Bullet Review: Red Robin #19

In 2009, my friends and I decided to start a 'comic book cultural exchange program'. One of us would pick a title that we felt the other two wouldn't typically collect and the three of us would buy the book and discuss it each month. The plan has been to have a set time period of 6 months at which point the book would be re-evaluated. If it was found lacking, the next person would pick a new title for the others to try.

It has been successful so far because the four of us are somewhat different in our comic foci. One collects mostly Marvel and loves the X-Men. Another is a DC fan but focuses mostly on Batman and Green Lantern. The third was a purely Marvel guy in his youth but has become more well-rounded. And I am clearly a DC guy with a super-family passion. Those different backgrounds mean that there is always a book that could be nominated for the program.

The first book in the program was nominated by the Marvel fan. He has a side passion for Spiderwoman. The three of us collected the Bendis/Maleev comic for the 7 months that it was produced. When it was cancelled (put on hiatus?), it was time for a new title.
This is a long way to explain why I have been collecting Red Robin for the last several  months. Red Robin was the title picked by the Batman fan. I will admit that I would never have picked up this title if it weren't for the 'cultural exchange program'.

Written by Fabien Nicieza and drawn by Marcus To, the book really does a nice job of showing just what a hero Tim Drake has become. Unlike many 'teen hero' books where the main theme is 'becoming a hero', it is clear that Drake is already there despite his youth. He comes across as a polished, complete, and capable hero ... not someone still learning the ropes. He reads so much like Dick Grayson when he was leading the Marv Wolfman/George Perez Teen Titans ... you could sense that he had climbed to the next level.

One thing that I think is a nice wrinkle is that Drake is coming to grips with the fact that he is his own man now. He is deciding on what he wants to do next, making goals to accomplish, and being satisfied with the identity he has made for himself.

This last issue had Red Robin entering a virtual world in the criminal 'UnterNet', a land where thoughts can become reality, a odd sort of mental safe haven for villains to enter. The place is a chaotic and dystopic mess, a place without heroes. Tim realizes he needs to change that.

And now you know why I am reviewing this issue.

Since this is a malleable world, Tim creates a group of heroes to make the UnterNet a safer place, foiling villains' desires. He creates a sort of future JLA, made up of more mature looking younger heroes. And right there in the middle is Supergirl (Superwoman?) wearing what appears to be a modified original Silver Age costume. Surrounding her are older versions of Conner, Cassie, Bart, etc.

But it's Supergirl front and center. Does that mean anything in terms of how Tim sees her?

It is such a beautiful rendition of her by Marcus To.

In the end, Tim realizes he needs to leave the world and return to reality. His friend Anarky, who is near catatonic in real life, decides to stay within this computer realm to keep it tidier.

This was a different sort of issue for this title which typically is more about street-level crimes rather than flights of fancy. Overall this is a nice title, always entertaining, as we watch Red Robin embrace his role within the DCU. Even if Red Robin gets voted out from the 'cultural exchange program', I'll still be buying.

Overall grade (issue): B/B+
Overall grade (title): B+/B

Not The New World's Finest?

A while back I wondered who would be the members of the 'next World's Finest'. The concensus then was that Kara and Steph, Supergirl and Batgirl, would best fit the bill.

I wasn't sure. I thought maybe Tim and Kara would be a better duo, a better legacy pair to earn the name World's Finest. In particular, I thought their interactions in Superman/Batman #62 really laid the foundation for a great friendship.

Maybe I was wrong?

I have been collecting Red Robin for about a half year now and I have been very pleased in direction that Tim's character has been going. Comfortable in his role of Red Robin, driven to bring back Bruce, acting as a partner in the Wayne Foundation, he suddenly seems like a fully realized hero rather than a sidekick.

As for his super-heroics, he has created a 'hit list' of super-villains he intends to hunt and capture.

I am not usually a big bat-book reader, but this one has been entertaining so far.

And then, in Red Robin #14, written by Fabien Nicienza, we see that all is not perfect in Tim's mind. We kind of take a left turn. In the issue, Damien attacks Tim while they are out on patrol. And what is Damien's motivation?

Well, it turns out that Red Robin has two 'hit lists' operating. One is for the low level super-baddies he is hunting.

The other list is of super-heroes! Following in the footsteps of Bruce Wayne maybe a little bit too closely, Tim is keeping files on all these heroes and cataloging ways he can eliminate them if he needs to. And there on the top row is Supergirl. Not exactly the act of a best buddy.

So maybe Kara and Steph are a better World's Finest.

