Ten Nights of the Beast

Batman makes another foray into the world of espionage, this time involving the KGB assassin known as KGBeast. Terrible name aside, this is actually a very fun story which shows Batman being tested by a foe other than his usual rogues gallery.

Until reading this, my only experience of KGBeast was in the appearance of the character (pre-bondage gear) in Arrow. I assume he will become the deadly assassin on that show some day, as no character from the DC universe is wasted in that universe. If I had judged him as a villain based on his name, I would probably have dismissed Anatoli Knyazev outright. However he is in the same mould as Bane, before Bane came into existence.

The story starts on a beach, with several FBI agents being decimated by a single shadowy figure. We then quickly jump to an agent of the KGB warning about a rogue Russian agent who triggered something know as Operation Skywalker. This leads to a race against time as Batman, the FBI, the KGB and the GCPD all struggle to save 10 names on a list of people who are involved in a weapons programme which might eliminate nuclear weaponry.

KGBeast, the assassin, takes out these targets in a variety of bizarre ways. One of which is via a carton of orange juice which disguises a deadly poison gas. There are a couple of excellent fight scenes with Batman, where the pair match wits. Some of these genuinely had me worried for Batman's safety, crazy as that sounds, especially when he struggles to stop his fall from a rooftop. 

There is a mystery to the proceedings as well; there is a leak within the investigation team which leads to 7/10 of the names on the list being taken out. This is the most Batman has ever failed to date, from memory. 

I also loved the ending, as it showed Batman as a tactician as well as a fighter. He conceded that he doesn't always have to fight every fight. 

A fun four issue volume, which introduced a villain who I would be interested in reading more of. But then, in another writers hands he might not be as well written. Jim Starling is another one of those writers who has left his imprint on the Bat, including a couple of famous storylines which are fast approaching.

Next up - The Killing Joke

Batman - Faces

There are two sides to every coin, and indeed every story or person. 

'Faces' explores that idea in depth - with every character and motive having two sides.

It begins with Two Face escaping, seemingly deciding to do so on the flip of his scarred coin. Then the story flashes forward in time, two years later, where Two Face's plan begins. 

Bruce Wayne is at a masquerade ball, where we learn he is desperate to purchase an island from a man called D'Urbeville. No reason is given for this desire, although we can assume Bruce Wayne wanted to build a Bat-island, or something similar.

Two Face's first victim is one of the guests at this masquerade - his mask stuck to his face, so that when it is removed when he struggles to breathe, his face is torn off. This victim, and all of the others, is a plastic surgeon. Two Face appears to be on a crusade against people who try and promote beauty as the only way that someone can be accepted in society. Of course, as a villain who is obsessed with duality, this mass murder is just a cover for his real plan.

Batman rushes away from the ball in pursuit of Two Face's real target - a large jade yin yang symbol (which bears more than a passing resemblance to Batman's giant coin from the Batcave). During this daring heist, we see that Two Face has begun to gather some unique henchmen - twins names Romulus and Remus and a man with snake-like skin on his face. This is just scratching the surface of the outcasts that he has begun to gather though. 

Nelson Wren, the broker who is arranging the deal between Wayne and D'Urberville is approached by a mysterious woman named Manon, who seduces him, and then soon after a mysterious masked man name Count Enance. These two, who are both duplicitous themselves, convince Wren to help them secure the island for themselves. This leads to an excellent full page scene with a birds eye view of a track, where Wayne tries to haggle with Wren to improve on the offer made by Enance.

Meanwhile, Batman is investigating the plastic surgeon murders, tracking a potential victim down to the theatre, but is unfortunately too late to stop the crime. Again we see that Batman is not without his flaws, unlike later on in his career where he is super competent and can take down entire alien races by himself. Instead he stumbles and struggles to get to the bottom of the plastic surgeon murders before he realises Two Face's true motive.

Count Enance is revealed to be Two Face, in perhaps the least shocking reveal ever, and at the end of the first issue we see the full extent of his gang of freaks. His plan is to use the island to create a safe haven for the outcasts, including himself, with the yin yang symbol as their crest. In a sense he is trying to create his own Batcave, the similarities made clear with the giant jade ornament and the blimp which he also steals later on.

