Comic News: Robin Damian Wayne Will DIE!

  Funny thing happened on the way to writing a storyline. Damian Wayne had been introduced at the beginning of his run on Batman about 7 years ago now. Time has flew by. Initially, Morrison had stated that he was gonna kill Damian at the end of his run. And that will come to past.

   Leaked by DC Comics themselves, Morrison will kill Damian Wayne, the current Robin, in Batman Incorporated # 8, also finishing off his run with the Dark Knight. Damian Wayne, who is Bruce Wayne's & Talia Al Ghul's son, will be MURDERED, according to multiple sources. And this will not end the Batman & Robin title. It will merely switch up to a team up book for a while.

   Confirmed by Batman & Robin writer Peter Tomasi, Bruce Wayne will go through the 5 stages of mourning. Fresh from the end of Death of the Family, Bruce's own allies have decided to keep their distance from him ... even Jason Todd having a burned face. Damian Wayne will die at the age of 10 years old.

Your Weekly Dose of Meme 11-15-12

Holy Cockblockers Batman!

CoW: Cover of the Week 6/13/12

by Darryll "YTC" Carter

Batman & Robin #10

Golden Udder Winner

       I have been waiting for this issue to come out so I could post it as cover of the week. Incidentally, it was almost beat out by the X-men Legacy cover featuring Frenzy. But the powerhouse and brick-house that she is, was not enough to stand up against a cover with; Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian on the cover. Not to mention the cover is letting on that Tim and Damian's hate and more hate relationship may have been revived. As of post new 52 it seemed to have gone with the birds, or Robins in this case.

X-Men Legacy #268
Second Place

COMICS ON SCREEN: THE ROBIN MOVIE

The Robin Movie: An Unhealthy Obsession
Film by Saul Kramer
Review by Hector Ramirez




So Frankie and I were enjoying Free Comic Book Day when I’m approached by one Mr. Saul Kramer. He had noticed me in my Robin caped t-shirt and figured me a Robin fan. So, he came up to me and pitched this movie that he posted on youtube to me. Well, I went online and looked it up.

Ok. Jay is a young man whose father left him with nothing more than an obsession with Robin the Boy Wonder. None of his friends understand why he likes Robin so much and the neighborhood bullies don’t make life much easier. Jay gets sick of the bullies and decides to put on his father's old Robin costume and take care of the bullies himself. Of course, he didn’t stop to think that all those to take on the mantle of Robin went through vigorous training whereas he thought he could simply beat the guys with a broomstick. His sister-in- law explains to him that he took things too far; that being kind and generous is heroic in its own right.

I’ll start off by saying it was well made for an independent film. The acting wasn’t bad and the camera work was great. The theme “you don’t have to be a superhero to be a superhero” was pretty cliché. If I recall correctly, it’s the slogan for the current DC charity campaign. The story was kind of weak.  It was like the beginning of Kick-Ass; a comic loving nerd tries to be a superhero and gets beaten senseless. At least he wasn’t crippled like Kick-Ass. Another thing, his sister-in-law tells him he went too far; yet him standing up to the bully was her idea. And I may be knit picking but he goes on and on about how Dick Grayson is the best Robin yet all his posters and comics are of Tim Drake or Damien Wayne and his costume was similar to Jason Todd’s. All in all, it was good for what it was but not great. I give it a Tim Drake Robin (3 out of 5). Next week, I take a look at Tokusatsu Spiderman as part of our year long celebration. Until then friends, keep clashing.

#43- JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: RISE OF ECLIPSO

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: RISE OF ECLIPSO

Justice League of America (volume 2) #54-59 & Batman/Superman Annual #5

Written by James Robinson

Art by Brett Booth, Miguel Sepulvada & Daniel Sampere

DC COMICS

Review by Frankie Rodriguez

 TALE OF THE TAPE

            Welcome Clashers to another grand edition of Comic Book Clash. It’s Justice League Month and there are lots and lots of Justice League books to review. We recently review the current incarnations of the Justice League & Justice League International. I know we said we’d do dark this week BUT … we had a bit of a snag there. So the question becomes, what are we gonna review THIS week. As you already seen, Hector Ramirez reviewed the JLA Foreign Bodies one shot. And what am I gonna do? Well, I am gonna go on the WAY back machine to a year of grand spectacle. A year where the relaunch for DC had not happened yet and Marvel was still on top of sales.

