Now that Bruce Wayne: The Road Home is finished, I thought I would give my opinion on what was my favorite out of the eight one-shots and why. I didn't review most of them (Catwoman, Outsiders, Commissioner Gordon) but I still read them. Note that this list goes from least favorite to favorite.
Granted, I didn't do a review for this issue, but I read it anyway. When they first formed, they were a pretty awesome group. It declined in the 90s, but picked right up when Nightwing became the leader. When Batman took back the leader role in 2007, he made it enjoyable to read as well, until his apparent death. Ever since then, I fell out of touch with the Outsiders. Although Bruce says they're going to be fine, I don't know. Convince me otherwise in the future.
This one shot didn't offer me anything. I almost bought it because it was like a Gotham City Sirens issue, but I turned it down at the end. There was nothing to this one shot other than what Vicki Vale had in mind with the information she had on the Bat family. That, and the scene with Bruce and Selina on the roof where she might think that Bruce is alive.
This was almost a tie between this issue and Commissioner Gordon's one shot. This was the last issue out of the one-shots, and Ra's shows why he's dangerous. He will stop at nothing to kill Vicki Vale in order to keep Bruce identity a secret just because he respect the Detective.
I made this one shot higher than Ra's al Ghul because of Gordon's willpower. He may be old, and have no superpowers, but that doesn't mean he's willing to give up on saving Vicki Vale. Gordon has seen it all and with all the things he's been through, you'd think he would retire by now.
This was another hard choice between this issue and Oracle. Dick and Damian have done well for themselves after Bruce's apparent death and Dick is becoming a different Batman than his mentor. Bruce mentions how Dick is having fun with the role of Batman while keeping the integrity of what Batman is about. Bruce also notices some improvement in Damian taking orders.
I'm actually surprised that Oracle made it in the top 3, beating Batman and Robin. Both issues was strong, but this issue was a bit stronger. In a way, Bruce didn't need much more to say about Oracle. She already know the pain of feeling useless after losing the ability to walk and she decides to do something else to help. Using the network she created, she sees all. She can call for help when needed. She proves it with this issue by getting some super heroes that are not well known (Ragman, Man-Bat, Manhunter) to help Bruce protect Vicki Vale.
What? Red Robin is not number one on my list despite being one of my favorite characters? There's a reason why he's not number one. There was no real impact between him and Bruce. I mean, Tim was the only one who believed that Bruce was still alive despite what happened. No hug? No welcome back Bruce? I will say that I am concerned for Tim's future. He's been doing a fantastic job as Red Robin, but I don't want him to have a personality like Bruce. I want him to be himself. Take enjoyment that he's making a difference.
Yes, the underdog, Batgirl was my favorite out of the entire one shots, even beating out one of my favorite characters, Red Robin. Why? Because she actually had something to lose. Cassandra Cain may be my favorite Batgirl of all time, but Stephanie worked at it. I sound like I hate Stephanie Brown, but I don't. I loved her as Spoiler and her short time as Robin. Stephanie worked hard to get the approval of the other members of the Bat family to be Batgirl and Bruce knows it. I'm glad he let her continue to be Batgirl and I know her adventures will be great as they have been.