Finally the pieces fit together for Batman, who realises that the plastic surgeon murders were a ploy to distract him from the real crimes. He discovers that Two Face blackmailed D'Urberville (another character leading a double life) and races to stop his plan. He is subdued though, and tied to the front of the blimp. Luckily he has some acid to spare, and releases himself to save the day.

An excellent story, in my opinion, which showed Two Face in a different light to the usual mobster. He has a genuine cause here, one which some might say is noble, although he goes about it the wrong way. Sure, he murders several people horribly and kidnaps circus freaks against their will, but he does it because he sees himself as a protector of the outcasts. In the end, the freaks turn on Dent, and tell him that they are happy with who they are. They are freaks, but at least they not like Dent - a monster.

Great artwork here, which is disturbing and fitting with the horror elements of this story. And great writing too from Wagner, who has gone from strength to strength since his tale of the 'monster men' of Hugo Strange right back at the beginning of the timeline. Highly recommended.

Next up - Ten Nights of the Beast

Tales of the Demon

R'as Al Ghul is one of the Batman's most intimidating foes. He knows who Batman is, commands an army of assassins and even death cannot hold him down.

This collection of shorter arcs from the Denny O'Neill run on Batman introduces us to the Demon Head, his daughter Talia and his mysterious Lazarus Pits.

We join Batman mid investigation into Dr. Darrk and the League of Assassins - having not read the stories which precede this one in O'Neill's run I can only assume that this was an ongoing investigation for a few months. When Batman corners a lead, two assassins strike, killing the man Batman was pursuing. An attempt is made to silence Batman as well, but to no avail, as both assassins are swiftly dispatched. With his final breath, the man Batman had followed whispers the words 'Soom Express' and the investigation is alive once more.

Denny O'Neill is renowned for his depiction of the Batman as an international crime fighter, closer to spies such as James Bond than the dark and brooding vigilante he has been in the past. We see him globe trotting, seducing the beautiful daughter of the man who quickly becomes his nemesis and donning costumes or using gadgetry to defeat and thwart the villains. Several of the scenes in the opening chapters here are replicated in Grant Morrison's run, where Batman once again becomes the 'super spy' during. Batman Inc.

R'as is presented as Batman's intellectual equal, easily deducing the secret identity of the Bat by analysing what equipment the Dark Knight used and investigating who had the means to make such purchases. We see this initial confrontation early on, and so Al Ghul is immediately presented as a threat to be taken seriously. Adding to the menace created by his intellect is his hulking bodyguard Ubu, the first of several loyal followers who handle the physical confrontations with the Detective.

Over the course of several shorter arcs, Batman learns that R'as is testing him, to try and judge his suitability as a partner for his daughter, Talia. In these arcs Batman and R'as are enemies and unwilling allies, most notably in the battle against the Sensei. 

One standout sequence is the battle between Batman and Al Ghul in the desert, where the Demon's Head is proven to be just as worthy a physical opponent as he is a mental one. Batman appears defeated, through a stroke of poor luck, but it is Talia who eventually helps him to win the encounter. 

The daughter of the Demon's Head is shown to be just as competent in combat, although she is much more shrouded in mystery than her father and we can never be truly sure whose side she is on. She is often portrayed - falsely - as the damsel in distress, but this is more often than not a ploy to get Batman involved in one of the schemes of her father.

The introduction of the Lazarus Pit is well handled too, with us seeing the madness that takes its hold on Al Ghul after he is reborn. There is just enough mystery left surrounding the Demon's Head and his resurrections to allow scope for later storylines to expand on his history. We get a sense here that he has been around for a very long time though, honing his skills in order to bring about the 'improvement' of the Earth.

We get a brief cameo from Robin, who seems to be away at University, and we also see the persona of Matches Malone again. Several other people come to Batman's aid in the course of these stories, which shows that he is still in the relative infancy of his career.

