comics, like they had in the mid-20th century. I mean the classic, long-standing, popular romances that used to define comics are long gone! Through reboots, retcons, death or simple break-ups, the classic couples are no more — especially the ones that were highlighted in the most recent comic book movies.
But don’t worry, all hope is not lost! Newer couples, with a few remaining classics, are proving that even superheroes can still fall in love.
The DC Comics New 52 reboot basically took a scythe to romance in comics. On the chopping block: Superman and Lois Lane, the Flash and Iris Allen, Nightwing and Batgirl, Nightwing and Starfire, the Joker and Harley Quinn, Green Arrow and Black Canary, Apollo and Midnighter, and many more. Longtime Marvel couples are also kaput. Spider-Man and Mary Jane, Jean Grey and Cyclops, Jean Grey and Wolveirne, Hulk and Betty Ross, Thor and Jane Foster, Rogue and Gambit, Shadowcat and Colossus; the list goes on. Heck, some of the comic book movie relationships, like Iron Man and Pepper Potts, don’t even really exist in the comics. Batman’s ‘true love’, Rachel Dawes, only exists in the Chris Nolan movies.
Fortunately, romance always makes for good drama, so there are still some superheroes shacking up and knocking boots. In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are the Top 6 Current Superhero Relationships in comics.
Red Robin to Return to Batman Family
Tim Drake is rejoining the Bat-family, baby! At least temporarily!
The comic book solicitations for April are starting to come out, and CBR has all of the Batman titles. The Night of the Owls will be in full effect, and I’m happy to say that my favorite Robin, Tim Drake, is going to take time away from his Teen Titan duties to make a jump back to his Bat-family roots! For people who don’t have any clue what I’m talking about, this probably won’t be that important. But to a comic book geek like me, this is fantastic news!
Red Robin will be appearing in Batman: The Dark Knight #9.
Kick his ass, Red Robin!
For those of you who have no clue what I’m talking about or why I’m so excited, allow me to explain. Because I love talking about comic books.
So everybody knows about Batman and Robin. Well in the comic books, Batman has had 4 Robins. Every time one of them outgrows the role of sidekick or dies, Batman gets a new apprentice. My favorite Robin is Tim Drake, who was Robin from the early 90s to the late 00s. Which is a very long time. Well as the story went along, Drake ‘graduated’ from being Robin to make way for a new apprentice, and Drake instead became Red Robin.
Then in the New 52 reboot from last September, DC drew several clear distinctions between their ‘families’ of comics. Red Robin was taken out of the Batman family of comics and placed in the Teen family, as leader of the Teen Titans. Which is too bad, because I like my Tim Drake as Batman’s sidekick, even if there is already a new Robin who has replaced him. Since September, Tim Drake’s adventures have had very little to do with Batman. Which, again, is a shame.
But with this new epic Batman story, The Night of the Owls, DC has decided to let Tim Drake return to Batman’s side to lend a hand. They could have just had Red Robin skip the whole Owls thing and nobody would have batted an eyelash. So I’m now even more excited for Night of the Owls! And I can only hope you are too.
Henchman-4-Hire 