With Tim Drake Wayne back in Gotham City, there’s bound to be a tussle between the new Robin and the old. But the reason behind their little spat may surprise you.
RED ROBIN #14
Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Artist: Marcus To
Inker: Ray McCarthy
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Editor: Mike Marts
Publisher: DC Comics
Previously in Red Robin: Back in Gotham after taking down Ra’s al Ghul, and having finally convinced all the superheroes that Bruce Wayne is alive, Tim Wayne doesn’t have much to do – except take down all the criminals that have given him grief over the years.
RED ROBIN – YUM!
As Tim continues his one man war on the criminals that apparently Dick Grayson is too busy to take down, it becomes apparent that young Damian Wayne is jealous as all get out, and he’s going to do everything in his power to try and take Tim out. This leads to the issue’s really big fight between the two Waynes where Tim really kicks the crap out of Damian. For those of us who have hated the Robin wanna be since his first appearance, this smack down couldn’t have come at a better time.
Of course the bigger surprise comes when Damian shows Dick that Tim has a secret takedown list that includes many of DC’s biggest heroes, including Superman, Green Lantern, Captain Marvel, and Damian. This reveal is one of the bigger character development moments for Tim that I don’t think many people were expecting. For years, I’ve championed Tim Wayne as the one who should be the next Batman, and now this current revelation shows that Tim is very much the paranoid tactician his mentor was, and it is both chilling and a tad disappointing. Disappointing in the fact that it appears that if the Bruce Wayne return doesn’t work as expected, Tim might be being molded into Bruce Wayne 2.0 just in case.
I loved every moment of Fabian Nicieza’s story. The pacing was right on, the big reveals happened at just the right times, and I liked the action and dialogue very much.
THE ART
Marcus To is the Yin to Nicieza’s Yang, as the two play off one another to deliver up a fun issue. As I mentioned in my X-Men #1 dueling review, To’s work is exactly the kind of comic book art I like reading in my four color funny books. To does a great job of getting the proportions right, but I still wonder why artists have an aversion to showing the bulge in the pants of men in tights? There’s a great staff-to-the-balls gag in this issue, but the bulge one would expect to be there, simple isn’t.
THE GOOD
- Brady Bunch references
- “Let’s swing!”
- The art
- The true brothers from another mother moment
- Damian finally getting his hash handed to him
THE BAD
- The story spins a tad too much
- Where’s the junk?
BOTTOM LINE: BUY IT
My high with comics this week continues with Red Robin #14. The story and the art is done really well, and this is just the kind of mindless biff-bang-power superhero story I need to cap off my week. Yes, there are a few moments when things get interesting, but for the most part, Red Robin #14 is simply a fun read and earns 4 out of 5 Stars.
10 Comments
I’m really enjoying Tim’s story right now. DC’s teased us enough not to be surprised that Damian was on the list, but I definitely wasn’t expecting the big guns to be up there too. And I really got a thrill when he says that Vicki Vale needs to go on the list too.
I would also like to see more bulge definition as well ;D
I always thought Tim would surpass Bruce if they’d let him. But the takedown list thing is scary. I’d love to see the files, but Tim, he’s still a young man, and.. wow. That was a huge moment for Tim… I want to see what Dick’s reaction is, I really do.
Oooh somebody inherited the prep-time … Prep-time activate!
I don’t buy Damian’s freak-out though. I mean he was on the list with Superman.
(That implies you are considered a good guy…with skills)
Though to be fair it still works since Damian believes Tim has been an ass to him for no reason. We of course know the reason(s). But Alfred and Dick have been more understanding, so Damian has to feel Tim is what’s keeping him from a budding universal acceptance into the bat-family. Hell even Stephanie had a “the kids are alright” moment with Damian. But I dig Bratboy, he’s the most refreshing thing in the bat-books since… See I cant even finish that.
I have to get this issue now. I never liked Damian and was a Tim supporter as well. I’m also a fan of the paranoia era of Batman, so seeing Tim act like this makes me happy.
“You never would be” – Missed that the first time through. Paranoia with a huge heart. <3 it.
So does he have a literal physical list that Damian found? Why would anyone leave a hitlist out where anybody can get ahold of, other than Steve Buscemi from Billy Madison. And Time doesn’t really seem the type. Oh well, and what’s with Stephen’s desire to see man-parts? If you’re missing that you can go watch some Watchmen. ;)
Damian hacked the computer then found a secret file. It wasn’t a scrap of paper laying around.
Who said I want to see man parts? What I am saying is if we’re going to see camel toe, nipples, and the ass cracks of female characters, artists need to do the same thing to all characters, and right now they don’t do that. And if they do (i.e. Alex Ross) the editors get out the eraser tool and go to town.
Ha ha! I get what you’re saying, but as a straight man I’m cool with women parts and I’m not dying to see meat outlines. It’s the same thing with movies too, my wife doesn’t like that nearly every movie has breasts and/or vagina but never shows males in the same way. She doesn’t want to see men, I showed her Kevin Bacon in Wild Things (she was not a fan), she just thinks it’s not right to have the double standard. I’m assuming you’re coming from sort of the same place.
About Damien hacking the computer, at least it was that instead of a piece of paper, but still who would (knowing Oracle and the other 4,000 proficient computer hackers in the DCU) keep information like that on a computer in the first place. Is his anger so large and unfocused that he can’t remember who he wants to bring down?
Regarding the computer and the hacking and whatnot. The list wasn’t just a hit-list but a list of heroes and villains with large files around how to take them down, weaknesses and general information. It wasn’t just a list, but a -just in case- database(A very Bruce Wayne’s Batman thing to do).
So it makes sense for him to have it. Having it electronically stored is likely also the safer bet. And in this case Damian didn’t get to it remotely but only got access because he was there locally(Its probably not on any network). So somebody would have to be in Tim’s “Robin-cave” to have access. So it all seems to hold up safety-wise.