Category Batman and Robin

Oct 18 2013

Batman and Two-Face 24

batman and two face 24 Today, Mikyzptlk and Spencer are discussing Batman 24, originally released October 16th, 2013.

Mikyzptlk: Origin stories. We are getting a lot of origin stories from DC Comics these days. I suppose it’s only natural given the relative newness of the New 52. It’s been a few years now, but there are still a lot of lingering questions and a lot more room to reinterpret certain origins. Still, I’ve been suffering from “origin-itis” lately, especially with Villain’s Month throwing a ton of new origins our way. While Peter Tomasi didn’t use the Two-Face Villain’s Month special to explore the origin of the villain, he’s certainly using this current arc to do so. So, how does he do? Well, Tomasi brilliantly circumvents my origin-overload by tying Harvey’s past directly into his present. Continue reading →

Sep 23 2013

Batman and Robin 23.3: Ra’s al Ghul

Alternating Currents: Batman and Robin 23.3: Ra's al Ghul, Drew and SpencerToday, Drew and Spencer are discussing Batman and Robin 23.3: Ra’s al Ghul, originally released September 18th, 2013. This issue is part of the Villain’s Month event. Click here for our Villains Month coverage.

villain divDrew: I’m not sure I’ve ever “gotten” Ra’s al Ghul. Sure, as the immortal leader of a criminal empire, he’s a great villain, but I never fully understood why he’s a Batman villain. The best Batman rogues highlight some important element of Bruce Wayne: Joker’s gleeful chaos reflects Batman’s brooding order, for example. Without a gimmicky hook, I was always left thinking that Ra’s was meant to highlight Bruce’s mortality, which is kind of a defining characteristic, but one that is brought up every time he’s put in moral peril, so not really specific to Ra’s. With Batman and Robin 23.3: Ra’s al Ghul, writer James Tynion IV finds that parallel in the way both men wield myths to make them stronger, turning in a character-defining secret origin that actually builds on the character’s history, rather than simply rehashing it. Continue reading →

Sep 17 2013

Batman and Robin 23.2: Court of Owls

court of owls 23.2Today, Shelby and Scott are discussing Batman and Robin 23.2: Court of Owls, originally released September 11th, 2013. This issue is part of the Villain’s Month event. Click here for our Villains Month coverage.

villain divShelby: For being a new villain in the DC universe, the Court of Owls finds itself very firmly rooted in Gotham’s history. They’ve existed since the beginning, secretly running the city behind the scenes, shaping it into the image they want. They claim to be Owls,  but operate more like snakes: hiding and striking from the shadows, fleeing when the going gets tough. That is the lesson James Tynion is teaching us in this Villains Month issue; the Court of the Owls will always retreat to the shadows when faced with an unbeatable adversary. And those shadows go a lot deeper than you might think.

Continue reading →

Sep 9 2013

Batman and Robin 23.1: Two-Face

two-face 23.1

Today, Patrick and guest writer Gino are discussing Batman and Robin 23.1: Two-Face, originally released September 4th, 2013. This issue is part of the Villain’s Month event. Click here for our Villains Month coverage.

villain div

Patrick: Duality is the name of the game in Gotham City. You can be a hilarious clown, but you also have to be able to murder in cold blood on a whim. You can be an agent of justice, but you also have to be an overly violent vigilante. Two-Face encapsulates this idea directly, literally letting his moral alignment shift with the impartial flipping of a coin. He’s a villain, but only until he flips that coin one more time – then: who knows?
Continue reading →

Aug 26 2013

Batman and Nightwing 23

batman and nightwing 23

Today, Shelby and Mikyzptlk are discussing Batman and Nightwing 22, originally released August 21st, 2013.

Shelby: Grief is hard. Even the most well-adjusted, grounded person will struggle with it, and I think it’s pretty safe to say that Bruce Wayne is pretty far from well-adjusted. His grief over his parents’ deaths so many years ago still propels him forward, so it’s no surprise he’s been having difficulty letting go of Damian. It’s not until he lets himself see the grief in those around him that he really begins to move towards acceptance.

