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BATMAN, INCORPORATED #4

• BATMAN and TALIA AL GHUL continue their fight for control of their son DAMIAN – better known as ROBIN!

• WINGMAN and REDBIRD descent upon GOTHAM CITY! Who are these heroes, and what is their relationship to THE DARK KNIGHT?

Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Chris Burnham
Cover by Chris Burnham
Variant Cover by Andy Clarke & Chris Burnham

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 6.6%

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Comments

  1. Avatar photo ResurrectionFlan says:
    October 22, 2012 at 7:27 pm

    More Robins! BRING EM ON.

  2. Avatar photo Neeks says:
    October 22, 2012 at 7:30 pm

    Are these characters new to the morrison batman run?? Ive only read the first volume of batman inc and this second one so far

    • Avatar photo WheelHands says:
      October 23, 2012 at 2:10 am

      Wingman was created back in ’51 as part of the Club of Heroes (imitators/admirers of Batman from around the world). That Wingman hadn’t appeared again until Morrison used him in The Black Glove. In that story, he’s grown jealous and bitter and is later revealed to have been working with the villain John Mayhew, who shoots him and tosses him out of a helicopter in the final chapter. This new Wingman is identity unknown and was the first unofficial member of Batman Inc. He leads a secondary Inc. team called the Club of Dead Heroes, which includes Batwing, Halo, and El Gaucho among others.

      Redbird is Damien Wayne. Bruce grounded him from being Robin for disobeying orders and using lethal force. Damien feels that since Bruce only grounded Robin, he’s free to fight crime as this new identity, Redbird. It’s a loophole.

    • Avatar photo WheelHands says:
      October 23, 2012 at 4:25 pm

      Correction: The guys below reminded me that Bruce actually grounded Damien for his own protection. There’s a bounty out for him.

  3. Avatar photo robbydzwonar says:
    October 22, 2012 at 7:37 pm

    Wingman is from his Club Of Heroes, Club Of Villains stuff he did back before RIP and even Return Of Ras Al Ghul stuff from years ago. I believe it was called The Island Of Mayhew.

  4. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    October 22, 2012 at 9:17 pm

    FINALLY!

    Was wondering when this was finally gonna come out. Feel like the story is a bit hampered though because books like Batman/Batman & Robin have addressed the bounty on Damian too much.

    • Avatar photo smo5000 says:
      October 23, 2012 at 12:28 pm

      I completely agree. In this comic, he’s going out as Redbird to throw off the robin-hunters but in B&R he’s dressed as Robin in public and getting munched on by zombies. They should either bring up the bounty as something that has already passed (and is concluded in Batman Inc.) or not bring it up at all.

      It feels like zero month knocked a few of these stories off of their natural progression.

  5. Avatar photo RileyArmpit32 says:
    October 23, 2012 at 2:22 am

    I hoping this issue re-kicks off the series with a bang, just like the first issue did?!

  6. jasonwest says:
    October 23, 2012 at 11:36 am

    Man, I know I’m in the the minority but I can not get into Morrison’s Batman at all. When he first started on the Batman book is was ok, and then it just went down hill for me. And it continued on his Batman & Robin and now both Batman, Inc. runs. So now I will bow out. for now. Is this book continuing after Morrison?

    • Avatar photo daningotham says:
      October 23, 2012 at 4:14 pm

      I don’t think so. I think I heard it is ending after issue #12 when Morrison’s story is done.

    • jasonwest says:
      October 24, 2012 at 5:25 pm

      @ daningotham Thank you for the info.

    • Avatar photo fearthejake says:
      November 2, 2012 at 11:33 pm

      This was my last issue as well. I keep getting burned by Morrison. My biggest problem with his books is I always feel like I missed an issue. This issue makes a big deal about the big reveal of Wingman, but I honestly don’t remember him even apearing in this book so far. Maybe I need to go back and re-read the first 3.

  7. jsa1036 says:
    October 23, 2012 at 4:34 pm

    I hope this issue finally reveals the new Wingman’s identity. The obvious choice would be Dick, but the way Burnham is drawing his lower jaw makes it look like someone considerably older.

