We Are Robin #5 Review and *SPOILERS*

Who's Your Talon?

Written By: Lee Bermejo
Art By: Jorge Corona, Trish Mulvihill, Christine Duart Peter, Allen Passalaqua, Jared Fletcher
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 28, 2015

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Two issues ago, we saw the terrible death of one of our Robins named Troy Walker and for everyone reading We Are Robin, it was a terrible blow....... kinda.  While I did hate the fact that one of the Robins died, it was hard to feel as deeply about it as I might have because of my lack of actually knowing the character.  Yeah, we've been hanging out with these characters a bit, but it wasn't until Troy died that I actually knew him name........ up until that point, I just called him "Shoulder-Pads"...... and believe it or not, even with my complete ignorance about who these characters were, he was my favorite.  In the previous issue, we saw how the Robin Riko was dealing with this loss and even though after discussing it on the podcast and coming to like the issue more than I originally did, it still felt off for how little she seemed to care about the loss of a teammate and just went on like nothing terrible went down.  So for anyone who felt like me, this is the issue where we get to see the team's turmoil from Troy's death and even though it's a morbid thing to say, I can't wait.  Let's jump into this issue and check it out.



Explain It!:

Our issue begins with a little backstory on our Robin Izzy or as she goes by via text: Robina.  You see, as much as all of our Robins have had a hard time at life so far, it seems that Izzy might have had it a little worse.  After she's confronted by some gang members at her job as a waitress, we see that when she clocks out to go home, these gang bangers were waiting for her to teach her some respect.  Even though, it seems that Izzy could have beat the holy hell out of all these assholes, Riko and Duke show up and give a little backup...... This is when we learn how hard Izzy has had it.  It seems that the ring leader behind this assault is her brother and a couple of years ago he put her in the hospital for not joining the gang and never faced justice because her mother begged Izzy not to press charges........ something about not wanting to see her little boy in prison of all things.  Now if this was me, I might end up being one of those Gotham maniacs pushed over the edge, but thankfully Izzy turned this terrible event into something worth fighting for and used her anger in a positive way.  To make sure that it never happens to anyone again.

After this terrible backstory.......terrible in the sense that it happened to her, not in the writing, we jump to a meeting between the Robins, that seems to be the first since Troy died.  Dre and Dax are the first ones there and they seem to be on edge and even on the verge of quitting because of what happened to their teammate and the Robo-Bats disapproval of their actions.  They feel lied to, especially since they haven't been contacted by The Nest since.  Well, after Duke, Riko and Izzy finally arrive, they get a little relaxed when The Nest shows up with their roaming automated Robin Semi Truck....... maybe, moving command center might be a better name, but the first description is more accurate.  Inside, they find all the gear they'll ever need and a monitor showing Alfred in disguise, telling them that he hasn't abandoned them and that he will always be there for them in their fight against crime in Gotham........ He just could have left some information to himself is all.  During his speech, he stops to respond to Dre about his doubts and calls him out as a "Mob Kid", which after, Duke won't leave the hell alone.  After the "Ra Ra" speech, the Robins leave the truck and it moves on.

In the end, Duke goes and continues to call Dre a "Mob Kid" and wonders how they can trust someone like that, which of course leads to Dre telling them all to fuck off and him and Dax leaving the group....... hopefully not forever......... and just when you think it can't get any worse for our Robins, when Duke, Izzy and Riko are walking home, they're spotted by Izzy's pissed off brother and his gang and our heroes become victims of a drive-by.

Yeah, it looks like Duke is the only one hit, which still sucks but to make matters worse, we see a lone Talon looking to recruit a new army after the hobos failed to do their job in the beginning of this series.  After tearing the gang bangers apart, this Talon explains to the Robin that he's their new father and he's going to show them how to dispense real justice.

That's it for this issue of We Are Robin and this is the issue that I was really looking forward to after Troy's death.  The team really dealing with the loss of one of their own and what that death will make them do in the future.  Like I said in the header, I learned to like the previous issue with Riko and her delusions of Batgirl more than I originally did, but this reaction issue is what I was really looking for and it didn't let me down.  The emotions of the team are running high and it's led to them not knowing if they should really continue their time as Robins........ and I think this is a perfect reaction for a bunch of kids making some mighty big decisions, like putting their lives on the line.  Something I never expected to see in this book was a Talon, but being such a fan of the Court of the Owls, I'm happy as hell to see one here, especially since Alfred is in danger of losing everything that he's tried to build in Batman's absence.  As usual, I love the art in this book and I'm so happy to have Jorge Corona back on art for this issue because he was seriously missed in the last.  Great issue and I can't wait for the next one.

Bits and Pieces:

We Are Robin is back to form in this issue and it deals with the tragic death of the Robin Troy and I'm happy as hell about it because we've been waiting a while to see the ramification of that event.  On top of that we get a new threat to our heroes and a little backstory that is really starting to show us who these characters are and I couldn't be happier.  We also get Jorge Corona back on art and if you've enjoyed what he's brought to the table so far, you'll be just as happy as I am when you see what he throws down.  I love this series and I hope it lasts for a long long time.

8/10