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A review by captwinghead
Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul by Grant Morrison
3.0
This was odd.
As far as a plot goes, it's fine, I guess. Although, admittedly, I never read the big, big issues where Batsy took on R'as al Ghul. In fact, I've read more of Bruce's interactions with Talia than I have his interactions with R'as. The plot wasn't really my issue: the characterization was.
This is one of those "true" events where you have to read the other series to follow the story. It would not make sense if you were just reading Nightwing, or just reading Robin or just reading Detective Comics. You had to read all of it.
R'as needs Damian because he's a blood male relative with a youthful body and R'as wants to take him over because the body he has currently is decaying. Simple enough. The thing is, Damian didn't really feel like Damian. I get that anyone would be scared in this situation but I found it hard to believe Damian would express that fear - let alone to people he didn't know all that well. In this arc, he openly tells Alfred that he's scared and that just didn't seem like something Damian would feel comfortable telling to Alfred at this time. But, let's break this down into bits:
Detective Comics:
These issues were the only ones that felt somewhat close to in character. For Bruce anyway. Although, it was a bit odd seeing him smile at Talia but you know, writers go back in forth on that. Tim was fine and Damian was... fine?
Robin:
This felt like when I read fanfic and I can easily tell that the writer loves their main character and just puts them into situations where they're ridiculously misunderstood and treated like a punching bag. One, Damian was much too soft here and two, Alfred unreasonably yells at Tim for a reasonable assumption. You know, so readers would feel bad for Tim. Anyway, there's something here for Tim's emotional state as he continues to grieve Steph, Kon and his dad. You know, if you like Tim, you'll appreciate this.
Nightwing:
If I never read anything else written by Fabian Nicieza, I will die happily. I don't like this guy's writing. Not only is he awful at portraying women, his "one liners" aren't funny at all. He threw in a "priceless" joke and I had to take a step back and try to remember what year this was. On top of that, it wasn't even funny. There's an art to Dick Grayson's bad jokes and Nicieza did not accomplish that in these 2 issues. Anyway, I found it hard to believe that, even if Dick didn't like Damian, he wouldn't think it important to save the kid simply because he's a kid. Dick Grayson would find Damian worth saving/protecting for that reason, even if he didn't think of him as his brother at this point. And I really do think Dick would think of Damian as his brother but.. whatever.
So, it's a complicated recommendation. Damian Wayne felt out of character. Suddenly, he doesn't know how to fight and he's just damsel-ed. It was a strange thing to read because when he first met Tim Drake, he kicked Tim's ass. So... maybe read this if you like Talia? But, I can't say how in character she was either when the first time she introduced Damian to Bruce, she didn't seem all that fond of him, Damian said his mother never spent any time with him, and in this book, she's shown doing everything she can to protect her son. Seemed... like an odd turn.
As far as a plot goes, it's fine, I guess. Although, admittedly, I never read the big, big issues where Batsy took on R'as al Ghul. In fact, I've read more of Bruce's interactions with Talia than I have his interactions with R'as. The plot wasn't really my issue: the characterization was.
This is one of those "true" events where you have to read the other series to follow the story. It would not make sense if you were just reading Nightwing, or just reading Robin or just reading Detective Comics. You had to read all of it.
R'as needs Damian because he's a blood male relative with a youthful body and R'as wants to take him over because the body he has currently is decaying. Simple enough. The thing is, Damian didn't really feel like Damian. I get that anyone would be scared in this situation but I found it hard to believe Damian would express that fear - let alone to people he didn't know all that well. In this arc, he openly tells Alfred that he's scared and that just didn't seem like something Damian would feel comfortable telling to Alfred at this time. But, let's break this down into bits:
Detective Comics:
These issues were the only ones that felt somewhat close to in character. For Bruce anyway. Although, it was a bit odd seeing him smile at Talia but you know, writers go back in forth on that. Tim was fine and Damian was... fine?
Robin:
This felt like when I read fanfic and I can easily tell that the writer loves their main character and just puts them into situations where they're ridiculously misunderstood and treated like a punching bag. One, Damian was much too soft here and two, Alfred unreasonably yells at Tim for a reasonable assumption. You know, so readers would feel bad for Tim. Anyway, there's something here for Tim's emotional state as he continues to grieve Steph, Kon and his dad. You know, if you like Tim, you'll appreciate this.
Nightwing:
If I never read anything else written by Fabian Nicieza, I will die happily. I don't like this guy's writing. Not only is he awful at portraying women, his "one liners" aren't funny at all. He threw in a "priceless" joke and I had to take a step back and try to remember what year this was. On top of that, it wasn't even funny. There's an art to Dick Grayson's bad jokes and Nicieza did not accomplish that in these 2 issues. Anyway, I found it hard to believe that, even if Dick didn't like Damian, he wouldn't think it important to save the kid simply because he's a kid. Dick Grayson would find Damian worth saving/protecting for that reason, even if he didn't think of him as his brother at this point. And I really do think Dick would think of Damian as his brother but.. whatever.
So, it's a complicated recommendation. Damian Wayne felt out of character. Suddenly, he doesn't know how to fight and he's just damsel-ed. It was a strange thing to read because when he first met Tim Drake, he kicked Tim's ass. So... maybe read this if you like Talia? But, I can't say how in character she was either when the first time she introduced Damian to Bruce, she didn't seem all that fond of him, Damian said his mother never spent any time with him, and in this book, she's shown doing everything she can to protect her son. Seemed... like an odd turn.