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.