Batman and Robin #7 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Nikola Cizmesija, Artist; Rex Lokus, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Joshua Williamson, for all his background in horror comics, has managed to give us one of the most optimistic and wholesome Bat-family comics as Bruce and Damian slowly learn to not just be partners, but father and son. This issue also introduces a new wrinkle as Bruce has to deal with a father’s rite of passage—meeting the kid’s first significant other. This would be Flatline, the breakout character Williamson debuted in his Robin series. The teenage assassin has made her way over to Gotham, seeking Batman and Robin’s help to find her missing sister. While the two were estranged, Mika’s sister has now disappeared into Gotham’s criminal underworld and she wants to see if there’s any hope for her one remaining criminal connection. And in the middle of this, of course, both Shush and Man-Bat are making their play for control of a Gotham that’s even more chaotic than usual.
That splits the action into several different plots this issue, as Damian and Flatline go on the hunt for the missing girl and spin into a conspiracy at the Iceberg Lounge—and discover that the missing girl may not have been abducted after all. Shush, meanwhile, is playing both sides and potentially switching sides, and this makes her a pretty interesting character. If she’s who Damian suspects, then she likely has some odd affection for him despite her harsh methods—and may even be hoping to win him back to the League of Assassins. And Damian’s not the only one with a member of that cult watching over them and manipulating them. This is a great series, but the one area I’m not sure about is Man-Bat’s characterization. This twisted cult leader bears little resemblance to any version of the character we’ve seen before—anywhere—and I’m hoping for another big bad to take over soon.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
