Review: Robin: Son of Batman Vol. 2- Dawn of the Demons

Quick Summary

Pros: The beginning of this book sees the fun and lighthearted action that made the first volume great.

Cons: The middle of this book is mediocre and the ending is bad. Batman and Talia’s interactions feel inauthentic and weird for anyone who knows their history up to this point.

Overall: This is a book that starts out great in the beginning, mediocre in the middle, and poor at the end. The continuation of themes and plot points from the first volume are the standouts here, while the rest of the book fails to capture that initial energy. Fans of the Robin: Son of Batman series will find a lot to love at the beginning of this book but will be slowly disappointed as it continues.

Review Notes:

The first issue in this collection, Robin: Son of Batman #7, is Part 5 of the “Robin War” storyline. This means that this issue is generally unrelated to the rest of the Robin: Son of Batman series. For this reason we will not be discussing it in this review, rather, it will be included in our review of the Robin War collection (found here).

This review will cover issues #8-13 of Robin: Son of Batman.

Story

While Robin: Son of Batman Vol. 1: Year of Blood (Review) was a great Robin story that was hampered by a few flaws, Robin: Son of Batman Vol. 2: Dawn of the Demons is an average Robin story that is hampered by a few more flaws. It starts out great and manages to capture the essence of what made the first volume as fun as it was. However, it slowly worsens in quality as the book progresses, ending with a rushed and unenjoyable conclusion. I had high hopes going into this book but those hopes were simply not realized.

(spoilers start here)

The beginning of this book starts out on the right foot and continues the same quality that was seen in Robin: Son of Batman Vol. 1: Year of Blood (Review). It sees great emotional moments from Damian, furthers the Boy Wonder’s relationship with Goliath and Maya, and has some decent action as well. The second issue even feels like it belongs better in Vol. 1: Year of Blood (Review) as it is a flashback to events which took place during that story.

The middle of this book is where things go from good to average. It shifts the story to follow Suren Darga, the son of Den Darga, who is out to finish what his father started. Along the way, Damian, Goliath, Maya, Talia, and Batman have to team up in order to stop him. This is by no means a bad story, but it feels a little like it is just a rehash of the previous volume instead of being a brand new arc. In addition, it contains a lot of inauthentic interactions from Batman and Talia (discussed below).

The ending of this story is where things go from average to bad. The penultimate issue ends with Robin forging some sort of connection with Suren Darga through mutual upbringings. It seems like this was designed to be the emotional punch of the arc, yet it completely falls flat. Readers were only introduced to Suren Darga two issues earlier and were never alerted to any sort of moral ambiguity within the child. If his character were more developed then this ending might have meant a little more. Yet the way it was presented just did not work out.

The last issue is also beset with problems. Right off the bat, this issue feels like it does not belong at all, as the issue before it wrapped up almost everything. Then, this issue goes on to focus almost entirely on the strained relationship between Suren and Den Darga. This plotline proves to be about as deep as it did in the issue before it. Overall the ending is disappointing and not nearly as poignant as it tries to be.

In addition to a less than satisfactory ending, this collection also presents a rather odd dynamic between Batman and Talia. They are depicted as if they were simply bitter exes, with the two even appearing flirtatious at points. Damian is then depicted as if here were a child of divorce who just wants to see his parents get along. This depiction is at odds with past events as Talia killed Damian and nearly ruined Batman’s life in doing so. This makes reading their reunion feel very inauthentic and damages any scene where they interact.

(spoilers end here)

Art

This volume sees the departure of Patrick Gleason as artist and the addition of Ramon Bachs. Though Ramon Bachs’ work resembles Gleason’s, it is just not quite up to the same level. It lacks the refined quality seen in Gleason’s work and comes across worse because of this. Overall it does not look bad and the collection is not hurt by this artistic change, but it simply does not look as good as the previous volume did.

Continuity

Robin: Son of Batman Vol. 2: Dawn of the Demons flows directly out of the events of Robin: Son of Batman Vol. 1: Year of Blood (Review).

Since this volume is the last in the series, there is no direct continuation of the storyline. However, Damian’s story continues in Teen Titans Vol. 1: Damian Knows Best (Review) and Damian/Maya both appear in the “In the Name of the Father: World’s Smallest” storyline from the Superman series, which is collected in Superman Vol. 2: Trial of the Super Sons (Review).

This volume also references the stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below.

• The current state of Bruce Wayne is due to the events of Batman Vol. 7: Endgame (Review) and is explained in Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy (Review).
• The “Bat-freaks” that Damian beats up at the beginning of this collection first appeared as agents of Terminus in Batman and Robin Vol. 2: Pearl.
• The way in which Damian swears Goliath into crime fighting is the same way members of the Bat-family have been sworn in since Detective Comics #38, which is collected in Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 and Batman: The Golden Age Vol. 1.
• Damian’s pets are all introduced to Goliath
  • Alfred Pennyworth the cat joined the team in Batman Incorporated Vol. 1: The Demon Star.
  • Bat Cow joined the team when he was rescued by Robin in Batman Incorporated Vol. 1: The Demon Star.
  • Titus joined the team in Batman and Robin Vol. 1: Born to Kill.
• Batman’s return to action is detailed in Batman Vol. 9: Bloom (Review).