Forced to fight his former protégés who’ve become possessed, Batman confirms whether Dick, Jason, Stephanie, Tim or Damian is his toughest Robin.
Bruce Wayne officially declares Dick Grayson/Nightwing his toughest Robin in Batman vs. Robin #3.
Batman vs. Robin #3 comes from writer Mark Waid, artists Mahmud Asrar and Scott Godlewski, colorist Jordie Bellaire and letterer Steve Wands. In the issue, Batman heads to Lazarus Island in an effort to save his son, Damian Wayne, from the Devil Nezha and Mother Soul. Unbeknownst to Batman at the time, the Devil Nezha and Mother Soul have not only corrupted Damian but Batman’s other former protégés as well, including Dick, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown. The villainous duo also gave each former Robin a magical item to battle the Dark Knight with, such as the Cloak of Cagliostro, the Trident of Poseidon, the Coup-Stick of Black Bison and the Sword of Sin.
Batman Enters the Battle of the Robins
As Batman makes his way through Lazarus Island, he’s confronted individually by each protégé. Tim comes first, followed by Stephanie and Jason. Each former Robin also confronts Batman with some harmful words, as they do their best to get in his head and play into all of his shortcomings. “Why didn’t you search for me?” Jason yells at Batman. “How could you have not spent every waking second trying to save me?”
While Batman doesn’t have an answer to Jason’s question, he’s able to knock him out. Knowing who is likely coming next, Bruce narrates, “That’s Tim, Stepahnie, and Jason. If it’s attack of the Robins, that leaves only the first one. Hand-to-hand, the toughest of them all.” Armed with the Sword of Sin, Dick quickly lays into Bruce’s mentoring practices, saying, “The circus. Remember? I was a master of the trapeze. Prince of the high wire. People used to come by the thousands to see the flying Grayons do our act. Their applause was electric. The rush was unbelievable. Then you — took me away from the joy of recognition –and hid Dick Grayson behind a mask.” Bruce and Dick proceed to battle one another; however, the fight abruptly ends when Alfred jumps in the way and is stabbed with the Sword of Sin, causing Batman to punch a shocked Nightwing in the face.
Batman vs. Robin #3 features cover art by Asar and Nathan Fairbairn and variant cover art by Alex Maleev, Tony S. Daniel, Tomeu Morey, Mateus Manhanini, Mario “Fox” Foccillo, Prasad Rao (Pressy), Carlo Barberi and Matt Herms. The issue is on sale now from DC.
Source: DC