Batman and Robin (The New 52) # 2

By Mark Rodriguez

While Batman was dead (pre-New 52, and actually it turned out he was knocked back in time by Darkseid), Dick Grayson became Batman and Damian became Robin. Now that Bruce is back, he teams up with own son and has to deal with his murderous tendencies as a new bad guy is killing Batmen all over the world. Let's see what happens.

I noticed all or most of the Issue 2 covers of Batman's books seem to showcase him in some sort of vehicle

Issue 2 continues with “Bad Blood” as Bruce and Alfred watch Damian train in the Batcave. Bruce slightly recaps Damian’s past (as seen in the Batman and Son arc) and how Talia Al Ghul raised him to be a killer. Bruce thinks this is something he must fix, but Alfred reminds him he has to be a father, not a mechanic. Bruce also thinks that in a way, his drafting kids into his war against crime makes him not too unlike Talia. Alfred says he’s always been a good a moral compass for the boys, and that Batman will always need a Robin, and vice versa. Bruce admits he’s worried what would be become of Damian if he were to die.

Later on we see Damian working on something, and Bruce tells him it’s time to stop a weapons shipment he was waiting for. Later that night, Batman and Robin take down the weapon smugglers.

Batman commends Robin on how he showed restraint this time, and they leave the bad guys tied up and hanging upside down from a lamp post. As police sirens are being heard, the crooks try to escape but get their throats slashed by Nobody.

Back to the Batcave, Damian continues to train. Alfred worried about him possibly over-exerting himself, but Bruce says it’s worth it if it keeps his killer tendencies under control. He mentions how he showed restraint when fighting the bad guys earlier, and Alfred asked if he said he was proud of him. Bruce said he used the word ‘commendable’ instead, which Alfred says that Bruce still has a lot of work to do. Bruce tells Damian ‘nice field work’ and tells him to go to bed. As he leaves, Damian catches a random bat in his hand and kills it. Alfred sees this and is concerned.

 The next morning, Bruce Wayne is seen buying a great dane. Just then a guy shows up and the animosity between him and Bruce is already apparent. The man’s name is Morgan, and Bruce already knows he killed the tied-up gun runners the other night. Bruce asks why he’s in Gotham, and Morgan tells him about the calling cards, the bat-signal, and mostly Batman Inc “franchising yourself like some fast food corporation”. Bruce also accuses him of killing Ravil, the Russian Batman we saw getting the acid bath in the last issue. Morgan claims Bruce distorted their mission, to which Bruce says their missions aren’t the same. Morgan says ‘Ducard’ would be disappointed in him, to which Bruce replies that Ducard’s motives were as twists as Morgan’s.

Morgan claims his visit isn’t an attack, but an intervention, and that only he can save Bruce from himself. He pulls out a trigger device and clicks it. A barrel of confetti explodes behind Bruce, being harmless, but also being a distraction as Morgan is now gone.

My Opinions

This issue was pretty good. I liked the interactions between Batman and Robin, and how Alfred keeps reminding Bruce that he has a long way to go to before he can be a good father. While Bats might have been a jerk to the previous Robins (with the possible exception to Dick since he was Robin during the campy era), Damian is a special case since he actually his son. As tough as he is, he’s still a child that desperately wants his father’s approval. He might be a lil’ asshole to everyone else, but he actually cares what his father thinks about him. And as a child, he still needs to hear words like 'good job' once in a while. 

We also finally see the villain, Morgan, and we kinda see why he's going around killing criminals and also the members of Batman Inc. And he's another dangerous person that knows Bruce is Batman. 

I did like seeing the flashback scene in the beginning, which shows that Damian's origins Pre-New 52 haven't changed too much if at all. At a time when the New 52 was new and there was really nothing like 'this happen and this didn't happen' kind of manual included, this at least answers a few questions regarding past continuity. Any little bit helps. 

The New 52 seems to like retconning costumes though. This flashbacks seems to imply Nightwing was wearing the New 52 red variant of his outfit instead of the blue he wore pre-New 52.