            What am I kidding? I am talking about last year. Back in 2010, after the Cry For Justice miniseries and the firing of the now-late, great Dwayne McDuffie, James Robinson took over the book. And boy … it was different. The Justice League of America was different. At first, it seemed like a great mix of characters from the old Guard: Green Lantern, Red Tornado . .. to obscure characters: Dr. Light, Mon-El , Congorilla & Starman to the next generation: Dick Grayson Batman & Donna Troy. That changed after the first storyline as it moved into a crossover, written completely by Robinson: The Dark Things. It was at this point, the current team was really taking shape as Jade (taking over for Green Lantern), Jesse Quick (a speedster) and Supergirl ( in place of Mon-El) really came together. And while the line up of Batman, Donna Troy, Jade, Jesse Quick, Congorilla, Supergirl, Starman Mikkal Tomas & later Saint Walker do not seem like much .. . Robinson made sure every adventure was as epic and deadly as their predecessors.

            And while many fans were arguing about the line up, I found the line up fascinating. You have people with similar powers of the classic Big 7 but with VERY big and sometimes interesting differences. Jesse Quick is as fast as the Flash but also has super strength. Donna Troy died and came back. Jade’s powers are similar to a Green Lantern but are not from Oa and do not have to be recharged. And Let me point out that Dick Grayson could very well be the greatest team leader in comic book history. He’s lead the Teen Titans, the Titans, the Outsiders and now the JLA … twice. And while I can go on and on about the legimacy of the this league, we are here to talk about the story. And we shall as we embark on this incarnations LAST journey  … against a villain who was once the subject of an all annual storyline in the 90s, a catalyst for Infinite Crisis & even had his own ongoing. Get ready as we go dark for “THE RISE OF ECLIPSO”

CLASH FACTS

            Our storyline starts in issue # 54 with a quick little recap of the current Justice League. After the recap is done … we go to an named about the devil. That sounds like the ultimate vacation spot. We focus in on Bruce Gordon . .. No, he is not Jim Gordon’s son … and no, he is NOT an amalgamation of Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon. Bruce Gordon happens to be the leading solar scientist on the planet. And he’s on the run … from angry natives. That’s what he gets for going to a place called Diablo Island. He calls his long time love (who oddly sports black hair now when it was red before) Mona and tells hints at the occurances that were happening during the Dark Things crossover. See … I tell you thinks we get back to eventually. With heroes, elementals and the planet having issues, Bruce starts feeling himself changing … while the sun is out.

Back Story Breakdown: Eclipso is a being that *normally* only arises during an eclipse.

   But thanks to the Starheart, the thing that made Alan Scott evil and a bunch of other heroes and villains go nuts during Dark Things (which, by the way, this scene starts DURING the Dark Things crossover), Bruce Gordon loses control and once again becomes the host of Eclipso. Instead of sporting a more traditional supervillain look, Eclipso went to the gym and is showing off his bare chest while wearing his signature cap and face still eclipsed. Come to find out, Robinson establishes that this possession is different from before as Bruce can actually talk with Eclipso while the fallen angel (yes he’s a fallen angel and it is a plot point) begins to murder every last native on the island. And it is gore as we see at least one panel where Eclipso is holding up a severed head. It replays how Bruce became Eclipso’s host and Eclipso’s history . .. which includes the fact that Eclipso said that Jean Loring as a host was a BAD idea, ending with the destruction of Diablo Island.

            And throughout the rest of the first part of Rise of Eclipso, we get interplay with Bruce and Eclipso collecting a bunch of shadow powered people for his plan … including The Shade; who seems to be the only Eclipsed being who can talk. Nightshade, Acrata, Shadow Thief, the monsterous looking Bete-Noire, Canadian hero Dark Crow & Elder God Syththunu … Oh my god … The thing looks straight out of Lovecraft! DAMN! The group gathers at the Emerald City, a newly formed City on the moon after the events of Dark Things that was created and maintained by the Starheart and Alan Scott (aka the ORIGNAL Green Lantern from the JSA, at a great time . . . months after Dark Things and while their ultimate target is .. . Jade. You thought it’d be Obsidian … so did I at first.

