Death in the family: Robin is alive! #4 Review

At the end of October this series also comes to an end. We have come to the end of one of my favorite series of the year, dear readers. Let's move on and find out if this problem blocked the landing or if it felt like being hit in the head with a crowbar.

Ouch

There are two types of people who read comic book reviews. The first are those who want to know whether a comic is worth reading. The other is people who have already read it and want to know what other people think. Is it the same or does someone like a book you hated or vice versa? For those in the second category, I have a message for you: I most likely agree with you on this one. I love talking to you all every week and finding out what you all think. That's what I base this statement on. You all hate this ending as much or more than I do.

If you haven't read this book yet, it's definitely full of questions! “You didn’t like it? You loved all the other editions! What went wrong?” Allow me to tell you. The ending of the last issue will be fixed immediately. Jason is a joker for about three pages before he overcomes his drug addiction and refuses to kill. Here the Joker leaves him to confront Batman, claiming he isn't worth his time. I don't like how quickly the whole “Jason becomes Joker's sidekick” thing took place. At the end of the last issue I was still skeptical and now it just seems pointless.

Batman and Nightwing investigate Joker's old hideout and find an invitation attached to a dead bat. Bruce drugs Dick and tells him he won't put him in any worse situations and sets off for what he believes will be his final confrontation. This doesn't work for me. There is nothing in this Joker storyline that is different, nothing that suggests either he or Batman must die here. If Jason was being held hostage or was still with Joker, if there were higher stakes or anything out of the ordinary, I could believe it. It looks like we're being told something that I just can't understand.

While Bruce confronts the Joker, Jason steals a gun and goes back to the Batcave to change. This seems strange at a time like this, but I guess it serves to provide consistency with the times we've seen him in his normal costume at the start of each previous issue. The only thing we're told about how he finds the other two is a narrative that tells us she won't tell us. Couldn't you just say he was there when Joker made the plans or something? Despite all this, the worst is yet to come…

the final Countdown

I'm going to go into the second half of the book in some detail here, because it really does exist So a lot to discuss. So the Joker found a way to control the bats of Miagani Island, which he infected with a psychoactive drug. Not bad so far, but he offers Batman a solution. The only way to stop him from releasing her is, for lack of a better explanation, to drink a Joker potion, a liquid that would drive Batman crazy. No thanks, I've had enough The Batman Who Laughs to last me several lifetimes.

Before Bruce can make a decision, the Joker is shot by Jason. This is a non-lethal shot as the Joker is wearing a bulletproof vest. The Joker yells at Robin to prove himself by shooting him in the head while Bruce begs him to stand down. As we already knew, Jason shoots the Joker in the head, after which the clown says “Finally.” before he dies. Is this strange to anyone? I never got the impression that the Joker wanted to be killed by anyone. He wants Batman to kill him on the best of days, to prove that they are equal or for whatever reason. I think he would find being killed by Jason somewhat pointless, or at least not funny.

Here the story turns into a kind of fairy tale. Bruce forgives Jason, retires from his role as Batman and goes to therapy. Dick steps into the mantel in his place and puts on an…interesting bat suit. Bruce and Dr. Dev falls in love and gets married for some reason, and they help Jason get back on his feet. He goes to work at Arkham to help the inmates there. I could bear that ending. Despite all the problems with the rest of the book, I was able to accept this too-sweet ending. A story about not letting your trauma define you, in which both Bruce and Jason live healthier lives together. 2 pages can really change a lot, right?

Here it is. The moment we've all been waiting for. For someone who seemed to have a good idea of ​​the characters in this book, DeMatteis really chose one of the strangest endings I could ever imagine. Jason Todd becomes the Joker. This ending seems somewhat contradictory to the message of the book. Whether this was added at the last minute to set up a sequel I don't know. All I know is that I don't like it at all and that it spoils an otherwise great series.

Recommended if…

• You've read the rest of the series
• Leonardi's art has been a highlight for you so far. It was consistently good in all 4 editions
• Joker is in your head

In total:

With the release of All In and Absolute, I expected to see a lot of mediocre books. I thought that if these books weren't so good, I would at least have this book to fall back on. A good ending to a good story. Who would have thought I would end up enjoying these books a lot more than this one? The art and coloring are as good as ever, which is the only real saving grace here. The writing just isn't there. A real disappointment, I was really hoping we would get a strong result. To end on a somewhat positive note: I wish all readers a Happy Halloween. Stay spooky!

Score: 3/10

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