From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives #3
Chad Burdette
Recap
Over 30 years ago, history was made when fans voted to kill the second Robin, Jason Todd. Now, DC continues the alternate story of what would have happened if he had lived...
- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight – The Kryptonian Age #1: A Return To Earth-19 Worthy Of The Original?
- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight – The Kryptonian Age #2: It’s Batman Vs The League Of Shadows For Control Of A Dangerous Weapon
- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight – The Kryptonian Age #3 – Wonder Woman Arrives From The Land Down Under
Jason Todd has escaped from the Dev Institute and is on the hunt for revenge — but when Robin finally finds the Joker, revenge transforms to tragedy... and madness! Meanwhile, Batman's encounter with Mother Grimm and her army of lost children has the Dark Knight questioning both his past and his purpose: Is he Gotham's savior or the city's worst nightmare? Rescuing Jason is the only way to find the answer... and Nightwing is there to help him!
Review
From the DC Vault: Death in the Family – Robin Lives #3, the second to last installment of this look into what might have been had Jason survived his encounter with the Joker, not only reveals who kills the Joker in the first few pages , but spins the story’s wheels.
Like the previous issues the focus of how the events in Africa are affectibg Bruce as he continues to question his bringing Dick and Jason into the vigilante crime-fighting life.
After the Joker’s escape from Arkham at the end of last issue, DeMatteis picks up this thread in a sequence that is strange and takes awhile to figure out what is, according to Dr. Dev, who is recounting the story events
The poignant moment of the issue is when Batman attempts to rescue some orphans from Mother Grimm, who DeMatteis used in his Batman:Legends of the Dark Knight story in 2002. Using this character, DeMatteis shows Batman how kids are impressionable and will forn a bond with whomever shows then love and attention, for good or bad.
The ending sets up the final issue as The Joker has captured Jason and turned him into his sidekick, which will probably be the straw that breaks Jason mentally.
The art continues to be consistent with previous issues, but still not crisp and clean-lined, which is sometimes distracting but not overly so.
Final Thoughts
From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives #3 may reveal who kills The Joker, but still leaves some questions and reveals for the final issue. The issue spins the story's wheels a bit, still providing some insight to how Bruce is dealing with Jason's near death at the hands of The Joker.
From the DC Vault: Death in the Family – Robin Lives #3:
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 9/109/10
- Art - 7/107/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10
