I recently wrote a blog about who I think should win the battle for the cowl. I supplied the motives and now it’s time for the solution. I pride myself on having a good amount of detective skills. I’m not the best, but I’m good enough. So when I am asked a question, personally or impersonally, that I can’t just think up the answer on my own, I take the time to look at the clues and figure out the answer. So when I was asked “Who will win the battle of the cowl?”, I took the time to find out.

In my previous blog, I through out who should and shouldn’t win. Then I read the plot summary of Batman: Battle for the Cowl #1. It gave me the premise of what was to go on during this 3-month period. I looked at the three covers of the series and it told me who were contending for the win. That is where I got the material for my last blog. Then I took a look at the “I Am Batman” preview poster. There were small clues to what was really going to happen. Batwoman holding a magnifying glass led to one of the solutions. Then there was the picture of Nightwing, Red Hood, Robin, Catwoman, and Hush, that narrowed it down for me. The preview photo at the beginning of Batman RIP showed me that Catwoman would not be the winner. The fact that Hush was imprisoned in the batcave (or wherever he was), told me he wouldn’t win. Then I narrowed it down to Dick, Jason, and Tim. Then my cousin bought me Batman: Battle for the Cowl #2. I read it and saw what happened between Tim and Jason. That told me that if Tim could lose to Jason, he can’t possibly win. But DC has a way with underdog stories.

So then, I got a sneak peak at the cover of Red Robin #2 in the DC Nation during the week that Batman: Battle for the Cowl #2 came out. It told me that Tim would stay as Robin and someone will be Red Robin. Could have been Jason and it could have been Dick. The preview of the cover to Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3 covered up the corner of the page so I couldn’t see what was there, even though you can tell there is something there.

Then I looked up the covers and summaries of the DC titles of June 2009. I saw that there were going to be six Batman related comic series that will be in DCU continuity. Batman and Detective Comics were going to continue with the same numbering. Only difference was that Detective Comics is going to star Batwoman and the Question in separate stories. Since Nightwing, Robin, Birds of Prey, and Catwoman got canceled, they each had to get something new. Gotham City Sirens is a new series starting in June that will star Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. The other three series are Batman and Robin, Batman: Streets of Gotham, and Red Robin. It turns out that Batman: Streets of Gotham has a side story starring Manhunter. At first, I was thinking that Jason Todd finally got his own series. But I read the summary and it said “Who is Red Robin?” So then it was narrowed down to Dick, Jason, and Tim. Because of the DC Nation version of the cover to Red Robin #2, I was leaning towards Dick and Jason more. Then I saw the cover of Batman and Robin #1. The shot of the new Batman and Robin from the beginning of Batman RIP told me that the new Robin is younger than Tim. When I saw the uncovered version of the new Robin, I knew for sure that it was Damian Wayne. This told me that Tim had to grow up to take on a new role.

Then I looked up the covers and summaries of the DC titles of July 2009. The summary of Batman #688 said that the new Batman had to train the new Robin. That tells me that the new Batman has to have experience to be able to train Damian Wayne as Robin.

The summaries of Red Robin #1 and #2 say that the new Red Robin is on a global search for Bruce Wayne. This means that he is an expert detective. Out of all the Robins, Dick is the aerial expert, Jason is the fighting expert, and Tim is the detective expert. On the cover of Red Robin #2, it showed Spoiler in the area that was covered in DC Nation. On the Robin vs. Spoiler side, it’s in daylight. On the Red Robin vs. the League of Assassins side, its in moonlight. The summary of Red Robin #2 also says: “And what happened to the life Red Robin left behind?” It also says that Spoiler appears in the issue. This told me that Red Robin is actually Tim Drake. Since Damian became Robin, Tim had to either be Batman or Red Robin. Now I know he will become Red Robin.

After figuring out that Tim becomes Red Robin and Damian becomes Robin, I narrowed it down to Dick and Jason. Then I remembered that all of this is happening on Earth-1 aka New Earth. That means that good defeats evil. Only times that good loses is when DC needs to kill off a character for evolution or legal reasons. So then it’s obvious that Dick will beat Jason. Another clue to this is that in every image of the new Batman, he is in the costume that Dick wears in the “I Am Batman” preview poster, not the costume that Jason wears.

So in result, I know that Dick Grayson will become Batman, Tim Drake will become Red Robin, and Damian Wayne will become Robin. The only results that are not known, are the fates of Azrael, Oracle, and Batgirl.

On top of all of this, in Gotham City Sirens #2, Hush escapes and runs around posing as Bruce Wayne. Catwoman and the other sirens try to take him down. Also, Ra’s al Ghul is hunting Red Robin. And, Batwoman finds her own Joker in a villain known only as Alice.

If you don’t believe me, look at the clues from Batman RIP, Battle For The Cowl, and the summaries and covers to June and July’s issues. It’s all there.

Now we know what will happen, but what we need to know is why it happens. Read the rest of the issues in the 16-part crossover during the 3-month period. Find out why. I will be doing the same. I hope I settled your minds if you didn’t want to wait to find out. I also hope I didn’t ruin it for anyone who didn’t want to know yet.

Jessie aka The Mess
www.myspace.com/themess1428