So I loved the first issue, the second left a slightly sour taste in my mouth though for how Damian was portrayed. How will this one stand up though?
SPOILER WARNING!
Well the start at least put a grin on my face. Damian and Alfred playing chess, with what I took as Damian acting far more like himself than the last issue had. During this, Bruce is out securing the grounds even further after the confrontation he had at the end of the last issue. After Damian’s loss at chess, Bruce goes off on patrol leaving Robin behind. It’s clearly upsetting to Damian, but I like how this was handled. Yes, Bruce sadly doesn’t explain the exact why, but he states actual concern about putting his “son” in harms way. Not just that, he actually tells Damian he is proud about the self control he has been showing lately. Guess all those talks with Alfred is finally starting to get to Bruce.
Damian decides not to listen tonight when told to stay put. Considering he apparently listened the past two though, I think Damian did a good job there. Anyways, Alfred sneaks a tracker on him before he takes off, and we soon see Damian beat up someone before Nobody shows up (NOTE: until Morgan’s vigilante name is stated, I’ll often refer to him as Nobody). After seemingly tempt Damian to his way of killing criminals he then kills the one Damian just beat to a pulp and a moment later knocks Damian out himself after the kid protests over the act.
Just as Nobody starts to remove Damian’s mask, enter the Bat. They go blow for blow a while until Nobody shows his trump card and actually beats Batman. Him and Damian then wake up in an old junk car at an abandoned drive in theater. Oddly enough, Robin’s mask is back on and the issue ends with a countdown with Nobody stating “enjoy the show.” I’m assuming it can’t be good, and with his goal it probably deals with Batman Inc.
After this issue, I can overlook Tomasi’s writing on Damian that I took as a pretty big step back for the character, even if others didn’t. The art by Gleason is nice too, especially the shots of Batman in the second and third pages. I hope the work continues on like this, and I wonder not just how they’ll get out of their situation in the next, but how Bruce will deal with Damian disobeying him.
read/RANT! 