SYNOPSIS: While Bruce Wayne adjusts to the realities of adopting orphan Dick Grayson, a mysterious new crime boss called the General has come to Gotham to claim the city by disrupting and destroying its other mobs. But what is his connection to Two-Face? Batman and his new sidekick, Robin, are out for answers, but it’ll take everything they have to navigate both sides of their relationship as father and son and dynamic duo, with Dick Grayson’s present and future hanging in the balance!
Given that he’s been having so much retro fun in the aforementioned revitalization of World’s Finest and its spin-off, World’s Finest: Teen Titans, it should come as no surprise that he’s now turning his attention to Batman and Robin, this time going back even further, to the nascent days of their partnership.
Joined by his Daredevil collaborator Chris Samnee, this dynamic duo is the perfect pair to apply their sensibilities to the original Dynamic Duo as we see a young Dick Grayson try to study criminology at stately Wayne Manor, with a concerned Bruce and Alfred looking on. Waid captures their young voices and concerns with ease. He knows these characters inside and out and it shows, showcasing Dick’s enthusiasm and Bruce’s stoic caution and methodology.
It isn’t long before the pair are called into action and race off in the Batmobile for a late-night rendezvous with Commissioner Gordon. I don’t know who gets credit for this, Waid or Samnee, but the transition from what appears to be the glowing eyes of Batman’s cowl to the front chassis of the Batmobile is a stroke of genius! Furthermore, the changeover to the two-page title splash is a glorious image, with all of Gotham sprawled out and beckoning to our heroes!
The linework for Samnee is impeccable. I didn’t necessarily see the correlation in his past work, but I was getting heavy Darwyn Cooke vibes from his artwork here. The cityscape, the cloudy sky, how Batman emerges from the shadows, the similarities felt front and center to me, making the visuals feel right at home in a bygone Age. Samnee has long been a brilliant artist, but he’s got some real magic here, particularly the splash page of Batman and Robin leaping into action in pursuit of Two-Face!
Robin’s exuberance leads him into trouble. While he doesn’t have the recklessness of Jason Todd, his impulsiveness constantly has Batman trying to keep up with him. Speaking of Jason, Batman seems far more patient with Dick in comparison, most likely due to having not endured that tragedy yet.
It should be noted that while Dick is very young for this, Batman has equipped him with a cape fashioned by WayneTech that can absorb “almost the full kinetic energy of anything short of a .950”. When Gordon even rebukes Batman for Robin being so young in this war on crime, Waid has him perfectly reply with a terse, “Name a war that spares the young.” Waid has heard the arguments against Batman having a Robin being so junior and has come up with several rationales to soothe those critiques.
Two-Face is one of two villains in this issue, but while he may not be the ultimate threat in this series, he provides plenty of challenge here, placing Robin in his first death trap. It feels like a classic confrontation, with Batman in particular trying to exploit his obsession with the number two.
While we only get a tease of The General, his threat is implicit, both in the reverence Two-Face holds for him and how his arrival goes at Moldoff Airfield. The airfield isn’t the only homage to a past Batman creator. Keep your eyes peeled for one more!
DC Comics has a strong tradition with “Year” stories, particularly utilizing “Year One” in the wake of the Miller/Mazzucchelli paradigm. Waid and Samnee have a potential classic on their hands, crafting a story with thrilling action and emotional depth, not to mention eye-catching art. This is an easy book to recommend to any Bat Fan! – Javier E. Trujillo
GRADE: A+