SYNOPSIS & REVIEW: Robin & Batman (2021)

Hey fellow superheroes!

I'm the first person to admit that, despite the sheer number of Superman (both Clark and Jon) comics I own, I'm a Batman girl through and through. 

Gritty drama paired with a man who truly wants to make Gotham a better city, both in his day job and during his night life. 

But I truly think Batman is at his best with a sidekick. 

Robin not only provides a levity to Batman, but also a grounding. Send a guy looking for vengeance out on his own, he's not going to care what happens to him necessarily. Lots of Batmans (Batmen? sp.?) have that issue, most recently seen in Robert Pattinson's The Batman. But Robin (whether it be Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Carrie Kelley, or any of the other numerous children he seems to have adopted on his journeys) always reminds him that it isn't about him. It's about Gotham, and Gotham's future for kids just like them. He sees these kids, often in situations just like his own (orphaned, angry, etc.) and he feels for them. 

Not to mention, I'm a sucker for tired dad Bruce Wayne. 

All this to say, I was really excited for this series from Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Superboy, Justice League Dark) and artist Dustin Nguyen. 

The 3-issue limited run, titled Robin and Batman, follows newly orphaned Dick Grayson and his seemingly-begrudging adopter, Bruce Wayne (who rarely makes an appearance out of the cowl). The dynamic duo, it seems, had rocky beginnings, Lemire wagers, and what if Bruce Wayne was so unsure of how to handle this firecracker of a child that he just...didn't?

Spoilers abound, heroes. Let's get into it. Want to read just the review? Scroll down to the header that says REVIEW.

Issue 1 opens with sweet baby Dick Grayson telling us how he isn't sure if this "fantasy" is what it's cracked up to be, and he's struggling to keep himself from falling into darkness. We are jostled from his inner monologue by an unidentified voice shouting "Now!" into Dick's earpiece and Dick Grayson, dressed in a black suit, swings in to kick some bad guy ass. He posits that maybe he deserves to be down here, and maybe it's better that way.

Dick does his best against an indeterminate amount of large, bald men (three, maybe four?) all while the voice in his ear is yelling at him to abort the mission. Standing in the street with unconscious bodies around him, a vehicle pulls up, and we get to meet the unidentified voice: It's Batman, and he is not happy. 

Batman's first appearance in this issue is as glorious as it is intimidating. Silhouettes, shadows, a coincidental gust of wind, and Nguyen's stunning watercolor work paint a large, looming Batman that would send any criminal mastermind running for the hills.

Dick Grayson, however, is unfazed. He tells Batman he had the situation under control, only for Batman to throw a Batarang at a goon who was sneaking up just behind the unsuspecting child. He orders Dick to "get in the damned car."

In the car, you can feel the tension jumping off the page. Batman is pissed. Dick is pissed. When Dick goes to explain himself, he is swiftly shut down with a simple, "Don't."

Back at the cave, Alfred asks how the mission went and is met with resounding silence. When Dick sulkily suggests he didn't need Batman's help, it's off to the races.

Batman fires back that Dick nearly got himself killed, and that he knew Dick was not ready to be in the field. He decides Dick needs more training and more discipline before going back to a live operation, effectively benching him. Alfred tries to interject, but Batman cuts him off with an icy, "Stay out of it, Alfred."

Brr.

When Dick storms out, Batman accuses of him of "having a tantrum like a damned child", and Alfred and Batman are left alone in the cave. 

Finally the cowl comes off as Bruce tells Alfred not to say "it". "It" being, "But he is a child, Master Bruce." Alfred and Bruce argue for a moment, and then Alfred brings up something important. He says, "All I knew was that we were going to help a little boy who lost his family. You decided [letting Dick join Bruce in the field] without my opinion, as usual...but here we are now."

This is the Batman we're joining, one who seems to have made a split second decision to take in an orphan. We don't ever find out if Dick was the one who pestered Bruce to join him in the field, but if he didn't and Bruce threw him into a kevlar suit, he's become the exact thing that so many people don't like about Batman. He's become the guy who adopted a kid just to put him in harms way. 