The artwork and writing are both exemplary - several iconic scenes are drawn here by Neal Adams. The writing of Denny O'Neill is strikingly noir, but without going over the top as some writers often have the tendency to do. O'Neill, for me, is one of the greatest writers to take on the character of Batman. Even if this had been his only contribution to the Batman mythology, that would hold true. How many other creators can boast that they have created a villain as iconic and dangerous as R'as Al Ghul?

Next up - Batman: Faces

Fortunate Son

So, Batman doesn't like rock music. Or punk. Something which he makes very clear in his constant assertions to Robin that it leads to crime and madness. Although to be fair, he has a point if you use this story as evidence. Several thousand fans of 'Izaak Crowe' start a mini rebellion. They storm a pseudo-Graceland style museum, even stealing a glass coffin which holds the body of 'The God of Rock 'n' Roll'. 

All of this youthful rebellion is a result of the manipulative manager of Crowe, who uses lookalikes and fancy dress hire to convince Crowe that the 'God' and several other dead rock stars are leading him on some mythical quest. Luckily for Batman's investigation, the evil manager isn't clever enough to try and hide the various purchases he has made to prepare for his plan. He can train a small army of people to do his dirty deeds, but he can't figure out that if he pays for things using cash then it can't be traced as easily...

The debate surrounding the influence of rock music, or indeed any form of media, on the behaviour of the general public is one that has gone on for several decades. Batman himself has even been the subject of the debate, most recently when a theatre screening a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises was the victim of a violent shooting. But this volume was oftentimes very heavy handed in trying to deliver its message. There was several stock 'older generation' characters who were complaining about the youth of today, Batman being one of them.

If it sounds like I'm being negative, than it's because I am. I just found this story to be full of strange ideas and slightly wonky characterisation. Especially Batman, who stubbornly refuses to allow Robin to listen to rock music. And at some point he thinks taking Robin to Arkham will cure him, despite none of the villains in Arkham being influenced by music to commit their crimes...it was hilarious to learn that Harvey Dent enjoys ABBA on a good day though.

On a positive note the artwork by Gene Ha was great - although it was odd to see Batman without the white lenses in his cowl. But the action sequences were well drawn and the scene where Batman was speed reading in order to learn about rock music to further his investigation was a particular standout. Not one to seek out, unless you're a completist like me and want to read every Batman story ever written...

Next up - Tales of the Demon.

Dark Detective

Following on from Strange Apparitions is Dark Detective. Not only does it mention Rupert Thorne and his cabal of villains who tried to overtake the city of Gotham, but it also explores the developing relationship with Silver St. Cloud. Englehart also explores the relationship between Batman and three of his most well known villains.

We join Batman on a rooftop somewhere in Gotham, and immediately we see that he is being hunted by the GCPD. When we move on to a masked ball held in celebration of the new candidate for Governor, we can see that this is a Gotham in a period of great unrest. There is a distinct lack of trust in Batman, which seems to be an after effect of Rupert Thorne's plots to take him down. There's an interesting panel where one partygoer tells Bruce he needs to wear a mask - his reply is that he 'forgot', clearly signalling that Bruce Wayne is the mask and not Batman.

Shortly into this masked ball, Evan Gregory takes the stage and introduces his fiancé...Silver St. Cloud. This triggers a flashback showing the events of the previous volume in the timeline (Strange Apparitions) and shows how she could not be with him after discovering his secret identity as Batman. The effects of leading a double life are explored from several angles in this volume. Firstly there is the relationship between Wayne and St. Cloud, and whether or not this can withstand the danger linked with his other life as the Batman. Then there are the strange clones of Harvey Dent - one who is all 'Harvey' and one gruesome looking clone that is all 'Two Face'. 

At several points Dent also discusses his coin, and the reasons he has behind following it the way he does. He only decides to rob a stadium early on because his coin landed on the 'scarred side' and then he saw a sign mentioning a 'double header'. This obsession with duality and the idea of 'fate' is played on several times as well. Joker comments on how he and Batman are perfect opposites - chaos and order. In fact it could be argued that they are the two sides of Two Face's coin.

