Just before Thanksgiving in the US, Steph and Ian sat down together to discuss one thing they’re very thankful for…Batman: Wayne Family Adventures Episodes #174-176! Let’s see what StarBite and CRC Payne have been serving up.
Steph: Hi Ian!! Are you excited for Thanksgiving?!
Ian: I am! Time with the fam, cooking, eating, reading books…and COMICS! How about you?
Steph: Well, not really. I just had mouth surgery and eating is rough still. But I can eat all the webtoons I want!!
Ian: That’s good! Hopefully you’ll be able to munch more than mashed taters soon. But speaking of Webtoons, Wayne Family Adventures Season 4 feels like it’s firing on all cylinders again for me!
Steph: Oh man, I think it’s striking a pretty good balance this season of the long term stories, but keeping entertaining B and C plots.
And I do wonder if they intersect later on…
Ian: That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking!
Where season 3 was pretty much All Joker All The Time, and far too dark for what I think WFA can reasonably handle at any extended period, season 4 has a serious plot – Mr. Freeze’s disappearance – a Wayne Enterprises plot with Kate, Vicki Vale, and Bruce, a Family Shenanigans plot with Damian trying to find a present for Alfred, and even a romance plot…
that’s four plots, which makes it feel less like it’s trying to be a Deep and Dark Serious Comic about Batman and his Batpain, and instead is just a more extended and complicated approach to the gag-a-day strips the series does so well!
Steph: Yes! Let’s get into episode 174 – Action, Reaction – which starts with Bruce and Kate talking.
We see a lot of growth for Bruce from last season.
Ian: I have to say, I know Greg Rucka hates the idea that Bruce and Kate are first cousins (he wishes they were 2nd or 3rd cousins), but I like the way they’re almost like siblings here. Also, Bruce continues to show his character growth from last season, which is fantastic.
Steph: yes to both those things. In the canon comics I often forget that they 1. live in the same city and 2. are related. I really appreciate the growth of their relationship.
Ian: What’d you think about Kate and Bruce boxing? That’s a fun Batfamily activity!
Steph: I agree. It also provided Kate the opportunity to punch her feelings out, which is a way I think the two of them are similar.
Ian: absolutely! How do you feel about Bruce saying he’s the best and everyone is just fighting for second?
Steph: I was going to mention that next! Bruce is growing a sense of humor!
Ian: I think it’s true in a meta-sense, though I prefer a world where Lady Shiva and a few others are better than him at fighting
Steph: But he’s Batman
Ian: He is Batman! But I grew up reading Chuck Dixon and Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey, where Shiva was just The Force of fighting, and Batman planned around her rather than trying to beat her. 😄
Steph: And the episode ends with Nightwing getting asked to come in from Bludhaven and Duke being asked to go undercover to check on the kid who got Kate framed for meanness.
Ian: I like how Batman, of course, has a PLAN! And the plan is to…delegate!
Steph: The next episode 175 – Marching Orders sees Duke agreeing to go under cover, but mostly it’s just Dick and Damian on a mall date/kidnapping. What did you think of all the sibling teasing?
Ian: I think this is the most Wayne Family Adventures of the plotlines, and I really love it. Damian interacting with the family is always a delight when the writers understand his voice and the family member’s voices in relation to his, and I think CRC Payne has just the right blend of arrogance, uncertainty, and hidden child for Damian. It’s extremely delightful, and Dick’s advice is quite sensible, but of course Damian can’t listen to it because it’s so chill and silly.
Oh, and there’s a WONDERFUL continuity note as Steph jokes that Tim hasn’t gotten kidnapped recently!
Steph: Yes! I loved that.
Do you think Alfred will like his slippers?
Ian: I think Alfred will love them
And I really hope we get to see him wearing them!
Steph: Oh, we better. Now, I have to admit I never read DickBatman/DamianRobin. How was this episode in light of that series? I really loved how Damian trusts Dick and was panicking at anyone else knowing his dilemma (though begrudgingly).
Ian: I think it didn’t lean TOO heavily on that history, but there was definitely a really great brotherly vibe to them, and the light vs. dark temperaments was really nicely drawn for sure.
Steph: I like how Dick is there for Damian, but he also pushes Damian to lean on the others as well… even though they let Dick himself down by not getting his pack of the driveway
Ian: Poor Dick. Steph and Cass should have gotten that bag!
