In this review of Batman and Robin #4, Batman & Robin protect White Rabbit and learn who’s responsible for recent events.
Batman and Robin #4
Writer: Josh Williamson
Artists: Mikel Janín & Simone Di Meo
Main Cover: Simone Di Meo
Variant Covers: David Finch, Gleb Melnikov, Simone Di Meo, Kael Ngu, and Otto Schmidt
Release Date: December 12, 2023
Note: This review contains spoilers.
Synopsis:
In a flashback, young(er) Damian is battling League of Assassin ninjas as he is peppered with questions from the history of combat and martial arts. Damian disposes of the assailants but his interrogator, Mistress Harsh, is unimpressed. Damian goads her and she slaps him across the face. Talia immediately appears and is displeased. Mistress Harsh warns Talia that Damian remains soft and that he needs to be hardened.
She asks Damian what he wishes to happen. He indicates that he is finished with Mistress Harsh and smirks as she is dragged off.
Flash forward and Robin is trussed, hanging upside down in the company of Shush, the Terrible Trio, and Man-Bat. They banter and Man-Bat reveals that he is responsible for the pheromone pellet that turned the bats against Batman. Shush warns Man-Bat but it it’s too late – White Rabbit and Batman crash through the glass ceiling of the observatory and the fight is on.
Man-Bat sends his bats after Batman while White Rabbit assists Robin. Man-Bat and White Rabbit flee. Robin rushes outside to find Dr. Kafira in the hopes of helping Batman, but his efforts are needless. Batman slowly regains control of his relationship with bats by reminding them that he does not fear them and is in fact the boss. Dr. Kafira later confirms the pheromones have worn off but also warns that Man-Bat’s experiments on the Terrible Trio are flooding them with rage and causing them permanent harm.
On a rooftop, White Rabbit offers to join Batman and Robin as the “Dynamic Trio,” but once Batman offers to escort her back to Blackgate Prison, she jumps off and glides away. Robin asks for bragging rights to whichever of the two bring her, and Batman smiles and replies, “Game On,” as they swoop through the skies in pursuit.
Back at Gotham City High School, Bruce escorts Damian up the steps but is accosted by Principal Stone who has some pointed remarks for Bruce. After she moves off, Damian tells Bruce that he is sure that Principal Stone is both a former instructor of his and is Shush. Damian realizes that he does have a good reason to attend Gotham City.
Analysis:
Writer Josh Williamson continues a solid if unspectacular arc in Batman & Robin #4. I find Damian’s background with the League of Assassins at least as interesting as his work as Robin, so opening the book with a flashback to that training is effective. The choice is made more so by the fact that we do not even get the payoff until the penultimate panel, when we realize Shush, his principal, and Mistress Harsh are the same person.
I also appreciate the Robin we are getting here. I like Damian Wayne as a character but think he is very difficult to write because he is literally a petulant t(w)een and that often does not make for enjoyable reading for this reviewer. Williamson manages to walk a fine line between capturing the legitimate angst Damian experiences without rendering him childish or hopelessly immature.
I did have a particular issue with how Batman’s relationship with his bats is characterized. Specifically, Batman states that he does not fear bats. I think this is debatable at best (Scarecrow’s fear toxins often trigger for Batman visions of bats) and at worst misconstrues a critical feature in Batman’s character development: Batman does fear bats. He fears them very much. But he literally becomes what he fears most and in so doing transforms into something larger than himself. I love this idea deeply, but it literally turns on the notion that Batman remains afraid of bats.
The above notwithstanding, the concluding panel of this struggle, where Batman breaks free of the terror and stretches his “wings” soars and is beautifully rendered.
Although I do like Simone Di Meo’s work, I was very excited to see Mikel Janín on this book, as I love the latter’s realism, horror aesthetic, sharp lines, and commitment to Gothic imagery and framing. That said, the two artists do not meld together at all, as their styles are different enough to render it extremely obvious which pages and/or panels were drawn by each artist.
Final Thoughts:
All in all, this book is sober but is also fun, well-written, well-sequenced, and well-paced. I’m intrigued and look forward to see where the creative team takes it.
