Red Robin was a good read. Nothing really special about this issue but over all I enjoyed it. Tim is still overseas working with the league of assassin.
Creative Team:
Story:Christopher Yost
Pencils:Marcus To
Inks:Ray McCarthy
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Nigh Girls out of 10
Synopsis:The story starts out with a woman sitting at a bar and the gentleman down the bar checking her out. Red Robin is narrating about the five venom related deaths. The League of Assassins investigated them but the rogue assassin was never found so they eventually dropped the investigation.
Tim says they never bothered to cross-reference the occurrences in other countries but he did and Victoria was on the move. The girl and they guy are making out back at his apartment. Then he is laying on the floor dead and they lady is touching her lips. Tim says that her targets were random. Except this one she didn’t realize that she could have gotten a million dollars for killing him. That was the leagues first contact with the Wanderer.
London, Now. Tim is talking about the League of Assassins and how they exist to protect Ra’s. Other than people like Shiva and Merlyn they are all faceless killers and ninjas that Tim gets to fight here and there. In a way they are actually a business, they take contracts and carry them out. There are three hits going down, a politician in London, A CEO in Athens, and an adulterous wife in Budapest.
A business man is coming out of a room with his security behind him. Tim narrates how life means nothing to these killers. That it is ironic that the man who wants to live forever surrounds himself with death.
The League of Assassins are now being killed. Tim says that part of him says they deserve it. They are getting what they sow, but if that was how Tim worked then the Joker would have been dead a thousand times over. He says thats the rule and he’ll hold on to it no matter what.
Tim says that no one dies especially since he’s the one that ordered these hits. Tim is coming down on a roof top followed by ninjas preparing to fight one person.
Tim is on a computer and the Expediter and White Ghost are standing behind him. Tim says normally he’d think that Ra’s is desperate since Tim has got access to every database and detail of the Leagues. Expediter and White Ghost are talking behind Tim. Expediter wants to kill him now, but White Ghost says it isn’t their place to question the Demon’s Head. Tim was listening in of course while also memorizing everything he sees on the computer. He says they had no idea how deep the League went.
Tim tells Expediter that he needs a moment alone with White Ghost. Expediter objects but White Ghost tells him to leave. Tim asks White Ghost what he did to Expediter because he really hates him. White Ghost says that Ra’s word is the law but Expediter is right to want him dead. White Ghost says the giving Tim the keys to the Kingdom is a mistake, but he is going to deal with the spiders the same way he should be dealing with him, with finality.
It is his job to protect the interests of Ra’s as it is with every other member of the league. Tim says that’s interesting considering that Expediter is working for the Spider Council. White Ghost says that’s impossible.
Robin says loyal or not Expediter was the only one who knew when and where each of the hits were going to take place. He would issue the kill orders then alert the spider council. White Ghost says Expediter would rather die than betray Ra’s. Robin says that nobody knows anybody that well. The White Ghost says that Ra’s does. White Ghosts says that a mother and her two children are sitting down to dinner as they speak. They are the Expediter’s family and White Ghost has men waiting to kill them. He says that is why Expediter is loyal to Ra’s because if he doesn’t all he holds dear will die.
Of course Robin gets angry and tells White Ghost that he won’t let him do that. White Ghost reminds him that he is not dealing with his friends and Ra’s isn’t a member of the Justice Society.
He says the league does not fight crime and they are not going to capture the Spider Society. They have a debt to society and they are going to kill them. If Tim acts against the league there will be consequences. Tam Fox now walks into the cave asking Tim if she should come back later.
Budapest, Now. Robin is telling a foe to surrender. He says that if he talks to him he will make it out alive. Pru is standing beside Robin with a gun pointed at the man. Robin doesn’t expect his strategy to work. Surrounded by a dozen ninjas the man springs into action.
Robin knocks the gun out of Pru’s hand which of course is firing. He tells her she knows his conditions and he needs the guy alive. Pru still isn’t talking to him. The man from the spider council draws first blood with a swipe of his claws across one of the ninjas face. It appears to be just a flesh wound but the ninja dies almost instantly. The skin around the wounds goes black. The toxin in the claws can kill in seconds. Robin feels responsible for the ninjas death, just like his dad’s.
