Batman #442 (December, 1989)
"A Lonely Place of Dying, Chapter Five: Rebirth"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Co-Plotter - George Perez
Penciller - Jim Aparo
Inker - Mike DeCarlo
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Associate Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Cover Price: $1.00
Well, here we are... creeping out of that Lonely Place.
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We pick up right where we left off in New Titans #61. Tim and Alfred are in the Batcave... with the former going into full-on panic mode. Alfred's used to this kind of thing... well, as used to this kinda thing as one can get anyway. Tim continues his mantra of "Batman needs Robin"... and holds Jason's duds aloft. Back at the corner of 4th and 4th, Batman and Nightwing are pinned under the debris... while Two-Face anxiously flips his coin. He considers the time... 2am, and figures this is the perfect time for Batman to die.
We rejoin Tim and Alfred hauling ass in the Alf-mobile (better than the Alf-cycle, I guess). Tim is in the backseat trying on Jason's clothes. He claims that he didn't want it to come to this... but I'm not so sure he's being completely honest. As they pull up, Two-Face is just about to make the building go kablooey.
After the explosion, "Robin" runs up and socks Two-Face in the jaw. Unfortunately, Dent returns the favor... except he's holding a brick. He then snatches a bit of rebar, and goes to give the lad the ol' "Jason Todd special".
Alfred, who is still present, rushes in to stop Harvey... applying a pretty weak half-nelson. Thankfully, this distraction is all Tim needs to land another sucker-punch on the baddie. Must've been a helluva shot too, as Two-Face disappears for a moment. The fellas check the perimeter, and Tim locates the coal-chute... and proceeds to pound on it to gain entry.
As Robin enters the building, Two-Face listens in (Alfred calls him "Tim", not sure if ol' Harv heard all that) before taking his leave. Inside, Robin finds Batman and Nightwing... alive, and begins pulling the debris off of them.
Once back on his feet, Batman takes one look at "Robin", and nyoinks the domino mask right off his face. As he walks away, Tim calls him "Bruce", prompting a "da hell?" response. Tim continues, spilling the beans about everything he knows.
Alfred runs in to report on how well the lad handled himself against Two-Face... which, hmm... I'd suggest if Alfred didn't intervene, Tim would be nothing more than a smear at this point... but what do I know? Tim continues to press the "Batman needs a Robin" mantra. Batman ain't convinced... yet.
From here... Tim and Bruce continue to argue. It's pretty funny, Dick and Alfred are just off to the side watching this punk kid try and school Batman. The discussion shifts from Robin being a sidekick to Robin being a "symbol". Tim thinks if the baddies know they can kill Robin... they can start hunting down more of the cape-set. I can't argue that kinda logic... and it appears that Batman can't either.
It's decided to try and track down Two-Face. Tim chimes in and says he's got it covered... during their scuffle, he'd slipped a tracking disk on him. Ay yai yai, Tim is just so annoying at this point. They follow the trace to Gemini Junkyard, where Batman decides it's best to leave Robin in the Batmobile while they scope out the place. No sooner do Batman and Nightwing exit the car, than it gets smashed by a wrecking ball! Whoops!
Well, let's not mourn the new guy too quickly. He's Tim Drake after all... this kid's the picture of perfection! He saw the ball coming, and dove out (and under) the Batmobile before it struck.
Two-Face then rolls up in the cutest little tractor ever. It looks like one of those die-cast toys you'd get as a kid, that has a plastic bust of a character attached to it. Check it out:
From here, a fight (obviously) breaks out. Nightwing gets smashed in the face with a headlight... because, we gotta show how the "new guy" is better than the old one. The skirmish ends with... a sock to the jaw. I mean, Two-Face has taken so many punches to the mush, it's gonna be awhile before he can eat solids again. The scene ends with Batman begrudgingly accepting Tim as Robin.
We begin our wrap up back at Wayne Manor. Bruce tells Tim that he was right about their being symbols. Wait, Tim Drake was... right about something? More like right about everything during this story. Bruce decides that he's willing to give this Batman and Robin team a try.
We actually close out by learning that Harvey wasn't suffering any psychosis when he thought the radio was speaking to him. That's because, somehow, that voice belonged to... the Joker... who is annoyed (though intrigued) that there's a new Bat-brat on the block.
