Robin #183

Ever since I found myself entered into the world of comic books in 2003 (roughly two weeks after the release of the "Daredevil" movie give or take) I picked up five titles on a whim to see if I really was a comic book fan or if it was just a passing phase. Those five titles were: "Daredevil" (which I dropped before the end of the first story arc because I was too young to appreciate Bendis' brilliance), "Batman" (which was amid the "Hush" storyline, which has since become something of a hilarity among my friends), "Ultimate X-Men" (dropped as soon as Brian K. Vaughn left the title), "Ultimate Spider-Man" (still bought but only in trades) and "Robin". Out of those five I have only been buying "Robin" consistently. I've enjoyed the ups and downs of Tim Drake's career and the story arcs that I found genuinely more gripping than those of Bruce Wayne's or Peter Parker's dual lives. For all intents and purposes Tim Drake IS Robin in my opinion. Dick Grayson may have BEEN Robin, but Tim Drake IS Robin. This recent story arc has been exceptionally interesting, bringing back the character of Anarky, once considered as a substitute for the Robin character following the death of Jason Todd. But, by having a new character portraying Anarky the story is allowed to breath new life into the past. Robin's assertion that Anarky is trying to be his "Joker" may be more than just a throwaway expositional line; rather, Anarky is being ESTABLISHED as Robin's Joker. Finally, Robin has a worthy nemesis, and the opportunities that will now be missed by the cancellation of the series are now nothing more than wishful thinking. My only complaint about this issue (and indeed this final arc) was the retraction of Tim's horrific burns. The original implication of this was that the wounds would stay and present a new, harsh dynamic on the Robin character. Apparently not. Gone are the burns, and a single sneaky line of dialogue is inserted to remind us "oh, yeah... that was only a couple of issues ago". Anyway, I'll be sad to see this book go, but the promise of new Bat-books in June, and the hope that Tim Drake remains a prominent character in the Bat-universe following "The Battle for the Cowl" and that, if he does remain as such, Anarky will return as his arch-nemesis.