Continue reading →

Aug 20 2013

Villain Month Guide: Part 1 – Batman

villains month batman

In September, DC’s entire line is going to be highjacked by the villains of the universe. The creative teams frankenstiened together from DC’s regular stable of writers and artists, but — with a few exceptions — none of titles look like logical continuations of any of the current series. How’s a body supposed to know what they’re supposed to read? That’s where our four-part guide comes in.

Batman’s basically the most bankable superhero of all-time, due in no small part to his impressive rogues gallery. It’s no surprise, then, that over a quarter of the issues coming out next month hail from Gotham City. In part one of our guide, we’ll be going over the issues from Batman, Batman and Robin, Batman: The Dark Knight, and Detective Comics. Be sure to check out Part 2 – Superman and Earth-2 and Part 3 – Justice Leagues and Teen Titans. Continue reading →

Jul 22 2013

Batman and Catwoman 22

batman and catwoman 22

Today, Spencer and Mikyzptlk are discussing Batman and Catwoman 22, originally released July 17th, 2013.

Spencer: I’m probably in the minority among the Retcon Punch writers, but I’m actually a huge fan of Catwoman. When written properly she’s an unpredictable, fun character, but I’m particularly fond of her team-ups with Batman. Catwoman’s been a lot of things to Batman in the past: a villain, a temptation, an ally, and even a love interest, and each version brings out a new aspect of Batman’s personality. When you throw these two characters together you can never be quite sure how they’ll react, and their team-up in Batman and Catwoman 22 doesn’t disappoint; Selina even manages to make Batman smile.

Continue reading →

Jun 26 2013

Batman and Batgirl 21

batman and batgirl 21

Today, Drew and guest writer Gino Killiko are discussing Batman and Batgirl 21, originally released June 19th, 2013.

Drew: I have to admit, as a stage of grief, bargaining never made all that much sense to me — especially not as the third stage. I can accept that somebody might make an impassioned plea to whatever powers exist at the time of a loved one’s death, but I’m just not sure who people are bargaining with long after a loved one has died. It turns out, that is because the whole Kübler-Ross model that the “five stages of grief” are based on is actually adapted from the stages associated with an impending death, which kind of supports the notion that bargaining after the fact doesn’t necessarily make any sense. That might explain why Batman and Batgirl 21, which is meant to focus on the third stage of grief, doesn’t quite work. Continue reading →

May 14 2013

Batman and Red Hood 20

batman and red hood 20

Today, Drew and guest writer Michael D. are discussing Batman and Red Hood 20, originally released May 8th, 2013.

Drew: Bruce Wayne has never been particularly good at processing grief. He’s still driven by the death of his parents — actively and daily. In the wake of Damian’s death, Peter Tomasi has set out to follow Bruce through the five stages of grief, but has Bruce ever gone through all five stages? This month’s stage — anger — reveals a very familiar Batman, suggesting that he may have stalled out there 20+ years ago. Of course, both this issue (like last month’s) finds Bruce bargaining something fierce, so perhaps there’s hope he can progress, after all. Continue reading →

Apr 11 2013

Batman and Red Robin 19

batman and red robin 19

Today, Mikyzptlk and Shelby are discussing Batman and Red Robin 19, originally released April 10th, 2013.

Mikyzptlk: Some of the things we enjoy discussing here on Retcon Punch are the various themes that come up in the comics that we read. Sometimes those themes are buried deep within the surface of the story while other times they are a bit more telegraphed. With the latest issue of Batman and Rob –sorry– Batman and Red Robin, Peter Tomasi has chosen the latter option as he’s begun to take Bruce Wayne on a journey through the 5 stages of grief due to the loss of his son. There is no doubt that this issue is all about denial to the extent that it’s the actual title of the issue, but if Bruce is going through denial Tomasi is going to make sure he doesn’t do it alone. The obvious guest-star of this issue is Red Robin, but Tomasi has another surprise for you up his sleeve.  Continue reading →