Batman vs. Robin #5 is published by DC Comics and written by Mark Waid. Art is by Mahmud Asrar and colours by Jordie Bellaire, letters are by Steve Wands. Main cover art (left) is by Asrar and Nathan Fairbairn.
Batman vs. Robin #5 is available now, in print and on digital, where all good comic books are sold.
Synopsis
WILL FATHER AND SON RECONCILE…OR RUMBLE? The Lazarus Volcano has left its impact on planet Earth, but the fallout from Bruce and Damian Wayne’s war is far from over. It’s been a long road from the initial tensions that drove a wedge between father and son in the pages of Teen Titans, but is the hatchet at last ready to be buried? A bold new chapter in the lives of Batman and Robin begins in this epic final issue!
Review
Somehow it feels like months since the last issue of DC’s Batman vs. Robin was released. In fact it has only been ten weeks. But those ten weeks have been jam packed with Lazarus Planet one-shot anthologies, each telling multiple stories spinning out of the Batman vs. Robin narrative.
In those ten weeks a lot has happened. Most of it focussing on characters other than Batman and Robin. Whilst Waid has put the entire fate of humanity in the hands of DC’s pantheon of heroes, Batman’s fate has remained very much up in the air from very early on. So it’s only right that as the story returns to the Batman vs. Robin title, it refocuses itself on the father and son duo.
What surprised me most was how easily Waid brought the story back in to focus. Picking up almost right where we left off the characters and seamlessly bringing the story to a natural conclusion. Lazarus Planet has been huge and so is this issue. But in very different ways. The wider event has been all encompassing. It’s introduced new characters, rest playing fields and given readers everything they would expect from a DC event. But here Waid changes for scales for something far more emotional.
Damian is quite literally fighting for his father’s body. His fight with Nezha stretches for almost the entire length of the issue. It, of course, pulls in the rest of the Bat-Family and even the entire of Gotham. But what it also does is consistently speak to the core of the character and his impact. Waid completely taps in to what makes Batman one of the most legendary comic book heroes and in the blockbuster final moments certainly knows how to leave the reader with a lump in their throat.
Asrar and Bellaire have been a brilliant team on this book. It’s been so consistent throughout its short run. Both art and colour have been top tier. The overall green theme has run throughout and it’s hard to believe how much Waid as thrown at them. They leave nothing behind in this final issue with opportunities to draw a huge cast of DC characters as well as citizens of Gotham. In the end, Batman vs. Robin has been everything I had hoped for in both story and visual.
Verdict
It’s a 5⭐ finale for Batman vs. Robin as Waid circles the story back around to its titular characters. Wrapping up much of Lazarus Planet, the story keeps its sense of grandeur but hones in perfectly on Bruce and Damian. Unexpected twists keep the reader on their toes and bring this cataclysmic event to a close with a fist pumped high in the air… WE ARE BATMAN!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
