Batgirl #10: I know some people hate Barbara's narration of these issues. Me? I love it. I mean, I totally LOLed when she punched Katharsis and commented, "Well. That was satisfying." But, beyond the jokes, Simone uses Barbara's inner monologue for a more serious purpose. First, it gives us insights into Barbara that we wouldn't necessarily get with an omniscient (or absent) narrator, such as when Simone highlights Barbara's compassion as she tends to Ricky, the would-be car thief who finds himself caught in a mysterious bear-trap as he attempts to flee her. But, more abstractly, Simone uses the narration not only to give some additional depth to Barbara as she returns to crime fighting, but also to ruminate on the nature of crime fighting in general. I thought Simone raised a really interesting point by having Barbara wonder how ethical it was for someone like her to take on the aforementioned car thieves, givent the obvious difference in equipment and skills. In fact, this debate serves as a coda of sorts to scenes in "Batman and Robin" #10, where Tomasi and Gleason depict the results of the brutal methods that Batman often employs to take down criminals. He may not kill, but Tomasi makes it clear that Bruce hasn't thought about the questions that Simone raises here in a long time. Beyond using Barbara's narration to question the Bruce-centric view of crime-fighting, Simone uses Charise's "charity" to expand the criticism of Bruce's way of doing business, raising the valid point that Wayne is imposing his view from above whereas other reformers work within the community to effect change. It's a rare moment of criticism of Bruce's methods -- as a crime fighter and as a wealthy philanthropist -- and I don't think that we would've had as nuanced of a discussion if we weren't privy to Barbara's inner monologue. Of course, Simone reminds us that it's Gotham, after all, since Carnes is apparently a homicidal maniac who, at best, "only" keeps a naked tortured guy chained in a cage, and, at worst, murdered her entire family. Oh, Gotham. Good times. Maybe Bruce isn't so wrong. I'm intrigued to see where Simone goes with this "Knightfall" concept, since she seems to be positing Carnes (who is probably Knightfall) as a twisted Bruce, both as a "crime fighter" and wealthy philanthropist. It could fall flat, but it could also be really, really interesting. We shall see.
Batman and Robin #10: If you've been reading my reviews of "Batman and Robin," you'll know that I was less than impressed with Tomasi's opening arc. Although it had some redeeming moments, I felt like Tomasi made Bruce and Damian's efforts to build a relationship with one another more about the relationship itself than any real desire to connect with the other person. Bruce seemed more focused on upholding his obligation to Damian than helping Damian, and Damian focused more on proving his worth to Bruce than understanding Bruce. I had decided to cancel the series, but I stayed for its participation in the "Night of the Owls" cross-over event. But, then, I saw the advertised "War of the Robins" and decided that I just had to see where Tomasi went with it. One of the reason that I have been so disappointed with Tomasi is that he had previously given us some of the best portrayals of Dick and Damian as a team in the DCU, a relationship he's largely ignored in this title, the only one to really feature Damian. Based on his previous adroitness with the former dynamic duo, I figured Tomasi, more than anyone, could really bring it to a war between the Robins, so I decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did. Tomasi directly addresses a lot of my angst with the Bat-books lately, namely the difficult relationships between the Robins. Dick and Tim both feel that Jason and Damian have tarnished the legacy of Robin, and Tomasi places that conflict at the center of this arc. He takes Damian's obsession with proving his worth to Bruce to its logical conclusion, having him decide to defeat each former Robin and take something personal from him to show that he's the best. Tomasi wisely starts with Tim, since we all know a "War of the Robins" is really going to be a war between Damian and Tim. Damian surprises me with his perceptiveness here, deciding to take on Tim where he feels he's the strongest, namely his moral code. Damian uses Tim's recent experience in the Colony to show that he also has the ability to commit murder. Although Tim, of course, has a fairly easy rebuttal (noting that, although he considered it, he didn't actually kill Fist Point for murdering Artemis), it's clear that Damian has shaken him by so easily comparing their methods. Moreover, Tomasi deepens the plot here by making it clear that Dick and Tim don't know about Damian murdering Ducard. Damian's attempt to get Tim to see his side of the murder debate is clearly driven by this incident. I'm guessing that he's trying to do it becuase he assumes that Tim will one day discover the truth, a moment that will ultimately prove him right about Damian. If Damian can get Tim to at least understand why someone would murder someone else, he might have a chance of getting accepted by him, something that we all know Damian desparately wants (and is really at the center of this "war"). As such, I thought the use of this line of attack, if you will, by Damian against Tim and the failure of Bruce to tell the others the truth about Ducard were real masterstrokes by Tomasi, framing the differences between them and their issues -- past, present, and future -- perfectly. It'll ultimately, to my mind, be the way that Tomasi handles Damian's decision to go after Dick, the only one who has really truly accepted him, that will ultimately determine how I feel about this arc. But, Tomasi makes a good start here, showing the sort of psychological depth of these complicated characters that made me so enjoy his original run. It also makes me less annoyed about the characters' portrayals in the initial arc, since Tomasi makes it clear that maybe I'm just hoping for too much when it comes to Bruce and Damian. Maybe they are only capable, at least now, of going through the motions of a relationship. All in all, it was an excellent issue, though I'm reserving ultimate judgment until I see the Dick scenario.
