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Batman #687
Written by Judd Winick
Pencils by Ed Benes
Cover by Tony Daniel
$3.99
DC Comics
“A Battle Within – An epilogue to Battle for the Cowl”
Last week’s Batman and Robin #1 was the launchpad for the new status quo in the Batman family of titles. But it left me feeling like there was something… missing.
Don’t get me wrong. It set out to do a straight Batman story with Dick and Damian in the roles of Batman and Robin, and it pulled that off quite well. But there was something strange about it. It didn’t feel like there was an answer to “Battle for the Cowl.” Who will be the new Batman? Well, Dick Grayson was just thrown into the role, without any exposition.
But this issue of Batman serves to answer all of the questions I would’ve had. It opens with a flashback to a the first time Dick Grayson (as Robin) was able to get the jump on Bruce (as Batman), and then transitions to Alfred and Dick trying to figure out what to do.
Superman and Wonder Woman make appearances in a flashback scene to show when they returned The Cowl, and asked what Bruce’s contingency plan was for when he died. It seems as though he didn’t really leave one…but Alfred and Dick decide that Batman cannot die, and as the Justice League (Clark, Diana, Ollie, and Dinah) are gathered around Bruce’s grave, he informs them that the world can’t know Batman is dead.
The Phosphorus Man attacks a subsidiary of Cadmus, and is met by the new Robin, who quickly begins getting punked out, ’cause he’s ten, and wasn’t prepared for this. Nightwing shows up to save the day, and considers the future of the mantle of the Bat.
In the final scene, the Scarecrow (who is rendered beautifully, by Ed Benes) is attacking the Gotham Bay Bridge, and is too much for the police to handle. Suddenly, he’s stopped…By Batman.
And that’s Just the Beginning!
I’ve been a fan of Ed Benes’ work for nearly 10 years (since his run on Gen13), and it’s good to see him doing a solo title, again. I haven’t read too much from Judd Winick, but this is exactly the story that I was looking for, to fill in the gap between Battle for the Cowl #3 and last week’s Batman & Robin #1.
If you’ve never followed Batman before (I haven’t), there’s no better jumping on point than right here. This is going to be the solo Batman book, where Dick Grayson grows into the role of playing– no, BEING– Batman. I’m pretty excited to read the next issue.
Don’t miss this one.