The assassin that was supposed to kill the guy reported him dead once he got there. He is waiting for the Wanderer when she comes out. He tells her she has nerves of steel for poaching a league’s kill. He tells her if she was anybody else they would already be dead, but he likes her and can bring her into the league. That was the last they ever heard from that guy.Back to the apartment with the dead guy in it from before. The Wanderer is taking a shower.
We cut to Gotham City where Lucius Fox is sitting behind his desk attempting to reach his daughter in England. Vicki Vale is sitting on the other side of his desk. She says she has questions and she can also see when their being avoided. She says ever since the recent gang war that Wayne Industries have been dumping unheard of amounts into Gotham. Attempting to change the city like Bruce Wayne never had before.
Lucius asks Vicki what her question is. She says she wants an interview with Bruce. Lucius says that he doesn’t make Bruce’s schedule and that she of all people should know that Bruce could be anywhere, but she doesn’t need to bother because she can ask him herself.
Thomas Elliot/Bruce Wayne walks in and says hi to Vicki. He tells her she should have just called him instead of looking around for him although he has enjoyed watching her sniff around. He’d be happy to answer any questions since his life is practically an open book to her anyways. Then in the usual Bruce Wayne fashion asks her to dinner.
Back to Robin’s fight. He says its not going as well as he’d like. Four of the ninjas and the man from the Spider Council are jumping from one roof top to another. Robin says this fight is nothing after having to fight his dead parents back in Gotham.
The guy is swiping at a ninja but interrupted by one of Robin’s discs. Pru is still shooting at the guy but still hasn’t been able to hit the guy. Robin politely shoves his staff into the guys face knocking him back down to the rooftop and giving Robin the advantage.
He kicks Robin in the face, then elbows Pru in the stomach knocking her off the roof. Robin says its hard to focus because he keeps seeing them, the black lanterns. He’s glad that Dick was there even though things have been tense between them. Robin shoots a grapple down to catch Pru. He says he owes her, he couldn’t save Owens and Z though, but doing that leaves him open to the guy from the Spider Council.
Robin jumps back avoiding the claws of death. He says by the sound they make when hitting the hard surface of the roof you can tell their artificial. With a nice kick to the gut the attacker falls away from Robin. Robin tells the guy that he needs to stop playing around because he is getting annoyed with it. That apparently really pissed the guy off causing him to jump and inform Tim that he is dead. Tim can tell by the accent that the guys is American. With that Robin blocks his attack by kicking him in the face.
Back to Panama City. The hotel room has been destroyed and the assassin is dead. The Wanderer is in the corner laughing and all she says is assassins.
Back to Robin and Pru, who is back on the roof beside Robin. Robin tells the guy that he needs to talk because if he doesn’t then the League takes over and he won’t like that. The guy says that he has never been beaten in a fight and if Robin wants to talk then he’ll have to fight him again.
Robin continues throwing out questions. He asks who are the Spider Council. The guy responds with his name is Recluse and instead of asking about the council Robin should be wandering how his other “hits” went.
Robin’s radio goes off. He’s asked if he is still alive. White Ghost is standing on a roof top surrounded by dead ninjas. Robin tells him that he and Pru survived and that they’ve got one of the council. White Ghost tells him that Beta and Gamma teams are dead and that the Spider Council knew everything he was doing. Robin and Pru were the only ones who survived the three attacks.
Recluse says that there weren’t three attacks but four attacks and the fourth is about to begin. Robin says that they need to get back to the cradle instantly.
Tam is at the Cradle. There is a man at the computer and she asks if he knows where Tim Wayne is. Once she turns him around….wait for it…. SURPRISE!! he’s dead and covered in spiders. Tim says he left Tam once already back in Gotham and she still trusted him. Now he’s left her alone again. Tam backs up and runs into a big creepy monster hiding in the shadows.
It’s a giant human/spider and a man with a sickle. He introduces himself as Sac and that his giant friend is Goliath and they have come there to hunt. Tam Fox trusted Tim and he just got her killed.
Overall: I enjoyed Red Robin #6. If you haven’t read this series yet this wouldn’t be a hard issue to pick up whats going on. Most of the critical parts can be figured out from the context of the dialog. One complaint about the issue i did have was the amount of jumping from one place to another. I’m anxious to see how the Spider Council plays out in the future issues.
_______________________________________________________________
Joel