Batman and Robin's final issue is here. To celebrate, they go to Paris and face off against some brand new villains.
The Good
Nightrunner is back. Based on all the attention he's received since his debut, you would think we'd see more of him. Perhaps he'll get more page time in 2012 when Batman, Inc returns. The set up we have here is great. When I first heard about the Dynamic Duo going to Paris and the mention of the French equivalent of Arkham Asylum is just so cool to me. The new villain that debuts here causes a break out and that means even more new villains for our heroes to fight.
Damian is his usual jerky self. Dick manages to shine as Batman, being prepared for the different situations for the most part. The best part is when we get the full backstory on the new villain and the way the issue ends. That amped it up for me a bit.
The Bad
Something just felt off. Part of it might be that this is the final issue of this series before it relaunches in September. Because we're coming out of the Jason Todd arc, it feels like we're just thrown into the story here. You could even say that it feels like a filler issue as it is completely self-contained and it's hard to say whether or not anything that happens here will have any lasting impact on the Batman Universe after September's new #1. There were moments where the art didn't work for me. Sometimes Dick or Damian's heads were just too round. And if I want to nitpick, Dck's bat-emblem was too big. It looked like he was borrowing a shirt from Nightrunner.
The Verdict
There are some very cool elements here. Nightrunner is someone I want to see more of. We can only hope that he will have a bigger role or more appearances when Batman, Inc is relaunched next year. If nothing else, the mention of the French equivalent of Arkham Asylum could open the doors to even more new villains and stories in the future. Unfortunately the issue felt more like a fill in issue. Despite the cool designs of the new villains, the art fell a little flat at times. I would have hoped for more in the final issue of this series. Nice set up for possible future stories. Let's hope we see more of Nighrunner and the Paris Arkham Asylum.