The two sides of Batman - the mask and Bruce Wayne - are explored in a Scarecrow fear gas sequence, which explores events in Bruce's childhood which have remained hidden until now. It seems as though he was threatened by a criminal - possibly an associate of Chill - although this sequence was slightly confusing so it could have just been metaphorical rather than an actual event which happened. It is during this fear gas sequence that Bruce realises he loves St. Cloud still, as he has an epiphany that he has never had chance to truly grow up. Since the age of ten he has resolved to take on this crusade, yet he has never really had chance to do all the things that one associates with growing up. This was quite a powerful idea for me, in that it shows Batman realising he needs to have other things in his life otherwise he will be lost to the madness.

The overarching plot involves Joker trying to run for governor of Gotham, although it seems to be a plan that fits quite well into the quote from The Dark Knight - 'I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it.'

Eventually this plan escalates and Joker kidnaps St. Cloud - reverting to type as he so often does - in the hope of drawing Evan Gregory to his house of death traps. This house is strangely reminiscent of the house that Scarecrow created in 'Terror'. But it does fit in quite nicely with the role of Joker as the 'clown prince of crime'. Obviously, Batman comes to the rescue - also reverting to his 'role' that the Joker describes earlier on - but he cannot save Gregory from sustaining an injury. In the aftermath of this, St. Cloud and Bruce part ways again, when Bruce's logical mind takes over and he suggests they wait until Gregory has recovered from his injuries.

In his role as the polar opposite of The Joker, Batman will never be truly happy. In his quest to bring and sustain order in Gotham, he can never be satisfied. So in a way the Joker will always win. His goal is to bring chaos into the lives of Batman and Gotham, which he manages to achieve every time.

Other fantastic moments for me in this volume included Joker introducing his venom to a target via a CD, and also in the problem solving skills of Batman in the house of devious puzzles Joker had built. The art was excellent, especially the more trippy moments of the fear gas sequences, and the writing was intriguing. I loved the fact that Batman was pursuing three of his major villains at the same time, as this felt more true to how things would play out in Gotham. Especially if more than one villain had escaped from Arkham at the time - it makes no sense that the rest would wait as one villain perpetrated his master plan. An excellent volume all round, which is highly recommended.

Next up - Fortunate Son

Strange Apparitions

Claiming to contain some of Batman's 'deadliest of enemies' on the back cover, this was a volume I approached with much excitement. Although I was somewhat dubious at the inclusion of Doctor Phosphorous and Clayface, I looked forward to another encounter with Hugo Strange, as well as The Joker and Deadshot.

Split into several mini-arcs, which on the whole form a larger story, Strange Apparitions begins with an encounter with Doctor Phosphorous. This is a villain who I haven't really encountered much before, except in his recent appearance in Batman Eternal. As a villain I don't think he really matches up with Batman as well, in fact he seems more suited to a  character such as Firestorm or maybe The Flash. The more interesting elements of this opening arc were the introduction of love interest Silver St. Cloud and the antagonist Rupert Thorne. Neither has appeared so far in the timeline, yet both are well known enough to be considered major characters in the mythology. 

As in all the best Batman stories, it takes a change of approach for Batman to defeat Phosphorous - he adds a radiation proof element to his suit. It is this element of the Batman character that I find most inspiring - that he can adapt to any situation and still emerge victorious.

With Doctor Phosphorous dispatched, Bruce Wayne must seek out a way to heal his radiation induced wounds without attracting attention. So he goes to a place recommended by a billionaire friend, which happens to be a front go Hugo Strange. Sadly this is a Hugo Strange that seemingly doesn't take into account the Prey and Terror storylines, as he is not aware of the Bat's secret identity.

After being defeated, in a way, by Strange, Batman relies on the intervention of Robin and Alfred to be freed from his prison. An element of Batman that is often explored is his reliance on others to achieve his goals in his fight against crime. Whereas some storylines explore the idea that the 'Bat family' weaken him by providing vulnerable targets, this is one storyline that shows he could not succeed without the help he has procured.

