New start for Bruce and great stand-alone
I loved this issue. It's a great #1, and it's a great stand-alone story. It begins with a bit of emotional tension, which shows a significant change to Bruce's character and an incredibly important step in his evolution, something that we haven't seen in a long time. We see him let go of the past in a fairly different way than he ever has before, and while some may call this as out-of-character, personally I just think that Bruce is becoming a more dynamic character.
Damian is in true Damian form right here--disrespectful. Even though he idolised his father previously, it's coming out now that perhaps Bruce isn't living up to his time with Dick. Bruce is a father. Bruce is more controlling. This is honestly something that I called from the very beginning--I knew that once Bruce stepped back into the cowl, Damian would be acting this way towards him. The inclusion of a Batman, Inc. member and a great set-up for the ongoing storyline made this issue feel perfect--a great summation of past, present, and immediate future of Bruce and Damian as Batman and Robin.
GOOD
- Great art: detailed, significantly dark, great designs.
- Firmly establishes some DCnU canon--all of the Robins stand, as does Batman, Inc. (which is incorporated wonderfully here).
- Teases in a great way for what's coming up, the ongoing story
- Shows evolution of Bruce and some sort of change (devolution?) for Damian
BAD
- Might not be good for the unversed reader who has no idea who Damian is--it's easy to figure out that he's Batman's son, but there's little-to-no explanation as to the status quo of the Bat-family and how it got there.
- Some might see the changes to both characters as a change with no explanation or a change to them fundamentally--many (like this reviewer) will see it as an evolution.
VERDICT
Pick it up!
