Robin #16 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Roger Cruz, Penciller; Norm Rapmund, Inker; Luis Guerrero, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: As we enter the final arc of Josh Williamson’s Robin run, we’re left with a major question—what the hell happened to Flatline? Damian has established Lazarus Island as a sanctuary for people like him looking to turn over a new leaf, and that includes his cousin Mara, but they weren’t expecting one arrival—Lord Death Man, claiming that Flatline turned against him. They capture him, and the chaotic villain from Japan proceeds to weave all sorts of wild stories about how evil Flatline has become. This offers the new BFFs, Damian and Hawke, some great opportunities to banter as the villain tries to manipulate them. With only one way to get answers, they head to Japan to team up/argue with Hiro, the mercurial Batman of Japan who was recently dismissed by Ghost-Maker. Much like the China-set New Super-Man series, it’s great to see how these hero concepts are filtered through other countries.
The story gets more twisted as Damian encounters a series of traps, followed by Flatline who provides a very different story than Lord Death Man. We know she did some things she shouldn’t have behind the scenes after the conclusion of the tournament, but we also don’t know if she’s actually working against Damian or essentially playing triple-agent. Lord Death Man obviously can’t be trusted—but can she? The cliffhanger reveals an insane twist as to who he’s working with and why. With only one issue left of Williamson’s run and no guarantee on where this will all be followed up on, there is a lot left to resolve, but it’s amazing just how much good work the writer has done for the character of Damian since he started. The character was in a particularly bad place when the story began, and now he’s a likable and compelling lead with a strong supporting cast. This is a Damian I’d love to see leading a new Teen Titans.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
