Reilly2040's Blog

And so, Battle for the Cowl comes to a close, finally revealing what everyone guessed months ago, that Dick Grayson is the new Batman.

Of course, since most people had Dick pegged as the new Bat from the beginning, really this series was more about the journey and seeing him get to that point. And from that point of view, the series kind of worked.

I say kind of, as Dick finally taking on the mantle of Batman at the end seemed a little rushed. To be honest, from the end of issue 2, I expected Dick to be in his new costume for this entire third issue. I guess they’re saving his proper debut for Grant Morrison’s new Batman and Robin title and really, this series was more about moving the characters into the places they needed to be for the start of that series.

On the whole, I’ve really enjoyed this series, and Tony Daniel’s done great work.  His art has been excellent and while his writing is a bit more variable, he still did a great job in telling this story (really my only complaints were Damian in the first issue, and Tim’s very stilted conversation with himself in this third issue, explaining how he survived for the reader’s benefit).

There’s some very interesting setup, with the new Black Mask being revealed to be someone new wearing a mask.  Of course, we don’t get it revealed who it is, but it provides some interesting ground for the new series to cover, with this new Black Mask shattering Two Face and Penguin’s empires providing an opening for him to move in as the new boss of Gotham.

Tim’s status is also left open at the end of this series.  Its obvious that Damian will be moving in to the Robin role, and of course we’re assuming Tim becomes Red Robin, but none of this is actually covered here, and I think that’s a bit of a shame.  It would’ve been nice for this all to have been put in place in this series and the new status quo established.  Instead we’ll obviously have to pick up the new books in order to find out what happened.   Given that this series was all about setting up the new status quo, this was one aspect that I felt could’ve been better covered (even if it had been more explicit about Tim handing over the role of Robin to Damian and left Tim becoming Red Robin until that series).

I liked the idea of the last messages Bruce had left for everyone in case he should die, and I really liked the idea that he had such faith in Dick and Tim that he felt they’d be able to carry on without him as Batman.  Its nice that he felt that level of pride in their accomplishments, even if he was undervaluing the importance of Batman to Gotham City’s psyche.   We also discover that Bruce’s message to Jason referenced some here-to unheard of childhood trauma that was what pushed Jason over the edge.   And here Jason has truely gone off the deep end.  This series does provide what could be an ending to the character, however from his “fall to his doom” and his parting words, its a safe assumption Jason will be back fairly soon.  He’s worked well as a villain for Dick here and while it really didn’t work during Bruce Jones’ run on Nightwing, I think this is a rivalry that could be interesting if explored by the right writers.

Overall I’m very excited to see what the next few months of Bat-titles brings.   Much like Bucky replacing Steve Rogers as Captain America, if done right, the pairing of Dick Grayson as Batman alongside Damian as Robin is one that could have some legs (even if you know eventually the original will be back).  Of course, once Bruce does return, it’ll be interesting to see what that brings to the status quo.  Bruce as Batman mentoring his son Damian as Robin could be interesting, with Dick reclaiming his Nightwing identity from the Superman family once again.  However, for now, I’m very excited for Grant Morrison’s return in Batman and Robin.

The second issue of Battle for the Cowl moves things along at a fair old pace. I must admit, one thing I’m taking away from this three issue mini-series (which I’m enjoying immensely), is that it could’ve easily been a bit longer.

Once again, Tony Daniel is firing on all cylanders here. Ignoring my pet-peeve that he’s drawing Huntress in the wrong costume (although at least its consistent), the art in this series is cracking, and I’m enjoying the story a lot.

Unlike last issue, this issue brings the focus very much onto the three Robins. The gun-toting Batman is quickly revealed as Jason Todd (to non-one’s surprise) and he and Nightwing immediately clash over Jason’s methods, with Jason determined that he is the true successor to Batman, doing what is necessary turning Batman into something to be feared, whereas Nightwing had just buried him. It all culminates in Jason shooting Damian in the chest, forcing Nightwing to focus on getting Damian back to the cave for surgery.