When Alfred asks if it would kill Bruce to show him some compassion or leniency, Bruce counters that leniency would've gotten him killed tonight. He says, "Leniency would mean me bringing home a dead child."

Boom. There it is. 

Is Bruce acting like a supreme asshole? Totally. But the fact is that Bruce is scared. At this moment in time, very few people he loves are still alive. If Bruce can distance himself from this boy, one portrayed in many series as a ray of sunshine incarnate, and something should happen, Bruce believes he could sleep at night knowing that all he lost was a soldier, not a son. In fact, throughout the series, Dick is routinely referred to as a soldier, both by Bruce and sarcastically by Alfred. And this comes up frequently, across many different Batman iterations, but especially after Jason Todd is killed. Bruce puts up that stupid plaque that calls Jason "a good soldier" in an effort to distance himself from the situation as a whole. He's not losing sons, he's losing soldiers. There's a big difference between the two.

And despite his clear efforts, Bruce doesn't like that it has to be this way. In the panel that this line appears, it's the first time Bruce meets Alfred's eyes and one might argue that he looks not angry, but determined. He is determined to keep that child alive. 

Alfred eagerly calls him out on distancing himself from Dick, saying that Bruce would rather bring home a dead soldier. Alfred comments that Dick doesn't have to be like Bruce. Bruce pulls the cowl back on and says he'll take his dinner down here, citing work to be done.

I simultaneously love and hate Bruce pulling the cowl on to signal the end of the conversation. I love it because I just love an angsty, broody, annoying Batman like that. But I hate it because (as you'll see later in this synopsis) Bruce has been doing this for a while! At least long enough to join the Justice League. You're telling me that this man in his late twenties/early thirties is not only beefing with an eleven-year-old, but also can't have a conversation outside the cowl? Still, I understand that it's a physical representation of the wall Bruce has put up around himself and I do like that aspect of it.

The next morning at school, Dick yawns through his lessons. He muses that, at least during the day, he's so distracted that he doesn't' have to think of his parents or what he lost. Now that Bruce doesn't trust him (his words), he wonders if he ever should've gone with him in the first place. He sees the silver lining that at least he isn't alone anymore. 

During these pages, we're cutting back and forth between present-day Dick at his school desk, baby Dick with his parents, and recent-past Dick with Bruce. Each panel pairs with another, one with Dick's parents for one with Bruce. and they're all grayscale. In the first pair, the left panel is Dick with his parents, bouncing on a trampoline. With Bruce on the right, they're practicing fighting techniques. On the next page, the panel on the left is still him and Bruce, now done with training. The two sit on the floor next to each other, heads bowed. Dick sits just slightly behind Bruce. At the right, baby Dick sits and enjoys ice cream with his parents.

Depressed by his own thoughts, Dick decides to ponder what his name should be and decides on the now-iconic Robin. He reveals his notebook page, which are not class notes but instead doodles of the Robin R logo and a suit design.

As he wonders if it's dark enough for the work he's doing, he wonders if it should be something like Nighthawk or...Nightwing. Ugh. 

I mean, it's a cute Easter egg, I guess. My only issue with this is how much I absolutely adore Clark Kent's Superman giving a teenage/grown-up Dick Grayson this idea for his name, as he struggles to get out of Batman's shadow. I think that makes for a really special moment. 

As the bell dismisses Dick from school, he exits excitedly, telling the audience that if Bruce is outside, Dick knows he's going on a mission or getting to train. "Maybe he's not mad anymore," Dick says, "Maybe he'll change his mind and I can go out with him again tonight?"

Much to Dick's disappointment, he's greeted by Alfred. Alfred jokes that he's sorry to disappoint on the ride home, and when Dick apologizes and starts to say that he thought maybe Bruce would come, Alfred acknowledges this with a grace that only Alfred Pennyworth exudes. He tells Dick he knows Bruce is stubborn. When Dick suggests that maybe this is a test, Alfred not-so-regretfully informs him that Bruce had him destroy Dick's suit this morning. Dick, enraged, tells Alfred that he refuses to wait a few years to start fighting crime, telling him, "That's not why I agreed to come here! That was not part of the deal!"

