We Are Robin #6
Written by Lee Bermejo
Art by Jorge Corona | Epilogue art by Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colors by Christine Duarte Peter | Epilogue colors by Mat Lopes
Published by DC Comics
No matter who you are in Gotham, trouble will come calling if you side with Batman or Robin. It’s the end of the first arc for our youthful heroes, and change is in the air. The issue starts with the reader viewing certain moments with perspectives from various families in their homes as we close in on the cliffhanger from issue 5 where Duke gets wounded, and the team has to do with a psycho from the Court of Owls. Things have looked better for the fledgling team, and it’s here s the Robins go through a metamorphosis of sorts.
The most apparent of these changes is the method of handling villains and weapons of choice. Izzy demonstrates this with the eternal Bat-character struggle of whether or not one should be using guns to end villains. The legacy of what a Robin is clearly has a no gun policy. But at what cost? When the chips are down, and all of your teammates can die…would it be so wrong to use a gun to end the bad guys? The Owl the team faces urges the Robins to go along with their true instincts and do what is necessary, and the seeds are definitely planted in some of our main cast members head if the Robin lifestyle is the right one. Christine Peter is exceptional at defining all of the reds, browns, and yellows that each team member has more or less of to highlight their own spin on the Robin outfit. Jorge Corona gives the title itself that “rough around the edges” look that reinforces that We Are Robin is about the actual citizens of Gotham and it doesn’t get more street level than this Batman-related title.
Even with the threat of the police-enforced Batman on their trail and the Court of Owls, certain members of the team do have relatable threats at home, and it’s nice to see Lee Bermejo flesh out his main cast of heroes with threats both external and internal. The moral choices the young Robins are faced with translates well into the gritty, rather static action in a last ditch assault on the Owl. The narration from Duke, the only other Robin seen in the main Batman title highlights how the team finally somewhat understands what this type of life means to BE a Robin, and it reads like a season finale to your favorite television show and rightly so because of the epilogue from Carmine Di Giandomenico of All-New X-Factor fame.
We Are Robin is one of DC Comics’ more off the beaten path titles given its place in the wider DCU, but that doesn’t knock the impact of the comic because it’s earned the spot of showing how real teens in a world of super powers can take the right to fight for their city into their phones and with each other. DC editorial is doing great work with the “lower-tier” Batman related titles and giving them their own crossover to play with in the form of “Robin War” next month proves even the little guy can make a big splash. 