Its nice to see Jason back to his more brutal self. Its something that got a bit lost during Countdown’s various attempts to redeem him, however as I’ve often said, I’ve felt the only time the character’s worked since his resurrection was as the Red Hood, and this direction feels very much in tune with that take on the character. Again Jason is back to trying to clean up Gotham in his own way, and his brutal methods are taking him over the line.

All this forces Nightwing to question his own actions. Without Batman, things have gone from bad to worse in Gotham, and in talking to Alfred, Dick comes to accept that Gotham needs the symbol of Batman, but also that he needs to continue Bruce’s legacy. Its a nice page with Dick realising this, surrounded by the bats in the cave. Of course, when he goes over to the costumes, he discovers one is missing, having been taken by Tim.

As we saw last issue, Tim had already realised that one of them would have to take over Bruce’s role, if only to prevent someone else from doing it. He’s taken it on himself to track down Jason, and discovers that Jason’s built his own batcave under the city. Again, its a great piece of art when the cave’s revealed. Tim trips an explosive trap left by Jason, but is rescued by Catwoman, however before long they get jumped by Jason, returning after his confrontation with Damian and Nightwing.

A brutal fight between Tim and Jason ensues, with Tim seemingly getting the upper hand, managing to beat Jason down with a crowbar, in a nice nod to Death in the Family. However the issue closes with the reveal that Jason manages to stab Tim in the chest with a batarang, leaving only Nightwing in his way.

I’ll say it now, I can’t see them killing off Tim in this way. Throughout the recent big shakeups in DC’s big names (specifically Flash and GL), pain has been taken to respect all the characters, since you have to assume DC don’t want to anger readers to the point of dropping any titles. And if they were to kill off Tim I could see exactly that happening. Tim’s an incredibly popular character, but more than that, with Dick taking over the role of Batman, and Bruce gone, Tim fills the detective role in the team in a way no one else can (especially since we don’t know what’s happening with Barbara at the moment).

The final fates of Jason and Tim are probably the biggest mystery in this series. With it being fairly obvious from early on that Dick and Damian are the new Batman and Robin, where exactly Tim and Jason will end up is the question. There’s the Red Robin book coming out, but that could go to either character, however I’d really like to see Tim in that role.  Ideally, to be honest, I’d rather see Tim take up the Nightwing mantle, but for now that name seems to belong to the Superman family, so given the lack of it, Tim taking up the Red Robin costume, as a symbol of how he’s grown makes sense. Given this however, I’ve no idea where Jason will end up. Taking up his Red Hood guise at this point might be a step back for the character, but I’m unsure what identity he could take up, unless he ends up dead or in Arkham. Certainly I’m at least glad to see them have a decent grasp on the character again at any rate.

Well, the next big Batman event is upon us.  Following the events of RIP and Final Crisis, things have gone downhill sharply in Gotham.   Word of the Batman’s demise has spread and the gangs, both big and small, have declared open season.

Struggling to keep a handle on things, everyone is looking to Nightwing for leadership in the Bat-family.   Nightwing and co have put together a team they’re calling the Network, consisting of Bat-family members and a few others and are trying to combat the spiralling threat to Gotham, but without fear of the Bat to keep them in line, the gangs are running riot.   Things aren’t then helped when Black Mask turns up, and frees all of Gotham’s inmates, blowing up the Asylum, and forming them into his new gang via means of poison capsules injected into them.  Whether this is a new Black Mask, or the original back from the dead though, remains to be seen.

Meanwhile a new Batman appears to be operating in Gotham.  No one in the Network has spotted him yet, but his calling cards keep turning up.

This is a pretty good first issue, marred by a couple of niggles.   The setup and plot is fairly action packed, although the premise of Gotham going to pot without Batman seems a little familiar, as does the mass-escape from Arkham, which dilutes those events slightly.

