Batman and Robin is an American comic book ongoing series, created by Grant Morrison and featuring Batman and Robin. The debut of the series followed the events of "Batman R.I.P.", Final Crisis, and "Battle for the Cowl" in which the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, apparently died at the hands of DC Comics villain Darkseid and features the winner of the "Battle for the Cowl" as the new Batman.Morrison, Quitely Hit Batman & Robin, IGN, March 10, 2009 The conclusion of Battle for the Cowl shows Dick Grayson ascending to the role of Batman, while Damian Wayne becomes the new Robin.
Morrison returned to writing the characters after being the ongoing writer on Batman from issues #655–658 and #663–683. While writing for this title, Morrison simultaneously wrote the miniseries The Return of Bruce Wayne and finished their run on the title with issue #16, before moving onto the next phase of their narrative in Batman Incorporated. Paul Cornell and Scott McDaniel created a three-issue arc before the new ongoing creative team, the former Green Lantern Corps duo of writer Peter Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason, began their run with February 2011's issue #20.
Tomasi and Gleason launched a second volume of the series in conjunction with The New 52, a DC Universe line-wide relaunch in 2011 featuring Bruce Wayne as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin. That series concluded after 40 issues and a series of other one-shots, as well as an annual. A third volume was launched in 2023 with Bruce and Damian Wayne as the lead characters in conjunction with the Dawn of DC initiative by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Simone Di Meo.
Style and tone In an interview with IGN before the release of the first issue, Morrison detailed that the tone of the series would be a "reverse" of the normal dynamic between Batman and Robin, with, "a more light-hearted and spontaneous Batman and a scowling, bad ass Robin". Morrison also divulged that this is a continuation of their previous work on the Batman character, although this is a different title than what they wrote previously: "This is the next book in what will be a 5-volume series beginning [with] Batman and Son, but it can be read on its own too. Batman and Robin welcomes new readers!" Morrison also said that even though the series deals with familiar identities, the series features all new villains and situations, but also revealed that some villains were glimpsed in Batman #666.Morrison discusses Batman and Robin , IGN Comics, March 11, 2009
When asked if the series would deal with the new Batman being unable to fill Bruce Wayne's proverbial shoes, Morrison answered: "When I started out I had that in mind, and I thought we'd finally prove that nobody else could be Batman. But I do believe certain aspects of RIP were about how nobody but this guy could be Batman. I think with this, it's fun to start by seeing what happens when someone else tries. Sometimes it goes wrong, and sometimes it goes really well. Some of the things these guys do are things that Bruce Wayne would never have thought to do".Grant Morrison's New Batman and Robin , IGN, May 22, 2009
Morrison has cited the "bizarre, psychedelic feel" of the 1960s Batman TV series and the "bad dreamlike feeling of a Marilyn Manson video in the '90s, or (...) Chris Cunningham's video for 'Windowlicker'", as well as David Lynch, Twin Peaks, and Crank: High Voltage as influences on the series. Morrison also described the series as "psychedelic noir."
Unlike their previous collaborations in JLA Earth-2 and All-Star Superman, the writer asked artist Frank Quitely to choreograph the flow of the action in his own way, rather than through Morrison's normally heavily detailed scripts. Morrison also "asked [Quitely] to re-introduce the much-maligned sound effects to superhero comics, but in a way that integrates them more closely with the art". He also described Batman and Robin as, "a shorter, pacier collaboration so we've tried to keep it looser and more open than All-Star Superman". Morrison also stated that "All Star Superman is quite staged and formal, with repeated wide panels and an emphasis on plot rather than action. [The first arc of Batman and Robin] is very fast moving, with that kinetic hand-held camera feel."
Morrison described their take on Dick Grayson as "this consummate superhero. The guy has been Batman's partner since he was a kid, he's led the Teen Titans, and he's trained with everybody in the DC Universe. So he's a very different kind of Batman. He's a lot easier; He's a lot looser and more relaxed."
Following Quitely's run on the first three issues, Philip Tan became artist for the next three issues, an arc entitled "Revenge of the Red Hood",Grant Morrison: The Batman and Robin to Come, Newsarama, June 4, 2009 with Cameron Stewart as the artist for "Blackest Knight", the third arc, followed by Andy Clarke drawing the fourth arc titled "Batman vs. Robin" and Quitely coming back to the book sometime after.Grant Morrison's New Batman and Robin, page 3, IGN, May 22, 2009 Frazer Irving took over for the fifth arc "Batman and Robin Must Die!" starting in issue #13.
In an interview with USA Today, Morrison outlined the future of the titles: "I'm doing at least another year of stories with Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne in the Batman and Robin book before that book starts to dovetail with Return and we rush headlong and screaming into the next big, earth-shattering, game-changing twist in the life of Batman".
Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason later took over the title after Grant Morrison, while Morrison went onto a different title. Dick Grayson continued his role as Batman concurrently with Bruce Wayne, and remained as the star of Batman and Robin.
