With the success the New 52’s Batman and Robin has received expectations were high for Convergence: Batman and Robin. Unfortunately it falls just short of it’s mark. With the Convergence event bringing back many Pre 52 characters there was much mystery over just which Batman and Robin we were going to see brought back. Whether it was Dick, Jason or Tim I don’t think too many were expecting Damian to reprise his role and the Boy Wonder in this series. What’s so great about the New 52’s Batman and Robin is that as the series has progressed so has Damian’s cold demeanor. He is not the intolerable jerk we all met when he was introduced, now he stands more humanized and likeable. So to see this series bring back that jerk Damian was a bit of a let down.
It was a treat however to see Grant Morrison’s Red Hood and Scarlet. Often overshadowed by other characters these anti-heroes had their fans in the past and find themselves thrust into the limelight again. I’m enjoying the non-psychotic Jason Todd and seeing him interact with Bruce and Damian was an interesting sight to behold.
THE POSITIVES
Out of all the old villains that resurfaced in this issue, the best was perhaps Mr. Freeze. Once Batman and Robin arrive to spoil the villains’ meeting Mr. Freeze said very candidly, “What’s the point?” I mean they’re all stuck under a dome for the time being so he’s got a point, why rock the boat when the upside is so little.
Fans of Jason Todd were surely pleased to see him and his sidekick Scarlet back in comics. Grant Morrison did such a wonderful job writing them way back when and it was sort of universally accepted we’d never see this iteration of the pair in comics again so their presence is a welcome sight.
THE NEGATIVES
To be quite honest nothing really happened in this issue, yes they’re under a dome but other than that there’s nothing we haven’t seen before. The Jason and Damian drama has already been done and it isn’t particularly something that needs to be told again. Â Moving forward I have hope they can smooth some things out and bring something new to their dynamic, especially since they’ll probably have to fight side by side soon enough.
The art was also lacking this issue. Denys Cowan is not someone I’m familiar with and judging off this issue alone, I won’t be searching out his work anytime soon. I’m probably spoiled from Patrick Gleason’s work in the New 52 series but I mean come on look at the Penguin in this panel.
THE VERDICT
The premise of Convergence: Batman and Robin had a lot of fans salivating for a Pre 52 Dynamic Duo and ultimately we were left underwhelmed. The addition of Jason Todd and Scarlet certainly keeps the interest up for this series but I was left saying meh at the end of the book. In my opinion I would use the money you’d spend on this book for another tie-in series.
