Batman and Robin: Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, John Kalisz, Carlos M. Mangual

WOW, this issue opens up with B&R’s very own Dick Tracy rogues gallery! This is fantastic! Everything we’ve seen so far, the horrors that are inflicted upon the criminals, are now coming back and coming together to take on the Dynamic Duo. I think I’ve seen this done before, but never quite like this. The graphic nature of it, the obvious suffering these people have endured. I mean, you can only imagine the kind of therapy or recovery they’ve gone through to get here. And obviously they’re not quite over it yet.

These characters are fantastic, and I can’t wait to see them come back in later issues.

Meanwhile, the Waynes are getting their family portrait made. It’s, I believe, the second or third time all of them have been together in one panel since the New 52. Once in Batman, and then once I believe in Batman: The Dark Knight. It turns into a sort of funny scene as the boys start bickering - mainly Tim and Damian, who still haven’t learned to get along - which then morphs strangely into a sad scene where Bruce intervenes and says they should be equal. But still, they cannot get along. Dick understands, and he sees it Bruce’s way. A pretty touching moment, actually.

The boys then meet up later in costume, as called out by Damian. Apparently he’s going to be putting the debate to rest once and for all…the question of who really is the greatest Robin of all. He will prove himself by attacking and defeating each of the others. What’s brilliant is that there’s also mention of Damian’s price, which is taking place over in Batman Incorporated. Nice job, Tomasi. Anyway, Tim’s face is pretty much the expression all of the readers are making right now, and here’s why.

Damian shouldn’t have a reason to do this. He’s Robin. He already won. Dick chose him and he won, so he’s already beat out Tim. But he may still feel like he needs to put Tim in his place. So Tim, I can actually understand. But Jason? I would think that Damian would identify with Jason most of all, because of their nature. They were both once against the Batman, and now not so much. And Dick? Oh, man, don’t get me started. Damian has absolutely no reason to go after Dick, and that’s because of their time shared as Batman and Robin. They bonded and grew close, and so Damian would never betray that, I think.

Damian and Tim are first to throw down. Damian sees Tim’s time in the Colony and what he did to Fist Point for murdering Artemis (still a poor decision, I feel, for Artemis’ character). He tries to get Tim to admit he wanted to kill Fist Point because this would prove that Tim’s not better than Damian, just because Damian’s killed a few bad guys. The ensuing fight OBVIOUSLY wrecks the display tube where Jason’s old Robin uniform hangs - because that’s mandatory in skirmishes like this - and leaves them both bloodied a bit. Damian finishes the fight by being an ass.

Oh and there’s a new villain rising: Terminus, who looks a lot like Morbius from Marvel.

Batman and Robin #10, the verdict: I…I just don’t know. I like the tension between the Robin characters. It’s always real. The bickering of siblings, that’s all I see it as, even if they are talking about fighting crime. But all-out in-fighting is awful. I hate seeing it. At least in “Battle For the Cowl” it made sense for them all to be fighting (at least more sense than here). But this just doesn’t seem necessary. I like having the other characters come into this book, even Jason. I like seeing them all interact. But this in-fighting among heroes has gotta stop. Also, this was the first issue where I was really questioning some of Gleason’s art. It felt weird in a couple panels. Exaggerated extreme angles on characters making them look extra bulky and such. So all together it feels like a disappointment, even if the first few pages were excellent.

(Photo Source: GeekxLovin)