This is where I started feeling weird about this run. Is Dick implying that when Bruce took him in, it was under the condition that Dick could start fighting crime? Because again, that makes Bruce look like the horrible person so many people want to insist that he is. Like I said above, a lot of anti-Robin folks say that Bruce is deliberately throwing his children into warzones. But in so many versions, that isn't true. One storyline I see thrown around a lot is that, upon finding out Bruce is Batman, Dick demands to come with him and when Bruce says no, he sneaks out anyway. Rarely, if ever, do you see a Batman so willing to let his child sidekick into the world like that. And then to backtrack like he does at the beginning of the story? All in all, it makes for a very bizarre beginning. 

Up in his bedroom, Dick decides he's going to make his own costume and pulls some type of fabric from a box under his bed (The image is unclear, but I think it's later implied to be his old trapeze outfit?). He sews a large letter R to the chest and tells us, "This may be dumb, but it's really going $%^* him off."

Sure enough, we cut to Batman swinging through a black and gray Gotham, telling us, "This really $%^* me off."

Here, Batman confirms what we've all (read: I) been thinking: he was so worried about how Dick was doing that he "missed something."

Batman tells us more about the gangsters Dick was fighting at the beginning of the book. He admits he thought something was fishy about gangsters robbing a meat truck (which was, apparently, the most recent in a string of meat truck hits), so he spoke with Jim Gordon to let them go and see if they could lead him to their operation. "They weren't stealing meat," He says, ducking into a manhole, "They were stealing food." Which, for all intents and purposes, is a god-awful line. I don't know why, but it sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me. 

As Batman disappears into the manhole, a pair of green boots and a yellow cape enter stage left, following him down the manhole. The newly-declared Robin says he'd been following Batman for the last half-hour and so far, he hasn't noticed.

Down in the sewers, Robin follows his gut to try to find Batman in the maze of tunnels and pipes that make up the Gotham underworld. Instead, Robin stumbles upon the gangsters he fought just the night before (I think...the timelines aren't quite clear here). It's clear Batman didn't inform Robin of his plan to have them released. When something splashes in the water behind him, Dick curses, thinking he's been caught by Batman. 

Instead, he's greeted with a, "Hey, kid. What's up?" from none other than a hulking Waylon Jones, AKA Killer Croc.

Robin throws a bunch, but K-Croc is big and he catches Robin by the neck, demanding to know where he got his costume. When he doesn't get an answer, he slams Robin into the stone walls of the sewer, yelling, "You know me?! You know who I am?!" Before he can strike the boy again, a bat-shaped grapple wraps around his hand with a, "Get away from him, Waylon."

Bat-not-dad to the rescue.

Robin has fallen to the ground, having just been thrown into solid stone by a large, super-powered crocodile-man, but he manages to choke out a, "Y-yes" which infuriates Killer Croc. He backhands Batman into the stone wall, saying he should've known the brightly-colored mini hero was with Batman. K-Croc hits Batman hard in the chest with a crack, but Batman throws a smoke bomb (? again, a little unclear) in his face, causing him to retreat deeper into the sewers.

With Killer Croc gone, a worried Robin approaches Batman, clutching his side. Batman growls, "What the hell were you doing?" as Robin apologizes. Batman and Robin head home, with Batman saying he's got at least two broken ribs and that Robin is "done." Batman starts out of the sewer without Robin, momentarily leaving him alone in the tunnel. 

Back at the cave, Alfred tries to tend to Batman's injuries, but Batman furiously asks how Robin got past Alfred wearing such bright colors. Robin jumps in to defend himself, telling Batman he thought this was some sort of test of his determination. Batman bites that his outfit is "ridiculous" and Robin, head bowed, sort of sheepishly replies that they're his family colors.

Of course, Batman knows. He crosses to a closed display case, pushes a button, and reveals an armored Robin suit in red, yellow, green, and black. Batman tells a stunned Robin that he was planning to give it to him next week, when he would let Robin officially join him. 

"But..." Dick realizes, "If you knew about Robin..." 

He turns on Bruce, "You read my journal!" He exclaims, enraged.

