All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder

AUTHOR: Miller, Frank

ARTIST: Jim Lee (penciller and cover artist); Scott Williams (inker and cover artist); Alex Sinclair (colorist and cover artist); Jared K. Fletcher (letterer)

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION: 2005-2008

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 2008

Publication History

All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder was first published by DC Comics in nine single issues and is Frank Miller’s fifth work in his Dark Knight Universe, which also includes Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986), Batman: Year One (1987), Spawn/Batman (1994), and Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again (2002). In 2008, the nine issues were collected in All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, Volume 1. The proposed six-issue Dark Knight: Boy Wonder, which was scheduled to be released in 2011, is supposed to finish the All-Star Batman and Robin story line. The stories of Miller’s Dark Knight Universe occur on DC Comics’ Earth-31, one of fifty-one realities created after the events of Infinite Crisis (2005-2006). All-Star Batman and Robin is placed chronologically after Batman: Year One.

In retelling Robin’s origin story Miller borrows copiously from Detective Comics, issue 38 (1940), in which Dick Grayson/Robin is introduced as Batman’s sidekick. In that issue, Dick’s parents refuse to pay extortion money to gangsters, who place acid on the Grayson’s trapeze ropes, which break during a performance; thus, they plunge to their deaths. Miller’s version has Dick’s parents shot by a sniper in front of him and a circus crowd.

The comic was initially a monthly publication but became bimonthly after issue 5. Issues 4-6 were up to five months late because penciller Jim Lee was involved in the production of the DC Universe Online video game.

Controversy surrounded issue 10, which went on sale more than four months late. The issue had already been distributed to retailers when DC noticed a printing error: Profane dialogue between Batgirl and several thugs had been blacked out but was still visible through the ink. DC asked retailers to destroy any copies that they had received in lieu of replacement copies. However, many copies had already been sold to the public.

Plot

All-Star Batman and Robin tells of how twelve-year-old Dick Grayson becomes Batman’s crime-fighting partner, Robin. It also shows the emergence of the costumed superheroes Black Canary and Batgirl and the early foundation of the Justice League, consisting of Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, and Plastic Man.

Dick Grayson, a circus acrobat and member of his family’s trapeze group, the Flying Graysons, watches as his parents are shot in front of him and a circus audience that includes Bruce Wayne and reporter Vicki Vale. Inconceivably, Batman appears quickly and stops the fleeing killer, Jocko-Boy Vanzetti. The corrupt police take Dick to a known body-dumping ground, as Vale and Bruce’s butler, Alfred, follow in Bruce’s limousine. Batman follows in the Batmobile, and using a sonic device, he summons a flock of bats to scare the police away. Batman then crashes the Batmobile into both police car and limousine, seriously injuring Vale, and absconds with Dick.

Before passing out, Vale tells Alfred she saw Batman kidnap Dick. Batman’s attempts to impress and intimidate Dick fail. More police pursue Batman until he engages the Batmobile’s flight mode and heads to the Batcave. Internally, Batman questions whether or not he has done the right thing in recruiting Dick to his “mission” against crime as Dick struggles to make sense of his parents’ murders.

Superman is angered after learning that Batman has reportedly kidnapped Dick Grayson. At the hospital, Vale is close to death as the result of her injuries. Batman advises Alfred to contact Superman via Clark Kent to retrieve a special doctor from Paris, which Superman does. Vale later makes a full recovery.

When finally arriving at the Batcave, Dick is impressed with its technological wonders and Batman’s impressive array of vehicles, but he feigns disinterest. Unexpectedly, Batman leaves Dick alone in the Batcave to fend for himself. Later, Alfred provides Dick with food and clothes, which displeases Batman.

Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Plastic Man—the newly formed Justice League—debate Batman’s alleged kidnapping of Dick Grayson and his violent crime-fighting methods. Superman proposes they turn him over to the authorities, Green Lantern believes they should reason with him, while Plastic Man thinks they should offer him membership. A seething Wonder Woman stridently opposes these actions, preferring to kill Batman as a sign that superheroes police their own kind. Green Lantern’s proposal is adopted.

While investigating the freedom of Jocko-Boy Vanzetti, Batman intervenes in a melee involving Black Canary and numerous thugs. She is so impressed that she kisses him passionately. The text infers that they have intercourse. Later, Batman delivers Jocko-Boy to Dick and asks him to decide the killer’s fate. Dick lets Jocko-Boy live but interrogates him viciously, finding out that the Joker hired him to kill Dick’s parents. Dick wants to pursue the Joker immediately, but Batman refuses, telling Dick he is not ready. Batman tasks him with creating a secret identity and costume. Unimpressed with Dick’s choice of “Hood,” based on Robin Hood, Batman instead names him “Robin.”

