CASSANDRA NOVA versus PROFESSOR X

Silence: Psychic Rescue In Progress (Marvel)
Where: New X-Men #121 When: February 2002
Why: Grant Morrison How: Frank Quitely

The Story So Far...
The X-Men face challenges from within and without as they discover the comatose body of their newest arch-enemy, Cassandra Nova, actually contains the brilliant mind of their visionary leader - Professor Charles Xavier!

With Xavier's hijacked body already in space on sabbatical with the Shi'ar Empire -- Jean Grey and Emma Frost scramble to perform a psychic search & rescue to coax the mind of their mentor from its mental prison. In doing so, they learn the shocking secrets of Cassandra Nova and Professor X's first startling battle!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Professor X 2 (Average)
Intelligence: Professor X 5 (Professor)
Speed: Cassandra Nova 2 (Average)
Stamina: Cassandra Nova 6 (Generator)
Agility: Cassandra Nova 2 (Average)
Fighting: Professor X 2 (Average)
Energy: Draw 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Draw 21 (Champion)

Throughout formative years of the X-Men you could've said Professor X's shadow counterpart was Magneto, the hate-filled creator of Sentinels, or perhaps even evil telepath Mentallo, but at the turn of the millennium Grant Morrison had the radical idea to apply the evil twin trope to Charles Xavier with outrageous results.

Cassandra Nova is literally the secret twin-sister of Charles Xavier. A stillborn mutant who apparently manifested a penchant for evil pre-birth, becoming the very first nemesis to the once and future X-Men founder.

The exact details and implications of the sibling opposition are what we're here to explore today, but suffice it to say Cassandra Nova has endured to sew chaos and disruption for the X-Men in the years since her introduction.

As the dark shadow to Professor Xavier, she possesses telepathic and telekinetic abilities that rival her brother. She's been able to evade detection and death by masking her movements, controlling others, and literally commandeering bodies -- including Professor X's. That spells a whole lot of bad news for everyone!

Traditionally Charles Xavier isn't thought of as a combatant, forming the X-Men to effectively be his soldiers, but despite iconic wheelchair-bound status, he's actually found ways to be a very capable conventional operator in the field.

Using simulated zero gravity, he was able to effectively hold his own sparring with Quicksilver. This prepared him for a dramatic confrontation with Magneto, which he fought while wearing a Shi'ar exo-skeleton that temporarily restored his ability to walk. In the end, it was of course his mind that was his greatest weapon - used to mentally castrate Magneto. A slightly less aggressive assault was used to put an end to the Magneto-impersonating Xorn in a later issue of New X-Men.

In addition to his telepathic abilities, Charles Xavier is also possessed of a keen intellect and rational demeanor. He kept his nerve under threat from the Sub-Mariner, relying on communication to stay the mutant monarch's fury. He also wields tremendous capacity for compassion to extraordinary ends, but we visit him in his absolute earliest moments, when these skills may not be a factor!

The Tape: Draw Ranking: Professor X (#438)

What Went Down...

A traveler in the unconscious mind possessed by Charles Xavier -- Jean Grey is given witness to the terrible secret origin of the villainess who has locked him in her own mortally wounded, frail body.

Jean's mental projection swims amongst the spermatozoa at the moment of conception. She watches as ovum is fertilized - becoming zygote - and then as cells rapidly divide as weeks of embryonic development occur in an instant.

It is the formation of life, but not a single human foetus -- twins!

The tiny creatures float peacefully side by side in the womb, but then one opens their eyes -- and turns to glance to their other to the left.

These are not normal human embryos. In a future yet to occur they will be known as "homo-superior" -- mutations from the natural development of humanity.

One of these beings will work to foster brotherhood amongst the mutants, and peaceful coexistence with conventional humanity, but the other has turned to face their sibling and found nothing but contempt for what they see.

A tiny fist strikes a sleeping brother in the face and then escalates to turn the life-giving umbilical cord into an instrument of strangulation!

The tightening of the fleshy cord around its throat awakens the foetus.

It has seen its sister for the first time and in doing so stared death in the eye. If it is to ever see another face again and live to become Charles Xavier it must defend itself. So - it does.

In an act of miraculous biology -- foetal Charles manifests the mutation of telepathy and unleashes a psionic assault that will seemingly end the lifeline of his twin sister before it has truly begun.

The attack takes a terrible toll on their mother. She tumbles down a staircase -- suffering a miscarriage that will lead doctors to declare her daughter stillborn, but will deliver baby Charles into a world that will one day learn to fear & hate him.

The Hammer...

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. New X-Men is one of my favourite comics. That's really only a secret because sometimes I'm bad at talking about my top favourites, and the series isn't necessarily best defined by its fights. (That's the thing we predominantly build our articles around here, you might have noticed).

Personal favourites aren't a short list. There's a lot of comics I love - but New X-Men was a little different. Maybe a lot different. I mean, look at the fight we just described. It's going to be tough to top this for weirdest battle of all-time.

