As comics begin to ship once more, Batman restarts its epic countdown to Batman #100. These final issues fall under the title “The Joker War“. DC Comics released info on the forthcoming issues. Not only do things not look good for our caped crusader, but will he find the right person to help him? With this sounding like a game changing run we might be asking Will the real Robin stand up?
Real Robin Stand up: Dark Times for Our Dark Knight
The DC website details some of the issues to come. Not only did Joker replace Harley Quinn with his new bad girl, Punchline, starting with issue #95, but Batsy gets a blast of Joker’s new Joker toxin. Down goes the batman. He will need not only time to recover, but help keeping things in check while he does.
Sounds like things do not go well for Batman. He faced many crisis before, but ones this big he pulled from a stable of help. Right now the stable sits all but empty. Not only does Batman need to fight his way through the effects of the serum, but he only has two people to call on, and neither is a great choice.
Real Robin Stand up: Robin Choice #1
The first person to step up to help Batman shares history with not only Batman, but Joker as well. His first savior is none other than Puddin’s old squeeze Harley Quinn! DC days by issue 98 Harley will be fight side by side with her old nemesis, Batman.
Harley dumped Joker some time ago. Ever since she spent her time trying to figure out who she will become. Will petty crime dominate her life, or does she have something inside to become more? Passing the test to become the Angel of Retribution showed Harley does indeed have more inside of her than petty crime. Also in the latest Birds of Prey, Harley helped the ladies of Prey and became a team for at least the issue.
What would make this interesting is during the Heroes in Crisis event, Harley swore to Batman she changed and did not kill anyone. Batman would not believe in her. It took Batgirl’s help before Harley found someone to believe in her. Will the Joker War issues take this into account?
Real Robin Stand up: Option #2 Returns…Kinda
The second option returns from the past. DC says in issue 99, the prodigal son returns – Dick Grayson. Or is it Rick? The original Robin lost his memory at the hands of KGBeast a year ago. Getting shot in the head tends to cause issues.
Dick became Rick and he changed his life. Rick walked away from the Nightwing gig, but when a group of public officials (cops/fire fighter) took up the mantle as a group, Rick skipped back into his vigilante ways without donning the actual costume again.
Will Rick help Batman, or does Batman need Dick Grayson and his original mind to overcome the Joker War? Will the original Nightwing return? Or will Harley step up and become Batman’s new sidekick? Check out the Batman title come this fall (Aug/Sept).
