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davidareyzaga's review
5.0
I've been dying to read this story for a very long time, and I was fortunate enough to find a package that contained each issue instead of the collection. While I do appreciate the extra stuff that collections contain (and the lack of ads), I couldn't resist wanting to see the three covers together since they form a bigger picture. That notion of the bigger picture also applies to this short, but very important story.
After Final Crisis, Batman is apparently gone, and he left a will in which he specifies Nightwing not to don the Batman suit; he believes Robin and Nightwing should be good enough to keep Gotham save (he also invites Jason to join them and get therapy). Turns out he's quite wrong. The lack of Batman brings out the worst in Gotham, and Black Mask II (Jeremiah Arkham) breaks out every inmate from Arkham and forces some of our favorite villains to work with him. To make matters worse, there's a Batman imposter that kills everyone on sight.
It is way too easy to guess the identity of Batman's imposter, and it's not my favorite iteration of that character. If you're a fan of Batman, you know it's ***** ****, and I prefer his anti-hero version, than his mad-man version. Anyway, it does make for a good conflict between him and Nightwing, Red Robin, and Robin (Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne, respectively). This conflict further develops each character and it proves once again what makes each one of them special. Nightwing has a responsibility to become the Batman, but he has to go through hell to finally realize that he can do it. Tim Drake (my personal favorite) doesn't hesitate to don the cowl and do what has to be done to fight the enemy. Damian Wayne... well, he is just as stubborn as ever, but he's growing on me.*
To any fan of all the Robins, this is a MUST-have. Battle for the Cowl shows the effect of Batman in Gotham, but it shows the strength of his family to face a Gotham without him. Even though they stumble at the beginning, they are a great replacement. If comic book writers ever actually kill Bruce Wayne, I'd be happy to see what the team does. Seriously, there's not much left to do with the original Batman, and Nightwing, Red Robin, Robin, and even Red Hood can carry Gotham City's story. This story is evidence of that. Batman and Robin Eternal is another proof of that, but I'll review it once I finish reading it.
*Now I find myself willing to read Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin, given that it connects to this story, and all the material from 2005-2011 (basically everything before the mess that fucking Flash makes, followed by The New 52 *sigh*) seems great so far (I've already read Gotham City Sirens, and it was spectacular).
After Final Crisis, Batman is apparently gone, and he left a will in which he specifies Nightwing not to don the Batman suit; he believes Robin and Nightwing should be good enough to keep Gotham save (he also invites Jason to join them and get therapy). Turns out he's quite wrong. The lack of Batman brings out the worst in Gotham, and Black Mask II (Jeremiah Arkham) breaks out every inmate from Arkham and forces some of our favorite villains to work with him. To make matters worse, there's a Batman imposter that kills everyone on sight.
It is way too easy to guess the identity of Batman's imposter, and it's not my favorite iteration of that character. If you're a fan of Batman, you know it's ***** ****, and I prefer his anti-hero version, than his mad-man version. Anyway, it does make for a good conflict between him and Nightwing, Red Robin, and Robin (Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne, respectively). This conflict further develops each character and it proves once again what makes each one of them special. Nightwing has a responsibility to become the Batman, but he has to go through hell to finally realize that he can do it. Tim Drake (my personal favorite) doesn't hesitate to don the cowl and do what has to be done to fight the enemy. Damian Wayne... well, he is just as stubborn as ever, but he's growing on me.*
To any fan of all the Robins, this is a MUST-have. Battle for the Cowl shows the effect of Batman in Gotham, but it shows the strength of his family to face a Gotham without him. Even though they stumble at the beginning, they are a great replacement. If comic book writers ever actually kill Bruce Wayne, I'd be happy to see what the team does. Seriously, there's not much left to do with the original Batman, and Nightwing, Red Robin, Robin, and even Red Hood can carry Gotham City's story. This story is evidence of that. Batman and Robin Eternal is another proof of that, but I'll review it once I finish reading it.
*Now I find myself willing to read Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin, given that it connects to this story, and all the material from 2005-2011 (basically everything before the mess that fucking Flash makes, followed by The New 52 *sigh*) seems great so far (I've already read Gotham City Sirens, and it was spectacular).
messywitch's review
I think I enjoyed the actual Battle for the Cowl half of this more than I enjoyed the latter half of it - though the bits with Steph and Tim were interesting.
That said, I *really* enjoyed reading this
That said, I *really* enjoyed reading this
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