Well, after a passable (but confusing) first arc, and an action-packed (but poorly executed) second arc,
RED ROBIN’S third arc begins this month with part one of “Collision.” To catch you up to speed, here’s what’s happened so far in a nutshell: with the aid of Ra’s al Ghul, Tim knows that Bruce Wayne is alive and lost in time; he’s returned to Gotham City with this information after destroying the entire infrastructure of the League of Assassins.
The story opens with Red Robin foiling a bank robbery by one of the more colorful members of Batman’s rogues’ gallery. After the villain is apprehended, Detective Bullock makes a hilarious remark by confusing Red Robin with Doctor Mid-Nite (it’s true!). Then, Tim catches up with Tam Fox and does the whole “Batman disappearing act” while visiting Lucius.
After doing some swinging around the city and some inner monologue, there’s a really, REALLY awkward scene that re-reunites Tim with the recently resurrected Superboy (Connor Kent). For those of you that didn’t read it, Geoff Johns’ ADVENTURE COMICS #3 initially re-introduced these characters after Superboy was brought back to life. It’s hard to explain, but Tim acts like he’s seeing Connor return for the first time upon meeting him, even though he clearly explains -- and references -- AC #3
In between that awkward meeting, there’s an interesting scene with Bruce Wayne’s imposter (Tommy Elliot/Hush) and Vicki Vale. I enjoyed the spin that Paul Dini put on Elliot in HEART OF HUSH and STREETS OF GOTHAM; it’s nice to see it being explored here since it hasn’t shown up too much in the other Bat-titles. At the end of the issue, Red Robin receives a threatening message from Ra’s -- he even calls Tim “detective.” Upon reaching The Batcave, Tim discovers that Stephanie Brown is the new Batgirl.
Now, if that plot description seemed a bit schizophrenic in content to you, that’s because it was. Even though I’m ecstatic that there were no flashbacks/flashforwards in this issue, the whole thing felt to me like “let’s see what’s going on in the DCU and put everything in continuity and stuff!” Now, I like how Chris Yost has been able to weave in little DCU updates here and there, but when they start to overshadow the actual story, there’s a problem. Although it was nice to have a slightly less-frenzied plot after the past couple of issues, I’d much rather see more of Tim fighting Ra’s and tracking down Bruce than watching him awkwardly give Superboy a hug.
On a final note, Marcus To continues to be the best part about this series. His artwork is crisp, clean, and perfectly fits the title. Trust me—this dude can draw one hell of a Killer Moth. Too bad that DC screwed up and put Ramon Bachs (illustrator of issues 1-5) on the cover. I’m sure it’s just a printing error, but if I was To, I’d be pissed. Anyway, the title crosses over with BATGIRL next month, so I can only hope for the best.
