Spencer: Superman Returns? You mean that movie where the “bad guy” is literally just a big hunk of rock? I didn’t even remember that there was a rescue link in that film (it’s much more Iron Man 3 to me), mainly because I’ve exorcized almost all memory of that bomb from my long-term memory.

Anyway Michael, I don’t think you’re nitpicking, as exploring your reaction to the issue at hand is what Retcon Punch is all about. I too found the pacing here to be quite breakneck, but for the most part, I didn’t have a problem with it. There are exceptions to every rule, but in general, I’d rather have a creative team move a bit too fast than a bit too slow. If nothing else, under-explored concepts are great fanfiction fodder; ideas that are beaten to death because they unravel too slowly are rarely remembered as fondly.

Your main concern here was NoBody’s decision not to kill Damian, but I thought Gleason actually explored that quite nicely even with so many other things going on. First of all, the last few issues established that Maya had never killed anyone before and might not even be capable of it, and had her abandoning her father’s mercenary contacts in an attempt to branch out as her own woman. At this point, she seems to have mostly gotten over her vendetta against Damian, even if she’d never admit it. So, of course, Gleason opens this issue by showing that what NoBody’s father has drilled into her head can’t be so easily forgotten.

When first introduced, I mentioned how Maya made a great stand-in for Damian as he was in his earliest appearances, and in this issue she continues to follow Damian’s evolution, if at a much quicker pace. In her head she’s rejected her father’s path, but his influence is so deeply ingrained within her very core that it still lingers, meaning that the possibility of her backsliding — or even killing Damian — is still there, as it was with Damian for quite a long time as well.

But then she meets the Sons of Batman, Damian’s malformed clones/”brothers.” Maya can’t believe that Damian actually cares for them (or vice versa), but that all changes when they sacrifice their lives to save his. Michael, you already posted those pages, but I want to repost a few panels just to focus in on Maya and Damian’s reactions.

Is there any way to argue that these brothers didn’t care about each other? Absolutely not. And it’s not just the fact that the Sons of Batman love Damian that amazes Maya; it’s that they’ve got the guts to sacrifice themselves for love, and it’s that they found the strength to do so in the first place from their brother. Earlier in the issue we see the Sons of Batman smearing fruit juice on themselves in the shape of Robin’s mask and insignia; Damian is their inspiration. That’s a first for this Robin, and the enormity of it doesn’t escape NoBody.

I love the composition of this page, especially the symmetry between Damian’s current predicament and the way he left the original NoBody to die. Gleason is clearly establishing an equivalent exchange here, showing that this is the closest Maya may ever get to genuine justice for her father. Moreover, Damian is already drowning; if Maya is still uncertain that she could actually go through with killing Damian, well, this is her out. All she has to do is nothing. She’ll never have a more opportune moment.

Yet, despite all that, when Maya looks at Damian she can only see that “R” on his chest. She’s no doubt thinking of the Sons of Batman and what that “R” inspired them to do. Throughout this arc we’ve seen Maya grow and change, but this is the first time Maya’s truly believed that Damian has grown and changed as well. That’s what, ultimately, inspires her change of heart. So I dunno, while I look forward to seeing how this milestone changes Maya and Damian’s dynamic in the issues to come, I still think it’s more than thoroughly developed.

I will admit that many of the other plot points flying in Robin: Son of Batman 5 feel more rushed, but even then, they generally work. Damian should be more shocked about his mother’s return, but I can fully believe that he’d hide his shock behind righteous, murderous anger. Likewise, the sheer amount of exposition needed to introduce Den Darga feels like Gleason’s trying to cram three issues’ worth of plot into a few panels, but to make up for it, Darga ends up being a perfect foil to Damian’s redemption. While the character thus far is pretty generically evil, what he represents to Damian is much deeper; in fact, the fact that Darga is pure evil somehow makes Damian’s life less black-and-white.

After all, if everything Talia says about Darga is true, then that means there were some noble motives to the al Ghul’s horrific actions; even Damian’s Year of Blood, which seemed like nothing but a soul-killing bloodbath, served a higher purpose on some level. Undoing his actions during that year may alleviate Damian’s conscience, but is that worth potentially damning the entire world? I imagine that’s a question he’s going to be asking himself throughout the rest of this storyline — or, at least, he will if he ever gets another chance to be introspective with Talia around, mucking things up.

Speaking of which, Michael, you asked if I thought Damian could actually go through with killing Talia. I’m not sure, but I do think that if there’s one person alive Damian still has the capacity to murder in cold blood, it’s the woman behind his death. I hope Gleason doesn’t spend too much time rehashing the whole “will Damian kill” plot, if only because so much of his existence as a character’s been devoted to it already, but if he does, at least he’ll have set it up rather thoroughly.

That set-up doesn’t just come from the plot, but from the imagery Gleason uses as well.

The ouroboros is a callback to Morrison’s run, specifically Batman Incorporated, where it showed up quite often. When dissecting that series, Drew and Patrick identified the ouroboros as representing, among other things, beginnings as endings, endings as beginnings, and the never ending cycle of American comics. It certainly seems appropriate, then, to have Damian and Talia, two characters who have recently returned from the dead, re-igniting long-running feuds beneath its gaze. Even the issue’s opening spread has the ouroboros overlooking the Year of Blood relics Damian has thus far returned, emphasizing the circular nature of their journey; they’ve been stolen by Damian, then returned, but their return threatens the entire world, and Talia seeks to steal them once again in order to stop Darga.

Those kind of patterns practically define American comics, but under Gleason’s pen, they never feel boring. Whether he’s respectfully referencing the past or blazing through new ideas at breakneck speeds, Gleason — along with inker Mick Gray and colorist John Kalisz — always manages to put out an exciting, affecting, fast-paced read. Here’s hoping it stays that way.

For a complete list of what we’re reading, head on over to our Pull List page. Whenever possible, buy your comics from your local mom and pop comic bookstore. If you want to rock digital copies, head on over to DC’s website and download issues there. There’s no need to pirate, right?