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Batman & Robin Vol. 2: Pearl (2013)

by Peter J. Tomasi(Favorite Author)

3.93 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

series

Batman and Robin Vol. II

review 1: YES! Finally a writer who gets it. The second volume is just as good as the first. I have no idea where people are getting the idea that these stories are brief or irrelevant "vignettes." They are literally connected chapters of a larger plot, all as strong as the next one. The first "chapter" provides more backstory to Talia Al Ghul and her truly fucked up brutal training of Damian Wayne, beating the hell out of him on each of his birthdays until he can beat her at own game. Happy birthday--wham! Spoiler alert he finally wins because he's awesome. That's more character development. Good stuff. Interestingly enough there's a connection made to Scott Snyder's Court of Owls storyline and the "Talon" assassins. Apparently they coincide in the New 52 Universe. There's even a g... moreuy who's a direct descendent of someone a Talon was supposed to kill and is now slated for termination. Robin does not disappoint either the reader or his mother in commanding soldiers and eventually taking on a Talon all by his lonesome. As an aside, Talon is a truly badass villain that just keeps coming back. Muahaha!I really like how all the Robins end up working together (*nerd clap). They all clearly don't really like each other, apart from Dick Grayson who's a freaking saint. Tim Drake is pretty self-righteous, Jason Todd is literally back from the dead and kind of reserved but still zombie badass, and Damian is trying really hard to tell them how much they suck and how he's going to collect trophies from the others, which he naively begins to do. He's a little bratty but come on he's ten, and Tim is kinda douchey. Jason and Dick are pretty chill. They even have a family portrait painted. Old school! And what's nice is that the other Robins even confront Damian about killing, which is a huge theme because he's the only one who will and has the ability to pull the trigger on the whole murdering thing, even Batman can't do it. Which I frankly like. Just get it done already. Then the novel climaxes with a huge citywide crisis with tons of villains and dirty bombs and a super villain who frankly dies a little too quick but is still quite cool. And Batman has like a Bat-mech suit and saves the day. Killer artwork! Keep 'em comin'!
review 2: I'd have to say before the new 52 Damian was probably my least favourite Robin. After the first book of the series that hadn't changed, but after this I'd have to say I have reconsidered. This series seems to be less of a Batman title than it is a Robin title. You really get to see Damian's character open up in this. With it starting off with his origin story we see nothing much has changed with the reboot. It was good to see a more compassionate and vulnerable side of Damian, rather than the know-it-all little brat. His interactions with the other members of the bat-family are also very entertaining, showing the differences between Richard, Jason and Tim. This book has really changed my opinion on Damian, now seeing him in his own light.The art is once again stunning and works perfectly with the mood of the book. This is a top quality series and I'm going to enjoy seeing where they take it! less

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