New X-Men helped re-energize my love of comics in 2001 after a couple of quiet years pursuing other interests, and almostlosing touch with the lifelong habit. There were notorious diehards who resisted its dramatic new package, but for me it was an instant sensation arriving at a time of need for X-Men, the industry, my life, and eventually the world.

The timing of New X-Men #121 will be significant to many of us who were reading at that time. 

Although there are notable exceptions throughout this issue -- it was one of the best entries into Marvel's "'Nuff Said" month of wordless "silent" comics.

The silent stories, with tiny red, white & blue ribbon on the cover, commemorated the September 11th terrorist attacks that toppled the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. An event we were all still getting to grips with roughly four months after it happened, but undoubtedly hit uniquely close to home for the traditionally Manhattan based comics publishers.

I'm not American, and wasn't in America at that time, but will probably never forget the stunned stupor I felt as we were bombarded with then-unprecedented blanket 24/7 news coverage of the attack, and its fallout, for roughly two solid weeks. Some of this was directly sourced from live American broadcasts.

Even outside, away from television sets and computer screens, escape from the harsh reality was difficult. Newspaper headlines dotted the streets, and a general sense of compassion, and bewildered unease, permeated the air of society. We tried to go about our technically unaffected lives, but were aware that things had changed. The event had aroused regional concerns of similar hostile attacks, which manifested October 2002, but in 2001 I was just getting by, in search of release and distraction, as security procedures became common conversation.

The role of entertainment came into strange focus. I remain hyper-aware that one of the local channels has still never made good on the pre-empted second Rudy Coby special that was scheduled to air in re-runs that week. I remember the relief when one station broke the unending television coverage with an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. I remember reading Wizard Magazine and surfing Marvel.com to get the latest information on comics like New X-Men. I remember the gradual drop-off of joy & style as the Twin Towers were edited out of movies like Spider-Man, and aesthetics & tone took a dark turn in the following years.

I was very enthusiastic for the 'Nuff Said concept.

Amazing Spider-Man (Vol.2) #36 had already jumped on directly addressing the horror of "9/11" a couple of months earlier. It most infamously showed Doctor Doom shedding a tear, as heroes and villains converged on "Ground Zero" to observe the human tragedy within the Manhattan-centric Marvel Universe, and aid in rescue & recovery. With Doom's record of bombastic villainy and terrorism it raises an eyebrow or two, but living in that moment -- it felt real.

'Nuff Said was more like a constructive catharsis. It wasn't necessarily addressing the moment directly, but leading us out of it with a big, interesting idea: A challenge for the writers & artists working on each book in the vein of Larry Hama's GI Joe #21. For fans of the medium it was a massively intriguing prospect to behold, and a powerful gesture for moving forward.

Morrison and Quitely were already doing amazing things with New X-Men.

Like so many of Grant Morrison's wonderful works: The revamp tapped into intuitive advancements of the X-Men concept, with a marriage of honoring classic material while chasing exciting new dimensions.

It was a mutation of sorts. An evolution demanded by the very premise. Another no-brainer from the man who gave us the "Big Seven" JLA, and a career of superhero instant-classics such as All-Star Superman.

It was a holistic rethink of the entire thing, but not without attention to detail and honoring what came before. The series grabbed the livewire of a burgeoning blockbuster film series, adapting their black leather outfits with Frank Quitely designs that instantly made it more palatable and stylish than anything Hollywood has ever imagined. Like everything else - the New X-Men leather look brought it in keeping with the comic book tradition. I've always thought it would be nice to catch Cyclops, or somebody else, wearing one of those jackets over their suit.

Admittedly, some ideas were more challenging than others. Secondary-mutations stretched the concept of naturally occurring "homo-superior" towards a precarious future, while today's featured fight went in the other direction, introducing the prospect of Charles Xavier and Cassandra Nova bombastically manifesting fully formed mutant cognisance in the womb.

Of course, even these ideas weren't without their precedents. The origins of Nightcrawler always told of his demonic appearance at birth, while the similarly blue-furred Beast triggered his further mutation beyond enlarged features through self-experimentation. Foetal and secondary manifestations, by any other name.

As for the delivery of the latter revelation -- we get a wonderfully surreal plunge into the mind of Charles Xavier as conceived by Morrison & Quitely. A silent mission to coax his consciousness from its prison in Cassandra Nova's discarded comatose body, while his form is hijacked by his evil twin. An amusing episode that sees Jean Grey take centre stage, while Emma Frost plays frustrated assist.

This is a great episode in a fantastic, imaginative run, and I broadly consider this one of the last great periods of the X-Men. I recently spent some time reading another revolutionary period that reminded me of this run, and rekindled my enthusiasm for recent X-Men comics. Perhaps we'll be able to talk about it soon.

If you'd like to keep the X-Men X-File expanding, and find out what caught my attention, I would invite you to consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. Even at the absolute lowest tier, your patronage will go a long way to making it possible to produce more updates, and support this and related projects.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 700 fights and ranked more than 1,000 characters! You can find them all for free by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of battles in order of publisher, series, and issue -- or by hitting links to your favourite topics found throughout each entry.

