Line stuck in my head
"Pistachio ice-cream in the TOASTER OVEN! Oh most excellent!"
Thats the line stuck in my head forever. The first issue of Azrael in the aftermath of the whole KnightSaga was a brave move. Brave in the sense that with the total and utter contempt of the Azbats character, Denny ONeil still went ahead with giving Jean Paul Valley his own personal playground. What followed was a whole new dimension to the Batman family... the one where Jean Paul Valley had his own set of adventures and his own road to self-discovery.
The issue starts off pretty much where we left Jean Paul off; homeless and to fend off for himself. Obviously still in dementia after losing the mantle of the Bat and barely aware of his own identity, Jean Paul fends off against street thugs trying to steal his shoes. Nevertheless, Jean Paul still seems to have the mysterious "System" still controlling his aggression, his fighting abilities and helps him to emerge victorious with relative ease. Jean Paul also befriends Brian Bryan, aka "the world's worst psychiatrist" in that he's just as down on his luck, but has a penchant for the bottle.
Elsewhere, The Order of St. Dumas is reflecting over to choose a replacement Azrael, now that Jean Paul has fallen off the radar completely. Tension is high as choosing a new Azrael goes against the standard rituals of following a particular bloodline. Meanwhile Batman decides he just can't let Jean Paul wither away as he feels responsible for the condition he's in now and sets off to help the former protege.
To me, Jean Paul is technically what Jason Todd is today: the one that fell out of line and Batman's original "biggest mistake". Like Todd, Valley has received the same training and then some... along with being Gotham's protector for a long time during KnightSaga. The comparison between Jason Todd and Dick Grayson could also be done with Valley & Grayson with the same output: while Grayson's the one son that Batman will always be proud of, Todd & Valley will always be the ones that just didn't get it right and ended up worse for their own good.
Still, at least Jean Paul didn't fall into oblivion and got a chance to shine on his own, and this first issue showcased just what troubles Jean Paul had with recognizing who he was, and what other important factors depended upon his existence. The back & forth exchanges with Valley an Bryan were very well written and set the tone for the gritty beginning of this series. This issue is the start of a whole new saga which will show another side to what Batman's proteges are capable of.