After Hugo Strange come Penguin and Deadshot in quick succession, though neither seem to present a major challenge for the Bat. I have never read a Deadshot story where he is actually utilised in the 'flawless assassin' role he is supposed to have. For someone who 'never misses' he certainly shoots at Batman a lot in this issue without hitting his target. And Penguin, of course, is often a joke character, or a 'facilitator' of crime. They are just precursors to the main event - The Joker.

In amongst all of this is Silver St. Cloud deducing the identity of the Batman. Whereas both her and Bruce struggle with this discovery at first, it is interesting to see them go the way they do when all of their cards are on the table. Rather than swoon and pledge her undying love, St. Cloud realises that being in a relationship with The Batman would be far too dangerous for her.

The Joker storms into the storyline, with an insane plot to make money by copyrighting his 'Joker-Fish'. To achieve this goal, he revisits his tactic from The Man Who Laughs and threatens key figures in Gotham. He kills both in ingenious ways though, showing that beneath his madness there is a devious mind at work, planning out every move to present an illusion of chaos.

Finally we have Clayface, a new incarnation this time from the Matt Hagen  incarnation of 'Monsters'. This is Preston Payne, who doesn't have the shape shifting abilities of his predecessors. Instead he is a true monster, his appearance causing panic, and in his wake is a string of corpses who he had to kill to stop the pain. In this sense Clayface is more interesting as a villain here; Hagen was nothing more than a petty crook. Payne only wants to right the wrongs that he suffered by trying to cure his 'ugliness'. 

Characterisation in this volume is solid throughout. Each villain (and hero) had their motivations and reasons for doing what they do, even when it appears otherwise in The Joker's case. There are some plot threads that seem incomplete - mainly the ghost of Hugo Strange that haunts Rupert Thorne through the mid-section of this book. 

Batman is the consummate master strategist, altering his tactics to defeat whichever villain he is faced with. This is an excellent volume, with solid artwork, that has a fantastic range of Batman stories which should please any fan of The Dark Knight.

Next up - Dark Detective

Gotham After Midnight

Opening with the words 'I'm Batman' this is a story which explores a more confident Batman, at least in the beginning. All of his major villains are established - and some of his minor villains too. We see a few of them in this volume, manipulated and used in a similar way to the manner in which Bane or Hush uses Batman's minor villains to wear him down.

Batman is hunting down Scarecrow, who has just escaped from Arkham (which we are informed of via a windswept newspaper headline). We see his confidence as he confronts Crane, who uses his trademark fear gas, only to discover that Batman has been exposing himself to the gas to build up a resistance. This is the Batman who is prepared for anything. Other examples of his preparation are demonstrated when he fakes his own death to try and get to the mastermind behind these events early on, and in the large combat suit which Alfred questions but is later useful in fighting an oversized Clayface.

However, in the midst of the panic surrounding the gruesome murders where the killer 'Midnight' takes the hearts of his victims, something begins to change in Gotham. A GCPD detective, April Clarkson, is taking the credit for the villains that Batman is taking down. As the murders become more frequent, and more of Batman's villains make their appearance, he starts to lose his confidence and begins to shut people out and make mistakes. The fight between Batman and Clayface that I mentioned earlier destroys many of the cities buildings, which leads to some of the public losing their confidence in the. Bat as well.

Here we see Bruce Wayne's influence on Gotham as well, when he holds a fundraiser to help repair the damage caused by the fight. It's not often we see the repercussions of Batman's war on crime in this way, at least not so far in the timeline, so it's interesting to see Bruce Wayne doing his part to help the Batman's cause. It is as this fundraiser that he begins to fall for April Clarkson, which is another event that causes a domino effect later on in the story.

The artwork in this story is very different to most of the artwork so far, with a lot of the panels having a very surreal and dreamlike style to them. Whilst reading, this did sometimes have a disorienting effect, meaning I had to go back and read some panels again. But then looking back it did reflect the mental state of Batman as he became drawn further into the case and the ongoing fight with 'Midnight'.