            Jade and Jesse Quick are visiting Alan, who was recently crippled because of the Starheart. They are attacked by Eclipso and his Shadow Army. Jade asks Jesse to take her father and get him away … and she does. Jade prepares to fight alone. Meanwhile, over in the remains of where New Krypton once stood, Dark Supergirl .. . *stops* Yes. Before the reboot, Kara had be evil for a short time. Once brought about by Darkseid, another time brought about by another villain of hers and now . .. after a recent battle with a being known as the Omega Man, Kara is Dark Supergirl again. Yet, this time . .. she’s not evil . . . just got lots of attitude. She, Alpha Lantern Boodikka (they made a lantern out of Rey Mysterio’s theme song?!) and Batman, who is Dick Grayson. Grayson laments that he misses his friend Kara, not the brat he sees before them when … they are attacked by Doomsday. Batman calls the Satelite to send for help when Boodikka is injured only to find Starman coming to their aid. Saint Walker joins the fray after Doomsday slaps Starman away. Starman, Dark Supergirl, Batman & Saint Walker find that Doomsday followed them to the Satelite which is being controlled by Cyborg Superman. It seems he infiltrated Boodikka in order to get into the League Satelite . .. and Doomsday wants to kill him.

            We get treated to a sub-plot that Dark Supergirl is dying from holograms of Doctor Midnite and Doctor Fate when we find the source . . . her own mind. It seems that Kara going dark is due to survivor’s guilt from being one of the few Kryptonians to survive. She finds her light and starts to beat back Doomsday . .. only to find that Doomsday had beaten Cyborg Superman to become . ..CYBORG DOOMSDAY. WTH? This subplot ends with Cyborg Doomsday taking Kara away with him while a distress call from Donna to the guys has them move out towards the moon.

            Back on the moon, Donna is doing her best to find off Eclipso’s Shadow Army in the Emerald City only to fall from sheer numbers. Then Jade arrives . ..only to be eclipsed. *sigh*  So Donna and eclipsed Jade trade blows and the denizens of the Emerald City try to run but the Shadow Army is winning. Shade mocks Donna, telling her to join them when the calvary arrives . .. but not who you expect. Congorilla comes in with a bunch of JL reserves, including Red Tornado, Cyborg, Zauriel and Dr. Light. Eclipso just mocks them as Bruce says that Eclipso will fall to the heroes. Eclipso says they will all darken.  We see the reserves get eclipsed little by little, including Red Tornado. Eclipso trades swords with Zauriel, who says his former angelic name of LLadiz. Congorilla fights the Elder God alone and looks about to be swallowed by a giant order of calamari when . . .Starman blasts Syththunu off of his friend. Dick leads the charge and we come to find out that all the JL reserves, save for Zauriel, have become eclipsed with the majority of the citizens of the Emerald City. All the Leaguers left standing are Batman, Donna Troy, Congorilla, Starman & Saint  Walker. Before Eclipso's Shadow Army can descend upon them, Obsidian, Jade's twin brother and one time partner of Eclipso, comes and sucks the remaining Leagues into the abyss . . .

         And while it looks like Obsidian is working for Eclipso, we come to find out he is not as he teleports the non-possessed Leaguers to Jesse Quick and Alan Scott. And it is thanks to Obsidian and Eclipso ... through the power of exposition and some really stunning panels by Brett Booth, we find out EXACTLY what Eclipso's plan is. And I have to say it is one of the most outrageous plans in the history of super hero comics. Using Zauriel, Eclipso calls his successor, The Spectre, to bring him over to the moon. The Starheart adds to Eclipso's power alongside Jade and the Shade. These things allow Eclipso to KILL his successor and then CRACK THE MOON IN HALF!

      Armaggedon has come on Earth with disaster after disaster while the JLA try to fight Eclipso for the final part of his master plan to . . . WELL, to KILL GOD!!!

     Yes. ECLIPSO'S PLAN IS TO KILL GOD!!!

    We have the moon split in half. One of the most powerful angels and beings in the DC Universe getting killed. I ..  . I can't say anymore about this story here.


CLASH TACTICS 

      This league was filled with controversy. As I said in the beginnning of the review though, most of these heroes are legacy heroes: Dick Grayson Batman, Donna Troy, Jade, Jesse Quick, Mikkal Tomas, Supergirl . ..  all holding fast to legacies. They also are very good replacements for their A-lister counterparts: Bruce Wayne Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Starman, Superman respectively. As such, having them be the JLA was a very BIG move by Robinson and DC. And this might be one of the stories which best displays that this team not only can deal with anything the Big 7 can, but that this team has more than earned their Legacy.