Of course it was just such a 'hit list' that Bruce made that Brother Eye and the OMACs a horrific reality. And I am surprised that Dick Grayson doesn't come down on him a bit.

It will be interesting to see exactly how this all plays out. Will Tim continue to sink into a paranoia, becoming a threat to the heroes? Or will he realize that this was a shortcoming of Bruce and rein it in a bit?

Results: New World's Finest Poll - The Steph's Have It!

Thanks to everyone who voted in my last poll - Who should be the New World's Finest?

In many ways I feel that this was a sham of a poll. Despite this being a Supergirl blog, the truth is there should have been choices that included Superboy/Conner. A strong argument could be made that Superboy/Robin should be the new World's Finest; it's almost obvious.

But this is a Supergirl blog. And I think of Supergirl as the legacy holder of the S-shield. So, if she is one half of the New World's Finest, who did everyone think represented the Bat-half? Thanks to the 69 folks who voted! That was a much bigger turnout than I expected for this poll.

The winner, far and away, was the Supergirl and Batgirl team. Kara and Steph garnered 50% of the vote (35 votes). We have seen them in action only a couple of times now. But in both instances, you could see how they were coming from a similar place and therefore how they could be good friends. The panel above shows just how comfortable I think they would be with each other, joking in the middle of combat. I can completely see the two of them acting as the New World's Finest. Superman/Batman easily leads to Supergirl/Batgirl.

Surprisingly, the second place vote getter was 'leave it as Superman and Batman'. This old school choice got 30% of the votes cast (21 votes). I added this choice because there might be a contingent of fans who simply feel that the name World's Finest is synonymous with Superman and Batman. There has never been a New Beatles ... or a New Doors. How could there be? But I wonder how many of these voted would have gone to a Conner choice.

Outside those two choices, no other choice broke 10 votes.

Supergirl and Batman (Dick) grabbed 11% of the votes (8 votes). This is James Robinson's new World's Finest, acting together in his Justice League of America comic. Again, I equate World's Finest with equal super-hero friends. I think Dick will be more of a mentor to Supergirl. I look forward to seeing that interaction ... but it isn't World's Finest in my mind.

My choice of Supergirl and (Red) Robin (Tim Drake) limped in with 7% of the vote (5 votes). I think Tim and Kara are probably at similar points in their careers, both experienced enough not to be considered rookies, but clearly still learning. I loved their adventure together in Superman/Batman #65. I hope these two have some more adventures together.

Not surprisingly, Supergirl and Robin (Damian Wayne) got 0% of the votes. I think it is obvious that Supergirl and Damian would not easily get along.

The bottom line is that Supergirl/Batman (Dick) will be working together in JLA and I will be there. But, like most of the voters, I hope to see more of the Supergirl/Batgirl friendship.

Thanks again to everyone who voted!

Review: World's Finest #1

Back when it was a monthly comic, World's Finest contained stories starring both Superman and Batman. So, given the current upheaval in the Bat and Super titles, I thought it was a clever idea to resurrect the title and have it star the other members of the two hero families. And the current families provide a number of very interesting combinations.

And Sterling Gates had much to say about the book on a recent Newsarama interview found here: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/091028-Worlds-Finest-Gates.html

Here is what he had to say about the Supergirl/Batgirl team-up in issue World's Finest #3.

Stephanie and Kara have had tough lives as super-heroines, and I thought they’d get along really, really well. They both look as they leap, rather than exercising a lot of caution or analyzation. They’re both trying to live up to the families that have accepted them. And the pair of them really hit it off. Two old friends who didn’t know they were friends yet. Through Issue #3 – and even through some of #4 – you see their relationship and their friendship blossom.

Sounds like that will be a great read. But back to the review:

World's Finest #1 starred Nightwing and Red Robin. Both characters are the 'sons' of Superman and Batman. Both are using hero names used by others. And both are currently on well defined missions - Nightwing to gather up Zod's sleepers, Red Robin to find Bruce. There would be a lot of material to mine just from this pairing. Heck, you could probably do a monthly starring just these two.

The book is written by Supergirl writer Sterling Gates and he seems to have a pretty good take on the character's motivations and voices. The story moves along very quickly, a done-in-one episode that could easily have been stretched out over a couple of issues.

Unfortunately, the two star only in this issue. To be honest, I would rather read another issue of them instead of next month's Guardian/Damian team-up. Those two are my least favorite characters of the hero families.


The issue opens in Amsterdam with Red Robin fighting some crooks on motorcycles.