Midnight is an interesting villain, who spreads panic and chaos throughout Gotham, to the point where crime figures hit an all time low. Some question whether this is necessarily a bad thing, as Midnight achieves results that Batman can only dream of. At one point Midnight even offers to let Batman join forces with him, so they can clean up Gotham City together. Obviously, Batman sticks to his morals and refuses.

Tragedy strikes about midway through the story, which again calls into question the idea of whether anyone can ever truly get close to Batman without being hurt. Over the years there have been so many people who have been caught in the crossfire between Batman and his villains, but as Alfred points out in the end, it is the people around Batman who give him hope. Even though Batman doesn't always appreciate the help at the time.

An interesting character development for Batman here was in seeing him lash out in frustration, destroying equipment and becoming more distant as he hit dead end after dead end. This worked especially well given the contrast to how confident he was at the start, and helped to demonstrate that he is still in the earlier years of his career.

Things come full circle though, and in the final confrontation with Midnight's brainwashed villains, we see the confident Dark Knight again. Even though the odds are stacked in his favour five to one, he removes the brainwashing commands and takes out each villain as the GCPD look on. A GCPD officer, presumably a rookie, comments to Commissioner Gordon 'Are you seeing this commissioner? He's amazing.' And so the legend of Batman is strengthened once more, giving hope to Gotham's citizens whilst installing fear in its criminals.

The final reveal of the mystery was well handled, even though it was a twist I did see coming (easy to say after reading, but it's true). I loved that the villain managed to get under Batman's skin and truly hurt him. Not many Batman villains manage that, so it's a testament to the writing of Steve Niles that this villain did it in a believable way.

This was a fantastic read, despite the sometimes confusing artwork, and one which I had never heard of before. I recommend that you go out and read it if you haven't yet, and see what happens to Gotham, and Batman, after midnight.

Next up - Strange Apparitions

Full Circle

Cycles are a constant feature of Batman and his mythology. Villains die and return from beyond the grave, as do allies. Everything that Batman is and does will always circle back to that night in Crime Alley. But sometimes there is hope of the cycle being broken.

The Reaper was the main villain of the Year Two storyline Fear the Reaper. A storyline which had its fair share of polarising elements, being as it portrayed Batman working alongside Joe Chill and also using a gun to help him defeat The Reaper. Pushing all of that to one side, it was an interesting look at what a vigilante could become when their life is torn apart by grief.

The Reaper in this tale is revealed early on to be a different character than the first, but their motive is still rooted in personal tragedy. However this time there are much stronger links to the myth of Batman. Despite this, the villain did not seem as interesting this time round, and what is a fairly short story struggled to grab my attention as much as it did the first time around.

Being as the motive this time was to get revenge on the original Reaper, and Batman, it would have been more interesting to see this new Reaper turn the originals's mission on its head and target the police perhaps? Especially since the new Reaper has roots in the criminal world of Gotham.

Not much more to say really, as it is quite a short story. I enjoyed the dynamic that Robin brought to the story, and it was interesting to see a natural progression from Robin Year One with Grayson still being quite inexperienced in some situations. After a rocky few storylines, the timeline seems to have more a natural progression emerging again, which is exciting to see. So overall, despite the weak villain, I enjoyed this storyline just because it fits into the overarching timeline quite nicely.

Next up - Gotham After Midnight

Robin Year One

Each Robin that has been by Batman's side over the years has been an attempt by Bruce Wayne to give something back to the youngsters who have suffered the same pain and trauma that he did when he was a child. Most recently, Damian Wayne was being raised to rule the world by his mother Talia al Ghul; Stephanie Brown has a father who was a C List villain; Tim Drake lost his mother and his father was crippled; Jason Todd was living a life of crime before Bruce took him under his wing. 

Dick Grayson, the first Robin, saw both of his parents murdered before his eyes. In Dark Victory we saw that Dick went through a similar grieving process to Batman. In Robin Year One, we see that 'Master Dick' has had a huge impact on Bruce and Batman. Alfred has noticed a change in the atmophere down in the Batcave, even Commissioner Gordon notes at one point later in the story that Batman is less optimistic when he is not with the Boy Wonder. So in this sense it seems as though Robin represents hope to Bruce - hope that he can improve the life of someone who went through a similar fate to him.