    • Avatar photo ed209AF says:
      October 24, 2012 at 1:31 pm

      I would never said the obvious choice would be dick they way they teased at it being his redemption. I’m putting my money on one of the Azraels.

    • Avatar photo WheelHands says:
      October 24, 2012 at 4:53 pm

      @ed209AF: When Bruce told the new Wingman that it was a chance to redeem a name, I got the impression he was talking about the legacy of Wingman, not the name of whoever is under the mask. But you could be right.

      Neither Dick or Azrael jives with me though. I’m hoping it’s from left field.

    • jsa1036 says:
      October 24, 2012 at 10:56 pm

      Yeah, I assumed the “redemption” was for the Wingman mantel after the original Wingman killed Dark Ranger. Not for the guy behind the mask. But I guess with the reveal, it kind of works both ways.

  8. Avatar photo sitara119 says:
    October 23, 2012 at 11:07 pm

    ya know, we’ll probably get to issue 5 and outa nowhere Morrison will break from the climax of this story to tell us a back-story of Bat-Cow.
    Secret Origin of the Bovine-Bat.
    she is born, she grows up, wins a prize from the state fair and is thrown in the slaughterhouse after a mix up.
    i think that would be cool. 😀

  9. Avatar photo Adrian says:
    October 24, 2012 at 8:15 am

    Boy, does that banner ad really look great on the cover! As a comic book reader, I had no idea that a show about Green Arrow was coming out. I have to thank DC for putting the ad on the front cover so I would know.

  10. Avatar photo Xajoshua says:
    October 24, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    Can somebody explain the last couple pages to me? Why was Damian so freaked out by the Wingman reveal? And how does Batman go from “we can defeat a billion assassins!” to “You have to surrender, Damian”?

    • Avatar photo RecksDeud says:
      October 24, 2012 at 4:49 pm

      Sometimes, I think even Morrison himself doesn’t take Morrison seriously…

    • Avatar photo WheelHands says:
      October 24, 2012 at 4:55 pm

      He doesn’t. It’s his detractors who take him too seriously.

    • Avatar photo smo5000 says:
      October 24, 2012 at 5:39 pm

      Yeah, that was very confusing. Maybe his comics should have a serious-meter on them. So we would know exactly when he’s writing for shits-n-giggles or when he’s honestly trying to use serious conventions in his comics. I’m hoping the meter is way up there for the next issue, not really up for seeing future-Damian segue into a crappy Lumina Lux song for no reason.

      Overall it was a good issue though. Love the art, I was inspecting the panels throughout the whole thing.

    • Avatar photo sitara119 says:
      October 25, 2012 at 1:51 pm

      my impression of why Damian was so freaked out, is that Jason Todd has murdered people. Robin was grounded for murdering, right? along with the price on his head.
      isn’t it a trust issue?
      “Jason Todd’s killed people and you can work with him, but not me? WTF?” is what i imagined he was thinking. i could be wrong. i haven’t read Vol 1, so i might be missing a couple of pieces to the puzzle.

    • Avatar photo Urthona says:
      October 26, 2012 at 3:02 pm

      I think in a way Morrison is taking a wink at divorce / child custody laws? Next issue I’m sure we’ll all see it was part of some big batman plan, bug I choose to think that Morrison was partly joking that in these divided parents custody battles, the father plays a losing role. Pretty funny I thought.

    • Avatar photo shiveringking8 says:
      October 27, 2012 at 8:27 pm

      I totally did not understand why Batman suddenly sadly decided that Damian would have to go back to his mother because the League of Assassins/Leviathon would win…

  11. Avatar photo RecksDeud says:
    October 24, 2012 at 5:02 pm

    So I’m not wrong! I feel good about that…

    I will admit, his initial Batman stuff (Batman and Son, Black Glove, ect…) felt more weighty than this current Batman, Inc. run, but I like the direction of this book. In fact, I think I’ve grown to prefer it…

  12. Avatar photo manwithoutbeer says:
    October 25, 2012 at 1:09 am

    Issues 1 & 2= Awesome!
    Issue 0= Good
    Issues 3 & 4= meh.

