After seeing the lengths Tim Drake went to carry out his plans in last month’s issue of
RED ROBIN, I was eagerly awaiting to see the next steps in his master scheme. Unfortunately, lots of things happen this month that Tim wasn’t exactly prepared for.
Picking up on a thread from the end of the original ROBIN series, the new Anarky (Ulysses Armstrong) returns with a plan to murder potential “Red Robin” candidates one by one -- until they’re all eliminated. And unlike his past large-scale, mass murdering displays, Anarky has been carrying out this plan in secret, right under Red Robin’s nose.
Tim discovers this horrible truth after receiving digital messages transmitted from the original Anarky (Lonnie Machin), who is both in a coma and being held captive by the new Anarky. Still with me? Anyway, Anarky activates a bomb in the location where he’s holding Lonnie. This forces Red Robin to disarm the device and save Lonnie, allowing Anarky to escape.
During the issue, other plot threads are touched upon, such as Tim’s relationship with Tam Fox, what Prudence (from the League of Assassins) is up to, and what Tim plans to do about Lynx, who was recently arrested. Snippets of Tim’s confrontation with Captain Boomerang are also present, just as they were in the previous issue. I’ll be very interested to see how Tim will handle the return of his father’s killer.
There’s one interesting event that occurs toward the end of the issue regarding Tim’s future plans. It’s an obvious foreshadowing of the upcoming BATMAN INC. and it really reads that way. I’m not sure how I feel about this -- I can only hope that whatever happens stays true to the character.
This month’s issue of RED ROBIN throws a lot at you and continues to plant the seeds for a dramatic conclusion. The renewed quality of the title over the past few months doesn’t stop here. However, with things like BRUCE WAYNE: THE ROAD HOME and BATMAN INC. just around the corner, I hope that the series can withstand yet another Morrison-directed “master plan.”
GRADE: B
Ryan Hoss reviews RED ROBIN and other comics for BOF.
He runs and maintains his own portfolio website at RYANHOSS.COM, as well as SMBMOVIE.COM.
Email him at RYAN.HOSS@MAILCITY.COM.
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