Batman, ever the asshole, tells Robin there can't be any secrets between them. Robin shoots back that his journal was the only thing he had that was "just [his]" and runs from the room.

Now, here, we get our second moment of the asshole-façade breaking, the first being Batman's own narration from earlier, "But I thought this was what you wanted? It...it was a gift." But Robin is already gone, Alfred and Batman's eyes following him as he leaves. 

Upstairs, Robin destroys his journal and begins to cry. He retells his inner monologue from the beginning, wagering that what he first thought was a fantasy might actually be a nightmare. Visually, we watch Killer Croc head to the now abandoned circus. He recognized that outfit; why? The book closes with Robin saying that this darkness is what he deserves as Killer Croc pulls a Flying Graysons poster from the wall, a memory of Robin in his eye.

That's where the first issue leaves us. We've been introduced to the key players now. Dick Grayson, trying to figure out where he fits in all of this. Bruce Wayne, a royal prick who can't see past his stupid cowl. Alfred Pennyworth, an oasis in the desert of chaos that Wayne Manor has become. And our villain for this story, Killer Croc, who is reasonably sure he knows who Robin is or might be.

Issue 2 picks up with another Dick Grayson monologue. He tells us some facts about robins (the bird, of course). He adds that when he's worried, he fills his head with useless information to avoid what's really bothering him. (Who does that sound like? *cough* Bruce *cough*). Dick admits he doesn't want to disappoint the people in his life, as an unidentified face tells him he's in the wrong seat. 

Dick is at school, sitting at a lunch table with a band-aid on his nose. Bullies surround him, taunting him and his name. In a moment of rage, Dick slams the bully's head onto the table, throws a chair into another bully's face, and kicks a third in the head. 

Aaaand now he's in the principal's office. 

Alfred seated at his side, the principal/headmaster guy tells Dick that Gotham Academy has strict anti-bullying policies in place. When Dick tells him that the other boys started it, the principal dismisses him. Alfred sends Dick to wait in the car while he speaks to the principal alone. 

The principal tells Alfred he's a little disappointed that Bruce didn't come down there himself. Alfred covers for Bruce, saying he's a very busy man, and the principal says what we're all thinking, "I wonder, if Mr. Wayne is so busy, why he chose to take Richard in as his ward?"

Mic drop. At least someone is making sense here. 

Alfred absolutely covers Bruce's ass (something he maybe shouldn't have, in this particular instance, but I get it) after the principal insinuates that Bruce might be hitting Dick. The principal directly references the band-aid on Dick's nose. Alfred tells the principal to stop reading the tabloids as he leaves, somewhat implying that this vicious rumor seems to be floating around the entire city.

On the car ride home, Alfred and Dick have one of my favorite interactions ever. After some silence, Dick says, "I'm really sorry, Alfred." And Alfred, my king, responds with, "Well...they did start it."

Go Alfred. 

Alfred reaches into the glovebox, revealing to us the reader that it's Dick's birthday (poor little dude) and he has a gift for him.

It's a leather journal with a lock. He admits that Bruce had no right to invade Dick's privacy that way, but does say that Bruce, in his own way, meant well. Alfred says that Bruce has a hard time connecting, but he assures Dick that he needs to be himself, not Bruce. 

At the cave, Bruce is in his Batman suit, sans cowl, and he barks that the two are late. Alfred lies for Dick, saying he had an "after-school activity." As Bruce pulls on the cowl, Alfred asks where he's going, noting they haven't even had Dick's birthday dinner yet. Batman says he has somewhere else to be, not Gotham. Dick is shocked that Batman isn't going after Killer Croc, who kicked both of them to next Tuesday last issue. 

Batman tells him there's something else they have to take care of. He reveals the Robin suit again, apologizing (!!!) for reading Dick's journal and telling Dick he's ready to have the suit. He tells Dick to get dressed, that he has a birthday present for the boy. 

And then we're there; 22,100 miles above the Earth inside the Justice League satellite. Batman welcomes Robin, who mentions that it's the first time Batman has called him that. Batman clams up, telling him to remember what he was told. Dick straightens up, replying with, "Yes, sir."

