DC KO: Knightfight #2 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Triona Farrell, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Batman’s scheme to survive the DC KO tournament worked – a little too well. He used a Mother Box to escape oblivion and returned to Earth, but it wasn’t his own Earth. It was a twisted Earth where Dick Grayson was Robin, leading a massive squad of young vigilantes – and where Tim, Jason, and Damian were dead, supposedly killed by Bruce under the influence of Lazarus madness. So the arrival of Bruce, still insisting he was Batman, set Dick off something fierce. But as the two face off, Bruce starts to notice things that don’t fit, and he becomes convinced this isn’t Dick at all. Rather, it’s a twisted penance imposed by the Heart of Apokalips to retaliate for him trying to subvert its judgment. And if you think there’s more coming, you’re absolutely right. Batman has successfully conquered one hell-world ruled by a former Robin – which means more are waiting.
The second one up is Jason Todd, no surprise, and Dan Mora shifts his art style impressively for this one. Jason’s world is cast entirely in grey, black, and red tones, as Bruce finds himself in a new Arkham overseen by his wayward son. Jason is a brutal warden, but it soon becomes clear he doesn’t think this is Bruce at all – he thinks Bruce is dead, and this is a version of Clayface who is convinced he’s Batman. When brutal interrogations don’t work, Jason resorts to harsher tactics, and accidentally gives Bruce an opening to get to the surface, and see exactly what’s become of these worlds. Each of these “Robinworlds” reflects what could become if the worst instincts of each Robin was indulged without a counterbalance, which makes them all compelling foils for Bruce. Overall, these two issues have been very strong, and I’m extremely curious what Tim’s world will look like.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