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I'm gonna start by attempting to make it plain that I consider Tim Drake to be my Robin. I've enjoyed following his career... until The New-52!, anyway... and will always consider him to be the definitive Robin of my generation. I don't care that DC decided he never was Robin, and went directly to Red Robin... to me, that's just New-52! garbage they added to differentiate him and/or try and squeeze four Robins into that ridiculous (and impossible) five-year timeline.
Ahem... where was I? Oh yeah... I'm a really big fan of the Drake. That being said, boy oh boy was he annoying here! I hate using the old "Mary Sue" or "Gary Stu" chestnut, because... yuck, but man... he was a bit too perfect here. Ya know, excepting the part in which he almost died... but we'll get to that.
I don't think a new character should be able to come in and go toe-to-toe verbally sparring with Batman. That just strikes me as a bit too "try hard" in the presentation. I mean, I get that Batman's not quite acting himself... but, I feel like he should always be able to silence some snotty argumentative kid. It felt like when you're a little kid and you're arguing with your parents. At the point where they can no longer come up with actual replies and have to fall back on the old "because I said so." It's right then that you both kinda feel like you "won"... but it's a Pyrrhic victory at best.
Also, Tim having the wherewithal to pop a tracer on Two-Face... after being smashed in the face with a brick? First, c'mon... second, how did he know how to use a tracker? Just a bit too perfect. Next, Tim seeing a giant wrecking ball when Batman and Nightwing both missed it? I get that we're trying to illustrate that Tim's a bright kid... but doing so at the cost of Batman and Nightwing both looking dumb doesn't do any of the characters any favors. I probably ought to also mention that Dick taking a headlight to the face didn't quite work for me. I mean, Dick's gone toe-to-toe with frickin' Deathstroke... and Two-Face can land a shot with a headlight? C'mon, again... I get that we're trying to make Tim look good... but at the cost of Dick looking bad doesn't help anyone.
So, Tim almost died. If not for Alfredian intervention, he would have been... at best, crippled by Two-Face and his rebar. Moments later, Alfred tells Batman how well Tim handled himself in the "fight". Wha--? I don't get it. Batman just lost a Robin... does Alfred really think this is a good idea? I sure don't.
As a story, A Lonely Place of Dying was a great bit of fun. As a final chapter, however, this all felt a bit forced. Tim, despite coming moments away from being maimed/killed... is portrayed as being an always prepared, perfect sidekick for Batman. His detective skills thus far have been demonstrated quite well... but, his "field" debut? Didn't quite feel it. I can't remember how I felt about this the first time I read it... but, I'm pretty sure Tim didn't grate on me as much then as he did this time.
Overall, even with my misgivings and how much Tim annoyed me, I'd definitely recommend this to any bat-fans and bat-historians out there. A Lonely Place of Dying is an important piece of work (and a vital piece of the lore) even if it's no longer a thing that happened. Perhaps the upcoming A Lonely Place of Living running through Detective Comics will shine a better light on that.
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New Titans #61 (December, 1989)
"A Lonely Place of Dying, Chapter Four: Going Home!"
Co-Plotter/Writer - Marv Wolfman
Co-Plotter/Layouts - George Perez
Penciller - Tom Grummett
Embellisher - Bob McLeod
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Associate Editor - Jonathan Peterson
Editor - Mike Carlin
Cover Price: $1.75
Welcome to the... ahem, penultimate chapter of A Lonely Place of Dying. It's weird the things you notice about a cover when you really pay attention.
I don't really hide the fact that the pictures I include here are a result of... well, snapping them with my iPhone (aah, that explains the crookedness!). The covers often prove to be a challenge... because, it seems like I can either get the title straight... or the UPC box in the bottom corner straight... but very rarely both. When taking this picture, however, I noticed that it was devoid of a UPC box! What's more, it's also missing the Comics Code Authority Stamp! Not that this is a hyper-violent or sexually suggestive book... but, another example of the differences between newsstand comics and direct-market only books... and another nugget I'm going to have to remember to comment on when Reggie and I finally get around to that Direct Market episode of Weird Comics History!
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We open... in the Batcave, and it's a bit of a stutter-step from the ending of the last chapter. It seemed like we closed with Dick in the Nightwing duds and Alfred kinda hinting that Tim might be the next Robin. Here, we have Dick in the Nightwing duds, sure... but instead of Tim standing there shocked, he's literally chasing him down holding... Jason Todd's Robin costume! Like, he pulled it out of the trophy case and everything! Not that he wants to wear it, mind, he wants Dick to wear it! Dick gets pretty ticked off, and tells Tim to back off... he says that the Robin persona died with Jason Todd.
