Batman and Robin Comics #38 (New Comics)

Batman and Robin Comics #38 On Youtube

 

Batman and Robin Comics #38 Recap

Damian Wayne has been recently restored to life.  The boy stands over his sleeping father.  He wakes him up, and tells the Dark Knight it is time to go out on patrol.  Damian is eager, but Alfred reminds the boy of his new operative words: property damage.

In the Gotham City Financial District, Batman begins to thwart an armed robbery.  One of the criminals attacks with two assault rifles, but Damian says he’s got this covered.

The boy easily deflects the bullets with his now super powered body, walks up to the criminal and crushes the guns with his bare hands.  He then slams the crook into the car.  Batman quickly intervenes, and says that’s enough, but Damian wants to fly home.  But Batman refuses, and says that after what he just pulled, Damian will not be patrolling for the rest of the week.  Damian feels like he’s being punished for having powers, but Batman says his new abilities are making him reckless.

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When they return, Damian goes to bed and has gruesome nightmares of his mother and grandfather.  They remind him that his brothers are crying and need help.  Damian wakes up screaming, and accidentally launches himself through the ceiling into Alfred’s room.  Alfred asks if the boy needs anything, but Damian just wants to go out and be alone.

Damian visits the graves at the manor, and Alfred notices Robin is carving his mother’s name into the marble with his finger.  Robin flies off, and though Batman says he can track the boy, Alfred recommends he be given some space.

Damian goes to the place where he was born – a lab on a remote island.  He trashes the lab in seconds, then flies deep into the oceans abyss.  Batman and Alfred, who are tracking the boy, note that the speed Damian just flew at is far beyond their power test metrics.

Batman And Robin Comics #38 Cont!

Robin arrives at Atlantis, and has a talk with Aquaman.  Talia al Ghul created many monsters in her attempts to make Damian.  In a battle with the League of Assassins, the failed experiments wound up in Atlantean custody.  On the grounds that they are Robin’s family, the king gives them to the boy’s custody, and even helps him get the test subjects back to the remote island where they were born.

Robin explains to the test subjects they are free, and gives them the island so they have somewhere they can live in peace.  The boy quietly flies away to an uncertain future.

Batman And Robin Comic #38 Review

Hello and welcome to Comic Island!  My name is Arden, and this is my recap, and review of Batman and Robin #38!

So this issue was fun.  It feels like this has been a long time coming, as Robin’s death and resurrection have been building up for many months now.  But here he is, back in action and with a new set of super powers.

This comic is almost entirely set up for the new status quo with Robin, and it’s totally worth it.  I really enjoyed this comic and highly recommend it.  The art is good, but what really sells it is just how well this comic does at showcasing Robin’s new abilities, as well as his mind set and the currently rocky relationship between father and son.

[Related: Batman Comic Books Reading Order Checklist]

Bruce’s concern for his son makes sense, as I really get the feeling that Damian has just as much potential for destruction as he does for saving people with his new powers.  And the authentic way Damian acts as a conflicted boy who has been through a lot really works for me too.  Damian has had a tough, merciless life, and has lost pretty much everything he grew up with.  It is going to be a tough road for this kid as he moves past his time in the League of Assassins and finds his own place and identity in a world that has largely been using him as a weapon.

The only part of the comic that bugged me was one of Aquaman’s lines about Robin being back from the dead.  I just feel like Aquaman was basically saying that Batman’s grief at his son’s death was so traumatic that the boy deserved to be resurrected.  I get what they’re saying, but I feel like that’s such a slap in the face to every actual parent out there who has lost a child that wasn’t later resurrected on an alien planet.  It’s just one silly line, but I think it is one that illustrates the ridiculous nature of Damian’s sudden death and relatively rapid resurrection.

But one dumb line isn’t enough to ruin this comic for me, and I’m actually pretty excited to move past the cliched dead hero business and see what happens next.  There’s never been a super powered Robin like this before, and I’d like to see where the story goes from here.  There are a lot of fun ideas that could work with a super powered Damian.  I’m interested in how of if he will interact with the rest of the super community – like Superman or the Teen Titans.  That sort of encounter could prove really fun – and it would be interesting if he and Superman get into a fight, or if somebody like Superman starts training Robin to deal with his powers.  I see a lot of potential with this idea – these powers put Damian at a bit of a crossroads.  They could easily lead to him one day becoming a really cool hero, or a very dangerous villain.