A review by literarygoblin
Batman & Robin, Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin by Dustin Nguyen, Grant Morrison, Scott Hanna, Cameron Stewart, Andy Clarke

4.0

 Batman & Robin Volume Two encompasses one of the greatest things about ongoing comic book series - it shows how the creative team grows alongside the story that they’re creating. As much as I loved Batman & Robin Volume One: Batman Reborn, upon reflection it left a lot to be desired. Batman vs. Robin, on the other hand, hit almost every mark perfectly - it further developed our leading men, it made all the side characters feel important to the plot progression, and it gave us stronger story arcs that embody all that makes a Batman comic great.

The first half of the book - Blackest Knight - is a plot surrounded in confusion, but in the right way; we as the readers don’t know what we’re getting into, and we’re learning things with the characters in a way that leaves things shrouded into mystery until the arc is wrapped up in the final part of the story. On one hand, this felt like a bit of a weakness, as I began to wonder if there was an issue I forgot to read in preparation for this story. But once the three-issue arc was complete, this didn’t feel as much like a weakness as it had at first; the particular plot being explored is wrapped up so nicely that I can forgive my previous frustration with the start of the book.

Although Blackest Knight was a well-told adventure, there were a few weaknesses that I think bogged down the experience for me. The first is to do with the plot itself:

I honestly wasn’t a fan of the Bat-clone aspect, because it feels like an incredibly tired comic book trope that doesn’t do anything for me.

And branching off from the plot, it felt like Dick’s thoughts on what he and the ensemble were doing weren’t well-executed - in a way, it didn’t always feel like he was the main character because of this. Now that I can think on it, I can come up with my own understanding of what Dick may have been going through, however, I feel like he could have been better executed in this story arc.

The last thing worth noting in Blackest Knight, is the art work. Personally, I feel like Cameron Stewart’s art is much better than what we saw in Volume One - although the artwork in Batman Reborn was beautiful, it felt as if it were lacking life and movement. Stewart’s art in this arc caught my eye immediately because it was so much more dynamic than what I saw previously. My only criticism here is less to do with the art itself, and more to do with panel choices - some pages simply felt far too chaotic in the way they were laid out, that it took away from the storytelling that was going on in Stewart’s art.

It was the second arc of the book, Batman vs. Robin, that truly got me excited. If Blackest Knight had been as strong as this story arc, this book would have easily been a five star read for me. The second half of the book explores Dick’s determination to find Bruce Wayne, who has been missing and presumed dead this entire time. Dick is convinced that Bruce is alive and out there somewhere, while Damian is unsure but hopeful, even if he doesn’t outright say so.

The first issue of this plot is by far my favorite in the series up to this point - it finally utilizes the detective and noir themes that make Batman stories so good, and the hunt for clues and information kept me incredibly engaged through the entire story. This arc showed me that this series had finally found it’s stride - each issue prior to #10-12 was undeniably good, but to me it seemed like the creative team didn’t fully understand what they wanted to do with the story. The Batman vs. Robin arc, however, showed me that the creators finally found their footing with plot, themes, and characters.

The greatest highlight of this arc for me - and there are a lot of highlights - is that we finally get to see a little more dimension in Dick and Damian as people. Up to this point, I feel like the story didn’t dig too deep into their feelings or their dynamic - you certainly see strong moments for them prior to issue ten, but as a whole there was something to be desired in their characterization. But in Batman vs. Robin we get to see how Dick and Damian have been slowly forging a bond, and even something of a friendship.

In particular, there’s a very good plot point surrounding Damian and his mother, Talia, that explores his feelings and even shows a vulnerable side to him that his prior appearances didn’t feature. It allowed Damian to shed his rough asshole exterior for a few pages and remind us that, although he was raised by assassins in a tough environment, he’s still a child and he’s at a stage in his life where he’s growing exceptionally. The only true negative of this otherwise strong choice is that it left me wanting more for Dick, who I think really deserves more vulnerable and intimate moments given that he is the titular character of this series.

All in all, Batman & Robin Volume Two was such an enjoyable read that’s left me even more excited for the rest of the series (I’m especially excited following the unexpected cliffhanger that issue 12 ended on). This book showed how the series improved with each issue, and it embodied classic Batman elements that make stories great in my opinion - if this trend of development continues, Batman & Robin has potential to secure itself as a staple in my Batman library.