In this review of Batman and Robin: Year One #3, when Gotham’s mobs are getting hit all over, can even the Dynamic Duo figure out who’s behind it all before they get dragged down under?
BATMAN AND ROBIN: YEAR ONE #3
Written by MARK WAID and CHRIS SAMNEE
Art and cover by CHRIS SAMNEE
Variant cover by CARLOS D’ANDA, MICHAEL ALLRED, WILFREDO TORRES
$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US
ON SALE 12/18/24
This review contains spoilers
Batman and Robin: Year One #3 begins over the course of five days, as General Grimaldi details plans to his gang over information gathered on Gotham’s most infamous mobsters, including the Maroni crime family and the Gazzos. Each night, the plan involves a trusted ally seemingly betraying the accompanying gang, leaving their face clear for nearby CCTV footage to capture. This leads Gotham’s gangs to go against each other, previewing war.
Down beneath Wayne Manor, Bruce pours over the evidence, working to figure out who’s behind the feud, all the while Alfred tries to get his attention to turn toward their newly adopted ward, Dick. Dick has locked himself in his room eating junk food and watching television, only coming out when the Bat-Signal flashes in the night’s sky. Alfred and Bruce lament that despite Bruce’s initial presumptions, the two orphans take to their situations differently, for they are different people.
Later, Batman and Robin climb aboard a Falcone ship outside of Gotham City, beyond the GCPD’s jurisdiction. Word is someone has been found who may know who’s behind all the madness. As the Caped Crusaders peer into an interrogation, they see the individual is none other than Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two-Face, who after taking a beating gives up the man behind everything as General Grimaldi. Dent slips that Grimaldi’s identity is just the tip of the iceberg, and that he knows information far worse, inferring that he was involved in the Zuccos getting to Haly’s Circus. Upon hearing this, Robin loses his cool and attacks Two-Face, who quickly admits to bluffing. A fight breaks out, and amidst the chaos, Dent releases the ballast tanks on the ship, causing it to sink. As Batman and Robin make it to the top of the ship to watch Two-Face escape, a large crate comes loose and slams into Batman, knocking him overboard and down into the water below, much to Robin’s wide-mouthed horror.
Analysis
Batman and Robin: Year One #3 reads pretty quickly, where the major beats are only three scenes. Nothing wrong with that, but after the pacing of the previous two issues I’ll admit it caught me off guard.
With Batman and Robin: Year One #3, Waid’s definitely getting in his bag writing a crime story. We’re utilizing gangsters reference from The Long Halloween with the Gazzos family being name-checked. It’s good utilization, and I liked the intricacies of seeing how the plot unfolds, then watching Batman at home trying to solve it. Now we’ve not followed through on the Clayface inference from the end of the last issue. The remark of the man’s face melting is not mentioned at all. Instead we see a very preoccupied Batman and a totally unfocused Robin. This is an interesting distinction to make, having Bruce somewhat neglecting Dick and Dick somewhat neglecting the house. There’s no animosity, no intended harm being done, but both aren’t at their best and Alfred’s left to bring the two back to reality. It’s a fresh angle, and I enjoy it. At the same time, I’m eager to see Dick straighten up. As I’ve written about before, previous stories of early-days Robin haven’t portrayed him as so juvenile that he loses focus on what’s he’s meant to be doing. Now, if you’ve not read this issue and are just reading the review – Dick isn’t being a silly little kid in the Robin suit. He is all business (albeit still immature like losing his cool at the Graysons’ murder being mentioned). But him locking the door so he can eat candy and watch cartoons is striking, considering that he is now Robin.
It contrasts with a previously written interpretation by Chuck Dixon – the Robin Year One issue from 1995. In that story, Dick was given everything a kid could want but he was so depressed over his parents, none of the usual child-like fantasies appealed to him any more. While Bruce and Dick are different people who definitely grow to have different methods in fighting crime over time, I think Dick should be a bit moodier as his parents’ deaths ought to still be fresh. Maybe Waid’s positioning a distraction-from-grief angle, because that is why Dick is Robin. He’s got the same yearning for justice that Bruce has, or at least he should. If his kidlike behavior is a kind of coping mechanism for his grief, that would be fine, as it’s something which would contrast from not only Bruce but Jason Todd down the road. It’s arguable that Jason Todd jumped into the Robin costume too soon before he came to terms with his father’s murder (by Two-Face, which I’ll address in a bit), something that is openly expressed by both Batman and Alfred at the start of Death in the Family. Which brings me back to my discomfort of this taking place three weeks after Zucco kills Dick’s parents. I think a decent training/grieving time would have be taking Dick’s behavior a bit easier. So far Waid’s definitely into Robin being the little boy superhero who’s head is just not in the game yet, and I think pushing that too much might be a mistake.
We’ve not crossed any lines yet, however. Robin apologizes to Batman just before he’s shoved into the water by the falling crate. The action happens so fast, we’re seeing Robin at a distance, never getting into his head. The same goes for Batman however. There’s no internal thought captions in the story so far, and as such the characterization is entirely left to Chris Samnee to realize. He’s carrying much of the book’s success, with terrific, dark and moody atmosphere complimenting Batman and Robin’s expressions and reactions. Every closeup panel or one that focuses on their facial expressions sells the whole page. It’s easily the best of the book.
So we end Batman and Robin: Year One #3 with the big “Robin will soon know the danger of the life he leads” scene, as the cliffhanger puts Batman’s life in the balance. Will the signal an impending maturation of Dick’s character? And if it does, will the book become a traditional Batman story with the Dynamic Duo fighting a new villain? I’m intrigued if we’re pulling that level now, as it feels we’ve just started, but if it’s a six-part story, we’re at the halfway point. Trepidations aside, I’m consistently enjoying this book. The writing and artwork in Batman and Robin: Year One #3 are so on point, I want it to go on for at least a year.
