TITLE: Batman & Robin: Batman Must Die
AUTHOR: Grant Morrison
PENCILLERS: Frazer Irving, Cameron Stewart, David Finch
COLLECTS: Batman & Robin #13-16, Batman: The Return
FORMAT: Hardcover
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $24.99
RELEASE DATE: May 11, 2011

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Batman Must Die is the finale to Grant Morrison’s highly successful run on Batman & Robin. The entire series has been building up to this, and while it’s not quite as thrilling as the previous book, Batman vs. Robin, it’s still pretty damn good.

Shortly after Oberon Sexton has revealed himself to be none other than The Joker, Batman and Commissioner Gordon start to piece together The Black Glove’s next move. They soon deduce that the group is going to poison all of Gotham City using airborne viral narcotics, effectively turning the city’s entire population into junkies going through terrible withdrawal. Meanwhile, Robin and The Joker are locked in a room together, and there’s a crowbar involved. Would you believe that for a portion of this book, Batman and The Joker will be on the same side???

And of course, it’s all leading up to the return of HIM, the one true Batman…Bruce Wayne.

The disadvantage some might have when reading this book is that ties into The Return of Bruce Wayne, and when Bruce does show up, it’s more or less without explanation. A trip to Wikipedia should clear everything up, but still, it can be confusing. What else would you expect from the man who wrote Final Crisis?

Image from comicvine.com.

If you’ve read Batman: R.I.P., it should come as no surprise that The Joker steals the show in this book, particularly in his interactions with Damian, whom he’s never met before. And Morrison was smart enough to bring a crowbar into the equation, which obviously symbolizes The Joker beating Jason Todd (the second Robin) to death. It’s the confrontation Batman fans have been waiting to see, and it doesn’t disappoint.

Frazer Irving’s art is also a perfect fit for the story. He’s not always the best when it comes to intricate pencilling details, but good lord, he’s amazing with colors. They’re beautiful. Unfortunately, his portion of this book is interrupted by Cameron Stewart, who I’m guessing was brought in to expedite the release of issue #16. Stewart’s no slouch, but his style is so different from Irving’s that it’s an unpleasant change.

The book also contains Batman: The Return, an oversized one-shot by Morrison and David Finch, which takes us into Morrison’s Batman Incorporated series (which I’m only mildly enjoying). David Finch’s art makes every page a beauty, and there’s a little sequence I found particularly well done about a bat that refuses to die.

Image from playeraffinity.com.

Call me a sap, but one of the things I found disappointing about this book is that we didn’t get much of a thank you/glad you’re home scene between Bruce and Dick. I know, I know, Bruce isn’t much of a sentimental guy. But come on! Everybody thought Bruce was dead, and Dick went against his instincts by trying to fill his shoes. What’s more, in both Birds of Prey and Bruce Wayne: The Road Home, we saw Bruce get a tad sentimental with Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake. You’re telling me Dick doesn’t deserve a hug?

Then again, maybe Morrison simply understands the callousness of the Bruce Wayne character better than those writers do. Oh well, life goes on.

In the end, a fine ending to a damn good series of Batman & Robin books. The series is still being published, with various different writers taking a crack at it. But much like Superman/Batman and Jeph Loeb, I fear the Batman & Robin monthly title reached an early peak with Grant Morrison, and will now be stuck trying to live up to that glory for as long as it’s being published. I hope to be proven wrong, but I’m not betting on it.

RATING: 9/10

Front page image from gothamspoilers.tumblr.com.
To catch up on Grant Morrison’s work on Batman & Robin, check out Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn and Batman & Robin: Batman vs. Robin.