Batman and Robin Vol. 3: Batman and Robin Must Die
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Frazer Irving, David Finch, Cameron Stewart, and Chris Burnham
Welcome, to the Endgame!!!
Ranking: 4 stars
Grant Morrison's run on Batman has been one of debate among Bat-fans. While some consider it to be a unique reinvention of Batman's character, others view it to be inaccessibly confusing. I myself found it to be an intellectually challenging read, while at the same time, an extremely intriguing turn of events in the dark knight's life. Just because it's confusing at points doesn't mean it's a horrible read. It just means that you'll have to concentrate harder on the story, in order to understand the message the author is trying to give the reader. I enjoy those kinds of books, as even though the confusing parts can be a little irksome, the hidden references and allusions make up a tremendously entertaining story once you decipher their meanings. It shows how intelligent the author is, and that they want to create innovating themes in their works. Grant Morrison has done this throughout his run on Batman, which has made it an innovating story arc that has now reached its final act: BATMAN AND ROBIN VOL. 3: BATMAN AND ROBIN MUST DIE!
Morrison's BATMAN AND ROBIN series takes place after the Black Glove's assault on Batman in R.I.P., and the dark knight's supposed death in FINAL CRISIS. With Bruce Wayne gone Dick Grayson (formerly Nightwing & the first Robin) has taken up the mantel of the Batman, while Damian Wayne (Bruce Wayne's son from the League of Assassins; introduced in BATMAN AND SON) has filled in the role of the boy wonder. I didn't enjoy the first volume, BATMAN REBORN, when I first read it, as none of the plot made sense to me. But that was because the plot was continuing off the events in BATMAN R.I.P., so when I read it, the story of the first volume finally made sense to me, and became an excellent story. R.I.P. transformed me into a fan of Morrison's run on Batman, so I decided to read the next two volumes of his BATMAN AND ROBIN series. The second volume, BATMAN VS. ROBIN, revealed that Bruce Wayne's corpse was actually a mindless clone created by Darkseid in FINAL CRISIS, all of the Domino Killer's victims were members of the Black Glove, and that an ancestor of the same name as Bruce's father, Thomas Wayne, led a devil worshipping cult in the 1765 to summon Barbatos, the bat demon. All the events of the first two volumes have led up to the sensational climax of Morrison's Batman (before he went on to write BATMAN INCORPORATED, which comes after this volume) run in this volume! In BATMAN AND ROBIN MUST DIE, the English detective Oberon Sexton has not only revealed to be the Domino Killer, but also the Joker in disguise. But what is the Joker's motive for killing members of the Black Glove, an organization he once worked for? Questions are finally answered when the Black Glove returns to launch a second attack on Gotham City, who are the true leaders behind the Penitente Cartel, an international drug gang the dynamic duo had been hunting in the first two volumes. The leader of the cartel, El Penitente, is revealed to be none other than Doctor Hurt, the man responsible for Batman's destruction in R.I.P. As the Black Glove gains an iron grip on Gotham City, and Dick and Damian have been defeated by Hurt, all hope appears to be lost. That is until the original Batman returns to defeat Doctor Hurt, and the Black Glove once and for all!
This was the best book in Grant Morrison's BATMAN AND ROBIN series, and probably my second favorite in his run overall (right behind BATMAN R.I.P.). I love how this book wraps up all of the events of his previous stories, and how Morrison does it with class and style! When writing the conclusion of a story, the author must not only resolve all of the events in the story, but he must make them exciting for the reader, that way they keep their interest in the story to the end. Morrison does that without error here! When Bruce Wayne finally returns, an explosive battle with Doctor Hurt and the Black Glove begins, which extremely enticing, and made it impossible to put the book down. Other resolutions include the truth about Doctor Hurt's identity, the final victim of the Domino Killer, as well as the fate of Dick and Damian's career as Batman and Robin. This story greatly expanded Doctor Hurt's character, and made him a worthy antagonist of the dark knight, as well as one of my favorite Batman villains. We first knew him as Simon Hurt, a scientist who studied Batman in an isolation chamber, gaining knowledge of his psychosis. In R.I.P. he claimed to be Bruce Wayne's father, Thomas Wayne, who was actually an abusive alcoholic who faked his death. This final volume reveals who Doctor Hurt truly is at last, and the truth will surprise all readers. Morrison also brings a lesser villain to light in this volume, Professor Pyg. Having first appeared in the first BATMAN AND ROBIN, Pyg is not only one of Batman's strangest foes, but also one of his most terrifying. Wearing a plastic pig mask, Pyg burns doll-like masks onto his victims, transforming them into mindless slaves of his. He also speaks in weird rhymes that contain hidden and obscure references to his horrifying past (if you think that's strange, I'm not even going to spoil a trait of his that tops everything else about him I've mentioned). While Pyg is undoubtedly weird, he still makes an interesting foe for Batman, and is another representation of the insanity that the dark knight fights against.
As with the first two volumes of the series, I felt that the writing was a bit rushed, and that the dialogue could've been better. Like all of Morrison's other books, this one can be confusing and off-putting at points, which can be annoying for the reader, but I've learned to have patience for it, and take my time to decipher the message of the story Morrison is trying to tell. Other than that, BATMAN AND ROBIN MUST DIE was an astounding storyline, and a great climax of Morrison's run on Batman. I would strongly recommend reading the rest of Morrison's Batman works before reading this book, as it heavily relies on the events of the previous books. In my opinion Morrison's BATMAN AND ROBIN books would fail as stand-alone stories, but they, along with BATMAN AND SON, BATMAN: THE BLACK GLOVE, and BATMAN R.I.P. all create an amazing story when put together. Failing as stories on their own isn't a bad thing, as they were designed to be part of a larger story arc divided into several books, and that makes it a masterpiece worthy of recognition. Grant Morrison's Batman books deserve more respect from readers in my opinion, as he tells a creative and innovating story through all of them together, and them being confusing doesn't ruin them at all in my opinion. It just makes them a more challenging read, which I find not only to be intelligent writing, but also an introduction of a new form of writing and storytelling in comics. If readers need help knowing the best order of reading Morrison's Batman stories, just view my guide, "The Complete Grant Morrison Run on Batman." Other high factors in this volume are the author's notes in the back (bonus commentary on the making of the book, that were also included in the first two volumes) as well as great artwork from the talents of Frazer Irving, Cameron Stewart, Chris Burnham, Frank Quietly (covers), and my second favorite comic artist of all time, David Finch.
So while the book can be confusing at points (all Grant Morrison books are), I highly enjoyed this volume as it brought Morrison's astonishing run on Batman to a great conclusion.
"Turn around Doctor. It's all over."
-Batman (Bruce Wayne)
