TITLE: Batman & Robin: Absence
AUTHOR: Paul Cornell
PENCILLER: Scott McDaniel. Covers by Guillem March
COLLECTS: Batman & Robin #17-19
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
GRAPHIC NOVEL RELEASE DATE: TBN

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Sometimes I really wish the more modern Batman villains were around for the Adam West/Burt Ward show back in the ’60s. I’d love to see their reaction to some of these darker villains. For instance, in these three issues of Batman & Robin, the new Dynamic Duo take on Absence, a villain who LITERALLY has a giant hole in the middle of her head.

“Holy…HOLE, Batman!”
“Indeed Robin. A portion of Absence’s mind may be absent, but her dastardly deeds are present and accounted for!”

This is Absence’s debut story. Her civilian name is Uma Nemo, an old flame of Bruce Wayne’s who believes herself unjustly scorned by him. After being shot through the skull by a criminal on board a yact, Nemo floats to her doom in the Gotham River…or so it is believed. Apparently, the pollution in the river did something to her wound. We’re given pretty slim explanations, such as: “Fully functional consciousness maintained by thin film of grey matter.” Apparently, the increased oxygen flow to what’s left of her brain has allowed her to think at an increased rate, thus becoming smarter. This fictional condition is loosely based on Dandy Walker Syndrome, if you’ve ever heard of that.

From Batman & Robin #17. Image from nerdynothings.com.

In any event, Nemo, calling herself Absence, starts a cult in attempt to get revenge on Bruce for “not missing her.” But as he’s in Japan, Bruce won’t be the one that feel’s Absence’s wrath, Dick and Damian will. If Absence has her way, both Batman and Robin may end up looking like her when all is said and done…

Cornell and McDaniel don’t have an enviable job with these issues. They’re the first team to follow Grant Morrison’s awesome run. By comparison, they were fighting a losing battle from the start. This isn’t must-see content like Morrison’s was, it’s filler to bridge the gap to Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s run. But by filler standards it’s not bad, at least if you can suspend your disbelief regarding Absence.

The best part of the story comes in issue #3, when Absence has Batman and Robin in a death trap that’s fairly reminiscent of the West/Ward Batman show. She’s got Dick and Damian back to back, with drills moving toward both their skulls. As an escape, either one of them can push the other forward, impaling their head on the drill. But in the heat of the moment, the normally moody, pessimistic Damian tells Dick: “I won’t push back. Not even as a reflex.” That’s a nice little moment for the two of them, indicating that behind his sharp-tongued attitude, Damian really is fond of Dick, and the work they do.

The door is left open for Absence to return as an anti-hero, and in Cornell’s hands, I’d be mildly interested. Still, the hole in the head thing is a BIG stretch, even by Batman villain standards. Also, I’m not the biggest Scott McDaniel fan. His art is downright irritating to me at times. That’s just my opinion obviously. He doesn’t kill the story by any means. And even I have to admit, the cover for issue #19 is cool.

In the end, The Sum of Her Parts is entertaining. It might make for a decent graphic novel, depending on what other issues/stories are paired with it.

RATING: 5.5/10

Front page image from DCComics.com.
For more from Scott McDaniel, check out Batman: Dead to Rights.