Batman and Robin #0
BATMAN & ROBIN #0 Review by Jamie Dunst
Peter J. Tomasi: Writer; Patrick Gleason: Penciler; Mick Gray: Inker; John Kalisz: Colorist; Carlos M. Mangual: Letterer; Gleason, Gray, Kalisz: Cover
So with Batman and Robin #0, we get an inside look at Damian’s early life. I have to tell you that I’ve been waiting for something like this for a long time and this issue didn’t disappoint. We start with his birth and Talia putting the child in a pool of water. When the nurse-maid tries to make Talia see what she is doing is madness, she kills her without hesitation. As Talia picks up baby Damian from the now blood soaked pool, she welcomes him to the world.
We flash-forward a few years and we see Damian and Talia sparring. Damian is curious about his father and Talia tells him that the only way he can learn anything about his father by besting her on his birthday. Talia is distracted by a communication and leave Damian for a moment. When she comes back, Damian is wearing the cape and cowl of Batman saying “Look, I’m a bat.” Talia tells Damian of her dream of taming the world and shaping it to their will and control it. Talia hopes that Damian will be her Alexander as she will be his Olympias and if all goes according to plan, Damian’s father would be their King Phillip.
Over the next years we see Damian continue to train and continue to lose on his birthday to his mother. Then on one particular birthday Damian not only defeats his challenge but he finally defeats his mother and she tells him everything he’s ever wanted to know about his father, Bruce Wayne. The issue ends with the first confrontation between Damian and Batman. This was an exceptionally well done issue. I loved the evolution of Damian. Somehow, I am a bit surprised that Damian called Talia “Mama” when he was younger. It’s not something I would expect Talia to approve of but somehow it really worked. I loved the panel with Damian putting on the cape and cowl. It was very cute and a very child-like thing to do. The art of Patrick Gleason as always was stellar and Peter Tomasi really gets these characters. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Our Sponsors:
[zstore contributorhandle=”batman” showhowmany=”12″]