Superboy #10: Did I initially think that Lobdell overplayed the sexual tension between Cassie and "Kon" here? Yes, yes, I did. But, then, as I kept reading, I realized that I was wrong. Lobdell, I think, accurately captured how two super-powered teenagers who suddenly find themselves seeing each other in a different light would act. In fact, it felt like we were watching a documentary of two kids on some sort of school retreat. Their mutual attraction makes them suspicious of one another, fearing that the other would see them for who they truly are rather than as the image of themselves that they want to project. As the story progresses, they begin to let down their guard, letting them see each other for who they are. They have a moment, but their insecurities come to the fore, and they're driven apart by distrust. But, this distrust only lasts as long as it takes for a mutual challenge to present itself. We'll see how the story ends in "Teen Titans" #10, but, as I had hoped when this series initially began by severely rebooting Conner, Lobdell seems to have hit the fast-forward button in making him more human. Oddly, it's through Lobdell's attempt to portray "Kon" as fumbling through a world of human emotions that shows that he has them. On at least two occasions -- when he suggests that he and Cassie leave the Titans to their fate on the island and later when he asks Cassie why she wears her costume even though she describes wearing it as "Hell" -- it's Kon's inability to understand Cassie's emotions, or, as Cassie notes, read social cues that causes conflict. But, we see Kon suddenly find the inspiration he previously lacked to overcome this problem. After all, by using his tactile telekinesis to "see" Cassie in the pool, we're reminded that he might be a pretty regular straight teenage boy after all. Maybe, just maybe, we're going to get back our guy.
X-Factor #237: While the rest of the X-books are awash in cross-over mania, David goes in the exact opposite direction by giving us a character-driven story focused on trying to get Rahne to move past four years of tragic storylines. David uses Madrox's Episcopalian-priest clone as the vehicle for forcing Rahne to confront her perceived sins, from eating her father (yuck) to abandoning her son. David manages to inject some humor in the issue by sending Lorna and Terry to the Ben and Jerry's factory. I loved the fact that he just let them go get some ice cream. In most comics, they would've been attacked by, like, ice-cream demons or something, but, nope, David just lets them get some ice cream while Rahne gets some needed absolution. In the end, David uses this one-off issues to set up a future story, as Rahne commits to finding her son. One of the things that's starting to get really interesting about David's 12-member roster is that you really never know who you're going to get from issue to issue. The last two issues featured an action-oriented story about Madrox and Shatterstar trying to save the X-Ceptionals, and this one gives us a character-driven one about Lorna, Rahne, and Terry. Since we've got a variety of sub-plots simmering -- such as the hints that we've seen of the Isolationist and his mysterious ally's scheme and Shatterstar stumbling upon Mojo's involvement in the recent attacks -- you just never know whether the issue is going to be a pitched drama moving forward those plots or a quiet reflection on who the characters are as people. It's the reason why this book seems to be the anti-thesis of everything else Marvel seems to be serving us lately.
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