The first issue of this volume sees the dynamic duo go up against Mad Hatter, who is kidnapping girls from the Gotham area to brainwash and sell on to a corrupt politician. Dick attends the local school, and knows the latest victim, which adds an interesting facet to Bruce's crime fighting repertoire. Grayson is his way of getting closer to the younger victims of crime that a man in his 30s could not.

We see that Robin is an accomplished detective as well, which isn't often a characteristic I associate with Grayson. He tracks down Hatter and even apprehends him without Batman's help. Robin expects Batman to be angry about this, but instead he congratulates him on his good work. Alfred is still doubtful that this new partnership is a good idea though, as he worries for the boys safety.

There is an interesting parallel between Batman/Robin and Hatter/Alice. Even though their methods are different, they offer one viewpoint on the way Batman takes in these vulnerable young boys and teaches them to fight crime - in a sense brainwashing or indoctrinating them to follow the path he has chosen. Several people voice these concerns in the first issue, and indeed throughout, reminding Batman that Robin is only a child. In some peoples eyes Batman is just as bad as Hatter - Hatter brainwashes young girls to be like Alice in the same way that Batman 'brainwashes' young boys to be like a smaller version of himself.

So, the newly formed team bring down Hatter. Next up is Killer Moth - although he doesn't last long. Robin is incredibly disdainful of Killer Moth (with good reason) and asks Batman if the villains keep getting 'lamer and lamer'. Batman replies asking if Robin wants to hear another Joker story - reminding us of the darker villains that he has to face. Robin states that the last one gave him nightmares, reminding us that he is still a child and that he is not ready to face the major Bat-villains yet.

Unfortunately Gotham and it's villains don't take into account when someone is 'ready' and Batman/Robin are soon drawn into a conflict with Two Face. Two Face captures Batman and Robin after Grayson disobeys Wayne's order to 'sit this one out'. Two Face plays into the fear which is at the centre of the Batman/Robin dynamic - will one cause/witness the death of the other?

Robin comes out of the situation badly beaten and in need of medical assistance. Bruce sees the sense of what others have been warning him about - that he is corrupting this innocent and putting him in harms way - and tells Robin that 'it's over'. Despite this, Grayson is determined not to be beaten, and he takes on Mr Freeze by himself, through tactical fighting and sheer luck (when Freeze falls through some weak ice). 

Bruce returns home to discover Alfred with a letter from Dick to say he has gone. Quite chillingly on his way through the Batcave, he walks past the glass display case with the Robin costume in, an eerie image which foreshadows the eventual tribute to the fallen Jason Todd. Considering the near miss Grayson had, it's a wonder that Batman continued to pursue the concept of 'Robin'.

Meanwhile, Grayson falls in with Shrike - a member of the 'League of Assassins', whose leader has not yet been introduced in the timeline yet. So this is an interesting hint at later events and a major Batman villain. These assassins are in Gotham to enact a hit on Two Face, which obviously provides motivation for Grayson to stay involved with these less than savoury characters. When it comes to the crunch though, Grayson can't go through with the hit. 

This leads to repercussions, what with the League of Assassins code of honour, and it is only Batman's intervention that stops Grayson being punished for not going through with the murder.

We end the story with some narration from Alfred, explaining that Robin has brought light into Batman's life. And perhaps vice versa, as we saw a hint of what could become of Robin if he channeled his rage into the wrong endeavour.

Fantastic art, fantastic writing and an interesting story make this one of my top five so far. The colours and artwork had a lighter feel to them, which reflected the lighter atmosphere Robin brings into Batman's life. I liked the parallels with Year One as well - the dual perspective this time being Alfred and Grayson. In a similar way we saw Grayson overconfident, injured and then refreshed and ready to fight crime in a similar way to Batman's journey in Year One.

Next up - Full Circle