More effective are the scenes showing Nightwing and Robin struggling to cope with what has to be done.  Robin is pushing Nightwing to assume the mantle of Batman, but Nightwing is adamant that Batman died with Bruce.  Of course, the fact that Nightwing’s so against assuming the role stands out to me as a marker that he will indeed by Batman by the end of this series.  Something I’m quite looking forward to, and I suspect DC would struggle to sell anyone other than Dick or Tim in the role.  

One area that stood out slightly was when they’re discussing the imposter Batman running around.  Tim notes that he’s obviously highly trained, and is also using batarangs and bat-ropes of Bruce’s design.  However the name Jason Todd is never once mentioned by either Dick or Tim.   It seems pretty obvious that that’s who it’ll be, so as an attempt to play out a mystery, it doesn’t quite work.   At the very least having Dick and Tim acknowledge Jason as the most likely candidate, but keeping their options open would’ve scanned better.

A big thing that didn’t work for me, was the scene with Damian.   Now, admittedly I’ve only read the Batman and Son trade, so if he turned up after that, I didn’t really see it.  But while he was bratty in that series, he was also supremely self-confident, arrogant and fearless.   Here he’s positively terrified when faced by Ivy and Killer Croc, up until Dick saves him.   This just stood out as a really bad bit of characterisation compared to what I know of the character.   Given his interactions with Dick though, I do think we could be seeing them as the new Batman and Robin (with Tim becoming Red Robin?).

As a really minor niggle, would someone please point out to Tony Daniel that Huntress stopped wearing that costume a couple of years ago?  It keeps annoying me to see her drawn in it, as her new costume is a much more practical variant, and the midriff-exposing section of that costume always struck me as a bit daft-looking.

Niggles out of the way, this was still a good read.  I really liked seeing Tim take the initiative, and don one of Bruce’s spare Batsuits for himself.   We also get to see him using his detective skills, as he’s the one who’s working to identify and trackdown the imposter Batman.  Alfred’s talk to Nightwing was good to see, and its fun watching the entire Bat-family working together.

However, the real star of this mini-series is without a doubt the art.  Tony Daniel’s art really is on top form here, and the final reveal of the gun-toting Batman was brilliantly realised.  

All in all, some niggles, but I enjoyed this first issue.  While I’ll be skipping most of the tie-ins and one shots, I can see myself picking up The Network based on this (alongside Oracle: The Cure, which I’m partly dreading).  I’m definitely looking forward to parts 2 & 3 of this.

Obviously I’ve talked at depth here about my feelings towards Final Crisis, the Blackest Night and (to an extent), New Krypton.   But what about the other big event going on at DC: Battle for the Cowl?

With Bruce Wayne’s exit (and now trapped in the past – paging Booster Gold) there’s a Bat-shaped hole in Gotham City, and one thing that’s always been true in the Bat-verse, is that without Batman things go downhill in Gotham fast.

In the various bat-titles we’ve already started to see the fallout, with Robin and Nightwing trying to keep  a lid on things during RIP and now with Bruce gone, DC once again is lining up a successor.

But who should it be?  Well, it goes without saying that its got to be either Dick or Tim as far as I’m concerned.  Back in the 90s, Knightfall came under heavy criticism for the perceived slight to Dick Grayson by Bruce choosing Jean Paul Valley to replace him (of course, that was necessary for the story they had planned) and I can’t see DC doing the same thing twice.  Its got to be either Dick or Tim.

I’d say I still think Tim’s a bit young for the role.  In my ideal world, Dick will become Batman (once again, having already taken on the role during the Prodigal), with Tim taking over Dick’s role as Nightwing.  However going by the various interviews etc floating around, I’m thinking the Nightwing identity is going to be found in the Superman titles exclusively, rather than having two Nightwings running around.   That being the case, I can see Tim ending up in the (over-hyped and Countdown-damaged) Red Robin suit instead.

