Joshua Williamson ends his run on Batman & Robin with this issue, and it also concludes the Dinosaur Island arc. When we left the story last month, Damian Wayne had just bested Bane in a fight and decided to spare his foe’s life. But Bane’s daughter, Vengeance, had the last laugh and injected Damian with the new form of venom. Will Damian succumb to his animal instincts and actually kill Bane? And will Williamson end his run in a satisfying manner? Let’s find out.
This issue starts with a flash forward to Damian talking to his new school counselor and reflecting on his time at Dinosaur Island. Then it goes back to him essentially “hulking out” and about to fight Bane again. Batman prevents his son from tearing Bane apart, but Vengeance threatens the Dark Knight and commands him to fight Damian in order to protect Bane. Batman refuses to fight his son, so Vengeance tries to shoot Batman with a dose of the new venom. Bane stops his daughter and informs her that he plans to turn himself in and go back to Gotham with Batman and Robin.
The Kobra Cult then return and proclaim that Dinosaur Island is theirs now and every one will be subjected to their experiments. Bane forms a temporary alliance with Batman and they, along with Damian and Maya Ducard, fight together to bring down Kobra. During that chaos, Bane helps his daughter flee the scene. Maya then uses the Bat-jet to shoot Damian with some anti-venom, and Damian transforms back into his normal physique with his father at his side. The issue ends with Bane staying true to his word and turning himself in, and Damian finishes his meeting with the school counselor and realizes that he and his father have developed a better relationship and that he’s truly loved by those who care about him.
Since taking over reviewing Batman & Robin, I’ve really enjoyed the previous two issues. While there were some aspects that I enjoyed about this issue, this was my least favorite out of the three issues in the arc. I just felt the resolution between Damian and Bane was anticlimactic considering all the buildup across multiple Batman titles over the years, and the pacing was a little all over the place. It was like watching a movie with multiple endings. Damian getting injected with the new form of venom seemed intriguing coming off of the previous issue, but it just didn’t stick the landing for me. I felt the only reason for Damian raging out was to have something for Vengeance to do. Her inclusion in this story ended up being unnecessary. Even though the story wasn’t too complex, I felt that it could’ve been even more simpler to focus more on the conflict between Damian and Bane. So Williamson’s writing was fine but a little disappointing. Again, the stand out is Juan Ferreyra’s illustrations and colors. The artwork throughout this arc gave the plot a much needed boost and emphasized the characters’ emotions in a riveting way. There’s one particular panel where there’s a reflection of Batman and Robin in a raptor’s eye, and it was just beautiful.
Recommended if…
- You’ve enjoyed this arc so far and want to see how it ends.
- You’ve enjoyed Joshua Williamson’s run on Batman & Robin overall.
- You want to, once again, marvel at the immaculate illustrations by Juan Ferreyra.
Overall
The Dinosaur Island arc was pretty solid and a good way for Joshua Williamson to end his run on Batman & Robin. While this concluding issue didn’t necessarily meet my expectations, I still thought it was worth reading. Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javier Fernández take over as the writer and artist respectively starting next month in the DC All-In relaunch, so I’m intrigued to see the next chapter. Cheers!
Score: 6.5/10
English (US) · 