ryonslaught's Batwing #19 - The End of the Beginning review

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    Begining and End.....

    You can view this review and others on my Blog with a few scans here!

    The Good

    David Zavimbe- Our departing hero gets a very cool sendoff this issue, his badassness was turned to maximum as he kicked guys in the nuts, electrocuted others, knocked out teeth etc. I’m gonna miss you David, it was an awesome thrill ride of an experience watching you try and clean up your home in Africa from both behind the cape and as a policeman.

    Cover- This cover is awesome in every sense of the word! It shows a defeated David Zavimbe with Batman in the background while the new star Luke is in his shiny new suit all ninja like on the back cover. Slap me and call me Susan but this is my favorite cover yet for this series!

    Closure- I honestly feel like there was enough of a reason and incentive to move on to a new protagonist given the recent events that had taken place in the life of David Zavimbe. He makes his exit in style having literally taken down the foes that left his mentor dead and a murderer on the loose, even the flying ship which dwarfed his tech was taken out. I also love how the writers leave the door wide open for David to drop in anytime and even an all new identity for the very first Batwing. That was pretty sweet!

    Action- Blood, fists, feet and electrocution and torture are all here without detracting from the tale. I damn well love it!

    Technology- Am I the only one that sees the eerie similarity between the new suit and the Batman Beyond Batsuit?

    Pacing- It’s hard to complain about a book when the pacing is just so damn spot on. Forget breathing space this book dropped us in the middle of the action and just kept going while managing to wrap up the last storyline, introduce the new hero and deliver one shocking last page that literally blew my mind with the possibilities.

    Black Heroes- David Zavimbe is gone, Dawn is here and a round of applause for Luke Fox our new protagonist!

    Art-Eduardo Pansica’s art is the best we’ve had on this book since Ben Oiver left during the opening arc. Everything looks good! Particularly the suits and costumes.

    New Batwing- Even though we only get introduced to Luke in the last few pages I can already see how his personality differs from David’s. I also see his personality leading to interesting times granted the book can get it’s sales figures up. He’s an adrenaline junkie who wants to be a superhero, this automatically makes him an attack first kinda guy but he’s also pretty smart having graduated from MIT a year early and with a dad like Lucius there are so many possibilities. This also gives or I’m hoping it will give some spotlight to the Fox clan and bring back Tam who was integral to the sublime Red Robin series in some capacity. We also have the highly relatable “son and father dynamic” where the son can never live up to the father’s expectations and son really just wants to live his own life but yet be acknowledged by the father. As I said I see the possibilities, now if everyone would just buy the damn book I could get some realization on these prospects!

    The Bad

    Really?- I’m sorry but Ive been reading this book from day one and I’m not convinced that the David Zavimbe that I’ve grown attached to would be crying in a cemetery with Batman. I can see him shutting down emotionally but crying seems way out of character for him the same way X2 by Bryan Singer lost me when Cyclops wept in Wolverine’s arms over Jean’s death (shudder). I must also mention in a completely off topic way on how Scott Lobell had Tim Drake in his Teen Titans weep like a little girl over Damian Wayne’s death…..they didn’t even like each other for Christ’s sake talk about bad characterization!

    Ouch- I’m expecting a great many to lambast Batwing/David Zavimbe’s treatment of Dawn despite the context. Feminists will def cry fowl on his handling of this wayward and villainous woman. (which you can see in the preview pages)

    Say what?- So Batman and David are having a moment at the grave of Matu Ba and considering that Wayne just lost his own son one would have expected a pep talk of some kind or at least a connection being made, instead Wayne just allows David to step down and move on without even bating an eye (pun intended). This could have been a defining moment between these two men instead it lacked the pivotal emotional punch that would have made this issue close to perfect.

    In another show of Batman and the writers sometimes milking the franchise instead of thinking in real world terms we have Batman recruiting a friend’s son into the bat fold after his own son died in the lifestyle…….I guess the death of Jason Tod, the fatal injury of Barbara Gordon and the debacle of Stephanie brown as Robin didn’t teach him his lesson at all. I also expect that if Lucius finds out he will be none too pleased.

    The Ugly

    As sad as I am to see David Zavimbe and the African setting go I can see the reasoning and the potential behind introducing Luke Fox as the new protagonist. This issue introduced the new hero said adieu to the old while having copious amounts of action, great cover and interior art. My advice to all my fans is to run out buy a copy and tell all your friends this book is too damn good to die! 4/5

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