Batman and Robin 4: Dark Knight vs. White Knight

Comic Info

Batman and Robin (1) #22

Reprints Batman and Robin (1) #17-25 (January 2011-September 2011).  Batman might be back but Dick and Damian now have a partnership as Bruce tries to expand his Batman, Inc. franchise.  Gotham is a dangerous place with new enemies like the Absence and the White Knight springing up and the return of Dick and Damian’s old enemy the Red Hood for an unlikely team-up.  Dick and Damian aren’t only fighting for Gotham but for survival!

Batman and Robin 4:  Dark Knight vs. White Knight picks up after the leaving of series creator Grant Morrison to helm Batman, Inc..  Following Batman 3:  Batman & Robin Must Die!, the volume collects three three-issue storylines by different authors and artists.  Paul Cornell writes “The Sum of Her Parts” (Batman and Robin (1) #17-19) with art by Scott McDaniel and Christopher Jones, Peter J. Tomasi writes “Tree of Blood” (Batman and Robin (1) #20-22) with art by Patrick Gleason, and Judd Winick writes “The Streets Run Red” (Batman and Robin (1) #23-25) with art by Guillem March, Andrei Bressan, Greg Tocchini, and Andy Smith.  Not included in the collection is Batman and Robin (1) #26 which finished the series.

Grant Morrison’s run on Batman was both great and spotty.  The best thing that he did during his run was create Damian Wayne. and in turn, change the whole dynamic of Batman and his story.  The teaming of Damian and Dick was also genius…but Morrison’s run had to end.

Batman and Robin (1) #25

This volume tries to keep the fun of Morrison going and the whole team-up thing does still work.  What is lacking is the weird (sometimes irritatingly weird) stories that Morrison wrote for the comic.  What is worse however is the writers trying to emulate Morrison’s writing and the types of characters Morrison creates.  Both White Knight and Absence are very “Grant Morrison” and Winick tries to use Morrison’s Scarlet character with the Red Hood…but all three writers really fail to capture Morrison’s spirit.

The art however is quite strong.  I like the art for the first two story arcs but I hate it when they switch out artists mid-story…and Winick’s story does it multiple times.  I don’t mind variety because Batman has been depicted so many different ways over the years, but I do mind it when it becomes a distraction within a single story.

Batman and Robin 4:  Dark Knight vs. White Knight isn’t the worst thing you’ll ever read but if you’re reading it as a follow-up to Morrison’s run, it is rather dull.  I don’t want to come off as a complete Morrison groupie, because I think he does a lot of bad stuff as well.  The biggest asset that Morrison does have is that he doesn’t seem to be afraid to experiment regardless of the results.  This was a nice factor of Batman and Robin since the character are so worn…but in this volume, the experiment is obviously over.  Batman and Robin was relaunched for the New 52 with Bruce Wayne once again teamed with Damian.

Related Links:

Batman and Robin 1:  Batman Reborn

Batman and Robin 2:  Batman vs. Robin

Batman and Robin 3:  Batman & Robin Must Die!

Batman and Robin 1:  Born to Kill

Batman and Robin 2:  Pearl