Ugh. Hate that. Every issue, I hate Bruce just a little bit more. 

As they exit the Zeta tube, they run directly into Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Hawkman jokes, "Not you too, Batman. I thought you'd have better sense." Batman replies that they have to think about the future. A few more turns later, a doorway opens to reveal our favorites: Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, Aquaman, the Flash, Green Arrow, et.al....

Also known as the Justice League. Superman greets Robin with a handshake and, "Welcome to the Justice League." Batman, shadow over his face tells him not to be ahead of himself. He tells Robin they're going on a mission and if he needs anything, Hawkman is on monitor duty.

The JL tells Robin that the "others" are in the other room, with Green Arrow jokingly warning him about Roy (his sidekick, also known as Arsenal. He later works with Jason Todd in Red Hood and the Outlaws.). 

In the other room, Robin meets Wally (Kid Flash), Roy Harper (Arsenal), Donna Troy (Wonder Girl), Garth (Aqualad. Does Garth have a last name??). None of them know it yet, but they'll later make up the Teen Titans. 

Robin hasn't been in that room for longer than ten seconds before he makes the genius suggestion that they find some small-time mission on Earth to go on, without the Justice League.

I'm not saying Robin deserves Batman's unbridled wrath, but he certainly isn't doing anything to stop it.

The kids climb through the vents, right by an unsuspecting Hawkman, and transport themselves right down to Coast City, Hal Jordan's turf. A bank is under attack by the Ace of Spades and the Royal Flush gang. Once they take care of that, they take down a robot and save a ship under attack before returning to the satellite.

Hawkman bursts in, thinking he's caught them in the act, but all of the kids are still seated on the sofa, playing video games. 

With Hawkman gone, the Teen Titans rejoice in their victories, and Wonder Girl tells Robin he has great leadership skills. 

Batman arrives to take Robin back to Earth, and Robin bids his new friends goodbye. Back on Earth, Robin excitedly fills Alfred in on everything, except his secret missions of course. Alfred is pleased with Batman, until Batman demands a mission debrief from Robin, who begins to rattle off everyone's names and weaknesses. 

All Bruce says in response is, "Good boy."

Alfred is furious. Batman tells him that Robin is a soldier, not a mascot like the others. Alfred tells him that they are all children, and Batman needs to let him be one. 

Batman replies with, "I never did. Why should he?" and Alfred storms off, "You bastard."

Batman tells Robin he did good, then orders him to get ready for bed since he has school tomorrow. Robin walks off, head hung low, with nothing but a, "Yes sir."

Back with our villain, Killer Croc and his goons venture out of the sewer to meet with Calculator, who has found the Flying Graysons. Now, Croc knows for sure that Batman's brightly colored sidekick is really Dick Grayson. Calculator knows Dick was adopted after his parents died, but he can't find out who adopted him. He does, however, find where Dick goes to school. The book closes with Killer Croc standing outside Dick's school.

Issue 2 really lets Bruce be a raging asshole, and I know I keep calling him that, but there's literally no other word for it. He's a total prick with absolutely no redeeming qualities. Lemire tries to make you feel for him, in moments like his dejection about Dick not liking the suit or his thoughts about worrying about Dick. But even that isn't enough to make me like him even a little bit. Reading it a second time, I felt it a little more that he cared for Dick, but it surely doesn't read that way most of the time. Instead, most of the book feels like a twelve-year-old getting verbally and emotionally smacked around by a grown man with mental health problems. Rarely do I feel like Bruce is even a person in this. If this was solely from Dick's perspective and not from this almost third person omniscient POV, I might be able to get behind the idea that this was how Dick saw Bruce but maybe not how he actually was. But because we get those scenes like Alfred and Bruce alone, or Alfred and the principal, it makes me hesitant to accept that this is just a twelve-year-old's impression of what happened.

But we're here and we've made it. Issue 3; the final one. This is where shit really gets wild, so buckle up.