       With that out of my chest, I am gonna start with art. Brett Booth, Miguel Sepulveda & Daniel Sampere all pencilled portions of this story. Daniel Sampere penciled the least amount of this storyline and I will say this . .. the man has potential. While there were some panels that seemed not as detailed and unbalanced, over all Sampere did some really great work. His 2 page spread in issue #59 was amazing. Miguel Sepulveda was stunning with his pencils being able to convey so much emotion and power while giving some wonderful visuals. Although, coloring wise, I find Andrew Dalhouse's colors are more vibrant with Sepulveda's work than Jose Villarrubia, who's colors are a bit more subdued. The MVP of this storyline is definitely Brett Booth. I have been a fan of Booth's work for years . . . since he was doing art on Backlash for Image Comics back in the 90s. His work on Justice League of America has been nothing short of exceptional. The characters and settings are lively and multidimensional. The action is stunningly rendered. The emotional parts are full with that extra umph! Truly, a great job to Brett Booth and his team.

    Which gets me to Mr. Robinson. Mr. Robinson. Mr. Robinson. You were so on your way to a World Heavyweight contendership rating. You really were. Let me break down why you are NOT getting that:

  -First, there seems to be inconsistencies at times with certain parts of the story. One minute, Eclipso's old angelic name was  Lladiz, stated by Zauriel during a battle in issue # 56. But in issue #57, The Spectre then states that Eclipso's angelic name was Galid. So . .. which one is it? Is it both of them?

- Second, there were times were I felt that the cuts between scenes were so dramatic in some places that it felt a bit daunting. One minute, we see Jade about to leave for  action. Next minute, she's possessed by Eclipso. Which brings up my final point.

 - Finally, there are just points in this story where the pacing seemed so wrong. The sudden jumps at times or the fact that things happened a lot quicker than they should have. There is a sense that this storyline should have been A LOT LONGER!! And it does not seem apparent till the 3rd and 4th parts of the storyline. There just  seemed like there was a lot of cramming which really effected the pacing in the middle. We see the League reserves come in. We see them in action for one other panel, then we don't see them again till they are eclipse. Wait ...  what?!

 Yet, the follow are things that definitely work in Robinson's favor:

 - Robinson does a good job handling not only the Eclipso storyline but also the Reign of Doomsday storylines at the same time.

  - He truly does his best to make all the cast seem important with great amount of character development. If he decides to not have a character around, he does make sure there is a reason behind it. Well, for the main characters anyway.

  -Really does make this team stand up to their predecessors.

  - The fact that Robinson's final JLA story deals with his team stopping Eclipso trying to kill GOD is one of the most insane yet entertaining plots in history. And Robinson does his very best to make sure everything towards that plot connects and makes sense. Why he takes Jade? Why he takes Shade? How Earth and its people are connected directly to God? All these things were just so well displayed and explained it makes the storyline that much richer.

 - Robinson had Eclipso TRY To kill God after killing the Spectre and splitting the moon in half. OH DEAR GOD!!!

 So overall, why Rise of Eclipso does feel crammed at times and there seems to be so much more that could have been done; this storyline is entertaining with great character development, beautiful art and smart writing. It is not perfect but it is a great storyline that can stand with any of the Big 7's stories.


  I give Justice League of America: Rise of Eclipso an Intercontinetal Contendership (4 out of 5). You can find this story in trade.

NEXT WEEK: I promise, JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK & more.

           

THIS WEEK IN AWESOME # 4

Here we are again, Clashers. Another week and let's see what we chose for what was awesome this week:


CBC's Hector Ramirez: 

My awesome moment of the week is from Justice League #5. After Superman is hit with DarkSeid’s Omega Beam the rest of the team regroup to strategize, Green Lantern says “the beams he blasts out of his eyes follow their target right?” and Wonder Woman promptly answers “It’s settled then, WE BLIND HIM!” The moment is just priceless, it catches her true warrior spirit, while at the same time displaying a sort of childlike innocence. What makes the moment that much greater is that they all go with it. This new twist on this classic team is just great and I might just have to catch up with Wonder Woman.