We shift over to Titans Tower, where Raven receives a call from... someone looking for Nightwing. When they're told he's not in, the caller hits her with a high-pitched squeal... thinking that will stop the Titans from tracing the call. Turns out the *squeeeeee* was moot, as the Titans were sorta waiting for a call like this and were able to drop a relay on the line before he hangs up.
The Titans believe this might be the same creepy kid who dropped in on Starfire a night or two back, and head out to follow the trace. They arrive at a dirt road... and it looks as though whoever placed the call shimmied up a pole and plugged into the phone lines. Well, that was pretty smart!
Back at the Tower, the remaining Titans are analyzing that squeal... and it turns out that there's a coded message hidden in there! Jericho gets to the bottom of it, and hands it off to Raven to deliver to it's rightful recipient... Nightwing!
And so, Raven ports to Gotham City where she finds Nightwing atop GCPD Headquarters chatting with Commissioner Gordon under the glow of an unanswered Bat-Signal. She hands him a tiny data-disc, and suggests he pop it into his wrist-computer. While he checks it out, she offers some Titanic assistance. Dick thanks her just the same, however, says this is between he and Batman.
We pop back to Wayne Manor, and observe a weird little scene. Tim just won't shut up... he just keeps picking Alfred's brain about Dick and Bruce's relationship... to which, Alfred flat-out tells him he's asking too many personal questions. Tim's really coming across obnoxious here... between this and Danny Chase, maybe that's just how Marv Wolfman sees all kids!
We catch up with Dick, who is considering all the information he'd just received via data-disc... and it's basically all the Batman scenes from the last three chapters. He puts the pieces together and deduces that Two-Face's clues are leading he (and Batman) to a... four-themed location (we'll just call it two-squared)!
Nightwing arrives and meets up with Batman. It's a pretty contentious reunion... in which Batman comes within inches of telling Nightwing that he needs him... but stops before actually saying it. He points to their target building across the way, and tells Dick to cover the rear while he goes in the front. Dick objects, thinking that might not be the best idea... since Two-Face is expecting him. Batman informs him that when they're working together, he's not the leader of the Titans... and won't be giving the orders. Dannnnng!
The dynamic duo heads inside... Nightwing checks the perimeter, and notes that the only exit routes are a coal chute and a tiny basement window. He enters through the window. Batman, crashing through a front window... finds, something preeeeetty strange.
Batman calls Nightwing via wrist-communicator to try and talk through the situation. Even this is pretty contentious. Nightwing suggests they just call it a night, as they're both exhausted... and this odd situation might be too much for them to mentally work through at this point. Batman tells him he's free to leave whenever he wants. Yeesh.
After a few more moments of deduction... Batman solves the riddle. Two-Face has literally turned the house upside down... meaning up is down... and the basement is actually... the second floor! As he says this, Two-Face makes his presence known in the basement!
Two-Face flips his coin... and it comes up scarred. And so, he triggers a bomb... which somehow causes Batman and Nightwing to get caught in the blast and resulting cave-in... but not him, even though he's only standing a few feet away. Oh well, we'll allow it... he probably had it all planned out.
We wrap up back in the Batcave. Nightwing tapped the homing signal on his wrist-comm before the walls came tumblin' down. Alfred traces it back to the corner of 4th and 4th. Tim pleads with Alfred that they must do something... and the "camera" focuses in on... Jason's Robin costume.
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Okay, we're kicking things into high-gear here... it feels like we are exactly where we need to be at this point.
We've got a little to unpack here... let's start with Batman. I really enjoy his keeping people at arm's length... though, I'd imagine if I were reading this from month to month (or week to week with the multiple titles) at the time, it would've began to grate on me by this point. I mean, there's only so many times we can look at "wounded bird" Batman, trying to hide his insecurities. I dig it because it's a novelty... but drop me back in 1988, I think I'd have grown tired of the act by now.
Let's stick with him for now though. He refuses to outright tell Dick that he needs him. This is a real indication of just how strained their relationship had become... and really illustrates why Bruce was so quick to bring Jason into the fold. Last year we discussed one of my favorite single-issues of all-time, Batman #416, where Bruce pretty much conceded that to be the case. Alfred posits here that while Batman was bringing in a new sidekick... Bruce was bringing in a new surrogate son (to replace Dick). It's pretty deep, and I do enjoy it... but again, I bet I'd be tired of it by now if I were reading back then.