Continuity with "Batman: R.I.P.", Bruce Wayne With this title being Morrison's primary work in the Batman world for nearly two years, the writer said that this is a direct continuation of their Batman work: "With the collections out, we've got "Batman and Son", we've got The Black Glove, we've got "Batman R.I.P.", and then we've got this one, Batman and Robin, and then, hopefully, there will be a final volume, a fifth volume".Grant Morrison Talks Batman & Robin, Comic Book Resources, March 19, 2009
In regards to the fate of Bruce Wayne, Morrison stated that they would be dealing with that in the future: "Bruce is still out there. Final Crisis revealed Bruce is still out there and he's got to make his way back in some way". Morrison also made the case for fans that disapprove of having a Batman that is not Bruce Wayne: "We're not really entertaining the notion that Bruce won't be back at some time. This isn't like Captain America with the Winter Soldier story and Cap's really gone. This is an ongoing story, another chapter in the life of Batman, so I think even people who are fans of Bruce and who think no one else can be Batman will be entertained by this. And be intrigued to see who it is".
Morrison eventually brought Wayne back in a miniseries in which the title promised the character's return, and as promised, dovetailed the conclusion of that series with their final issue of the Batman and Robin title, seeing Bruce Wayne create Batman Incorporated.
Plot
Volume 1 (2009 - 2011) The main story of the comic series was made up of a series of three-issue story arcs. The first one, "Batman: Reborn", was penciled by Frank Quitely. The second arc, "Revenge of the Red Hood", was penciled by Philip Tan. The third arc, "Blackest Knight", is penciled by Cameron Stewart on issues #7-9 of Batman and Robin (2010). The fourth arc, "Batman vs. Robin", is penciled by Andy Clarke and contains issues #10-12. The fifth arc, penciled by Frazer Irving, is titled, "Batman and Robin Must Die!", is the start of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne and the end of the arc started by Batman: Reborn. After Paul Cornell's run on issues #17-19, the next arc was written by Peter Tomasi and pencilled by Patrick Gleason, and was entitled "Dark Knight, White Knight".
"Batman: Reborn" (issues #1-3) The new Batman and Robin take down a villain named Mr. Toad and deliver him to the police. Batman and Robin then set out to the police department after meeting up with Alfred to answer the Bat-Signal. Professor Pyg, a psychotic mutilation enthusiast in the guise of a pig, then tortures one of Toad's men, fixing him with a Dollotron mask. Pyg then expresses interest to doing the same to the man's daughter. Dick and Damian then fight the Circus of Strange; Dick fails Damian, who leaves to beat Pyg alone afterward. Damian then sees the man's daughter, promising to save her and her father, before being knocked out. Eventually Dick and Damian stop the gang, while the girl is saved by the Red Hood in a new uniform."Batman Reborn"
"Revenge of the Red Hood" (issues #4-6) Dick correctly infers that the new Red Hood is Jason Todd. The girl that the Red Hood saved, fixed with an imperfectly placed Dollotron mask, has now assumed the vigilante guise of Scarlet and acts as Red Hood's sidekick. Red Hood and Scarlet tear through the streets of Gotham, killing criminals. Various crime lords of Gotham, fearing the recent escalation in crime fighting by Jason and Scarlet, approach a new villain named the Flamingo to help defeat them. The Flamingo arrives, and shoots Jason twice. The Flamingo begins to overpower Jason, even when Batman and Robin assist, paralyzing Robin in the process. Scarlet manages to cut the Flamingo's face open, allowing Jason to kill him. Batman arrives to see that Damian is paralyzed from the waist down, but will recover due to his mother's influence and ability to replace Damian's damaged organs with harvested ones and Commissioner Gordon arrives and arrests Jason, who asks why Talia had not put Bruce in the Lazarus Pit. Scarlet's Dollotron mask falls off, and she repents her actions, fleeing Gotham for greener pastures. Oberon Sexton receives a call from a man who tells him that their group is everywhere while Dick enters a mysterious tunnel in the heart of the Batcave. Saying the password "zur...en...arrh", it is revealed that Dick, after the conclusion of the Blackest Night storyline, moved the body of Bruce Wayne into the more secure location. Dick thinks about what Jason said to him about the Lazarus Pit.
"Blackest Knight" (issues #7-9) Following the "Blackest Night" storyline, Dick takes Jason's suggestion into consideration and decides to check if Bruce's corpse is real. Dick enlists the aid of England's Squire and Knight to help him locate the last existing Lazarus Pit. After saving the Pearly Prince from destroying London, Dick believes that the Pearly King can give him information on the location of the Lazarus Pit. Pearly refuses to, however Knight has already found the pit. After arriving in the Pit they fight King Coal's men, who were already taken down by Knight. They encounter Batwoman, who is alerted that Dick is the new Batman, and she tells them that King Coal's men planned to sacrifice her to a new God of crime that is supposed to rise on that night. Dick remarks that there is no god of evil in the Pit, only the "real" Batman. The body is reanimated and rises from the Pit, but is unable to speak and begins attacking all that he sees. Dick sees that this being's rage is murderous, which conclusively proves that the body could not be Bruce Wayne's.
It is revealed by flashback that the body of "Batman" is a clone of Bruce Wayne created by Darkseid during Final Crisis. Most of the clones were euthanized due to being driven insane, but Darkseid claimed that one dead perfect clone of Batman could be useful to him. The dead clone is, in fact, the body recovered by Superman in the climax of Final Crisis after Darkseid sent the real Batman into the past with his Omega Sanction.