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on Twitter & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber.

Winner: Foetal Charles Xavier
#141 (+297) Professor X
#1030 (new) Cassandra Nova

JIMMY OLSEN versus SUPERMAN

The Superman/Olsen War! (DC)
Where: All-Star Superman #4 When: July 2006
Why: Grant Morrison How: Frank Quitely

The Story So Far...
A daring solar rescue mission has left Superman with a genetic death sentence! PROJECT think tank director Leo Quintum is in a race to find a cure for the Kryptonian's sun soaked cell degeneration, and while he's away, Daily Planet columnist Jimmy Olsen will step in as Director For a Day -- and what a day it will be!

Happy to help out with a wayward experiment, Superman finds himself accidentally exposed to a chunk of Black Kryptonite embedded in the perilous Underverse! The mysterious mineral appears to have no effect, but looks can be deceiving!

PROJECT is about to find itself with a bad case of bad Superman! Everything's going topsy-turvy in the Man of Steel's brain, which means Director Jimmy Olsen and the rest of humanity is enemy number one! Looks like desperate times will call for desperate measures -- but will Diretor Jimmy be able to survive what lies behind the door that says Do Not Open Until Doomsday and complete his column before deadline?!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Superman 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Superman 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Superman 6 (Mach Speeds)
Stamina: Superman 6 (Generator)
Agility: Superman 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Superman 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Superman 5 (Lasers)


Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not an imaginary story! He may be his best pal, but Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen is about to find himself in a set of circumstances where he'll have to beat down The Man of Steel: Superman!

This may sound like an absurd premise, but there are a few factors you need to know! For starters: Superman's got himself into a bit of a pickle!

During a rescue mission into the sun, Superman saturated his cells in so much solar energy they're bursting from within - slowly killing him! It sounds bad, but it means some unusual side effects that include new and increased powers. Believing one of them to be immunity to Kryptonite - Superman doesn't even suspect anything is wrong when he's exposed to a weird piece of Black Kryptonite extracted from the Underverse! Its effects? Gradual Bizarrofication of the brain! Superman's seeing things in opposite and it's making him a jerk!

The Underverse experiment is conducted by PROJECT - a super-science initiative monitored by dandy genius Leo Quintum from their base on the moon. Jimmy Olsen thought running PROJECT for a day would punch up his weekend column, but its meant he's the reason Superman was exposed to the Black K, and is about to become Superman's worst enemy - very literally!

How will Jimmy achieve that? PROJECT's origins are founded in the US Army's Cadmus Division -- housing experimental weapons of extremely hostile nature. One such formula contains a stem cell accelerator that'll turn a soldier into the ultimate living weapon! A dangerous mutation delivery system stored only in case of Doomsday! A super-charged Superman running amok is as good as - and PROJECT Director for a day: Jimmy Olsen is gonna pull out all the stops to bring his best pal in before he does something everyone will regret!

Can Jimmy possibly pull it off? As you'll soon see - the Doomsday gene weapon is no joke! With the risks attached, the real question may be - will Jimmy be able to come back, or is this going to be the death of Superman?

The Tape: Superman Ranking: Superman (#6)

What Went Down...

It started with a change in expression. An arrogant glance. A heat vision burned S shield on a table. Black Kryptonite has taken effect and it's making Superman bad! He fires a beam of heat vision at his pal Jimmy Olsen, before a final clear moment. He asks for help. What could Jimmy do? Nothing. He's going to Earth to do what ever he wants and Jimmy's going to do nothing!

PROJECT's Voyager Titans and Bizarro Clones are no match for the powered up Man of Steel. Director for a day Jimmy sounds the alarm. A contingency weapon of Superman's own design is inoperable. The Phantom Zone Cannon is taking too long and has no undo. The threat of an evil Superman is great, but Jimmy isn't about to give up on his friend. Option three it is - Doomsday is upon us!

In Metropolis, Superman touches down and disrupts traffic. Lifts a limousine. Still strong as ever. Looking for Lois Lane. Jimmy's on Earth, too. He won't let his hero embarrass himself because of a little poisonous radiation! Superman doesn't seem please to see him. Uh oh!

His mind slipping away; Superman hoists the limo above his head and peppers the street with heat vision. The car's heading his way any second now - Jimmy's gonna have to jump. Touch and go as PROJECT G-Type Agatha warns Jimmy of the dangers of the course he's about to take - the Doomsday option!

Superman spots the "gun" Jimmy's brought with him and gets real mad! He's gonna take the hand with a focus beam of heat vision - but quick thinking Jimmy uses the invincible signal watch Superman gave him to reflect it back to the source! Superman cops it in the throat and Jimmy commits to his plan.

