This was a very unexpected pick of the week for me. I’ve liked Red Robin up to this point, but not really loved it. Had this been a heavier week for me, I could have easily dropped it without thinking about it too hard. I’m glad I checked this out though.

Structurally what made this issue for me is the moment of stillness Tim takes before the main fight in this book breaks out. He’s surrounded and we get this really multi-layered moment of Tim absorbing and processing all the information he’s being bombarded with. Tam clings to his arm, a body double of Ra’s al Ghul lay dead on the ground while the real Ra’s feeds him information via his earpiece, a team of deadly assailants surround him ready to strike. The scenario is very orderly for us though, because we have Tim’s internal monologue assessing the situation and making a plan with cool detachment.

In this scene, Tim is Batman. He’s outnumbered seven to one by the Council of Spiders, but they never stand a chance. He has a plan and defines for himself what constitutes victory in this situation, he executes his plan, and when things go awry, he adjusts quickly and without panic or hesitation. He’s in complete control of the situation, and when he escapes with Tam up the ventilation shaft via grappling hook you could have swapped the red on Tim’s suit for black and it would have looked and felt indistinguishable from Bruce.