Robin Issue 17 Review: “I am Robin”

Robin issue 17 is the final issue in the Robin series. It does an excellent job of tying things up, but also leaves the fans wanting for more. Damian’s story is not done yet, and I hope that DC Comics does well to remember that. Tim Drake may be Robin again, but that does not erase Damian’s importance to the BatFamily.

There will be some brief spoilers below.

When I heard that the Robin series was ending, I was disappointed. Writer Joshua Williamson did an excellent job exploring the character and redeeming much of what some other writers had done with him previously. And even though this series did not last long, I do feel that Damian is on the right path again. DC Comics would honestly be doing the character a great disservice if Damian were to revert back to who he was again. I remain hopeful, but now that there is a new Robin series featuring Tim Drake, I am not sure what will happen.

Robin issue 17 begins with Damian asking himself who he is now as he rushes back to Lazarus Island after he realized that Lord Deathman lied about Flatline to get him to leave the island. At the end of the last issue, we discovered that Lord Deathman was working with Mother Soul. As always, Mother Soul is after power and has no real use for Lord Deathman after receiving what she wanted from him – something that is probably quite valuable to Damian.

Thankfully Damian and the others are at least able to stop a powered-up Lord Deathman in his tracks, but they are not aware of what Mother Soul has done or what her plans are going forward. However, Robin and Flatline do find some time to spend with each other and discuss their relationship, or lack thereof. It looks to be a little open-ended. Perhaps Damian takes a little bit after his father in this aspect as well. The series definitely ends on a hopeful note, but does it answer the question of who Damian is now?

As I mentioned earlier, Joshua Williamson did an amazing job with the Damian Wayne character and wrote an excellent story for him. Many aspects of his character were explored, and he definitely went through a hero journey where he learned a lot more about himself and who he wants to be. Williamson took great care in working to redeem a character who means a lot to a lot of people and showed him the respect the character deserved.

Artist Roger Cruz rounded out the series with an excellent amount of action and quite a bit of heart. He remained true to the character, and I was excited to see the manga panels once again. The style fits so well with the overall comic. The art was enhanced by Norm Rapmund’s inks and Luis Guerrero’s colors. And of course, Troy Peteri’s letters continued to bring that fighting game/anime feel to the comic.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed every issue of the Robin series and Robin issue 17 was a good conclusion to the story. Sadly, I do feel that this story was cut short and leaves me wanting for more. Damian will not fall back into the shadows quite yet thankfully, as his story will continue on in Batman vs Robin, but I am sad to see this particular series end. For now, I will look forward to whatever Damian Wayne gets up to next!

Author: Jessica Rae

Jessica has a BA in music with an emphasis in voice and spends her day typesetting, editing, writing, and moderating webinars. Jessica primarily reviews anime and comic book series. She also offers insights on various movies, books, games, and other geeky topics.

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