The gun isn't for Superman! It's the Doomsday delivery vessel! Meek Mister Olsen puts the needle end to his neck and pulls the trigger! Say bye-bye bow tie, hello hulking mountain of muscle! "Oh, no." Oh, yes! Jimmy is Doomsday!

His skin greys and his muscles quadruple! Boney protuberances grow around his body. Still has the ginger on top! "Hurrr. Cool." he says. Not for Superman! Doomsday Jimmy leaps into action - driving Superman's head into the road with a brutal punch!

His mental state deteriorating: Superman is stunned to feel pain - confused even! No fun. He's gonna make Jimmy feel pain - a left uppercut to the jaw!

On the moon, PROJECT continues preparing the Phantom Zone Cannon. Jimmy's got thirty seconds before Doomsday overloads his nervous system and he's lost forever. Superman's punch didn't phase him. Thirty seconds is all he needs!

Jimmy sends Superman hurtling across the street with a blast of his own Doomsday heat vision! He smashes through a nearby storefront. The Man of Steel is getting weaker! Scared! He's losing the fight, losing his grip.

Doomsday Jimmy stalks toward his downed opponent. The moment is familiar. In his black kryptonite addled brain, maybe Superman thinks so too. He fears his death at the hands of this creature. He's scared. He doesn't want to die.

Jimmy won't let him die. His invincible Superman signal watch starts to sound. Not a bad substitute for a hypnotic trigger. Time's up! Doomsday is over!

As Superman curls up in a weak and frightened ball, the boney protrusions begin to retract. Jimmy's bulging muscles start to shrink, and the color starts to come back in his skin. Still has the ginger on top! No clothes, though. It isn't weird, though. Just another day in the life of Jimmy Olsen - Director of PROJECT, Daily Planet weekend columnist, and Superman's best pal!

The Hammer...

Woo! Did you see that one coming? The winner by knock out, submission, and unanimous decision is: Jimmy Olsen!

I feel like I'm a winner, too! I thoroughly enjoyed that! It was a last minute switcheroo. Probably the only opportunity we'll have to talk about this issue before a similar concept finds its way to theatres in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

I like this issue because it's how Superman comics should be. A definitive mix of elements, juggling contemporary savvy with the wonderful wisdom of accepting Silver Age imagination. When some writer/artist teams dip their quill in the past, it's pure nostalgia. When Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely did it - it was the future we never got. A rollicking good time like the good old days, with a layer of sophistication that exploits madcap sci-fi and fantasy to a fuller extent.

I wish this was the Superman Warner Brothers chose to show the world in their high rolling attempts to build a superhero movie universe. It is not.

In All-Star Superman, the hero and his world are at the height of their powers -- an accumulation of gains assumed over almost seventy years of adventures. Anything is possible! In 2013's Man of Steel - nothing was possible. Time and its fruits are the enemy. There is no miracle of science, daring, or imagination to save the day. It's kill or be killed. Base instincts. A simplistic level of storytelling equal or greater to what moviemakers, and even conditioned audiences, would consider hokey, old fashioned "comic book" style.

Watch your back, 21st century. The future waits to judge you harshly.

We first opened the vault to Doomsday during last month's 10th anniversary of Secret Wars on Infinite Earths. It was a left-of-centre flashback to the definitive, Death of Superman incarnation of the original character [Superman #74].

While acknowledging the lasting significance and intrigue of the villain-as-event, I also lamented the limit to its impact. Doomsday as he was conceived makes sense to me. I like the idea of a mindless, unstoppable, brutal monster whose mere appearance signals a major event. It's just a shame the best idea gets less interesting the more you see it. Or does it?..

All-Star Superman #4 really challenges my notions about the best way to get the most out of Doomsday. Repurposing the evolutionary concept of his origin into a stem cell, super-soldier mutation is a cool idea. It is helped along by the subtleties of the entire series, though.

Frank Quitely's lumpy naturalistic lines walk a curious line of credibility and fantasy. For all intents and purposes, the figures are all wonderfully expressive, slightly puffy human beings. The streets of Metropolis are consistent and real. Yet the fantastic is right around every corner. Jamie Grant deserves a lot of credit for his inks and colors. Colors go a long way to grounding All-Star Superman's dancing feet in realms of reality and fantasy, from bubble gum brightness all the way back to Kansas as nature intended. No place like home.

This blanket of color simply helps to sell the bouncy, unabashed playtime of classic concepts laid out by Morrison. It's like playing hopscotch with reduced gravity. From the 50s, to the 60s, to the 90s, and beyond. It all has integrity, but it breezes by effortlessly like clouds of fun. Jimmy's Doomsday injection is an event of protein pill proportions. Superman's best pal in his worst enemy's clothing, carrying his death shroud. The world stops just like the first time, but only for a few minutes. It's as serious as hell while it lasts, but all fun and games in the end. Do American teeth grind? Puritans need not apply. This ain't pretention - it's interesting and cool!