CBC's Darryl Carter

My epic moment comes from Nightwing #5. The last page reveals Raya, old time friend & Dick Grayson's current love interest kissing Saiko, the would-be assassin "hired" to kill Dick. Turns out Saiko is Haly's Circus Troupe's late practitioner and old friend of Dick's, Raymond. If that wasn't an "OMG" moment, I don't know what is.

CBC's EIC Frankie Rodriguez:

  Honestly, it is from X-Factor # 230. I been on a real big X-book kick of late. And the final page of X-Factor # 230 made me very, VERY happy. Wolverine was offering leadership help after Madrox was seemingly dead and the rest of the team are bickering amongst themselves.Banshee and M arguing over Guido being a zombie or not. Wolfsbane not happy with Wolverine there. Rictor and Shatterstar arguing over how Wolfsbane handled things and Layla is just depressed.  Rahne and Guido immediately say who can come in here to lead X-Factor when we suddenly hear the words : " Well . . . for starters, Rahne . . . We've done it before. And Guido . ..  nice hair cut. "
   I weep openly with a large smile. For the first time since in 10 years, Havok & Polaris were back on X-Factor. And DEAR GOD . . . THAT IS AWESOME!!



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Batman: The Eye of the Beholder

            And after dealing with Marvel’s iconic web-slinger, we go over to the latest DC Comic’s Dark Knight. We take a look at Dick Grayson as Batman in the beginning of the Batman Inc. Era as we review:

BATMAN

Issues #704 – 707

Story (arc) Title: Eye of the Beholder

Written & Penciled by Tony Daniel

DC Comics

by Frankie Rodriguez

            Unless you don’t collect comics or just completely out of time with Batman, Dick Grayson took up the mantle of Batman (again) once we thought that Bruce Wayne had died at the hands of the evil Darkseid. Bruce was actually thrown back in the past till he got back to the present recently. Yet, instead of Bruce having Dick return to his Nightwing persona, he insisted that Dick stay on as Batman to protect Gotham City and train Damian Wayne, the latest Robin, while Bruce franchises Batman all over the world in order to make an army against crime. Yes . . . this is not something out of some crazy fanfic; this is from the genius of Grant Morrison. Cause of this, the Bat titles have split with whichever Batman to being the leading man; Detective Comics, Batman & Batman and Robin have Dick being the leading man while the new titles Batman Incorporated and Batman: Dark Knight has Bruce being the main bat there.

            So Dick protects Gotham City as Batman and we look at the jump on point for the changes brought about with Bruce’s return. And if you figured that just having Bruce back didn’t give creators a chance to add on to Dick Grayson’s Batman, you are sorely mistaken. So let’s see how Batman #704-707 measure up as now Tony Daniel is now both artist & writer of the title; much like he was for Battle of the Cowl.

            Batman #704 opens up with some kind of mysterious call, dealing with what seems to be a group of people charged with protecting something. A person on one part of the phone says he is not going to give anyone information and has what seems to be a . . . swastika . . . that he beats through then reveals some kind of Asian lettering. The other man who was asking to give out information and help a mysterious visitor seeming dies. And that is just in the first 2 pages.

            Next we open up to see Batman (Dick Grayson) swinging with Robin (Damian Wayne) have a small exchange to a splash page of a character named Reaper & Catgirl fighting each other. After a brief fight with Reaper, who seems to be a bit loco about right and wrong and willing to kill heroes cause they get in his way; we see Batman looking for Catgirl, who slipped away. Before Batman & Robin give chase, they get stopped by a familiar face . . .Batman. Yes. Batman. Batman meet Batman.

            Bruce came to Dick telling him that he needs to get rid of Catgirl. Dick says he would. We go back to where the guy with the swastika (?) is to find him with his head . . . falling off. WHAT?! Then a bomb that goes BOOM!!

            Dick and Lucius Fox are in Wayne Tower doing business with a beautiful asian business woman known as Sasha Lo and her little brother, Luki Lo. She asked to buy the Crime Alley, particularly the eight block radius where Bruce’s parents were killed and was the main catalyst for the birth of Batman. Dick says he can’t.

            We then see Selina at a benefit dancing with a . . . nerd (?) . . . when Dick came in underdressed. Dick told Selina that she needed to get rid of Catgirl. Selina demanded that if Catgirl goes, so should Damian. When Dick told her this came from Bruce, Selina mocked Bruce and calls him the “Ultimate Hypocrite.”

