I have never been a huge Robin fan outside of the Teen Titans. I have never collected Robin’s solo title. However, so many people were raving about the One Year Later storyline that I decided to pick up this title with the beginning of the One Year Later storyline. I was impressed. I found the story to be fun and the artwork to be nice. I have never had any connection or interest in Batgirl so her heel turn didn’t bother me. I am rather looking forward to Robin #151. Let’s go to the review.
Creative Team
Writer: Adam Beechen
Artist: Freddie E. Williams II
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10.
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10.
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10.
Synopsis: This issue starts with Robin holding a gun to David Caine’s head. Robin decides that he is not going to cross that line and kill someone even if the world would be much better off without David Caine in it. Robin and Cassandra Cain start brawling. Robin tells Cassie that she is sick and needs help. Cassie tells Robin that she is tired of being lied to and used. That Batman kept secret files on JLA members so why wouldn’t he use Robin as bait in his crazy crusade against crime. Cassie then grabs the gun and shoots David Caine. Robin runs to David Caine and with his last breath, Caine tells Robin that Cassandra and Annalea weren’t the only ones. That there were others.
We then cut to a teenager with a bandana around his face foiling an attempted break in by a couple of punks. The teenager is able to teleport and quickly takes out the two punks. The teenage then says that this was a great first night out for Gotham City’s newest super hero. (Oh man. Your ass is grass once Batman finds you are operating on his turf. Well, maybe not since this new Batman is pretty much a wuss.)
We shift back to Robin brawling with Cassandra’s ninjas. Robin tells Cassandra that he is going to bring her in for all of the murders she has committed. And that he will also see to it that Cassandra gets the help that she needs. That he isn’t going to lose another person important from his life.
We then shift to some crazy guy raving to two police officers that he worked for the Joker for seven years. That the Joker had so many plans that even forgot some of them. But, that one of the plans is set to go off any day and when it does all of Gotham will perish.
We cut back to Robin and Cassandra facing off against each other on top of an oil tower. Cassandra says that she can’t beat him. She can read all of his moves and knows his fighting style and technique. Robin responds that he will just have to hit her hard and as often as he can. And with that we have a braaaawwl! This brutal fight is cut short when they both notice that the firs from Robin’s bombs that he took out the Ninjas with earlier is about to cause the oil tower that they are standing on to explode.
Cassandra runs one way and Robin runs the other way. We see Robin jump and fly through the air as the oil tower explodes behind him. When Robin finally picks himself off the ground, he notices that the ninjas have had their necks broken and that David Cain is gone and so is Cassandra.
We shift to Robin back in Gotham. Robin’s mini-cam recorded everything that happened at the oil fields. It should be enough to clear his name from the murder charge. Robin bemoans the fact that he has lost yet another person from his life. He wonders why he lets anyone get close to him. Suddenly, Killa Nilla (That name just cracks me up every time.) approaches Robin. Nilla gives Robin the boomerang and tells Robin that the guy who gave it to him said you’d know who’s it from. Nilla tells Robin that the guy said that he was looking for Robin. Robin thinks to himself that Captain Boomerang is supposedly a good guy operating with the Outsiders. Robin thinks that Captain Boomerang wants to finish what his father started. Robin says that the apple never falls far from the tree. That Cassandra has shown him that. Robin then grabs the boomerang and says “And now I’m looking for him!” End of issue.
Comments
The Good: This was a good issue. Nothing amazing, but solid and entertaining. I liked the fight scene between Robin and Cassandra. Cassandra makes a good point about Batman being paranoid and not trusting anyone. Yeah, the old Batman just might use Robin as a tool in his crusade against crime. But, now that Batman has been wussed out since Infinite Crisis, I don’t think that the Batman Cassandra views is anything close to the Batman that now exists.
We also learn that David Caine trained other little psychopathic school girls besides Cassandra and Annalea. That was a pretty interesting little piece of information which should make for an entertaining storyline at some point in the future.
The scene with this new teenage super hero that can teleport sets up a new story arc that will be fleshed out in the coming issues. I’m not too sure how interested I am in a new teenage super hero in Gotham. But, I’ll reserve judgment at this point until I see where Beechen is going with this plotline.
The scene with the crazy old man who used to work for the Joker is yet another new plotline that Beecham is introducing. I’m interested to see what Joker’s plan that he forgot about is actually going to do.
I enjoyed the final fight scene between Robin and Cassandra. Robin is terrified at losing yet another important person in his life. That is entirely understandable. You can really feel Robin’s fear of losing Cassandra. I love how Robin responds when facing Cassandra who is a more talented fighter. Robin just knuckles up his fists and goes the old fashioned way. Just pound your opponent as hard as you can as much as you can. Nothing pretty or fancy. Just an old school beat down. This scene really showed Robins grit and toughness.
And then we get the ominous ending after the explosion of the oil tower. David Caine’s body is missing. Cassandra is missing. We know that this is not the last of Cassandra Caine. She is going to turn up again. And why not? I think Cassandra makes for a wonderfully complex and intriguing villain. I am more interested in her character as a villain than I ever was as a derivative super hero in Batgirl.
The ending of this Robin #151 was well done. Robin has gotten enough evidence to clear his name, but his heart is heavy. Robin has lost yet another person from his life. The reader really feels Robin’s pain. This poor guy has been through hell over the past year or so with the death of his father, the death of Superboy and now this with Cassandra. I don’t know how much more Tim can take before he just snaps.
I also liked Tim’s reaction to being given the boomerang. Robin is pissed off and is a man who feels that he has nothing left to lose. That is a very dangerous adversary to face. I pity Captain Boomerang when he tangles with Robin. This was a great hook at the end of this issue. I cannot wait for the next issue to see what happens when Robin and Captain Boomerang lock horns.
I think that Adam Beecham is doing a great job with the writing duties. Robin #151 was well paced and had a good mix of action and dialogue. This issue also advanced the plotline and wrapped up Beecham’s first story arc rather nicely. Beecham also introduced two new plotlines in this issue with the teenage super hero and the ex-thug who worked for Joker. Plus, Beecham brought the Captain Boomerang plotline from last issue up to the forefront as the next major story arc. Beecham is doing a very nice job with his various plotlines and is delivering a very organized, focused and well managed story.
I like Freddie Williams II artwork. I think the art compliments the story and is nice to look at. Williams draws great facial expressions and is able to convey a lot of emotion through his art. I think Williams’ style fits a comic book like Robin.
The Bad: Even though, overall, I do enjoy Williams artwork, at times it is a bit too cartoonish for me. Plus, I have a problem with how young Robin looks in his solo title as compared to how he looks in Batman and in the Teen Titans. In his solo title, Robin looks 13. In Batman he looks 16. In the Teen Titans he looks 18. There needs to be more consistency between the titles.
Overall: I thought that Robin #151 was a good read. I think Beecham is doing all the right things in managing his various plotlines and delivering an entertaining storyline with a good pace. I understand that many people will hate this title because of what happened with Cassandra. That is understandable. However, I still think that Robin is a quality comic book that is worth checking out.