Like the original concept; injecto-Doomsday could get real old, real fast if abused by creators with less finesse. Does Morrison know that? It's too dangerous, Agatha says. Jimmy's seconds from disaster as the doomsday clock counts down. They would've had to Phantom Zone him (and Superman) had his plan failed. Do you think Scott Snyder and Jim Lee have anything to worry about? 2014 was a while ago. Maybe the cannon's still warming up?

I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did. If you're waiting to make the All-Star Superman jump - I strongly recommend it. Expect nothing, accept everything. Amazon purchase links are provided for your convenience [embedded right].

 

I'm sure we'll revisit the series in the future. Next Friday - a fifth week spectacular with an unstoppable villain making a return!

Winner: Jimmy Olsen

(--) #6 Superman
(new) #276 Jimmy Olsen

BATMAN & ROBIN versus
THE CIRCUS OF STRANGE
Batman Reborn Part Two: The Circus of Strange (DC)
Where: Batman and Robin #2 When: September 2009 Why: Grant Morrison How: Frank Quitely

The Story So Far...
On a day when evil appeared to have won, it was Batman who stood between the evil New God, Darkseid, and his plans of total annihilation in the pursuit of the Fifth World. With humanity enslaved by the Anti-Life Equation and the heroes seemingly defeated, Batman broke his one rule, utilizing a cosmic gun of Darkseid's own design to undo the uber-villain in an ironic stalemate that saw the Batman fall to the villain's dying gambit -- the Omega Sanction!

Believed dead by his friends and allies; a displaced Batman's mantle as protector of Gotham City is reluctantly picked up by the eldest of his adopted sons, Dick Grayson. The former-sidekick quickly grows into his own brand of Dark Knight Detective as he fights to rescue the city from it's descent into a madness introduced by the vaccuum of power created during his mentor's absence.

A Circus of Strange has come to Gotham City to spread it's unique brand of crime, working in tandem with a brilliant killer whose deadly science will disfigure the innocent, and sway them to hisdo evil. Professor Pyg is on the loose, but before the Dynamic Duo can stop this killer and uncover a grander mystery, they must first stop the jailbreak of slimey Mr. Toad, launched by the infernal Phosphorous Rex and his friends in the Circus of Strange!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Big Top 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Batman 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Robin 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Batman 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Robin 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Robin 5 (Martial Arts)
Energy: Batman 4 (Arsenal)


- A talented circus performer, Dick Grayson was witness to his parent's murder when their Flying Graysons trapeze act was sabotaged, leaving his mother and father to plummet to their doom. The crime involves Batman in Grayson's life, as the Dark Knight pursues the killers and takes an interest in the young orphan's life. With youthful vigor, Grayson accepts training from the Dark Knight that adapts his own flair for acrobatics into a formiddable fighting base.

Inspired by his circus performances, Grayson becomes the contrasting light to the shadow of the bat as Robin, the boy wonder. With years of experience; Grayson is as skilled a fighter and detective as his mentor. Upon Batman's apparent death, it is ultimately he who inherits the legacy of his adoptive father, leaving behind his Nightwing identity to become a new Batman.

Grayson is joined by his mentor's illegitimate son, Damian, who in turn is given the Boy Wonder identity of Robin that Dick Grayson originated. With extensive training under his mother, Talia al Ghul, and the fabled League of Assassins, the genetically tweaked junior is bred and trained to be every bit the crime-fighter his father was. Though brash and arrogant; Damian possesses all the skills to back his attitude up, with talents that rival even his seasoned mentor, Dick.

- The Circus of Strange are: Big Top, Siam, & Phosphorus Rex.

Little is known of the mysterious Circus of Strange, suffice to say that they are a mob of misfits possessing unique abilities. Numbered among them: an amphibius human, Mr. Toad; a morbidly obese man, Big Top; a flaming human allotrope, Phosphorus Rex; and a militant trio of conjoined triplets, Siam.

Collectively they are destined to bedevil the Batman far into the future, and have formed an association in the present with the murderous madman known as Professor Pyg, himself working with the Russian mob.

Math: Batman & Robin (Avg) Circus of Strange (Ttl) Ranking: Batman (#16)

What Went Down...
With the horror of his flaming visage providing Phosphorus Rex unchallenged and unsuspecting entry into the Gotham City Police Department; the assault on the precinct by the Circus of Strange begins!
Burning all he touches -- Rex clears a path for his fellows in the macabre cadre, whose mission, it would seem, is to rescue Mr. Toad. For extra measure, Big Top fires a hallucinogenic gas to render any further police opposition incapacitated.

Adequately prepared for the gaseous attack; Batman and Robin enter the fray with mask filters on, ready for a fight! With their entrance spotted by Siam, Robin vaults into action, throwing a diving kick that is aptly countered by the conjoined triplets who use their opposing legs to shift their foundation and toss Robin into the wall with devestating force! The twin on top powers his legs, following with an immediate flurry of kicks, but Robin is able to deflect the blows and clear the way for his Dark Knight mentor.