But who would be Robin in this scenario?  Well, I’d like to see Dick and Tim take Damian under their wings, out of respect for Bruce, with Damian taking up the Robin role (something he was keen to do in Batman and son, seeing it as his birthright).  Damian would probably be pretty reluctant and rebel against them trying to look out for him, but it could work.

However, the teaser image shows Damian holding a bandage that’s wrapped around the leg of someone who looks like Bruce.  Most people are taking it as granted that this is Hush (having recently had plastic surgery so he looks like Bruce Wayne), so this leaves open the possibility that Tim will retain his Robin identity, while Damian works alongside Hush to go after his birthright in another way (Wayne Enterprises for a start).  I can see Damian attempting to undermine Dick and Tim’s attempts to live up to Bruce’s legacy, as I mentioned before Damian sees that legacy as rightly his, and being able to block anyone else from Bruce’s holdings would be a big blow to them.

About the only real problem I’ve got with this direction is that both the Nightwing and Robin solo books had finally found their feet after floundering around for several years.  We know that whatever the outcome of Battle for the Cowl is, that its ultimately going to be temporary.  So I just hope DC haven’t torpedoed those two books for this event.

I’m definitely going to be selective in what titles I pick up for this.  The 3 issue mini that launches the new direction I’ll be picking up, but most of the Battle for the Cowl one-shots I suspect I’ll skip (especially with me probably still picking up a couple of the New Krypton Superman titles).   Once Battle for the Cowl is over, I’m unsure what books I’ll continue to pick up.  Going by the NYCC announcements, the line of Bat-books is going to look radically different, so I’ll wait and see what the solicits look like I think.  Affecting this could well be the use of the Birds of Prey characters, as I’ve always had a soft spot for them.  A book with Huntress in it is probably something I’m going to be interested in.

Well, this week saw the return of Peter Tomasi to Green Lantern Corps, and Part 2 of Ring Quest.

Its another cracking issue. Once again, Tomasi juggles the large cast admirably, showcasing most of the main characters with a page or two showing them being hauled back to Oa by the Guardians, as they are recruited to hunt down the remaining Sinestro Corps rings.

Mongul, meanwhile, has wasted no time in recruiting other Sinestro Corps members to follow him. Well, by that I mean he’s killed them all and taken their rings, as they refused to join him. We also get a taste for his larger plans, and that they involve the infamous Black Mercy plants.

Prior to this, Mongul I’d always viewed as a fairly generic alien war lord. However with this arc, Peter Tomasi’s infusing him with a real sense of menace. He’s been nicely setup as a formidable threat, as we know he’s already taken down Sodam Yat and Arisia.

Pat Gleason’s art continues to shine as always. Special mention must go to a panel of the assembled GLs, as they go to face the Guardians and get their orders. It was incredibly effective.

The other big release this week was Titans #1. A book reuniting the New Teen Titans from the Wolfman/Perez run. I’m not a huge Titans fan, but I enjoyed this book well enough. It did a good job of introducing the characters (although after reading Geoff Johns’ Teen Titans, this take on Raven felt a bit off to me – I understand its more rooted in the cartoon series). The art was pretty (with some really nice inking), conveying the action scenes well (such as Nightwing being attacked at one of Batman’s safehouses), but also amusingly cheesecake for the Starfire sequences.

It was nice to see Starfire still living at the Baker’s house following Countdown to Adventure as well. Nice little bit of continuity. I’m not liking Donna’s new costume though. I far preferred the starfield effect, rather than these red stars on it.

Booster Gold continued the Blue & Gold storyline with Booster and Ted trapped on a world where Max Lord managed to eliminate most of the meta-humans. To be honest, most of the issue still felt like setup for getting the gang back together next month. JLI reunions always go down well. It was great seeing Dan Jurgens drawing Superman again though.

I also picked up Countdown. I must admit, Mary beating the tar out of Donna with Kyle’s unconscious body got a laugh out of me. JSA was a good read too, although I feel I’ve lost some momentum with this story. Great scene with Alan grabbing Gog though as the pair of them are surrounded by the green flame. I’ll be intrigued to see how Alan reacts next month as well, when faced with his Kingdom Come self.