  13. Avatar photo Turd Ferguson says:
    October 25, 2012 at 10:15 am

    Another solid issue – the art was great and the action scenes were really well done. I spent a lot of time with this issue – just studying all the details of the panels.

    I agree with the comments above though – it does seem to switch gears pretty quickly from “we can keep kicking ass as long as it takes” to “see ya later son …”

    Maybe it is all a ploy and Batman wants to get Robin on the inside of Leviathan. Who knows with Morrison though – a bullet might come from the future and kill him next issue …

  14. Avatar photo RolandofGilead says:
    October 25, 2012 at 1:23 pm

    @Turd F. – I think you’re absolutely right about Damien being sent back to his mother. Bruce has been around his son long enough now to know that Damien would show up in that battle. And the manner in which Morrison wrote that cliffhanger was so over the top that it seemed clear to me that this was move he intended to make all along. And it is also possible that Damien is in on this too by his over the top reaction to Bruce as well. Some off panel planning to be revealed at a future date? Wouldn’t surprise me.
    Either way, this was so much fun to read.

    I don’t know if it was just me, but this issue felt like Burnham letting loose and being more like himself rather than an artist riffing on another artist. Whatever it is, I loved it!

    Can’t wait for some 666-verse next month.

  15. Avatar photo APoetSomeday says:
    October 25, 2012 at 3:55 pm

    As usual, I dug the hell out of this book.

    Pulpy, engaging and often outrageous, ‘Batman Inc’ is the most purely fun Bat-Book I’ve read in a really, really long time. The energetic panels pop and explode with kinetic excitement, while the dialogue sizzles and effortlessly runs the tightrope between deep psychological drama and soap opera silliness. The hoards upon hoards of incredibly detailed, (yet somehow still minor) characters are constantly bringing me back to the older issues, immersing me completely in The Batman and his fictional world. There are a lot of Batbooks out there, but none as fast paced, funny and colourful as this one. Its a brand unto itself.

  16. Avatar photo JoshJones87 says:
    October 25, 2012 at 6:16 pm

    Okay….I’m out. It’s been exhausting; pretending like I know what’s going on, trying to find the good in the book, reading all of the issues when a new one comes out to try and understand. I just straight up don’t get it. It breaks my heart to drop a bat book but this is way over my head. I guess I’m just a dummy.

  17. Avatar photo stasisbal says:
    October 25, 2012 at 9:36 pm

    On the ending, I don’t think we’re necessarily supposed to know what is going on. The general idea is that Damien needed to be with Talia all along. The reasoning and more twists can come later. Perhaps it is all part of Batman’s plan.

    I love seeing the various members of Batman, Inc. working together. That scene where they cut the lights with the classic Burnham punch to the face in night vision was wicked.

  18. Avatar photo BradLWoods3 says:
    October 28, 2012 at 12:46 am

    Decent issue. I loved the way Burnham drew Wingman. And Damien showing up as Redbird was cool. The ending about him having to return to Talia has me looking forward to the next issue. The Superman preview did absolutely nothing for me. That’s disappointing because I want to like Superman.

  19. Avatar photo daningotham says:
    November 12, 2012 at 7:23 pm

    Another great issue. Can’t wait to see Damian of the future again next issue.

  20. Avatar photo APoetSomeday says:
    November 14, 2012 at 9:33 am

    Was anybody else really surprised that a) Wingman didn’t turn out to be Superman (as he originally did back in the 50’s) and that b) Superman doesn’t seem to feature at all in ‘Batman INC’?

    Besides Robin, Alfred and Jim Gordon (obviously), I’ve always seen Supes as Batman’s closest ally. I’d like him to appear somewhere in this story, as I think Bruce would have carved a role out for him. However, I really love the way that ‘Batman INC’ is highlighting smaller, mostly forgotten characters from the darker corners of the DCU as well, so I wouldn’t want Supes taking over or anything.

    Then again, I also think it would be cool if Bruce left some clues in the future (maybe with adult Damian) as well and Kal Kent could show up at some stage. That would be awesome.

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