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When I stumbled onto this issue, I thought it might be a nice addition to the Batman continuity page, as this one issue story retells the origins of how Dick Grayson became the first Robin.
When the boss of a local Gotham Circus is unable to pay off his debt towards Boss Zucco, one of the crime lords men manipulates the acrobatics act of “the flying Graysons”. Bruce Wayne is amongst the audience, when suddenly the robes snap and the resulting “accident” leaves young Dick Grayson an orphan. Bruce Wayne, who already suspected the circus crowd to be involved with Zucco, decides to investigate as the Batman and stumbles upon the youngster, who has found the criminal responsible for this parent’s deaths. After saving him, Batman takes the youngster in and goes after Zucco himself. However, the dark knight underestimates Dick’s persistence and the boy soon finds himself in a dangerous situation.
Dennis O’Neil tries to summarize the tale of Robin’s origin on thirty pages and in a way succeeds with this task. However, the story feels a bit rushed and there is not much place for proper character development. The art by Dave Taylor is very peculiar and at times feels European (almost like from a Bande Dessinée). Still, it fits the circus theme surprisingly well. All in all this story is not a very ingenious one, but it is worth reading if you always wanted to find out how Batman got his first sidekick.
Story 6, Art 7, Reread 5, Overall Score 6
After Spider-Man had finally defeated Norman Osborn aka The Green Goblin in the four part story arc “The Final Chapter”, he decided to give up his superhero life. The Amazing Spider-Man series was restarted and “Issue One” deals with a New York without Spider-Man. Several heroes like the Fantastic Four, Daredevil and the Avengers are looking for him and regret that he has gone under, while others like J. Jonah Jameson try to further demean the image of the web-slinger. Peter Parker however enjoys his new life, his aunt is back from the dead and his supermodel girlfriend is filthy rich. Life is finally good. When the Scorpion suddenly returns and goes on a rampage in the city, he questions his choice but does not intervene. Surprisingly enough Spider-Man arrives at the scene, ready to kick the Scorpions butt. It is however evident that this is not the former hero but somebody else. Peter, who in the meantime has on a job interview with the Tri Corp Research Foundation, has no idea that somebody else has filled in for him. The Scorpion crashes into the interview, apparently looking for Parker (the reason is not given to us) and when the new Spider-Man arrives at the scene, the confusion is big. Peter, not wanting to reveal his secret identity manages to subdue the Scorpion by applying his scientific knowledge instead of pounding on him in the usual fashion. This first issue also includes two mini stories at the end, one showing us how the Scorpion was recreated and another showing Peter putting his past as Spider-Man finally behind him.
The idea that Peter Parker would finally give up his responsibility as Spider-Man is fairly interesting and the introduction of somebody else in the costume makes the whole thing even more intriguing. Considering that this is the first issue in a new series it is nice to see that they tried to implement several mysteries at once in order to keep the readers coming for more. Who is this new Spider-Man? Who updated the Scorpion and put him on Parker’s trail? Will J. Jonah Jameson finally get of the web-slingers case? All of these questions would eventually be answered in Marvel’s revamped The Amazing Spider-Man series.
Story 7
Art 7
Reread Value 5
Overall Rating 7/10
(This origin story was originally published in Batman #386, Detective Comics #553 and concluded in Batman #387. Written by Doug Moench)
Welcome back comic fans and let me introduce you to a new category on this site called “back issue”. Under this label I will from now on publish reviews of older comic books, usually short story lines taken from a regular monthly series like The Amazing Spider-Man, Batman or Detective Comics. These stories will often be important ones like for example this week’s three issue ark dealing with the creation of one of Batman’s fiercest enemies, the Black Mask. If you are not a regular reader of the Batman comics, you might never have heard of this character before, so let me fill you in on the details.
Already at his birth Roman Sionis had encountered the first tragedy of his life, when he was dropped by a doctor and people always said after this that there was something strange in his eyes. He grew up to be an apathetic young man, who always stood in the shadow of his wealthy parents and who couldn’t await to inherit his father’s company “Janus Cosmetics”, so he helped out a little in the process. After the death of his parents, he tried to revolutionize the market, but his first idea failed miserably, while his next project, a waterproof makeup, left customers disfigured and almost ruined the company completely. The only way to save the company was for Wayne Industries to pay off the debts and to relieve Sionis from his post as chairman. Furious about the loss of face he breaks into his parents’ crypt and carves himself a mask made of the ebony wood of their coffins. From there on his obsession with masks turns him into a career criminal, calling himself Black Mask. He forms the False Face Society of Gotham and starts to terrorize the city and especially the newly appointed board members of Janus Cosmetics, which in turn also compels him to attack Bruce Wayne.
Black Mask, and this is what I like about the villains in Batman, is once again a lost soul, whose insanity gets the best of him and turns him into a homicidal maniac. Over the years he has turned into one of the most malevolent crime lords of Gotham City. Finally I would like to point out that I think that the Black Mask would be a perfect candidate for Nolan’s more realistic Batman universe. Maybe he will make an appearance in one of the next movies, who knows.
“The mask destroys one identity while creating another!” – Black Mask
Story 7
Art 6
Reread Value 8
Overall Rating 7/10
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