Batman's snippiness toward Nightwing was off-putting, but didn't feel out of place. I can appreciate that he... I dunno, begrudges him his success as a solo hero... and as a leader. I mean, look at Dick... leader of the Titans, responsible for the lives of a handful of other heroes... meanwhile, Batman can't keep one sidekick from being murdered. I think Batman almost calling Nightwing "Robin" a few times was a bit... I dunno... forced? I mean, by this point Dick has been Nightwing for a long time... and they two have worked together under this dynamic. I dunno... I get what they're going for, but it kinda misses the mark for me.
Let's talk Tim! Boy is he annoying. From the first page, I was hoping somebody would sock'em in the face. I gotta say, jumping from the end of last issue to the start of this one was rather jarring. The shift in tone was so drastic... you'd almost think it was more than one guy writing this arc! Batman #441 ended on an almost somber note... with Alfred hinting that Nightwing has some Robinesque plans for young Tim... here, Tim's literally chasing Dick down demanding he return to his Robin persona... while Dick is adamant that Robin is, literally and figuratively, dead! Just doesn't add up for me. It did tickle me a bit when Alfred told him to cool it with the personal questions though!
The Titans... oh yeah, this is their book, isn't it? Well, they play a bigger role this chapter than they did last time... so they've got that going for them. Not a whole lot to say about them, however. Just like last time, if I were solely a Titans fan/reader... I'd be pretty miffed reading this arc. I would really want to see the scene of Batman shimmying up a telephone pole to contact them though!
Overall... if you've made it this far in A Lonely Place of Dying, it would be foolish to skip this chapter. No circus nonsense to speak of and a true feeling of story progression. Some interesting interpersonal conflict and solving impossible riddles occur, and, as with the other chapters... it's well worth your time. Tomorrow we'll put this one to bed.
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Batman #441 (November, 1989)
"A Lonely Place of Dying, Chapter Three: Parallel Lines!"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Penciller - Jim Aparo
Inker - Mike DeCarlo
Letterer - John Costanza
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Associate Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Cover Price: $1.00
We've hit the midway point in A Lonely Place of Dying... even if you're a newsstand-only kid. We don't really get filled-in on what happened in New Titans #60... so, if you wanna know... here's your hook-up.
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We pick up right where we left off in New Titans #60, with Batman perched... and Two-Face lounging... here, however, it doesn't seem like Harvey's watching Batman. Perhaps I took what he was saying a bit too literally last time. Anyhoo, the foes are busy brainstorming ways to lure each other out... and it's really well done. They seem to have very similar ways of thinking and planning... being careful not to tip their hands too much. They each go over some (very similar) scenarios before coming up with the perfect plan (in unison!).
We shift to Wayne Manor where Dick has arrived with... that kid. Weird that he'd take him in without ever getting his name! The kid does finally say his name is "Tim", though... and he's totally psyched to be there... oohing and aahing over many of Mr. Wayne's valuables. Alfred doesn't appear to have all that in the way of patience... and demands to know what's going on. It's about time somebody pressed the issue! Tim runs down what he knows about the Bat-Family, which only makes Dick and Alfred even more uncomfortable. Finally, they sit the boy down... and tell him to spill everything. Turns out this Tim has a last name... Drake! He's the lad who sat on Dick's knee in that photo taken the day the Flying Graysons were murdered... but, we already knew that, right?
While Tim tells his story, we pop over to check in on Two-Face. He's busy trying to get the radio to speak to him... and all it wants to talk about is the news! What he learns, however, is that Club Gemini is holding the World Series of Poker, with a $22-Million prize! Why that's almost two good two be true! Two bad he already set up his Bat-trap elsewhere!
A brief aside with Batman confirms that the Gemini Club was his plan... however, a call from Commissioner Gordon informs him that the Wright Twins have been kidnapped! Seems like both men have their own traps set... ones which they just may have to abandon!
Back at the Manor, the fellas discuss the murder of John and Mary Grayson. Tim says that when he saw Batman swoop in, he thought for sure he was there to hurt Dick... but then realized he was there to help.
