Tim vs Damian
Summary : Damian has hacked the file on the bat computer that contains Tims hit list , an overview over the villains he wants to hunt down . He makes a discovery that upsets him …
Tim gives a press conference in which he announces that two corrupt cops are trying to ignite a gang war.
Vicki Vale reveals that she might have gotten very close to finding out the secret identities of the bat family.
Robin and Red Robin go out on patrol to catch a villain. Damian suddenly attacks Tim …Red wipes the floor with the boy before Dick intervenes.
We find out why Damian attacked ….
The good: The art by Marcus To in this book is very good. The characterization of Dick and Tim is overall well done and you get to see how Tim slowly reestablishes himself in Gotham after he has lost his position as Robin because of Damian. Vicki Vales role in the story is quite cool... The scene between all three brothers at the end of the issue is very heart-wrenching and you learn more about each character. Overall, this might have been a solid issue.
The bad: Looking back on this series as a whole I get the feeling that Fabian Nicieza still wrote Damian as a kid that only exists to cause trouble for the bat family when Morrison already made Damian a more complex and likeable character. At the end of the issue he humanizes him somewhat by explaining his motivation, but there is no actual character development, making me wonder why he made Tim and Damian fight in the first place. Because it is fun to see a character that is disliked by a part of the fandom beaten and humiliated? I guess so, we`ve seen it time and time again, but usually that character is then portrayed in an overall negative way. At the end of the issue Damian suddenly turns from an unlikeable little punk into a sad little boy, which made me feel bad for him … and not in a good way.
What happens in this issue besides interaction between Dick, Tim and Damian is really not that interesting.
Verdict: Do not pick up that issue unless you want to read the entire red robin series! If you want to see a fight between Damian and Tim pick up issue #10 of Batman and Robin which portrays the conflict from both Tim and Damians perspective .
