Reading Comics 143 "Apokolips Cowl Part II"

The conclusion of "Robin Rises" comes in the form of Batman and Robin #37 and Robin Rises: Alpha, finishing an arc that began in "The Hunt for Robin" and Robin Rises: Omega earlier in the year.  After Damian's death in Grant Morrison's Batman Incorporated #8 last year, Batman and Robin as a series was altered seemingly forever.  Batman was without a Robin.  At first there were a series of guest-stars, and then a Two-Face arc, but Peter Tomasi revealed an ace in his sleeve when he began his most ambitious story to date, the theft of Damian's body and its subsequent relocation to Apokolips, the home of Darkseid.

It was a big, big development.  Darkseid made an auspicious New 52 debut in the opening arc of the line's flagship title, Justice League, which later proved to be a launching pad for Earth 2 as well.  The New Gods slowly began to return, first in the form of Orion in the pages of Wonder Woman, and then  later in "Robin Rises" and the "Godhead" Green Lantern crossover, after Forever Evil suggested Darkseid's return would signal the next major DC event, which will surely be one of 2015's biggest stories.

"Robin Rises" has long promised Damian's return, and by the end of Batman and Robin #37, that has indeed occurred.  Seeing Patrick Gleason's rendering of Damian and Batman's embrace was easily one of the best comic book moments of the year.  I knew Gleason and Tomasi's stories have been some of my favorite comics of the past few years, but I didn't realize until that moment how much I wanted to see Gleason's Damian again.  Gleason is the only artist capable of making a frequently pugnacious character look vulnerable, and Tomasi has somehow improved on Morrison's depiction of the bond between father and son.  For that reason alone, Batman and Robin has been an important piece of the Dark Knight legacy since its 2011 launch, but its exposure has greatly increased since Batman started his grieving process.

One of the most famous elements of Batman among fans, but one that has rarely been depicted in-continuity, has been the very human Bruce Wayne's ability to stand toe-to-toe with cosmic forces in a fight.  Usually the answer to this dilemma has always been Batman's keen mind, but Tomasi instead opted for the "Hellbat" armor, something he envisioned in association with the Justice League.  Batman wasn't even able to gain access to this armor without outright stealing it from his own colleagues, who strongly disapproved of his plans to invade Apokolips.

The sheer desperation that has driven Batman since Damian's death has been amply demonstrated, and even emphasized, by two separate encounters with Frankenstein, a symbolic figure if there ever was one for these circumstances.  But seeing him clash with Darkseid is one of those fights that elevate the story to operatic proportions.  The armor, by the way, gives him only so much hope in such an encounter.  Make no mistake: Darkseid would have won, given enough time.  But Batman prevails in a timely escape.

And he uses a maguffin to bring his son back from the dead.  There's a little tomfoolery that is a bit dismissed between the two comics, a fake-out of a mortal emergency on Batman's own part, probably explained by a momentary acknowledgment of just how dire the situation really was.  But then father and son are off leaping into action together again by the end.  And it is wonderful.

Andy Kubert provides art for both installments of Robin Rises, an acknowledgment of his own integral history with Damian, having help Morrison introduce him originally, and also working solo on Damian: Son of Batman.  And as much as I love Gleason's Damian, by Alpha Kubert's version has truly become an enduring image as well.

As usual, Batman and Robin is a story where the dramatic payoff is really a powerful urge to see what happens next, and as such it has been one of the strongest examples of serialized storytelling in comics.  That element has only been increased.