            Dick drove off only to run into Sasha Lo again, with her begging to buy Crime Alley, even offering a bribe to Dick. Dick says no then asks way before an arrow comes their way; and Sasha stopped it . . . with one hand. As she ran off, Dick went the other direction, ordered a drone, got a Batman costume and changed. As Batman (Dick) arrived on the scene as a woman dressed in a blue outfit, peacock feathers & a mask appeared to trying to find Dick & Sasha’s attacker. As an assassin prepared to strike the woman with an arrow, Batman came in and knocked down said assassin. Batman gazed at the woman fully and if anyone with a brain has been following, you know that this was Sasha . . . introducing herself to Batman as Peacock. Before readers get any more in depth information on Peacock, there is another attack . . .from Sensei. Wait . . . wasn’t he killed off during the Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul crossover from a few years ago?

            Apparently not as the next issue opened with how Sensei came back to life as he was given water from Nanda Paradat, which has its own Lazurus pits and has more mystical abilities that was seen in 52. Sensei was back and after Peacock for they are both after something called the Beholder . . . which we find out some of its origin here to Gotham City and a secret society called Jade Compass Society when Peacock & Batman got another ally from I Ching, who told them the origin. Peacock reluctantly takes Batman help (at I Ching’s request) as they try to follow where Sasha’s limo, with her brother Luki, in it was going to. Alas, when they get to it, the limo’s been blown up. I-Ching rejoins them and they try to figure out where Luki is and the rest of the Jade Compass Society when Dick figured out that the society had another member . . . Lucius Fox.  Dick ran over to the Fox’s place to check to get stuck by a bomb. After Batman landed onto a car and come to find out that the bombs were set by . . . The Riddler. Oh and NOT just the Riddler . . . but his daughter, Enigma too? Wait . . .What?!

            Yes. Last seen during the Teen Titans “Titans East” arc, Enigma (aka Riddler’s Daughter) returns with her daddy to cause Batman trouble . . . and ??? wait. WHAT?!  Not sure as to why he shows up but it has to do with the Jade Compass Society. Riddler and Enigma have Batman on the ropes till Robin came in. Batman and Robin quickly deal with Riddler’s men as the Enigma family makes a break for it. Sensei is torturing Luki and Lucius for information and our heroes find out about it . . . through a weird telepathic like connection between Luki & Peacock. For those of you reading, if you hadn’t figured out that Peacock is Sasha, then you are clearly not paying attention.

            Speaking of Luki, after he’s tortured by Sensei, Lucius gets tortured as well. Sensei eventually gets the location of the Beholder, a mask of immense power. I-Chiang gives back grown on how the mask went from Asia to Gotham decades ago and why Sensei wants it so badly. Batman, I-Ching and Peacock all split up once more. Batman returns to see Reaper, who gives him one clue while a visit to Kitrina Falcone aka Catgirl gives him the last clue he needs. I-Ching enters an abandoned building only to fall to a trap. Batman soon goes to the same building and seemingly is trapped as well by Sensei. It looks as if Lucius, Luki, Lucius’s daughter Tamara & Dick are drowning towards their deaths yet we see Dick jumping into action, getting them out, and with I-Ching’s help, defeats most of Sensei’s assassins.

            Meanwhile, Sensei find the Beholder and is about to put it on. He is stopped, seemingly by one of his own henchmen who turn out to be Sasha in disguise. Sensei says he plans on killing her but recognizes her face as the woman who gave her the water in Nanda Pardat. This pauses Sasha long enough for Dick to swoop in but Sensei puts on the mask, enjoying its power. Yet, sooner rather than later, the mask begins to start killing. Sasha and I-Chiang explained that Sensei, in his own hubris, was NOT worthy of the Beholder, only Luki was. A battle ensued in which Batman held his own against the powerful Sensei till Luki takes the mask then Sensei tries to kill Luki but only breaks the Beholder into pieces. Batman tackled Sensei through a window only for Sensei do a disappearing act. Sasha and Batman say quick goodbyes as Luki gets a flash of Dick & Sasha making out. The storyline ends with Riddler and Enigma reporting to the person who hired them to the job, who wanted files on the Jade Compass Society. We see a female’s lips but then she flips a coin stating she had another job for the father-daughter team.

