Robin, Son of Batman #7 Comic Book Recap/Review

Robin, Son of Batman #7 Recap/Review – Robin War Part Five

 

Robin, Son of Batman #7 Comic Book Recap/Review

Surrounded by Talons, the Robins spring into action.  But Riko sits, so terrified she is unable to move, remembering something she heard long ago.  “Beware the court of the owls, that watches all the time… ruling Gotham from a shadow perch, behind granite and lime… they watch you at your heart, they watch you in your bed… speak not a whispered word of them… or they’ll send a Talon for your head.”

Tim Drake tells the Robins not to hold anything back.  These things aren’t alive, but reanimated servants of the Court of the Owls.  Jason Todd has the Talons group up and work together, and Damian agrees.  If they are tactical and cooperative, they will win this fight.  Jason and Tim look on at the young son of their mentor, and are impressed.  Tim Drake thinks they might be able to win this one, but one of the Talons disagrees.  They heal from every blow, and many of the Robins have started to falter.

Suddenly, Damian has an idea.  He orders everyone back down into the Cage, and tricks a Talon into detonating some explosive barrels on the roof.

[Related: DC Comics Complete Robin War Reading Order Checklist]

Meanwhile, at Gotham city hall, Councilwoman Noctua is having a meeting with a representative of the Court of the Owls.  They want her to commit fully to their cause, but what they are asking is too obvious.  It will expose her.  However, the Owls don’t care.  This is a crucial part of a much larger, global plan.  She must position the police immediately as they say, or she will no longer be considered for membership with the Owls, and they will revoke the protection they are giving her.  She calls the new Batman, and says there is an emergency.

Deep underground, in the Court of the Owl’s Labyrinth, Dick Grayson is fighting many of the Owl’s forces.  He demands to know why they care so much about the Robins, and a Talon says they are all doomed, and there is only one man who knows why.  So Grayson demands to be taken to this person, and the Talon replies that the Gray Son only had to ask.

Rocked by the explosion, the Robins regroup inside the Cage.  Damian remarks that many Talons have been awakened, and all for the Gray Son.  He declares that this madness must stop.  The others recover and escape, but Damian disappears.  While Tim, Jason, and some of the more experienced Robins know this isn’t over, they send the rest of the group home.  Jason promises to finish their training when all this is done, but for now, their part in all of this is over.  Riko mentions that she’s seen a Talon before, at Gotham Academy, and takes the more experienced Robins to where she saw the Owl’s henchman.  They sneak into a tunnel running under the school, and discover a sinister facility run by the Owls which is creating Elite Talons.  As they debate what to do, an explosion occurs, and the new Batman arrives.  He says the Owls are under arrest, and the Robins leap in to help out.

This frustrates Jim Gordon, who says they should have worked together.  Instead he had to follow them here, but there’s no time for such qualms.  The new Batman strikes out at the machine, destroying it.  Batman says he was called in to apprehend terrorists, and that this place is full of them.  He is calling the police, and suggests that the Robins might want to clear out while he’s waiting for them.  The Robins comply, impressed and grateful for these words.  They begin an escape through a tunnel.

Meawhile, Dick is taken to the man who knows what is happening, Lincoln March.  The Owl is unafraid of Grayson, and even mocks the young man.  He throws his drink in Grayson’s face, and it burns the young man’s eyes.  His claws are already out.  He’s gotten what he wanted.  Yes, they did want Grayson back.  But they don’t need him anymore.  They don’t want him anymore.  Their plans will be just fine without him, and now, they just want him to die.

Somebody better has come before them, and made a most welcome offer.  In the sewers of Gotham, the Robins are confronted by a new foe.  A new Gray Son.  And the Owls like him so very much.

<BREAK>

Hello and welcome to Comic Island!  My name is Arden, and this is my recap, and review, of Robin, Son of Batman #7.

So here we are with the second last issue of the Robin War.  It’s been a fun event, and one that has done a lot right.  It hasn’t dragged out too long or overstayed it’s welcome, and it never tried to be anything it wasn’t.  It’s a relatively simple event that deals with all the recent changes in the world of Batman, and has spent a lot of time on what Robin is and what the character stands for.

Robin, Son of Batman #7 continues this trend.  I like the ongoing story and there’s a good amount of clever writing to continue things.  See, in the Detective Comics issue they kept teasing this idea of the Cage being filled with hazardous materials.  At the time, I didn’t think much of this.  I figured it was just a plot device to get Harvey and Jim onto the roof, because Bullock couldn’t smoke anywhere else in the facility.  But here it turns out that was all set-up for the Robin’s escape.  That’s pretty clever, and I appreciate little details like that.

[Related: DC Comics Complete Robin War Reading Order Checklist]

But then we have Councilwoman Noctua show up, and she looks really different from her earlier appearances.  Now, that’s mostly due to the art style, and I think that’s the weakness of this particular comic.  The art is relatively simple in it’s design.  It feels cartoonish and doesn’t have a lot of detail.  Now that’s fine, in general, as there are plenty of comics with this art style that work really well.  But here, with all these complicated fight scenes and different characters, it does take away from the story a bit.  It’s not a deal breaker, as I still consider this a good comic, but it is the weak point of this story.  In fact, I’d say that’s probably the biggest problem of the entire Robin War event.

It’s cool to involve so many writers and artists in one, fairly seamless story, but the wildly fluctuating art styles of these comics make it a little disjointed at times.  We go from the spectacular art style of something like Grayson #15 to something… eh, less spectacular like Detective Comics #47 and it makes things seem lackluster in comparison.

Still, the story is well written and interesting, and I thought the cliffhanger this comic ended on was pretty good.  I assume, based on how Damian has been acting in this comic and the direction of this story, that Damian is playing traitor.  He’s infiltrating the Owl’s ranks to strike them when they are vulnerable.  Or maybe not, I mean, I could be wrong here, but I have a hard time believing Damian has really turned villain so suddenly.  Still, I’m really looking to the finale of this event, which will be depicted in Robin War #2.  So stay tuned for that, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and keep reading comics.