The leaping silhouette of Batman's cape forces the hero to contend with gunfire from a hallucinating cop, but Robin is ready to disarm the threat, while Batman tags in to battle Siam.
He leads with a flourish of his cape, disarming Siam enough to give him a hard-style advantage with a straight kick and forearm hits. A jumping roundhouse kick overcomes the tripod of legs and topples the circus fighter.

Meanwhile; Big Top makes his way into the bowels of the station where Mr. Toad is stowed in lock-up. The plus-sized performer couldn't have anticipated the stealthy disobedience of Damian Wayne, whose disregard for the order to stay close to Batman leads him into a confrontation seemingly above his weight class.

Strategically placed batarangs bury themselves in the rolling fat of Big Top's arm, staking deep enough to render a paralyzing blow. Even as dead weight, each arm deals a devestating blow as Big Top throws his weight into the path of an oncoming Boy Wonder. The blow sends Robin hurtling into the sturdy external wall of the prison cells, and leaves him stunned while the bearded giant draws a concealed blade from his cane.

Elsewhere, Dick Grayson's Batman is discovering his sidekick's disobedience when the absconded Boy Wonder fails to answer his call.

The Dark Knight tosses aside Phosphorus Rex, while Siam brings up the rear with a taunting jibe directed at the breakdown of teammwork. It has little effect as Batman snatches a fire extinguisher and in one fluid motion uses the cannister to swat the face of Siam, and disperse it's contents on Rex, whose advances are again repelled with a well placed kick to the gut.

Robin turns the tables on Big Top as he jabs at him with his cane, leaning in to the wall with his lunge, instead. Robin springs from his parry to disarm Big Top by prying his fingers open, clutching at his rist to gain the leverage to throw a kick to the face. With thumb and pinky still in his clutches, Robin twists himself around, taking the big man's hand with him. Bones snap and poke through layers of fat like nobbly knees dancing beneath the bed covers. Hand ruined.

Upstairs; Commissioner Gordon arrives on the scence with a gas filter to protect his state of mind, while Batman wraps Siam up in rope, and recalls a childhood spent with the circus as he converses in argot slang. The triplets make seemingly idle threats, referring to Tober Omi on the loose, "road man" in coded lexicon.

Gordon arrives downstairs with Batman and another cop in tow, only to find Robin applying forceful interrogation techniques on a hapless Big Top. With a bucket over the Circus man's head, he continues to hit him with a broken mop handle, still demanding further elaboration on obtuse clues despite orders to stop.

Batman forces his ward to stop, despite the lad's attempts to justify his actions with the revelation that the Circus' boss, Professor Pyg, is planning an attack on the entire city. It is a crime forecast with few clues, "wooden cloppers" all that was volunteered by a now concussed Big Top.

Though the Circus were foiled in their presumed attempts to rescue Mr. Toad, it is a shocking twist that awaits Commissioner Gordon and the Dynamic Duo behind the locked door of Toad's cell. With a domino in his limp hand, Mr. Toad sits slumped against the windowless subterranean wall -- dead...

The Hammer...
Despite emerging none the wiser from their encounter, Batman and Robin are undoubtedly victors in the combative stakes!

It's taken me an awful long time to finally get this feature written up, and in part that's due to mixed feelings I've had about these opening issues. I'm not quite sure what it was I expected, but there's a sombre tone about the series that hasn't provided the thrillride I thought we might've been in for with this new series.

Much like other Grant Morrison projects; I find it very nice that these issues can be enjoyed on multiple levels. Here we are, talking about the series on a Comic Book Fight Club blog, all the while the issue presents the traditionally cerebral affair of a locked room mystery. It's that type of indulgence in the fiction that I so very much respect and love in Morrison's work, where new and innovative ideas run in conjunction with tried and true popcorn, and retro conventionalism.

The colourful energy of Frank Quitely's artwork (and Alex Sinclair's colours) gave the impression that this was to be a dynamic and improvisational reinvention of the Batman/Robin dynamic. In hindsight, that was probably a silly assumption on my part, and as I reflect on Morrison's previous Batman run that I generally went out of my way to avoid, I suspect there's some consistency in the tone.

Quitely immediately evokes a sort of bubblegum approach that is quite a contrast to the nasty pencils and motley dark colour applied to Tony Daniel's work in RIP. I really didn't expect any consistency between the two phases, and yet, here we are, witnessing the retroactively unsurprising overlap of Morrison's last run via the appearance of villains forecast in his Batman #666 future.

Interrupted by Final Crisis and the apparent death of Batman; Batman RIP went on to be one of the most misunderstood storylines of, perhaps, all-time! Without reading it myself, I can't really attempt to judge whether mass confusion was at all justified, but if Final Crisis and other Morrison-written comics are anything to go by, it probably wasn't. Still, to give disgruntled readers the benefit of the doubt, I'm beginning to wonder if Batman and Robin might not produce some of the fruits of RIP, better elaborating on a tale that certainly seems to have felt abrupt in it's conclusion, and connected to this run, if by no other detail than the inevitable return of Bruce Wayne from his post-Final Crisis 'Omega Sanctioned' exile. Then again, maybe it's just a fun bit of fluff introducing villains from a possible-future in a present context. Something for future writers to wax over.