Once again, we're treated to Dick's opening monologue. He once again, touches on darkness. He says you can't be afraid of the dark. He again says he thought he'd lose himself if he succumbed to darkness, but now he knows that if you let go, you find out who you really are. He closes by saying he'd never be afraid of the dark again. "Instead," he says, "Its the rest of them who will be afraid of me."

We're in the sewers beneath Gotham again. Batman's wing-like cape is flowing behind him while he fights one of Killer Croc's goons. He warns Robin of someone coming behind him, and Robin subdues him very quickly. Batman admonishes him for being "myopic," and Robin finishes his sentence about seeing the whole picture. It doesn't exactly say how long it's been since Issue 2 but I'd guess they've been doing this together for a minute. They seem to work in tandem better than when we last saw them. Robin cheekily asks Batman if he sees the whole picture, barely stopping a thug from grabbing Batman from behind.

Batman grumbles at him not to get cocky. With just one thug still conscious, Robin interrogates him on the whereabouts of Killer Croc, punctuating each question with a punch until Batman catches his hand as he rears back for a punch, "Enough," He says, "He's had enough, Robin." We also get panels of Alfred walking into Dick's room, reading his journal (? it's a blank book), and attempting to get blood out of Robin's costume.

It's present day, and it seems last night was the big fight with Croc's men. Dick and Bruce are seated next to each other at a long table. Dick is eating breakfast, while Bruce is hidden behind a newspaper. Alfred enters, saying he believes he got all the blood out of the costume, but he hopes Dick's school clothes won't be as dirty. Dick suddenly realizes it's Monday morning, but nonchalantly tells Alfred he thinks he's going to skip today, as he wants to examine the soil samples in hopes that they'll close in on Killer Croc. 

Alfred tells him that can wait, and when he asks for Bruce's opinion, a distracted Bruce finally looks up from the paper to say that if Dick wants to stay home, he can. He says whatever they're teaching him at Gotham Academy isn't nearly as important. He and Alfred go back and forth for a moment about it before Alfred throws the Robin costume in Bruce's face (lol) and tells him that the next time Dick gets his gloves and shirt full of blood, Bruce can clean it. When Alfred storms off, Bruce orders Dick to get ready for school and turns back to the paper. 

When Dick complains that it's not fair, Bruce replies, "Nothing is. See? You're already learning."

Ass. Hole. 

At school, Dick tells us he thinks becoming Robin might've been a mistake. He says that the costume seems silly and once again thinks he should've gone with the name Nightwing (shut up shut up shut up). As he sits down in class, a boy comes up to him and asks if Dick would want to join his Dungeons and Dragons group. He comments that he saw Dick doodling a lizard monster, and the panel shows us that Dick has been doodling a stylized Killer Croc. When the boy asks, once again, if Dick would like to play with them, Dick replies with a cold "no" reminiscent of Bruce's many earlier answers.

Class has just begun when a roar rips through the school and the intercom comes on, beckoning Robin's attention. In the principal's office, Killer Croc is holding the principal by the throat, and telling Robin to reveal himself or K-Croc is going to start killing people. Then, Croc threatens to call out Robin's real name. 

Quick-thinking Dick yells that there's a bomb in the classroom, clearing his classroom and effectively the whole school. Dick runs into a side hallway out of sight and pulls a scarf from his back, wrapping it around his mouth and nose as a makeshift mask. He bursts into the principal's office and gets Croc away from the principal, chasing him around the office. Just after K-Croc throws Robin into a wall, Bat-not-dad to the rescue. Batman catches his grappled around Croc's arm, who in turn throws Bruce through a window and punches him in the ribs. You know, those ribs he broke like two issues ago that haven't fully healed? Yeah. Those ones.

K-Croc taunts Batman, knocking him out, and when Dick tries to stop him, Croc easily shrugs him off. He tells Dick he plans to rip him apart, but first, he's going to make him watch Batman die. With that, Croc jumps out the window with an unconscious Batman in tow. 

Dick rushes home to Alfred and tell him what happened. Alfred suggests called the Justice League or Jim Gordon, but Dick says he's doing this himself. And Dick, of course, confides that he can't lose Bruce the way he lost his parents. Alfred tries to convince him that he doesn't have to do this alone. "He works alone. So can I."

