Batman and Robin

Batman and Robin
Variant incentive cover for Batman and Robin #1 (Summer 2009) Art by J. G. Jones.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	June 2009 – present
Number of issues	6 (as of November 2009)
Main character(s)	Dick Grayson (Batman) Damian Wayne (Robin)
Creative team
Writer(s)	Grant Morrison
Artist(s)	Frank Quitely Philip Tan Cameron Stewart Frazer Irving
Creator(s)	Grant Morrison Frank Quitely
Collected editions
Volume 1 Hardcover	ISBN 1-4012-2566-7

Batman and Robin is an American comic book ongoing series, written by Grant Morrison with art by Frank Quitely, featuring Batman and Robin. The debut of the series follows the events of Batman R.I.P., Final Crisis, and Battle for the Cowl in which the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, apparently died at the hands of DC Comics villain Darkseid and features the winner of the Battle for the Cowl as the new Batman.^[1] The conclusion of Battle for the Cowl shows Dick Grayson ascending to the role of Batman, while Damian Wayne becomes the new Robin.^[2]

Morrison returns to writing the characters after being the ongoing writer on Batman from issues #655–658 and #663–683.

Style and tone

In an interview with IGN, Morrison details that the tone of the series will be a "reverse" of the normal dynamic between Batman and Robin, with, "a more light-hearted and spontaneous Batman and a scowling, bad ass Robin." Morrison also divulges that this is a continuation of his previous work on the Batman character, although this is a different title than what he wrote previously. "This is the next book in what will be a 5-volume series beginning [with] Batman & Son, but it can be read on its own too. Batman and Robin welcomes new readers!" Morrison also said that even though the series deals with familiar identities, the series features all new villains and situations, but also revealed that some villains were glimpsed in Batman #666.^[3]

When asked if the series would deal with the new Batman being unable to fill Bruce Wayne's proverbial shoes, Morrison answered, "When I started out I had that in mind, and I thought we'd finally prove that nobody else could be Batman. But I do believe certain aspects of RIP were about how nobody but this guy could be Batman. I think with this, it's fun to start by seeing what happens when someone else tries. Sometimes it goes wrong, and sometimes it goes really well. Some of the things these guys do are things that Bruce Wayne would never have thought to do."^[4][3] In regards to using Frank Quitely as the artist, Morrison described the difference between this particular collaboration with previous ones, specifically on JLA Earth-2 and All Star Superman. For instance, Morrison asked Quitely to choreograph the flow of the action in his own way, rather than through Morrison's normally heavily detailed scripts.^[3]

In regards to the style, Morrison said, "I've asked [Quitely] to re-introduce the much-maligned sound effects to superhero comics, but in a way that integrates them more closely with the art."^[3] He also described Batman and Robin as, "a shorter, pacier collaboration so we've tried to keep it looser and more open than All Star Superman.^[3]

When given the question about a possible appearance by the Joker, Morrison said, "I think we'd all love to see [Quitely's] take on the Joker, so yeah, I'd like to think I can make that happen in some way."^[3]

Morrison has since stated that following Quitely's run on the first three issues, Philip Tan will come in for the next three issues, in an arc recently confirmed as "Revenge of the Red Hood,"^[5] with Cameron Stewart as the artist coming in for "Blackest Knight," the third arc,^[6][7] followed by Frazer Irving drawing the next three issue arc and Quitely coming back to the book sometime after.^{[8] [9]}

Continuity with R.I.P., Bruce Wayne

With this title being Morrison's primary work in the Batman world for the foreseeable future, the writer has stated that this is a direct continuation of his Batman work: "With the collections out, we’ve got "Batman & Son",' we’ve got The Black Glove, we’ve got "Batman R.I.P.", and then we’ve got this one, Batman and Robin, and then, hopefully, there will be a final volume, a fifth volume."^[10]

In regards to the fate of Bruce Wayne, Morrison stated that he would be dealing with that in the future. "Bruce is still out there. Final Crisis revealed Bruce is still out there and he’s got to make his way back in some way."^[10] Morrison also made the case for fans that disapprove of having a Batman that is not Bruce Wayne. "We’re not really entertaining the notion that Bruce won’t be back at some time. This isn’t like Captain America with the Winter Soldier story and Cap’s really gone. This is an ongoing story, another chapter in the life of Batman, so I think even people who are fans of Bruce and who think no one else can be Batman will be entertained by this. And be intrigued to see who it is."^[10]

Plot

Setting

Like most Batman stories the book takes place in Gotham City, it also introduces new places such as Red Hood and Professor Pyg's hideouts. The story also replaces the Batcave underneath Wayne Manor with the Bat Bunker underneath Wayne Tower which is similar to the one displayed in The Dark Knight.

Characters

Batman and Robin features a wide range of characters from new to old. The first three issue arc introduced the Circus of Crime, a new gang with all new villains.

Story

The main story of the comic series is going to be made up of twelve issues shortened up into smaller three story arcs. The first one being Batman: Reborn which is drawn by Frank Quitely, the next Revenge of the Red Hood drawn by Philip Tan, and the third Blackest Knight drawn by Cameron Stewart.

Batman Reborn

Batman and Robin take down Toad and give him to the police department and Damian lets Dick know that he is ready to take on the mantle of the bat. The Dynamic Duo then set out to the police department after meeting up with Alfred to answer the bat-signal. Professor Pyg then tortures on of Toad's men. Pyg then expresses interest to doing this to Niko's daughter as well. Dick and Damian then fight the Circus of Strange, Dick fails Damian who go's off to beat Pyg alone afterwards. Damian then sees Niko's daughter and is knocked out. Eventually Dick and Damian stop the gang while the girl is taken in by Red Hood. ^[11]

Revenge of the Red Hood

Dick assumes that the new Red Hood is Jason Todd,In the second issue of the arc it is revealed that Red Hood is Jason Todd but with red hair (a reference to the Pre-Crisis version of the character) and also shows the origin of his sidekick Scarlet. In the end of the second issue of the story arc Jason Todd is shot twice by a new villain called the Flamingo. The Flamingo begins to overpower Jason Todd even when Batman and Robin assist, Scarlet manages to cut flamingo's face open allowing Jason to kill him. Batman arrives to see that Damian is paralyzed from the waist down but will recover. James Gordon arrives and arrests Jason who asks why Talia had not put Bruce in the Lazarus Pit. Oberon Sexton receives a call from a man who tells him a group is everywhere while Dick enters a mysterious vault and discovers what appears to be Bruce Wayne's body. Dick goes to the body thinking about what Jason told him.^[12] If the body in the lab is indeed Bruce Wayne's, it is unknown as of yet how this is connected to the events of Blackest Night, in which Black Hand has the skull of Bruce Wayne.

Collected editions

The series is being collected into individual volumes:

• Volume 1 (160 pages, Deluxe Hardcover, April 2010, ISBN 1-4012-2566-7)

Notes

References

External links

• Morrison & Quitely on "Batman & Robin", Comic Book Resources, March 10, 2009
• Frank Quitely on Batman and Robin, Newsarama, March 10, 2009