Batman vs. Robin #4 – Mark Waid, Writer; Mahmud Asrar, Scott Godlewski, Artists; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: DC is taking an odd approach with this mini-event, having it take a month-long break after this issue so that the related Lazarus Planet event can kick off, only for the main story to conclude in February. It feels a bit complicated for casual readers, although this final issue before the change certainly delivers a compelling setup. When we last left off, Bruce had been through the wringer—facing off against the four possessed Robins, each armed with a mystical weapon, and then discovering that Alfred was an impostor and being forced to say goodbye to his adoptive father once again. He’s already weakened when he enters the inner sanctum where Nezha, Mother Soul, and Damian are waiting—and it’s no surprise when his weakness is taken advantage of, nearly meeting his end only pages into the issue. But as we all know with Batman, you should always assume he has plans upon plans.
The idea of putting Batman into the fight of his life against an element he’s deeply uncomfortable with—magic—is a highly compelling hook for this story and one that delivers in terms of great action. I’m loving the use of obscure magical guest players, like Black Alice and Shifu Pigsy, although I kind of wish that more was done with Tim Hunter and Jakeem Thunder from the first issue. Batman’s surprising gambit this issue is a great twist, and one that goes a long way to continue to redeem a major player in this story—continuing with the work of Josh Williamson. The final half of the issue seems to mostly settle things with the title conflict, but also packs the story with countless action scenes that just up the tension until a literally explosive finale. It’s the kid of event comic that, despite being self-contained, manages to make a huge impact and set up something even bigger coming soon.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