"Don't you see?" Alfred responds, "He doesn't work alone. That's why he found you."

That's something many many Batman fans need to remember. Yeah, he plays up the lone wolf thing a lot, but the fact is that Batman rarely if ever works alone. Even when he doesn't have a Robin, he has Jim Gordon or Superman or the rest of the Justice League or Alfred. Batman pretends to be a loner because it's easier than admitting he cares about someone or something. 

Dick doesn't care. "This is what Robin is," he says. 

Robin heads to the abandoned circus grounds, telling us he hadn't come back since that night. He finds a Flying Graysons poster on the ground and walks deeper into the big top, where the trapeze set still stands. Dick remembers his parents flying and tells the audience that this is his home, as much as the Manor or the cave.

I think it's important to realize that, even through Bruce's bullheadedness and everything that's happened, Dick still views the Manor and the cave as his home. He still wants to belong there, even if he isn't sure that he does yet. 

Dick runs through the grounds, searching for Batman. He tells us that Killer Croc was here too, but he looked different then. "It's so obvious now that he was sad. Trapped. Probably mistreated, but I didn't see that side of this place. I only saw happiness."

I think (and correct me if I'm wrong) the only time we've seen Killer Croc's background be in circus stuff is pre-crisis (again, I think) where Jason Todd is a circus kid like Dick. Croc kills Jason's parents, but it's later retconned so that Two-Face is their murderer. 

Point being, I don't know if we've ever seen this background for Dick or Killer Croc! It's an interesting take, and I honestly don't hate it. I think I prefer K-Croc as a Jason Todd/Robin villain, not necessarily a Dick Grayson/Robin villain. 

Regardless, Dick says that while he only saw happiness, Croc probably only saw suffering.

Robin swings into some unidentified tent that holds a large pool that is quickly filling with water. Batman is hanging upside down over the pool, chained up. Robin jumps in the pool to save him, telling him that he can't shut off the water, but he can pick the locks. Batman and Robin go back and forth for a few panels. When Robin argues that he can save Batman, he's cut off by a sharp, "Listen!" Batman says, "You're...you're a good boy. No matter what I've said, or how I've acted. I am very proud of you. You don't have to do this."

Robin says he does, that he won't lose Batman too. Batman tells him that Croc is coming and he won't be able to help Robin. In this panel, he calls him son and I might've melted a little. Anyway, Batman reiterates that he cannot save Robin this time.

Robin doesn't care. He continues to try to pick the lock, all while water is filling the pool that Batman hangs over. While trying to pick the lock, Robin drops his tool in the water just in time for Killer Croc to enter.

Robin and Killer Croc fight. Robin yells that he's not a kid, and Croc shoots back that if he wants to be treated like a man, he'll be hit like one. All the while, Batman is shouting for Robin. Croc lectures Robin as he tries to catch is breath, saying his plan is to make Robin fall just like his parents did. Croc kicks Robin again, as Batman yells for him to stop. 

Croc monologues for a moment about his time in the circus, revealing he was heavily jealous of the Graysons. With this, he starts to drown Robin; Batman's desperate shouts fall on deaf ears.

He holds Robin under the water for a minute, then lets him up. Then he shoves him down again. Once again, we read Dick's thoughts on darkness as he passes out under the water.

Dick wakes in a white, almost cloudy vision. His parents are there. His father offers his hand, but all Dick hears is, "Open your eyes, son. Open your eyes, Robin."

Robin reawakens in the water as the lockpicking tool floats in front of him. He grabs it just as he's pulled up by Killer Croc. As K-Croc tells him he wants him to watch Batman die, Robin stabs him in the eye and grapples up high only to come down on him with a kick to the face. 

Robin kicks Killer Croc's ass as water continues to flow into the pool. Just as Robin has subdued Killer Croc, water covers Batman's head. Robin picks the locks on the chains and Batman comes down with a crash.

"Oh thank god, thank god."

Batman and Robin embrace, and Robin is crying. 

