Tomasi, Peter J.

AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:

3 out of 5

(1 book)

Batman And Robin: Volume 2 - Pearl

(Art by Lee Garbett, Andy Clarke, Patrick Gleason, Tomas Giorello, Ray McCarthy, Keith Champagne, Mick Gray and Tom Nguyen)

Taking him through his training under his mother, Talia al-Ghul, into the Night of the Owls and onwards into conflict with others who've worn the mantle of Robin, this book follows Damian Wayne's quest to prove himself to his father Batman.

I've never liked Damian, finding him to be an arrogant brat that really shouldn't be tolerated by any of the Bat family, but what this book did was make me invested in that as a concept.  His behaviour is openly challenged, particularly by the former Robins (which I'll get to in a minute), and we do see him start to alter his self-righteous behaviour as this book goes on.

For me the absolute best thing here was seeing Nightwing, Red Hood and Red Robin's reactions to and interactions with Damian as Robin.  The Mantle of the Bat is a concept often explored in Batman stories, but this was a really great way of showing that the role of Robin carries with it its own legacy.  Tim Drake's still the best, though (Fight me).

So, although it explores some interesting ideas and does show some progression for Damian, he still remains a singularly irritating protagonist and the majority of the foes he faces here are entirely forgettable.

3 out of 5

Collaborations & Anthologies:

Batman And Robin: Volume 3 - Death Of The Family (here)

Batman: Night Of The Owls (here)

Batman: The Arkham Saga Omnibus (here)

Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps - Volume One (here)

Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War - Volume Two (here)

Superman Vol. 1: Son Of Superman (here)

Read more...

DC Comics (here)