Double Dose of Batman Fun!
Who loves themselves some Batman? Apparently the world of animation does, because here we’ve got two – count’em, two! – separate Batman animated spectaculars! And seeing as how it’s the Monday after Easter, the second most Batman of all the major holidays, I figure now is as good a time as any to share.
First up is a short cartoon starring Batman Beyond, produced by Darwyn Cooke, one of the true greats.
It’s a neat little cartoon. Though I never knew Cooke was such a big Batman Beyond fan. As we learned a few weeks ago, I am not.
Though while we’re on the topic, isn’t it way past time for Batman Beyond to get a Robin Beyond? Just sayin’…
The second Batman offering today is the trailer for the next animated feature: Batman: Assault on Arkham! It’s set in the Arkham Asylum video game universe, which is pretty cool. And it stars the Suicide Squad alongside Batman, which is equally cool.
Trailer looks neat! Though I would like to point out that there’s no sign yet of a Robin cameo…
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 4/19/14
This week was another wallet-busting week of comics. I may have to hold back on my caviar sandwiches if I hope to afford all of them! Fortunately, that means there were a lot of good comics in my pile this week, and I love me some good comics.
Plus, there were a whole bunch of DC titles that I read this week! We’ve got reviews for Batman, Wonder Woman and Batwoman, as if they all combined somehow. There’s also the latest issues of Batman Eternal and Harley Quinn, as well as the first issue of the new Sinestro solo series! Now there is a character I’m excited about!
On the Marvel side of things, the final issue of Superior Spider-Man hit the stands and it is…a nice conclusion. It’s not as amazing as I was hoping it would be. Instead, it seems more like Dan Slott and Marvel are in a rush to get to the new status quo of the new Amazing Spider-Man. Can’t say I blame them. We’ve also got new issues of Uncanny X-Men and the utterly fantastic Ms. Marvel, which wins Comic Book of the Week for sheer greatness and adorability.
She also uses ‘Embiggen’, making her the coolest teenager ever
I wonder what a younger, superhero-loving Sean would think about the fact that one of my favorite comics right now is about the awkward youth of a teenage girl. Of course, Young Sean was a big fan of The Secret World of Alex Mack, so there is a precedence.
Comic Reviews: Batman #30, Batman Eternal #2, Batwoman #30, Harley Quinn #5, Ms. Marvel #3, Sinestro #1, Superior Spider-Man #31, Uncanny X-Men #20 and Wonder Woman #30.
Everything Wrong with the Desolation of Smaug!
Man, those Cinema Sins folks really didn’t like Desolation of Smaug. Personally, I rather enjoyed the film. I didn’t care for the ending being such an insane cliffhanger, but we’re already closing in on next December, so it won’t be long now before that cliffhanger just doesn’t matter anymore.
Did you hear they want to change the name of the final film to The Hobbit: Into the Fire? As opposed to The Hobbit: There and Back Again? ‘Into the Fire’ would be such a dumb name. ‘There and Back Again’ has such a fun, whimsical feel to it, which I think would better serve the franchise in the long run.
Robin Watch: Robin Rising: Omega!
Big news on the Robin front today! DC Comics and writer Peter J. Tomasi revealed in an interview with the LA Times that Robin is definitely coming back this year for Batman’s 75th anniversary!
But which Robin?
Today’s news seems to point to a resurrected Damian Wayne – but doesn’t confirm it one way or another.
Zombie Robin?
Tomasi will be writing a one-shot called Robin Rising: Omega on July 16, which will kick off the finale of his ongoing ‘Search for Robin’ storyline. That issue will be immediately followed by Batman and Robin #33, returning to the series’ original title. When the last Robin, Damian Wayne, died last year, the series Batman and Robin played a game of teaming up Batman with a bunch of other heroes and villains. They went through everything from Batman and Nightwing to Batman and Aquaman. Throughout the series, Batman has been on a quest to try and resurrect his dead son, Damian – though first he has to get Damian’s body back from the madman, R’as al Ghul!
Will Batman succeed? Maybe. I guess that’s what Robin Rising: Omega is going to be about. Right now, Tomasi is only teasing the outcome of this new one-shot.
In the interview, he said:
Let’s just say that we are most definitely bringing back a Robin for Batman’s 75th anniversary. Batman needs a Robin and Robin needs a Batman, so what more needs to be said except that “Robin Rises: Omega,” drawn by the stupendous Andy Kubert, starts and ends with a bang and everything that occurs in this epic story all has seeds that Pat Gleason and I planted back during our first arc in “Batman and Robin: Born To Kill.”
There’s no gimmicks. We’re telling a character-centric action-adventure story that new readers can easily jump on board due to the way we constructed the opening pages of “Robin Rises: Omega” No. 1 that gives readers the ability to emotionally plug in and get up to speed without having read the series from the start of the New 52.
And it goes without saying, of course, that anyone following the book from our first issue will see that this has all been an organic uber-story and that all the moments they’ve spent with the characters will pay off as Pat, Andy and I serve our only purpose, which is to honor the actual title of the book so everyone can be invested in the roller coaster ride whether you’re new to the party or already scrunched up comfortably in the corner.
Tomasi isn’t coming right out and saying that Batman will succeed in resurrecting Damian, only that they’re ‘bringing back a Robin’ for the anniversary, emphasis on the ‘a’.
Heck, maybe they’re not even giving Batman a new Robin so much as just playing around with Robin. I don’t know what’s going to happen.
Apparently it involves Apokolips
Personally, I don’t want them to resurrect Damian. I think comic book resurrections are a little too silly these days, especially if you’re going to do it within a year of the character dying in the first place. If DC wanted Damian to stay Robin, why not just tell Grant Morrison not to kill him?
I’ll admit that Damian was growing on me as a character towards the end, especially in his partnership with Dick Grayson, but bringing Damian back from the dead just so he can be Robin again strikes the wrong chord with me. Especially when DC has been teasing a new, female Robin.
I firmly believe that DC needs to create a new Robin to go along with the New 52. DC needs to create another Tim Drake, someone who can be a popular Robin for another 20+ years. Damian is turning into too much of a stunt character. Plus, what’s the point of threatening Robin’s life if all Batman has to do is resurrect them within a year?
Of course, if they don’t make Damian Robin again, that leaves Carrie Kelley available in Tomasi’s comic. Of the various female candidates, Carrie is the one Tomasi introduced and is writing about. But I want Carrie to be the new Robin less than I want Damian back from the dead, so I dunno what I’m supposed to do.
Just keep reading, I guess.
Henchman-4-Hire 