There’s not much really I can say about Countdown #04. As I’ve already really made clear, I’ve found the series a dissappointment overall and I’m basically only sticking with it because there’s only a few issues to go. I’ll say this though. Jamal’s artwork was really nice this issue. And Darkseid waiting on Mary’s sofa was a classic moment. However Mary going evil again was just daft. We did this plotline and resolved it. And now its back for no real reason other than obviously “Mary is evil” was on the end of Countdown checklist.

And Earth-Kamandi is explained in pure exposition an issue after we left that storyline. That felt badly “oops we forgot to explain that” tacked on.

Is it too much to hope that this series can pull something out of its bag in its last couple of issues?

Whatever they do, 52 had the awesome “Booster Gold saves the Multiverse” ending. They’re not going to beat that. Especially with only 3 issues left.

Said way more than I intended to about Countdown there.

I’ve sung the praises of Peter Tomasi’s Nightwing run, and I’m going to do it again. Whereas Countdown (nuts I’m talking about it again) forces characters to contort themselves around its plot, Nightwing remains focused on great characterisation.

I don’t even care what the plot was. All I know was I read page after page of great dialogue between Nightwing and Robin. Peter Tomasi really nailed they’re relationship as brothers, and made the issue an absolute joy to read. My only complaint is that its another month till the next issue.

One thing I am looking forward to though, is seeing more of Nightwing’s day job. With this arc, Tomasi’s spent a lot of time re-establishing Nightwing’s place in the superhero community. He’s really brought out the idea that Nightwing is a focal point for all the heroes and teams and it works brilliantly. But now he’s established that, I hope we get an arc more focused on Dick Grayson’s new status quo to bring some balance.

Alternatively, another issue of Nightwing/Robin banter and I’ll be happy.

With me now picking up Nightwing again (as I wanted to check out Peter Tomasi’s take on the character, after his sterling work on Green Lantern Corps and Black Adam), I’ve started re-reading the trades I collected containing some of Chuck Dixon’s run on the title.

I’ve re-read these trades a good few times now, but its a cracking run. Its easily re-readable, with a great setup for Dick. Granted I’m missing the first few trades where he establishes himself in Bludhaven, but I pick up the story around the time of him deciding to join the Bludhaven PD, and Dudley Soames becomes Torque.

Chuck Dixon did a great job crafting a world for Dick which played to the strengths of the Bat-franchise, while still giving him some distance from Bruce. Bludhaven is presented as similar to Gotham before Batman, Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent cleared out all the old gangs. Corrupt to the core, with most of the city under the control of the gang lord Blockbuster, Dick eventually decides to join the police department to try and clear the corruption up from the inside. However its a decision that quickly comes into conflict with his other life as Nightwing.

Part of the strength of the title came from its characters. Dixon had good fun building up the Dick/Barbara relationship (now on hold since Dick’s stay of execution during Infinite Crisis), while also introducing a strong supporting cast with Clancy, potential love interest and another resident of Dick’s apartment building. Dudley Soames, ex-Inspector in the Bludhaven PD and right hand man to Blockbuster, who goes his own way, joining up with Intergang and trying to take over the city for himself. Nite-wing. The wannabe vigilante who’s violent streak brings him into conflict with Dick, who’s attempts to train him end badly.

Its a great run, and that kind of interesting stable of co-stars is something Peter Tomasi should look to for inspiration. So far his run is off to a strong start, so I hope he also builds up a strong supporting cast. Certainly he’s playing with the shared-universe aspects, and showing Dick as a cornerstone to the DCU. The scenes in recent issues with John Stewart and the JSA helping him construct his new headquarters were great.

Nightwing’s a great character, and important to the DCU. He’s also been stuck in the wilderness since he was spared the axe during Infinite Crisis, so I’m hoping that Peter Tomasi’s going to be on the title for a good while and will take it from strength to strength.