Batman reluctantly meets with Green Lantern, whom he thinks is a “moron.” The meeting is brief, and Batman relocates the time and place to one of his Gotham safe houses. Knowing that Green Lantern’s power ring cannot operate against anything yellow, Batman paints himself, Robin, and his safe house completely yellow. Batman mockingly denies the kidnapping accusations and dismisses the request to tone down his harsh methods. Robin pilfers Green Lantern’s power ring. When Green Lantern tries to retrieve it, Dick punches him in the throat. Batman performs an emergency tracheotomy to save Green Lantern’s life. After the incident, Batman realizes Dick must grieve and takes him to his parents’ grave.

Captain James Gordon secretly delivers a note from Catwoman to Batman requesting Batman meet her. He finds her terribly injured at the hands of the Joker. Gordon is confronted by his wife’s life-threatening alcoholism after she is involved in a serious car accident. He also finds out his daughter, Barbara, has been moonlighting as Batgirl.

Characters

•Batman, a.k.a. Bruce Wayne, the protagonist, is brutal and arrogant in his mission to eradicate crime in Gotham. He is supremely confident and physically strong. He is also periodically moody and harsh when dealing with Dick/Robin. His crime-fighting methods draw the ire of the Justice League.

•Robin, a.k.a. Dick Grayson, is a twelve-year-old trapeze artist who sees his parents murdered in front of him. He is a brilliant acrobat, highly intelligent, and a fast learner. He struggles throughout to come to terms with his parents’ murders and Batman’s contradictory treatment of him. He soon embraces the Robin identity to help Batman fight crime.

•Alfred Pennyworth is Batman/Bruce Wayne’s butler and confidante. He is a former member of the Air Force and trained in combat medicine. He is frequently sarcastic toward Batman/Bruce but kind and caring toward Dick.

•Black Canary is a blond Irish bar attendant working in a dingy Gotham bar who, inspired by Batman, decides to rob lowlifes rather than serve them drinks. She is a trained martial artist and is strongly attracted to Batman.

•Green Lantern, a.k.a. Hal Jordan, is an easily confused and flustered hero. He tries to convince Batman to tone down his crime-fighting methods but is enraged at his refusal. An overzealous Robin punches him in the throat, and Batman performs an emergency tracheotomy to save his life.

•Catwoman, a.k.a. Selina Kyle, a burglar, is a sultry former lover of Batman. She appears briefly, accepting the Joker’s offer of creating “mischief,” but she is later viciously assaulted by him.

•Captain James Gordon is perhaps the only honest cop in the Gotham City Police Department. A stoic figure, he has accepted Batman’s vigilantism and enjoys an unstable alliance with the crime fighter.

•Vicki Vale is an attractive blond reporter who is injured while zealously pursuing the story of Dick Grayson’s kidnapping.

•Superman, a.k.a. Clark Kent, is the “all-American” superhero. He is the first to call for calm but is easily incensed. He is particularly concerned about Batman’s brutal crime-fighting activities. He is yet to realize he can fly.

•Wonder Woman, a.k.a. Diana, is a raven-haired Amazonian princess with a healthy disrespect for men and the world they have built. She is harsh, vocal, and dismissive of the other exploits of heroes and wants Batman “taken out.”

•Batgirl, a.k.a. Barbara Gordon, is the redheaded teenage daughter of Gordon. Inspired by Batman, she takes on the role of Batgirl; however, her efforts come to nothing, and she is arrested by the police.

•The Joker is a white-skinned, melancholic, and psychopathic criminal sporting a large Chinese dragon tattoo across his back. He appears briefly, murdering a young female attorney and propositioning Catwoman about partnering in crime.

Artistic Style

Lee’s comic style has become a benchmark for comic superhero art since he came to prominence in the 1990’s. All-Star Batman and Robin provides more of his instantly and much-copied style of hyperkinetic action, extreme close-ups, and stilted poses. Lee’s heroes are statuesque, sporting exaggerated musculature and dynamic lines. His facial expressions have a tendency to repeat, most notably Batman’s continually “gritted-teeth” face, which is presented from every angle. Lee’s art, which overwhelms panels, is highly subjective, placing the reader in the middle of the action.