It's nice to get a little bit deeper into the Dick Grayson/Batman persona, but I think the real character insights this issue came from Damian, even if they only reinforced what we already know. B&R might feel like it's the lynchpin of the new direction, but it looks like other writers, like Judd Winick, are getting the chance to look more specifically beneath the skin of the new Batman, rather than a pensive passing glance, which feels a little bit like the tail wagging the dog, but fair enough. If there's a positive quality to come from the line-wide revamp of the Batman books, it's that they each serve a distinct purpose that differentiates one from another.

With it's situation in the middle of the issue, sandwiched between Dick Grayson's sense of failure, as part of a recounted flashback, the locked room mystery of Mr. Toad's death could be easily forgotten. Damian's issue-closing disobedience that brings him into the clutches of Professor Pyg and the Circus of Strange has me chomping at the bit for the first fully realised glimpse of this new Bat-villain!

The long fight scene left this issue feeling a little bit on the shallow side, saving the big time fun for the next-issue tease of the final scene (which includes Robin's capture at the condemned circus hideout of Pyg), but there's a little bit more going on here than immediately meets the eye. Hopefully the next issue can live up to the simmering imagination that hasn't quite exploded onto the page the way I had hoped.

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 5

Batman and Robin and other Batman: Reborn titles are currently available monthly from DC comics. For more of the Dark Knight's adventures be sure to check out the Infinite Wars Secret Archives where you'll find Amazon purchase links to collected editions of most stories. For an entire range, visit the Online Gift Shop, and take advantage of Amazon's pricing and convenience. By using purchase links provided on the site, you help sponsor future entries!

QUICK FIX: BATMAN & ROBIN vs MR TOAD
Batman Reborn Part One: Domino Effect (DC)
Where: Batman and Robin #1 When: August 2009
Why: Grant Morrison How: Frank Quitely

THE TAPE...
Strength: Batman 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Batman 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Batman 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Batman 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Robin 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Batman 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Batman 4 (Arsenal)

Math: Batman & Robin
Ranking: Batman (#21)

THE FIX...
It's times like these I really wish we were doing these reviews on time, because the visceral excitement of the long awaited released of Batman & Robin #1 is something I cannot recreate. That fact in itself is probably a commentary on the lasting impression of the issue (and series), but I wouldn't want to start on an overtly negative tone. Continue with those assumptions at your own risk.

You can now retroactively see that there was deliberate method to the madness of going back to Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3 in our previous Friday feature.
With the exception of a coy final page in the aforementioned issue, B&R #1 is the first official outing for Dick Grayson as Batman after he accepted the mantle whilst defeating Jason Todd's violent alternative [RE: Battle #3].

The details of Batman's death in Final Crisis remain unknown to readers and the fictional survivors, alike. It's fitting, then, that Grant Morrison, the man behind DC's last summer epic, is the one to spearhead the stylistic reinvention of Dick Grayson as successor to the Dark Knight's Batcave throne. Morrison isn't alone in the world of Gotham City and it's protectors, however, and that is a fact that has greatly enhanced the strength of new series like Batman and Robin.

Battle for the Cowl touched upon details key to a variety of the series, most significantly by defining the landscape of Gotham City to some extent. It gave us the decimation of Arkham Asylum, the apparent return-from-the-grave by Black Mask, his recruitment of some of Gotham's nastiest into his new syndicate, and his opposition to existing bosses, Two-Face and Penguin.

Judd Winick, the writer who oversaw much of Black Mask's previous reign as Gotham's kingpin of crime (before he was killed by Catwoman), returns to explore some of these developments, notably those involving the ire of Two-Face and Penguin. Paul Dini picks up Black Mask's other operations, as well as those of minions such as Firefly and Zsasz, over in the newly launched cop-friendly, Batman: Streets of Gotham. Dini's tour of the streets also continues in another new series, Gotham City Sirens, which delivers the continuation of his Detective plotlines concerning Catwoman and Hush, as well as Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, completing the trio he famously worked on with Batman: The Animated Series.

Winick's Batman will also explore Dick Grayson alongside B&R, while Red Robin takes the emotional response and solo independence found by Tim Drake, who was unceremoniously dumped in favour of a new Robin. His story also contains the earliest hints toward the eventual return of Bruce Wayne as he embarks on a journey across the globe to find evidence of his mentor's survival -- a tale that will bring him into conflict (or confluence) with Ra's Al Ghul.

The line-up has created a very thorough network of titles that offer many things to many types of readers. Those with allegiances to certain characters or ideas might need to adjust their plans, but there's plenty on offer for everyone.

Over the years, readers have come to resent heavily marketted stories that interfere in alternate publishing agendas. DC have been quite brilliant in taking the organic make-up of their Bat-launch to naturally produce a line of series that compliment the larger viewing picture without forcing deviation on readers.

