SYNOPSIS: Dick’s infiltration of the Wolf Pack starts to bear fruit, giving the Dynamic Duo a lead on who’s really pulling the strings behind this gang of kids. But just when a clue brings Batman and Catwoman face-to-face, a shocking moment will leave Robin scrambling!
Holy Misleading Cover, Batman!
No, Batman & Robin: Year One: Dynamic Duos #4 is not a special Valentine’s Day issue, although I love how fun the cover is, with Robin cringing over Catwoman’s “cooties” about to infect Batman!
Instead, Waid and Samnee deliver another solid issue of drama, suspense, and fun characterization, beginning with Alfred’s cliffhanger from last issue. While we still don’t know what’s causing him to leave, it is clearly a very serious matter to him and I love how the issue goes back and forth between his exodus and current events with the Dynamic Duo. Clearly, these are masters of storytelling at work!
Batman and Robin continue to develop their partnership dynamic across the issue, whether its moments of levity like Robin wanting to drive, announcing they’re home, accessing the Bat Computer to come up with a suspect, or dealing with Catwoman.
I think Robin really shines the most here, as Waid and Samnee put “Big Top” through the wringer, granting him a wish fulfillment that is more like a monkey’s paw. Samnee really sells Dick’s emotions through his art and while you could categorize his style as cartoonish, that doesn’t mean it’s any less effective at conveying the abject terror he is going through.
Less successful to me was the way the backstory of the Crime Master was told. The depiction shifts from Batman being the narrator to somehow being the thoughts of the Crime Master himself and the transition just felt clunky, despite the well-staged art from Samnee. The sequence feels like a lost scene from an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, but it’s the villain narration that kills it for me.
Despite that fumble, overall this is another banger of an issue, with the cliffhanger being one of the most tense the duo has ever concocted across both maxiseries. Yes, we know that our heroes will endure, but Waid and Samnee craft the tension so viscerally that you are immediately invested in the stakes! You’ll be sure to be back next month, same Bat-Time, same Bat-Comic! – Javier E. Trujillo
GRADE: A-