Lee has stated that he could have easily created a Miller-style comic from the script but wanted to impose his own style, which required a conscious effort on his part to create something different. Issues contain between two and seven full-page splash panels, and apart from issues 1, 2, and 8, also contain up to three double-page spreads.

Issue 4 includes a six-page foldout of the Batcave. While splash and double-page spreads are indicative of Lee’s style, their prevalence may well have been an attempt to complete issues quickly because of missed deadlines. Overall the comic becomes more of a vehicle for Lee’s artwork than a solid attempt at comic storytelling.

As used previously in Batman: Year One, each character has personalized lettering for voice-over captioning, using a variety of fonts, styles, and coloring. Most notable is Batman’s precisely italicized font, the Joker’s scratchily chaotic handwritten script, Wonder Woman’s elaborate cursive, and Gordon’s typewriter font.

Each issue of the series was released with variant covers by Neal Adams, Miller, and Frank Quitely. Lee’s cover illustration of issue 9 is an homage to Jack Burnley’s cover of Batman, issue 9 (February-March, 1942). Miller’s alternate cover of issue 2 references David Mazzucchelli’s cover of the Batman: Year One trade paperback. An alternate cover for the unreleased issue 12 by Bill Sienkiewicz can be found online.

Themes

The theme of corruption is strong in All-Star Batman and Robin. While the endemic corruption of the Gotham City Police Department and Gotham as a city corrupted by crime are obvious examples of this theme, the idea of corruption extends into all facets of the story. Dick Grayson’s childhood is corrupted by his parent’s murder, Wonder Woman believes that men have corrupted the world, and Gordon’s marriage has been corrupted by his wife’s alcoholism. In his brief appearance, the Joker corrupts the trust of both the young attorney he murders and Catwoman, whom he initially treats as an equal but later assaults. To Batman, grief is also a corrupting influence: “Grief turns into acceptance. Forgiveness. Grief forgives what never can be forgiven.” Grief corrupts a crime fighter’s ability to do his job properly. Batman’s methods corrupt the idea of a “hero,” threatening to sully the image of other heroes.

Miller’s solution to corruption, crime, and, indeed, grief, is that it can only be dealt with through uncompromising brute force. Batman reasons that causing “terror” is the best part of the job and that costumed crime fighters are themselves criminals. Thus, to allow Batman to be a “hero,” crime and corruption in Gotham must be portrayed as much worse, more criminal, than Batman.

Impact

The teaming of Lee and Miller, two long-standing heavyweights of the comics industry, promised a Batman story to rival that of any era and a lucrative venture for DC Comics. Interest in the series was healthy; the first issue sold more than 300,000 copies. However, while both Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One were praised as landmark comics, All-Star Batman and Robin was received with almost universal disdain. Criticism was aimed at the story’s slow pace and Miller’s use of repeating the same or similar phrases ad nauseam. Characters also tend to draw from the same vocabulary, conveying a lack of character definition. After Batman refers to Robin as a “little snot” for much of the book, Hal Jordan does the same. Similarly, Vicki Vale and Black Canary use the same expressions as Batman. None of the subtlety of Batman: Year One and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is on display in All-Star Batman and Robin.

All-Star Batman and Robin is in no way a “traditional” portrayal of the brooding and usually stoic crime fighter. Batman’s arrogance and his reveling in excessive violence are particularly jarring. His disdain for other heroes presents him as condescending and disrespectful. Because of his lack of compassion for Robin/Dick’s situation and his consistent treatment of him as a burden and an annoyance, this Batman was one that readers found hard to embrace. To Miller’s credit, he has created a unique portrayal of a supremely confident Batman enjoying his crime-fighter role.

Further Reading

Miller, Frank. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986).

Miller, Frank, and David Mazzucchelli. Batman: Year One (1987).

Miller, Frank, Lynn Varley, and Todd Klein. Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again (2002).

Bibliography

Adams, Sam, et al. “Reinventing the Pencil: Twenty-one Artists Who Changed Mainstream Comics (For Better or Worse).” A.V. Club, July, 2009. http://www.avclub.com/articles/reinventing-the-pencil-21-artists-who-changed-main,30528.

Murray, Ross. “Dissecting Why All-Star Batman and Robin Leaves Fans Cold.” Mapping the Multiverse: Comics Superheroes and Research in the Age of Now, June 18, 2010. http://mapping-the-multiverse.blogspot.com/2010/06/dissecting-why-all-star-batman-and.html.

Tantimedh, Adi. “New York Comic Con, Day One: Jim Lee Spotlight.” Comic Book Resources, February 25, 2006. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=6523.