“Terminus: Scar of the Bat” tries to do too much when really it should have kept things simple. The idea of squeezing all the Robins into one issue and letting them interact with each other is plenty interesting enough. Hell, you even get to see Tim Drake! Remember him? He was the Robin that came after Jason Todd? Dark hair, white, slim, looked like all the other Robins…was good with computers? He finally gets something to do in this issue, but sadly that something is making Damian look like a bad ass. Again. The book’s full of funny moments and good banter and the idea of Damian going after all of the old Robins to prove who is #1 is definitely different than what we’re seeing in any of the other bat-titles right now. My complaint with the book is that it should have focused on all of the bat-family shenanigans and not been bogged down by a subplot featuring a villain of the month and his sure-to-fail plan.
This new threat is made up of a bunch of idiots who have been horribly injured in their attempts to harm Batman. None of these incidences were really Batman’s fault, these guys are just imbeciles who got what they deserved. There’s the three crooks who were melted together when they stole the batmobile and crashed it into some radioactive chemicals, an idiot who tried to throw a batarang only to have it come back and bury into his head, a pyro who blasted Batman with a flamethrower and then took a super-heated boot to the face, and a girl who took gauntlet spikes to the neck, ear, and back…but she could have those removed at any time but instead uses them as a fashion statement–she really doesn’t have anything to be mad about and doesn’t belong at the meeting.
And this confederacy of dunces is lead by Ivan Ooze.
I mean Terminus.
What do these guys want with Batman? Who is Terminus? Who cares?! I didn’t care at all. I just wanted to see more of Grayson, Todd, Damian, and Drake. And as for the art, it was probably the weakest I’ve seen from Gleason and Gray. There’s a real lack of detail, the perspective in the full-page portrait shot doesn’t look right at all, and trying to tell Dick, Tim, and Damian apart is a chore. I just had to judge by height who was who.
Overall, it’s a fun issue. It could have been better, but it’s nice to see Batman take a break so we can watch his allies take the reins for a bit, especially Tim who has been a pretty worthless character so far in the New 52 and it’s nice to be reminded he still exists and has a role to play.
SCORE: 7/10