Steph: Next we have episode 176- Partnering Up with the reunion of….dun dun dun…We Are Robin!
Ian: As a HUGE We Are Robin fan, I LOVED this part!
Steph: And I’ll admit…I didn’t catch last season that Shug-R’s name was pronounced “Sugar”…I get the play on letters eluded me.
Ian: Even though Izzy is my least favorite We Are Robiner, she’s still fun, and we get lots of Shug-R, plus glimpses of Riko, Dax, and Dre! it’s pretty clear to me that Lee Bermejo, writer of We Are Robin, has a punny sense of humor 😄
Steph: Maybe he saw the future trend of giving kids normal word names that are spelled weird.
And maybe this will be Lizzy’s opportunity to grow and be a likeable character for you.
They look like they’ve become a pretty well coordinated team and work together really well.
Ian: I think she’s reasonably likeable – I just think the others are MORE likeable 😄
Steph: Ahhhhh.
Ian: I do think it’s funny that this comic has done more for the We Are Robin team than the original comic, while being extremely faithful to that comic! I’m always super glad to see them!
Steph: That is nice. I think WFA does its best to bring out the best in a lot of people’s favorite’s.
And next we have Dick checking in with Red Hood. What did you think of this whole interaction?
We get tiny glimpses of Az, Huntress, and Catwoman. Hopefully they’ll be more prominent later.
Ian: I’m very curious about the way they’re writing Dick – he’s very much trying to act as a team leader – not replacing Bruce, but like a capable executive officer with a very different leadership and relationship style compared to Batman. (Reminds me of the Nightwing Year One comment Dick makes about being a talker in a family of writers). He’s systematically connecting with the Batfam and trying to make sure they are doing well and encourage them
Steph: Oh, I was going to mention that in episode 174 they did make it clear that Bruce and Kate might be fighting as Waynes in suits more this season, which is why Nightwing is coming in as a field leader.
I love that Dick is very much the heart and sees how much Jason loves everyone and is worried about Tim even though he denies is so much.
Ian: Dick’s insight and care for his family is just so nice to see!
We also get to see that Catwoman, Huntress, and Azrael are helping with the hunt for Freeze!
Steph: And, to finish this review off…we need to talk about the romantic elephant in the room…HAVE BABS AND DICK NOT BEEN TOGETHER THIS WHOLE TIME??
I swear…I thought they were dating…Maybe I’m getting DC’s Nightwing and WFA mixed up, but I swear they were
Ian: I do not think they have!
They WERE getting married in the Red Hood: Outlaw webtoon, which had crossover with WFA, but they are clearly sort of neighboring universes rather than the same one
Steph: See…I didn’t think I was totally nuts. And also…I mean…haven’t Babs and Dick been a thing since they were 14?
Ian: And of course in the (in my opinion rather odd) DC Go webtoon Nothing Butt Nightwing, they break up in rather frustrating fashion
You are never nuts, Steph! 😄
Steph: We don’t need to talk about that series. The first two episodes made me very uncomfy…as a human.
Ian: Indeed
But how about the way CRC Payne is writing Dick and Babs here?
Does it romance romancely for you?
Steph: I mean, not super much, but that might just be because I thought they were normal flirting as a couple and then Dick started acting weird and I realized they weren’t dating. So, it was a bit weird for me. But I don’t think that’s CRC’s fault.
Ian: I thought it was cute. And I’m kind of surprised, because outside of Bruce and Selina’s pretty regular dates, there’s not a ton of romance in WFA. Duke got that one storyline, but that ended in heartbreak. Tim was dating Bernard (sadly for this TimSteph shipper), but that hasn’t been seen recently (thankfully), and Jason was looking to setup an online dating profile (despite being on a team with Artemis – what’s wrong with you, Jason?)
I’m hoping that this Dick and Babs romance plotline will be a fun romcom type thing, rather than ending like poor Duke’s.
Steph: I hope it’s a fluffy D plot.
Well, any final thoughts on these three episodes? And, more importantly, what do you look forward most at Thanksgiving?
Ian: I think in general these three episodes have really brought back my confidence in the direction this season has taken, and I’m extremely excited to check out the next chapters! For Thanksgiving, I’d say I’m looking forward most to cooking and eating with family! A generic answer, but tis too true!
Steph: Same on WFA.
I can’t wait to see my nephews bring food to dinner for the first time! They’re turning into such great young guys.
See you in a few weeks!!!
Ian: ❤️
