Category Archives: Robin
Robin Watch: Damian Returns!?
I did not see this one coming! Damian Wayne is coming back! Just…not back to life. An interesting twist in the search for the new Robin is an upcoming Elseworlds mini-series starring Damian Wayne. Revealed today in the pages of USA Today, the series will be called Damian: Son of Batman, and will take place in an alternate future where Damian grew up to become Batman.
Possibly by killing Batman?
Alternate futures are a staple of comic books, and Damian has already been the subject of at least one.
The 4-issue mini-series will be written and drawn by comic book legend Andy Kubert, who was the artist on Batman #666, which was itself a futuristic story about Damian as Batman in a post-apocalyptic Gotham City. The first issue of the new mini-series will be released on Oct. 30.
Kubert had this to say:
“I had a big affinity for Damian when I drew Batman issue #666 (in 2007). I really liked that Batman and always wanted to revisit him. Damian is a bit different than the ‘Bruce Wayne’ Batman. Grant Morrison tweaked his character in a way that made it very endearing for me to draw. And to write. Basically, what I’m doing is exploring the path that Damian has taken to become Batman. I think readers will see him in a different light than before.”
This sounds like a pretty cool story to me. I’m sure everybody will tell you that DC killed Damian long before his character wore out his welcome. I didn’t like Damian at first, like pretty much everybody else, but the little twerp grew on me over the years. I never particularly liked him as Robin, but as Damian, he was a pretty cool character. He still had a lot of potential. But Grant Morrison is Grant Morrison, and if he wants to kill off his own creation, then he’s allowed. Being a legendary comic book writer holds that kind of power.
So I don’t really know what to expect from his upcoming mini-series. Andy Kubert is great, and I’m sure he’ll tell an exciting story. This doesn’t reveal anything in terms of who is going to become the new Robin, but it’s definitely something to keep our eye on here at Robin Watch!
Review: Teen Titans #21
Teen Titans should be a comic about teamwork and camaraderie. It should be built on a foundation of strong characters who actively want to spend time with one another because they are legitimately friends. They’re not the Justice League or the Avengers. The Teen Titans are not Earth’s greatest heroes, joined together to fight the threats that one hero alone cannot handle. They’re teenagers, and they just want to hang out and be friends. That they also use their powers to save the world should just be icing on the cake.
Teen Titans #21
This is why I hate the current Teen Titans comic so much.
Comic Rating: 3/5 – Alright.
I say this all the time: I like comics where the characters are people first, superheroes second. In Scott Lobdell’s Teen Titans, they are only superheroes, randomly grouped together because that was the decided cast list of this series. There is nothing deeper or meaningful about the team. They’re friends because we’re told they’re friends. They’re a team because we’re told they’re a team. Their friendships and relationships are barely skin deep. Lobdell and his fellow writers are far more interested in writing generic superhero stories than they are in character interaction. We’re 21 issues into this series, and I don’t think any of the characters have dealt with anything all that emotional or personally important. There’s been no drama. There’s been very little done with any romantic relationships or personal friendships. Nothing memorable has happened at all.
The current Teen Titans is a concept-driven comic. DC knew they wanted a ‘Teen Titans’ book in their reboot, so Lobdell slapped one together. He picked a bunch of characters, created a few new ones, and then has just been kind of coasting from one issue to the next. The threat that pulled them all together in the first place – N.O.W.H.E.R.E. – was a dud, and is now long gone. Since then, he hasn’t touched upon any reason why the team should stay together, or why they even want to do so. They stay together because that’s the comic. If they didn’t stay together, there wouldn’t be a series. And it’s frustrating, because so much more could be done. I want to read stories about these essentially orphaned teenagers actually expressing what they get out of the Teen Titans and why they stick around. I want to see some real friendships blossom, or better yet, some real relationships and the drama that comes with those. I want to see these kids understand their place in the DC Universe. How do they see themselves compared to the Justice League? Why are they superheroes? Sure they have powers, but what is it that drives them to dress up in costume and throw themselves at dangerous situations?
These are all plot points that I think could make for a great Teen Titans comic, but we don’t get any of that. Instead, in this issue, the Teen Titans fight Trigon’s three sons in a generic, mildly entertaining superhero slugfest. It’s just mindless, mostly boring superhero fights. Not only that, but still the Titans treat Raven like she’s been their friend since the beginning. I must have missed a scene where Raven even went so far as to introduce herself to them. But this is how weak the camaraderie is: Raven and Beast Boy pretty much just glom onto the Titans and are treated like total members just because that’s what the plot has dictated. It’s maddening.
Robin Watch: Harper Row in Detective Comics
Welcome back to Robin Watch, my ongoing coverage of DC Comics’ efforts to pick a new Robin. As many of you know, Robin is one of my all-time favorite superheroes, and for the first time since the 80s, we are without a Robin. The latest hero to wear the mantle, Damian Wayne, died heroically several months ago, and now several candidates have stepped up to replace him. There will be a new Robin. It’s only a matter of time, and I’m quite excited to see what happens.
