TITLE: Robin War #1
AUTHORS: Tom King (story), Khary Randolph, Alain Mauricet, Jorge Corona, Andres Guinaldo, Walden Wong.
PENCILLERS: Emilio Lopez, Chris Sotomayor, Gabe Elitaeb, Sandra Molina. Cover by Mikel Janin.
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $4.99
RELEASED: November 2, 2015

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Robin War is a crossover that kicks off with a teenager, a cop, and a couple of guns.

*tugs at collar* G’aahhhh….

Per the 75th anniversary of the Robin character, we have Robin War, a crossover event that pits the various characters that have worn the mantle of Robin against The Court of Owls. After a showdown between one of the many youngsters acting under the banner of Robin (See We Are Robin) accidentally kills a policeman, Gotham City strikes back at the movement. Anyone even wearing Robin-like attire is subject to arrest, via the “Robin Laws” enacted by a city councilwoman with ties to the Court of Owls. The ensuing conflict will draw the attention of not only Batman (Jim Gordon), but the four young men who worked aside the original Batman as Robin. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and the current Robin Damian Wayne are headed back to Gotham.

Conceptually, in terms of celebrating the anniversary of Robin, I appreciate this crossover more than Batman & Robin Eternal. Though I’m not sure what it’s long term effects may be, the event itself is concise. It also touches books like Robin: Son of Batman, Teen Titans, Red Hood & Arsenal, and even Gotham Academy. It’s a nice illustration of how widespread Robin’s influence on the DC Universe has been. It also keeps the event contained within the span of about a month, which is nice.

Police brutality and the ethics of law enforcement are topical right now, for obvious reasons. It’s tough to read this book and not think of kids like Trayvon Martin. Especially when we get to the scene where Duke Thomas is arrested for simply wearing red shoes. I doubt they’re going for political commentary with this issue, but they’re certainly playing off that controversy here. Whether that’s tacky or not is subjective, I suppose. Either way, it gives Robin War an impactful opening.

For obvious reasons, Dick Grayson will play a big role here. The cliffhanger implies teases pretty interesting about his future. When we first see him here, he’s wearing a black and white suit that’s so James Bond it’s almost funny. At one point, the Court refers to him as the “Gray Son of Gotham,” so I guess we’re going back to that crap again. There’s also a splash page in which Dick, after getting a summon from his Gotham comrades, jumps out a window. Between the splash and the previous page, his full line is: “At the end of the day, from the beginning of the day…first and always foremost…I am Robin!”

I don’t like this bit. Firstly, the line is terribly redundant. They could have cut a lot of fat there and just had him say, “First and foremost, I am Robin!” Secondly, I’m not sure I appreciate that sentiment. Yes, Dick Grayson was Robin before he was anything else. But he’s been a lot of other things too. What so many modern writers seem to be forgetting about is the independence Dick gained when he broke away from Batman to become Nightwing. He’s loyal to his Gotham family, but he’s also his own man. I get what they’re going for with this line, but it turned me off.

On the flip side, I like how Damian is played up in this issue. He is Robin, after all. He also has some really good reactions to both the Robin movement with Duke Thomas and Jim Gordon acting as Batman. Solicitations indicate he’s staying in Gotham after Robin War, which is a good thing from where I sit.

We have a revolving door of artists on this thing, which is always frustrating. There’s an especially awkward transition when we go from Damian’s confrontation with Bat Cop, to Red Hood and Red Robin appearing on the scene. The styles and the colors just clash. It’s not necessarily the artists’ fault. It’s just a bad transition.

Robin War #1 has its flaws. In my experience, things tend to get a little messy when you have so many people collaborating on a single issue. But generally, I’m interested to see where it’s going. Batman’s apprentices against The Court of Owls doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world.

Image 1 from io9.com. Remaining images from author’s collection.

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