RATING SYSTEM:

Once again, here is the break down of how things are rated. Look at the ratings as if 1 was the worse to 5 being the best:

Ubersuck Crown – Run away from the story &/or book. It is bad. Treat it like the plague. Think of it as a 1 or 1 star. Pretty much VERY BAD.

Cruiserweight Contender – A book that has some great flash and ability to entertain for a while. Not a definite buy but still not too bad. It’s ok. Aka 2 stars.

X Division Contender-  Something that is out there. Brings out something a little different. Something entertaining and over all enjoyable but still not enough to make a huge impact.  3 stars or Average.

Intercontinental Contender – Something polished, some what thought provoking. Great story telling. Fair characterization but things not completely utilized to the best of their ability more than it should. Something that is on the verge of greatness but just falls short. Good or 4 stars.

World Heavyweight Contender – Outstanding. Great art. Great characterization. Great storyline. Excellent plot. Outstanding use of characters, area. Great use of new concepts or old concepts in a new way. Frellin’ awesome or 5 stars.

So you got it? Good. Onto:

CLASH TACTICS:

            This wasn’t the first time Tony Daniel was writing  & drawing the Batman books but is doing so this time on an ongoing basis. With that said, Tony has done a good job. Tony introduces the world of Gotham City today and while it may not seem too different from the Gotham that Bruce Wayne protected, it is radically different. Gotham City now is much more violent then it was before Bruce Wayne had “seemingly” died.  Dick Grayson has grown as a character and Tony Daniel has shown that in a variety of ways. He is not trying to be Bruce, which is evident in his quips and how artistically how Tony draws lots of aerobatics on Dick’s part to show that this Batman is different. Tony does an excellent job of showing Dick being able to handle Batman throughout the storyline . . . with one MAJOR exception.

            Having Bruce show up after Dick and Damian deal with Reaper was kinda of a reminder to readers that there was 2 Batmen. Great. Fine. Yet the fact that Bruce felt the need to make a personal visit and tell Dick to get rid of Catgirl, who he and Dick agree is being reckless was kinda of a slap to the face. While I understand that this is a new era, the Batman Incorporated era, that fact that Dick had his “dad” show up and personally tell him something was kinda of bull. There have been plenty of other issues and books that had Bruce “evaluate” Dick & Damian. This whole Bruce coming to see them personally felt kinda like . . . yeah, I trust you to mind the store but only so much. And honestly it wasted time that could be used to develop Dick more.

            That wasn’t my only problem with the storyline. Another issue was the inclusion of Riddler & Enigma. I did like the fact that the 2 were together. I liked that fact that Ridder was now again a villain. What I didn’t particularly like was that it seemed to be a hiccup. Considering that this is set up to other storylines was fine. Yet it was confusion with the actually main storyline with the fact that it seemed to show up in the middle of Batman’s investigation of Lucius Fox. And that wouldn’t have bothered me so much if it didn’t come so . . . abruptly in the middle of the main storyline. I like having future storylines set up. And I can understand the whole Jade Compass Society thing would lead to more stories. What I found a probably was that Riddler & Enigma showing up how they did then disappearing til the end of the storyline. I read the storyline twice and both time it just felt awkward having them there in the MIDDLE of the main plot line. I originally thought that Sensei had joined with them; and was disappointed that they didn’t show up again till the end. It almost felt like filler. There have been other writers who have done similarly things but at least the inclusion of other storylines with the main plot seemed to flow a LOT better than when it did here. But it did make me intrigued about them and an eventual show down.

            My final problem was that there was just so much focus on the storyline and the world of Batman, we have not really seen the world of Dick Grayson. The only real moments of Dick Grayson time we’ve seen was him at Wayne Enterprises with Sasha and his little warning to Catwoman. Let me talk about the latter before I get into the former.

            The fact that Bruce ordered Dick to get Catgirl gone was pretty damn wrong. And then Tony set up one of the best scenes in #704. Selina Kyle aka Catwoman flat out called out Dick and Bruce’s hypocricy.

            Dick: She has to go, Selina. She nearly got herself killed chasing down the Reaper . . . for the reward money the Feds put up.

            Selina: I wouldn’t approve of that behavior.

            Dick: It’s what a younger Catwoman would have done.

            Selina: If she has to go, then so should your pompous little brat.

            Dick: Kitrina (aka Catgirl) needs to be in school. Not playing superhero with homicidal maniacs. Bruce made it clear  .”

