Batman & Robin has been one of the undersung titles in the Batline of books, so the reveal that it would be closing up shop with issue #30 wasn’t the biggest surprise. Since the other titles handle Batman in both superhero mode and detective mode, the best aspect of Batman & Robin was the ability to do more street level stories that involved the wide cast of characters that inhabit Gotham City. This was also the title the spent a lot of time on the relationship between Bruce Wayne and his son Damian, something that hasn’t been the focus in the other Batman books. But despite that looming threat of a final issue coming for a few months now, Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Fico Ossio ensure that Batman & Robin #30 serves as not only a great issue to wrap up the current “Quiet Man” storyline, but the series as a whole as well.
As Gotham gets ready for the grand reveal of the new Sacred Heart Hospital renovation, the stage is set for a massive confrontation between Penguin, the Quiet Man, and the Ventriloquist. With the crowd gathered in front of the hospital, and Ventriloquist bringing the heavy artillery, it’s a powder keg that is seconds away from detonation. That leaves Batman and Robin in the quandary of quandaries, as they must keep the crowd protected from the sure to be war zone that is about to take place. Thankfully for them, there’s at least some fireworks to keep their cover and the people distracted as they make their way through the crowd, but will it be enough to protect Penguin and bring down Ventriloquist and Quiet Man before it’s too late?
I won’t spoil that here, but I will say that Phillip Kennedy Johnson once again pulls off a fantastic tightrope act of satisfyingly bringing this story in for a landing while also hitting the character beats that have long been a highlight of the series. As the dynamic duo make their way through the crowd, the tension is certainly palpable, at times leaving me breathless as I hurried from panel to panel, wondering how this was all going to shake out. Like last issue, one of the biggest surprises here is the menace of Scarface, who goes after one of his henchman in a truly brutal fashion that I was shocked to see get past DC editorial. It’s truly something to make a character that is essentially a doll so menacing, and the way that Albert Wesker is unwittingly being used to commit these acts adds a layer of sadness to the character that’s always been there, but never highlighted like this.
The Quiet Man also gets some fantastic closure in this issue as well. Batman & Robin has used this character to really hammer home the idea of how close Batman is to him if his life went a slightly different way, and when Johnson brings it up again, it doesn’t feel like you’re being hit over the head with it. Instead, it’s used in surprisingly emotional ways that add to the pathos and power of the legend of Batman, and the way Quiet Man’s story ends was not at all how I expected it to. Lesser creatives would have taken the easy way out with him, but I was impressed with how well Johnson thread the needle with the character here.
DC
Equally impressive was Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s depiction of Bruce and Damian’s relationship this issue. Damian essentially takes the lead point during the big confrontation, a move I wasn’t expecting, but one that plays out really well when you consider how these two characters have been slowly learning to trust one another again throughout Johnson’s run. Bruce learning to trust his son’s instincts and take a backseat is a true sign of his growth as both a father and a crime-fighting partner, and Damian’s speech to The Quiet Man about how Batman is “simply what he is, forever” and how that is both the inspiration and sadness of Batman really spoke to what I love about the character, and showcased how great of a handle Johnson has had on these two.
Fico Ossio’s art has been just as important as Johnson’s scripts in this series, and with this final issue he really goes all out, with some stunning and dynamic splash pages to open the issue and really set the scope of the conflict to come for Batman and Robin. Ossio’s scratchy style has been a great showcase for the darker aspects of this story, but getting to see him use that style for big bombastic action was a real treat, and highlights the variety he can bring with this art. The aforementioned Scarface scene is also enhanced by Ossio, as the dichotomy between Scarface’s actions and the look on Albert Wesker’s face is heartbreaking. But Ossio is also able to really pull on the heartstrings with Bruce and Damian’s quieter moments, bringing a tenderness to the Batman titles that is sorely missing these days.
Batman & Robin was far better than I ever expected it to be, and the underdog of the Batman line. In a world where Batman makes up a huge percentage of DC’s publishing slate, I’m not surprised to see some of those titles come to an end, but I am really bummed out that one of them has to be one as consistently great as this. I’ve said it before, but while the Batman titles have all been extremely strong, Batman & Robin was the one that I feel like could have used the bigger push. I’m sure there’s a new title coming soon for the Dynamic Duo, but I doubt it will have the heart that Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Fico Ossio’s run has had.
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