It is clear that Tim Drake has become a bit more dark, a bit more physical in his new identity of Red Robin. In this fight he comes across much more like the brooding Batman, taking down these thugs in violent and painful ways. It reminds me of that scene in Dark Knight Returns where batman runs through all the ways he can disable the crook he is fighting. Some kill, some disarm with minimal pain, but Batman picks the one that hurts the most.

For example, Red Robin stops this bike by jamming his staff into the wheel. There were probably a dozen ways to get the rider off the motorcycle. But he chose the way that sends the rider flying onto the street at high speed. Tim then screams to the now bloody and unconscious driver that this is 'no time for sleep'. Tim seems to be the one Robin to totally embrace Bruce's methods.

I thought the panel above was pretty slick, the bike and rider clearly looking awkward as they tumble while Red Robin looks almost graceful as he soars through the sky. It just was a visual showing of how in control Tim was here.


Despite that, Red Robin does need a little bit of help. Nightwing dispatches the last crook by telekinetically dissassembling the bike he is riding.

When faced with this new Nightwing, Tim braces for battle. Tim has no idea who is under the mask until Chris removes the helmet. He asks Tim for help.

It is another nice touch to have the moon shining off of Nightwing's armor as it conveys the light/dark contrast between the Superman and Batman families.



It becomes very clear why Tim needs his help.

In Gotham City, we see that Thara has been captured by the Penguin and the Kryptonite Man. As usual, the Penguin is hoping to make a quick buck by selling Thara to the highest bidder. An auction is quickly put together.

Now that we know the crux of the matter, Chris fills in the exposition with Tim.

During one of their sweeps looking for a General Zod sleeper agents, Nightwing and Flamebird stumbled into the Penguin's nightclub. They went in essentially blind as the building is set up tp thwart X-ray vision. Once they entered, they were subdued by the Kryptonite Man and the Penguin's flunkies. An explosion blasted Chris several blocks away but Thara did not escape.

With no one else to turn to, Nightwing sought out Red Robin to help him.

I think it is interesting how Red Robin finally decides to help. After refusing at first, Tim hears about the Nightwing/Flamebird mythology. How the two need to be kept together to love one another or catastrophe ensues (such as the destruction of Krypton). Somehow this legendary pull on the heart convinces Tim to put his mission aside.

A quick flight across the Atlantic later, Tim is infiltrating the Penguin's club, noting the lead enmeshed into all the surfaces, in essence scrambling X-ray vision.

Suddenly discovered by one of lurking henchmen, Red Robin springs into action.

But even Tim would have a hard time dealing with the Kryptonite Man who can hurl beams of radioactive energy.

Luckily Nightwing shows up in the nick of time. He douses the Kryptonite Man in the liquid lead used in the building, nullifying K-Man's ability to attack.

Once Thara is freed, the three heroes quickly depart. This wasn't a mission to shut down the Penguin. This was a retrieval mission. Their goal was to free Thara and once that happened they left.

I thought that was an interesting turn to the story. I can imagine that other heroes would have tied up the villains and left a calling card for the police. But Chris and Tim have bigger things on their minds. Maybe they are more alike than they realize in their commitment to the big picture.

And just like that the heroes split up to move onto their seperate goals.

Thara and Chris are going to head to Metropolis.

Tim found a letter from 1809 that is another clue in his search for Batman.

This was not a warm and fuzzy team-up. This didn't end with a wink or a joke. This was a speed bump on their paths. Both heroes have a near zealous adherence to their beliefs and neither seem like they are completely of a sound mind.

And it is that almost strained ending that made this not a straighforward team-up book. It has been said that Superman and Batman would not be easy friends. You can see that in this interaction of their proteges.

While the Nightwing/Red Robin story is over, we get one more scene that makes me think there is a story that will weave it's way through all four issues.

The Kryptonite Man was nowhere to be found after his fight with Nightwing. We see him awaken on an operating table, a creepy appearing masked child waving a knife in his face.

This 'Toyboy' speaks like a robot, an automaton made by his 'father' The Toyman! I was really hoping that the Toyman would end up in Supergirl's rogues gallery, especially given his history with Cat Grant.

Overall, I thought this was a fast-paced and quick read. The highlight of the book for me was the interactions between the stars. In some ways their ends are similar but their means to those ends are quite different. I meant it when I said that this would be an interesting duo to see guest star again.

Julian Lopez did a competent job on art. His strongest art here were the action scenes. The quieter moments in the book were pretty average.

Overall grade: B/B+