The leading contender for the new Robin – and my personal favorite – is Harper Row, a street-wise orphan with a knack for electrical engineering and getting herself into trouble. Harper is the subject of today’s Robin Watch due to her appearance in this week’s issue of Detective Comics, which I believe marks the first time she has appeared outside of the Batman series, which is written by her creator, Scott Snyder. I think it’s a pretty telling sign that other Batman writers and comics are now allowed to use Harper Row in their stories, meaning DC is working to make her a more viable, important character.
The story involves Harper tracking an assassin at Wayne Tower and getting rescued by Batman. Even though he had told her to stay out of trouble and took away her crime-fighting gear, Harper still took it upon herself to help protect the Prime Minister of Bhutan from an assassin. Afterwards, Batman and Harper had a few words.
Batman can’t seem to stay mad at the lovable ragamuffin, and so he gives Harper back her crime-fighting gear. He tells her that if she’s going to insist on getting involved then she needs to be prepared, and she should refrain from doing anything stupid. It’s an OK appearance from Harper in a relatively OK series. At least I reminded myself why I haven’t bothered with Detective Comics. But again, the sheer mediocrity of the issue is further proof that Harper’s appearance is part of a larger push to involve her in Batman comics. This isn’t a Harper Row story. This is a Batman story, and the writer was allowed to bring Harper along for added fun.
But that alone is not evidence that Harper is going to become the new Robin. That comes later in the issue, when Bruce Wayne chats with Alfred about the young, resourceful Harper.
That right there is the equivalent of a smoking gun.
Bruce Wayne and Alfred all but come out and say that Harper Row is perfect to be the next Robin. Obviously, at this point, DC is still being coy about their plans for Harper Row, as they should be. DC should milk the selection of the next Robin for all it’s worth. I think there’s an extra layer behind this little scene. I think Harper’s creator, Scott Snyder, is doing his best not to make Harper the obvious choice for Robin. And until this issue, Snyder was the only one who ever wrote Harper in a comic. But now she’s been handed off to Detective Comics writer John Layman, who is probably somewhat aware of DC’s future plans for Harper, but is not privy to Snyder’s thoughts on the character.
So I think Layman is trying, but failing, to be subtle in hinting towards Harper becoming the next Robin. It’s like Snyder let another kid play with his toys, and the other kid messed them all up!
An alternate theory has been recently proposed by Friend-of-the-Site The Salty Runback, where it’s possible that Harper is just a red herring, and her younger brother Cullen is the real candidate. It’s an interesting idea, and one I’d be willing to be DC might try. And if that’s the case, then perhaps DC is playing a game where they make Harper the obvious choice, so that Cullen’s eventual selection will come as a big twist. Perhaps Harper gets killed somehow. Or she becomes the Joker’s Daughter, an upcoming villain with colorful hair and a connection to the Gotham Underground. Personally, I much prefer Harper as the next Robin instead of Cullen. But he is definitely now in the running.
Tune in next time for another exciting segment of Robin Watch!
Review: Teen Titans #20
Teen Titans attempts to break up the crumminess of the recent storyline by giving us an issue devoted to Raven’s origin. That’s all well and good, I suppose, and now is probably as good a time as any to let us know what the heck Raven is doing in this series, but it doesn’t raise the quality of the comic, and it kind of makes Raven worse than she was before. I’m fairly certain this origin sticks closely to Raven’s pre-reboot origin, but honestly? She has one messed up origin.
Teen Titans #20
The cover is a total lie. Evil Red Robin doesn’t even show up in this issue (thank God). Instead, it’s just Trigon narrating the long, complicated origin of Raven.
Comic Rating: 2.5/5 – Pretty Bad.
To an extent, I realize that my dislike of Teen Titans stems almost completely from the comic diverging from what I want to see, or what I think could be done better. Trigon is definitely one of those things, and now we can add Raven to that list as well. I’ve pretty much disliked everything we’ve seen from Trigon so far, and this issue adds even more garbage to his story. However, I’ve rather liked what we’ve seen of Raven. I like her new costume, and I kind of liked the life being built for her. But after this issue, she’s a complicated, pointless mess of a character. Oh well. She was fun while she lasted.
Pretty much nothing else happens in the rest of the issue. The origin is book-ended by short scenes with the Titans, and they don’t do much of anything. Definitely nothing about Red Robin being ‘reborn’ as the cover would indicate. This story can’t end fast enough.
First Batman: Arkham Origins Teaser Trailer
Just a tease for now, but a nicely animated one.
It doesn’t reveal anything new about the game, or anything at all, really. Someone very talented just animated a brief fight between Batman and Deathstroke. Kudos to them. But it’s a thing that I felt like sharing.
Plus this felt like a good opportunity to warn you people that you’re now in for several long, grueling months of me hoping Robin will be in this game. No, I kid. I kid ’cause I love…Robin. Dang, I need to get a new hobby.
Henchman-4-Hire 