Batman holds him close, a hand tucked up by his head, "It's okay, I'm okay. You did it, Robin." We get a full panel of the two holding each other in the water (which is no longer flowing anymore I guess? For some reason?). Batman cradles Robin's head into his shoulder, "Good boy. You're a good boy."

In our little epilogue, Dick plays Dungeons and Dragons with his new friends at the Manor. His monologue begins again. "Being afraid of the dark is kid stuff," He says, "And that's okay. It's okay to be afraid. If you let that fear in, it can show you things." We get some panels of Robin leaping across rooftops, "You can find out who you actually are."

We see Dick writing in his journal. "I don't need to be Batman. I can be something else. Something better. And you know the best part?" Finally, a panel of Robin with his new friends: Wonder Girl, Aqualad, Arsenal, and Kid Flash, "Now I know I don't need to be alone, and I don't have to be the dark. I can be the light. I can be Robin."

REVIEW

With all that out of the way, how do I feel about Jeff Lemire's Robin & Batman?

In a word? Complicated.

Look, there's a lot to love about this series. Firstly, I think we rarely get to see the early days of Robin from Dick Grayson's perspective, and that's a really interesting thing to see! I do like Alfred's more proactive role in this series, although it's typically ignored by both Dick and Bruce. 

Another appealing aspect is the characterization. For better or for worse, Bruce and Dick have so many layers and I just want to get into all of them. It's so clear that the reason Bruce is so horrible to Dick is because he's afraid, Dick, though, is twelve and doesn't understand. 

But, on the other hand, Bruce is a horrible person in this run. Like absolutely awful. Not only is he failing as a mentor and leader, but as a parent. Would not be surprised if Superman punched Bruce in the face on their JL mission in Issue 2 because holy shit. I get he's angry, I get he's scared. And the moments when we see him try are very good! But I think Lemire wrote Bruce far meaner than he needed to. I'm all in for a Bruce Wayne who has no idea what he's doing, so he's kind of rude. But the way Bruce talks to Dick this whole run until the very end is borderline abusive. Short of raising a hand to him, Bruce is an abusive parent/guardian/bat-not-dad. And nobody does anything about it.

Sure, Alfred does his best. But honestly, if I had been him, I would've put myself physically between Bruce and Dick and told him if he wanted to act like that, he could beat the shit out of me. 

And again, I go back to my earlier question of what the hell was going on here? In Issue 1, when Alfred tells Dick to wait a few years before fighting crime, Dick yells back that this "wasn't part of the deal." Are you seriously telling me that Bruce took in this orphaned child on the condition that he would fight crime with him? It's made clear later that Alfred had no idea about any such "deal" but regardless, this whole story paints Bruce to be an abusive, neglectful person who has no idea what he's doing. The fact that he's in the Justice League tells us he's probably in his early 30's and has been Batman for nearly a decade. And if he isn't, Lemire needs to do a better job of giving us a timeline to go off of. I can nearly forgive a pissy 22-year-old who's been a vigilante for two years and is still seeking revenge. I absolutely cannot forgive a 30-year-old grown ass man who has been a vigilante for the better part of his adult life and still would treat a child like that. Absolutely not. 

Overall, most of my issues lie with Bruce. Dick is a great character here. I already mentioned that I don't really appreciate the Nightwing easter egg solely because I like the way it happens in the original continuity. Regardless, Dick is an understandably angry, confused kid just trying to get his adoptive dad to like him. I can't say I wouldn't act the same way in his shoes.

Robin & Batman is far, far from perfect. But it really is earnest, and it tries to give it to you straight. Gotham is a horrible city, with a lot of horrible people, and life is hard for Batman and Robin, both in and out of costume. I can't fault Jeff Lemire for taking a huge risk, because for the most part in my opinion, it paid off.

Paired with Dustin Ngyuen's absolutely stunning watercolor artwork, I'm generally happy with Robin & Batman, but I hope we don't see these characterizations or storylines bleed into any other work. I think most of this will only ever "work" (if you can call it that) in this specific universe.

Almost a home run from Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. What did you think of Robin & Batman? Drop your thoughts in the comments! Have a suggestion on what I should read next? Put that down there too!

Happy soaring, heroes!