The Good

Damian Wayne was the character many of us wanted to hate. He was arrogant, stubborn and a bit annoying at time. But the little guy soon won us over. Along the way, we occasionally saw a different side to his outlook on things. With his death, we've been left missing this great character.

One of the great things about Damian in comics is the idea of his possible future. We've seen and relished the stories where he grows up and takes over the mantle of the Bat in a more violent nature. We've caught glimpses as to how and why this happened. This is the story that fleshes that out more.

In a future that may or may not happen (yes, he's dead but this is comic books), we get to see a slightly older Robin along side Batman. You'll hang onto every word of their exchange to try to pick up clues as to what their relationship and the world around them is like. Andy Kubert does a great job in fleshing out this time period and the art is exactly what you'd want and expect. Kubert has the ability to capture the mood and emotion in scenes, even when characters are wearing masks.

We're off to a good start and with the crazy ending and mysteries being built up, you'll definitely come back for more. Next issue looks to be pretty insane!

The Bad

I wish this was a six-issue miniseries instead of a four-issue one.

While I'll take a Damian story any way I can get it, it would have been nice if this story was released before recent events in BATMAN INCORPORATED.

One moment in the story (with Batman) seems a little out of place. This could simply be a matter of needing to see the bigger picture, a problem sometimes when looking at a single issue rather than the entire story.

An area the story could have been fleshed out more is seeing other characters close to Damian and Batman. Where are they at this point in time? What is their reaction to what happens? It's understandable that this story is focused on Damian and he deserves the spotlight. With certain events escalating, it'd be nice to see or know what the others are doing about it or what their position is.

The Verdict

Damian is back. Sort of. Ever since we first saw the dark future with Damian as Batman, we've been wanting to see more of what his future holds. With his unfortunate current state in comics, it's nice to be able to escape that and look forward at this story. This is our chance to see Damian in a way we haven't been able to before. Andy Kubert does a great job as the writer and artist in bringing life to this moment. There are some tiny moments of confusion but they should be expanded on in future issues. With a start like this one, it's too bad this is only four issues. Get ready to see Damian like you've never seen him. Bravo to Andy Kubert for delivering such a fun and great looking Damian story.

So he isn't actually dead? He just thinks he's Doc Ock?

Definitely the first thing I'm reading after my reviews.

Great story, I'm a little upset on how batman got defeated. The title had me really confused, is batman dead? Who's the preacher? And what submarine incident?

I love Batman and couldn't get enough Damian but this just feels forced. In other words, he never should have been killed off in the first place.

@superbat420: The submarine incident refers to the Son of Batman arc from the beginning of Morrison's run

@alkusanagi:

I believe this is like a "what if" story thingy. Kind of. Right?

I been,waiting for this moment for a long time..How old Is big D now??Does It say?!

@xescapetheliesx: okay makes sense been awhile since I read that arc

@battheman008: yes

The "The New 52!" logo on the cover of this book raises some questions as to the continuity in which it exists. To the best of my knowledge, all of the other miniseries that they've done until now haven't had that branding. I wonder what makes this different.

Anyway, I'm debating whether to wait for the trade on this one or not. I'll end up buying the trade either way for my bookshelf, so I don't know if I want to spend the extra money on the individual issues too so I can read it sooner.

@superbat420: I think it's referring to the first arc of Tomasai's Batman & Robin arc where Damian poked the villain in the forehead and killed him.

I love Andy Kubert's art and the 666 Damian story, so I'll definitely be reading this.

Guise, i just read this and it was fantastic!

The art is just sooooooo gewd! you wont be disappointed on the art. The story is really good too but short IMO.

Id give it 4.5/5 as a whole and agree with the fact that I wanted to see other bat characters react to

Cant wait to see how this plays out!

Man, I dunno. I love me some Andy Kubert art, I've really grown to like Damian too, but I couldn't get into this issue. I really tried, but I felt the voices of the characters were so off, in my opinion. Damian just shouting "Holy Crap." or Batman the way he called Damian "Young Man." he sounded like Alfred. His "Bingo." retort to a certain discovery, a lot of the dialogue just kinda took me out of the experience. Since it's only four issues long and I love the art, I'm probably gonna check out the next three issues regardless.

I really wish the first issue had been more of older Damian and Bruce interacting instead of emodamian

man your so rite on with the voices. Especially Batman's. Those first few pages felt wierd. IMO he didnt capture the correct kind of cockyness/arrogance for Damian in those pages.

this should be a 3 dollar comic. it gets 4 stars if it cost that much. at 4 dollars 3 stars

The overreaching plot isn't bad.

The art is great. Andy is easily my favorite Kubert and I always enjoy seeing him on Batman.

However, Kubert can't script. The dialogue and narration are both pretty painful. Every character with the possible exception of Alfred feel out of character.

Kubert has a good idea here. He should continue to plot and illustrate this story but he should REALLY bring someone in to script this series.

Yeah, the dialogue is pretty terrible. Damian especially sounds even more like a ten-year-old than he did when he was actually ten. The best comparison I can make is a even more unhinged Jason Todd.

This was awesome...

i felt like Jason Todd and Terry McGinnis fused and that guy we're following in this book

Batman went out like a chump

That happens when you spend too much time with dick Grayson.

Anyways haven't read the issue yet, I'll pick it up later.

I don't really want to spoil but I think this Batman is Dick Grayson. That would explain the "bingo" thing. And why Bruce Wayne suddenly comes back from the dead at the end of the issue - wasn't dead in the first place.

@kennyshat: I thought the same thing. If it says New 52, it implies it's in continuity. And the fact that at the funeral There was someone in a wheelchair makes me wonder about the future for Barbara..

@batchabi: the script was absolutely terrible it's not often that you read a bat comic with characters being so badly portrayed. I also believe that batman was Dick and Bruce was retired