We pop back to another "parallel" page, where Batman waits at Club Gemini... and Two-Face waits at Hawk Bridge where he has the Wright Twins tied up. They both sit tight for a moment before abandoning their posts. Batman couldn't sit by and allow for children to be hurt, while the thought of $22M makes Two-Face's mouth water too much to focus.
Back with the boys (and Alfred), Tim recounts a recurring nightmare he'd suffered in the years that followed the event. Years? Wow, he might have more baggage from this than Dick himself! Anyhoo, his dream features Dick doing his trademark quadruple somersault while his parents fell for an eternity. Dick demands "Jeff" explain what this has to do with anything. Jeff? Whoops!
He continues... recalling a day where he saw footage of Batman and Robin fighting the Penguin on the TV news. In it, this "Robin" performed... Dick Grayson's trademark quadruple somersault! A maneuver he knows like he knows his own name... which, I guess would be Jeff! Some critical thinking led the lad to consider that Dick Grayson and Robin were... one in the same! And, if Dick Grayson is Robin... the likeliest suspect to be Batman is Bruce Wayne! Ruh-roh...
Tim kept up with the Wayne news of the day... and found a correlation between his adopting of Jason Todd... and the emergence of a brand-new Robin. Also, after the news of Jason Todd's death hit the news... there was no longer a Robin at Batman's side! It's funny, everything he's saying makes total sense... just how crappy are DC's detectives and supervillains if they can't figure this out?!
Back on the streets, Batman rescues the Wright Twins... and Two-Face busts into Club Gemini. Batman has to perform some Riddler-esque deduction to locate the lads... which starts with some graffiti in the Wright Brothers bedroom... 2B (over) CC... he eventually translates this to mean "To be over two seas"... and thinks of the Hawk Bridge which covers the "twin rivers"... and also pays tribute to some more famous Wright Brothers... minus the "Kitty". Good gravy, I've seen Pee-Wee Herman make a less complicated breakfast than this!
Back at the Manor, Dick brings Tim to... the Bat-Cave! Wow, we're moving a bit fast, no? He shows Tim around before hopping into his Nightwing duds. Tim's confused... he feels Batman needs a Robin... not a Nightwing. To which, Alfred suggests that's exactly what Dick had in mind in bringing him here.
We wrap up the issue with both Batman and Two-Face retiring to their corners... waiting for the next "round" to begin.
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Well, this's more like it. After a bit of a dud (or at least a lull) with the New Titans chapter, our mid-point piece overachieves and gets us back on course.
This is definitely a Robin story... with some background Batman, rather than the other way around. I was pleased that there was so much time spent with Dick and Jeff Tim, and how we actually get an explanation about how the latter knows so much about the former... and the former's friends 'n family.
You'd almost expect this issue to end with Tim putting on the Robin costume for the first time... buuuut, we're not quite there yet. Oh yeah, spoilers... Tim's going to be the third Robin, sorry 'bout that.
His deductive methods... dang, like I said during the synopsis... how in the hell hasn't anyone (or everyone!) else figured out that Bruce Wayne is Batman? I mean, if a kid who is just passively watching the TV news can figure it out... you gotta figure Gotham's forensic detectives would have gotten to the bottom of this years ago! It doesn't say much for the elite supervillains of the DC Universe either. Actually, it says a lot... just none of it all that flattering.
While I appreciate moving the story forward... it does feel a bit soon to let Tim into the Batcave. I mean, Dick only knows what Tim's told him... nothing more. For all we know, it could be revealed that Tim's working for... I dunno, Deathstroke the Terminator? I mean, that sorta thing already happened once on Dick's watch, right? This is like Bruce Wayne letting Vicki Vale into the Batcave during the 1989 Batman movie levels of quick. I get that Dick wants to always see the best in others... but this behavior is almost dangerously naive.
Especially when he can't even keep the kid's name straight...
Over to Batman and Two-Face. This was less a story, and more a ballet. The two took part in a mirror-world synchronized dance, and it was wonderful! Sure, the 2B/CC thing was a bit precious, but overall I really enjoyed it. It shows how equally driven the pair are... at least at present. This may be representative of how erratic Bruce is behaving since the death of Jason Todd... the realization may lead to that moment of profundity he's so desperately needed for the past little while. Really well done.
Overall, a very strong (and information filled!) middle chapter to A Lonely Place of Dying... and an issue important to Bat-fans and Bat-historians alike. Well worth your time.
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