            Selina: Bruce, the Ultimate surrogate, the ultimate hypocrite.

            That was one of the best exchanges, showing how times and everyone had been changing. Dick following orders and getting his own personal life neglected seemed to be a bit much. Dick had his own identity and some much of it is now part of what Bruce had designed. Not him being Batman but him being Dick Grayson. And that is something that I hope that Tony can touch on more soon.

            Otherwise, Tony being both writer and artist really was spectacular. Seeing how much Tony Daniel has evolved over the years has been great and he really did a great job with writer & art for the storyline. It opened lots of new elements. And Tony established what could very well be Dick’s Selina or Talia to Bruce’s. Peacock aka Sasha Lo was both an interesting fighter with an attitude but understandably so. Particularly enjoyable was Peacock’s exchange with I-Chiang and Batman after the first escape in #705. Peacock states that he is not the real Batman and that he speaking juvilen is one of those indicators. I-Chiang replies with a simple fact that this was indeed Batman and she’s benefit from his help. The chemistry between Batman and Peacock was well develop and continued to grow during the storyline. Again, Dick and Sasha’s chemistry is hot and look forward to more Batman and Peacock in the future.

            Tony wrote us a very confident Dick Grayson. He was used to being Batman and while he and Bruce were both Batman now, Dick was more than up to the task. Dick didn’t flinch when he was ordered to look after Gotham and that Bruce personally gave him Gotham. There was no doubt. Not in any of the narrative did we see Dick Grayson doubt himself as a hero and that made a great impression on me. This wasn’t the person who was very against taking the mantle nor the man trying to live up to Bruce’s shadow. Dick Grayson here was indeed a man who is confident and comfortable of being Batman . . . but being Batman his own way. These issues showcase that perfectly. Another example of that was when Batman when into Arkham to speak to Reaper and Batman easily convinced the Doctor to let him see Reaper.

            The colors were grim enough to show the grit and grime of Gotham but did a great job showing that this was indeed a whole new era as this was the Batman Inc era and Dick was fully taking charge of himself as Batman. As hookey as Sensei’s resurrection was written out, it was done well. The backgrounds were all amazing and the characters were full of life. Luki was a little stiff in my opinion but still, artistically a great job for the beginning.

            Tony Daniel artistically and verbally added much to the new mythos of the Dick Grayson Batman. Gotham is a very dangerous place but the new Batman was more than up for the challenge. Dick seemed made for it. Kudos to Ian Hannin for his colors in all 4 issues as well as the assist inks by Sandu Florea & Ryan Winn for their great inks on the storyline. Each character seemed to have defined faces that matches their personas. This was a great introduction artistically.

            Overall, while this wasn’t a grand slam for Batman Dick Grayson, it was still a great home run. The Beholder, the Jade Compass Society, Peacock, Sensei and even Riddler & Enigma all became part of Dick’s new rogues gallery and made welcoming first impressions. Tony Daniel takes the reigns aggressively in this new run with a solid introduction. It is just said that we don’t see more of the Dick Grayson side of life. And Tony needs to work on making sure the flow of the overall plot line is not so interrupted by his foreshadowing the future. It is more a matter of over all flow. Still, it was a solid read with great dialogue, action, adventure and a look into Gotham City at the beginning of the Batman Incorporated era. There were lots of introductions and even set up for both Dick and Damian that this should be an enjoyable run.

            Given all this, Eye of the Beholder gets placed in the Intercontinental Contender bracket. A very good start but could be better. Still, read it and enjoy the Peacock. 

And Now CLASH:

               VS.

MY WINNER:

            Amazing Spider-man Big Time! Slott gave us a new beginning . . .not just for Spiderman but also for Peter Parker. And the fact that the new Hobgoblin is a dark mirror of Spiderman really helped. While Dick gained a bunch of new rogues and mythology, we barely got to see Dick Grayson. Slott balanced between both while Daniel was very Batman heavy. That is why Big Time beats out Eye of the Beholder in my opinion. 

While I gave MY OWN ratings . . . What do the rest of you think? Who should come out on top?

BATMAN’s Eye of the Beholder or AMAZING SPIDER-MAN’s Big Time. Post your comments and votes on here. The winner will get to advance to the Summer Tournament in July.  Next Week, I will post the results of the winners in both your opinion.