Comic Book Review: Batman and Robin #6

Written by Grant Morrison

Art by Philip Tan and Jonathan Glapion

Cover by Frank Quitely

Variant cover by Philip Tan

Plot

Batman and Robin have been caught and trapped in an unknown warehouse by the villainous Red Hood and his newly inducted sidekick, Scarlett.  They have been placed in front of a webcam, unmasked, for the world to see once one million votes are sent in by the world that The Red Hood and Scarlett are doing a better job that the dynamic duo at cleaning up the city.

However, things are not looking well for the Red Hood and his Scarlett sidekick as a new villain has entered into the playing field calling himself “Flamingo” who does not share Jason Todd’s vision of justice.  Now Red Hood faces his archenemy in a battle for his life, while Batman and Robin are seemingly trapped waiting for the camera to click on, exposing the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder.

My Thoughts

Honestly, I was worried last issue if #6 would be able to carry through with the great story Morrison gave us in issue #5.  But what I do respect of Mr. Morrison is his ability to create dark and terrifying stories.  And as this third and final chapter of “Revenge of the Red Hood” comes to a close, I’m reminded of how horrifying Morrison’s stories can become.

The Flamingo character is not one I’m completely familiar with, but this issue certainly gave me an epic introduction to him.  It seems nothing hurts him, and I highly doubt that a pile of rubble from a construction sight is going to stop our red and pink friend. 

Now it looks as if Blackest Night will be taking over the pages of Batman and Robin for a while, understandably.  But this El Penitente phantom has me intrigued, and what does he know about Oberon Sexton? Will he be apart of next issue or is that whole thing going to wait until after Blackest Night is said and done with?

Philip Tan did a fantastic job with this issue.  Every panel was horrifying and met the standards that I’m sure Morrison would come to expect for this particular book.  The actions seemed a little too fast-paced, but it didn’t detract me from enjoying it either.

Of course, like always, I’m partial towards the story lines that appeal to the “human” side of the characters.  And how much more human could Morrison get with Jason’s speech to Batman?  It was such a conflicting piece of oratory that I wasn’t sure if I should sympathize with Jason, or hate him!  Of course we all have moments where, when we find ourselves in a moment of absolute triumph, we verbally pounce on those who always seemed to be better than us.  And the interesting thing here is, Dick seems to take offense!  It looks like Mr. Grayson still has a lot to live up to and fears that.

Overall

Above average.  A lot of action and suspense.  I’m excited to see what happens with this El Penitente character and how he will influence the lives of Gotham in future story lines.  But right now, we must focus on Blackest Night!

3 out of 5 stars

Next Issue Coming January 27^th, 2010

Knight, Squire and DETECTIVE COMICS' Batwoman guest-star alongside The Dynamic Duo in "Blackest Knight," a 3-part story illustrated by Cameron Stewart (SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICT0RY: MANHATTAN GUARDIAN). Readers who enjoyed BATMAN R.I.P. and FINAL CRISIS won't want to miss this captivating new storyline packed with additional clues on the Domino Killer and the details surrounding the "death" of Bruce Wayne!