With Batman & Robin, [Grant] Morrison and Frank Quitely take the reigns of what is effectively the flagship title of this particular era of Bat-books.
Here, Morrison gets a chance to essentially play in his own little box, free to define the key points of the relationship shared between the new dynamic duo and their operations, whilst also telling his own unique tale(s). As the man who killed Batman, you get a great sense of control and direction from the writer, who should arguably know the goals of this course of action the most, given DC's open references to the carte blanch the writer has earned.

Morrison isn't the only creative force given rope on the project, although, I don't doubt he and Quitely collaborated closely when designing the visuals of a bubbly new take on Gotham City, and slick, sci-fi Italian sports-car that the new flying Batmobile is. On visual flair alone, you know this is a Morrison/Quitely book, but what that means will be dependent on your own sensibilities. As is often the case, this work will be devisive, particularly for more stubborn Bat-fans.

Like many of the classic visual takes on Batman, there's a dance between the far future and the distant past in Batman & Robin. The flattened bendy lines of the new Batmobile share the road with deeply retro escape vehicles, and pedestrian 2000-era public buses, neither particularly out place in a world of pure fiction.

The red-tinged cockpit of the Batmobile gives Dick Grayson's distanced reactions to his arrogant new ward a tone reminiscent of Frank Miller's tank-driving Batman of The Dark Knight Returns. It's an oddly subdued atmosphere for the interior of a flying car, but is hardly the sole example of the subdued living in parallel to the totally unreal and fantastic.

This isn't Final Crisis or the pre-RIP Batman, but as is common of Morrison's work, you get a sense that it's informed by what's come before it. Details like the skyscraper underground base of Batman will recall an influence like The Dark Knight, and the new Batmobile feels like it might be channeling the sixties TV vehicle. I don't know of any appearances of Mr. Toad or Pyg before this series, but I'm reluctant to rule out the possibility that they might be spun-out from one of the wacky fifties issues that Morrison has shown great acceptance for.

Of course, observations like these aren't just the fodder of a friendly blog post trying to inform as much as it reviews. These details are what occupy most of the first issue of the new series, which spends most of it's time laying out the land of the Batman of this particular series, done so through the vivid stylings of Quitely and Morrison's unique art direction. They make no attempt to lure you in if you aren't ready to accept intergrated sound effects in the artwork, toady circus men, or geography not pulled from a gothic coffee table book.

While it could be said that Morrison's books often start slow like this, B&R feels very practical in it's pacing. It jumps head-long into the action with the first page and that speaks to the interim of Batman: Battle for the Cowl, which created a sense of expectation beyond even the mere change of Bruce Wayne for Dick Grayson. However tangential the Battle mini-series was, it's given a feedline of context that Morrison's book benefits from far better than Final Crisis did the clumsily retro-fitted end of Countdown, despite what I suspect was a similar course of creation.

Unfortunately, DC's efforts to market the book meant when I finally got it in my hands, the first handful of pages were so familiar, there was little wonder left in them. Seasoned readers will know exactly what to expect from the book, but the uncertain should probably investigate further before taking a chance.

In the pages we've seen so often, Batman and Robin pursue the villainous Mr. Toad, who is somehow connected to the first circus borne villain, Pyg.

A graphic missile disables Toad's getaway car, allowing the Batmobile to lift it airborne and evade potential casualties in favour of dispensing the car into the waters of Gotham Harbor. Mr. Toad, slippery fellow that he is, doesn't let this deter him from his goal, swimming to the docks in an effort to continue his getaway. Waiting there, however, are the new Batman and Robin, who Toad had previously referred to in the past-tense. There's nothing past about the double punch knock-out he suffers from the dynamic duo, however.

Grayson later tries out one of his mentor's tricks, interrogating a blindfolded Mr. Toad whilst dangling him from the flying Batmobile. Speaking to the humor of the series, Toad is actually no more than twelve inches off the ground, leaving him with little more than a burned ego after his fall.

Batman and Robin might not have immediately lived up to the immense hype of the Batman: Reborn key title, but it sets up what is sure to be an exciting ride. There's a danger it might be lost along with Flash: Rebirth as DC's major summer event, Blackest Night, takes over the DC Universe. Morrison won't have to worry about that fact any more than Johns' pre-Blackest Night Flash book will, but it is worth considering if you're worried about future availability of the series.

Perhaps the most significant thing this issue does is promise the quality and conviction of direction of the series. A series, I'm sure it will take back "Batman and Robin" for the comics, cleaning off those negative associations.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 4.5
Winners: Batman & Robin

Batman & Robin is currently available monthly from DC comics!
It'll be a while before you see the series collected, but for those among you eager to get the first bite, you can pre-order the Hardcore Collection via Amazon. By using purchase links provided, you help sponsor future entries in the Infinite Wars, and you can find plenty more in the Online Gift Shoppe. There, editions featuring most issues reviewed in the Secret Archives are on offer, among others.