While unleashing his fury on his father, the Devil Nezha, King Fire Bull inadvertently unleashed the collective magic of DC’s Prime Earth tainted by the properties of the Lazarus serum. Lazarus Planet: Omega #1 shows King Fire Bull forcing Black Alice to channel all the magic into him but meets with heavy resistance from both the Justice League and the Justice League Dark. Meanwhile, Nezha possessing Batman’s body condenses the Lazarus storm and dispels it using his son as the conduit. Heroes and villains of the DC universe band together and vanquish evil. Batman vs. Robin #5, written by Mark Waid with artwork from Mahmud Asrar and Jordie Bellaire with lettering from Steve Wands brings the main story to a close.
After being unable to reach his father, Robin is finally happy to see Batman. Unbeknownst to him, Nezha has fully possessed Bruce, and now aims to find King Fire Bull’s location for one final confrontation. He captures Robin and demands answers, but the young vigilante is crafty, escaping the Batcave on a bike. However, with all of Batman’s arsenal at his disposal, Nezha races out in hot pursuit of Damian Wayne. Along the way, Monkey Prince meets up with Robin, and the two try their best to shake off the demon. With the number of options dwindling, Robin now has only one way left to save the world — kill the Batman.
Throughout this event, Robin has been calling the shots, be it scheming with his great-grandmother or double-crossing her and leading the heroes against the forces of evil. Batman vs. Robin #5 is no exception. Every leader needs to make some hard choices, which is what this issue offers. Writer Mark Waid packs this issue with gut-punching action, making the scenes race past like a nos-fueled Batmobile. The entirety of the opening act builds towards the climax as all the elements and characters involved to this point finally come together for an explosive finale to this limited series. Damian’s retrospective narration is a constant companion as he overcomes his ordeals, each bigger and more dangerous than the previous, pulling the reader in with a magnetic thrill.
The captivating artwork of Mahmud Asrar and the radiant colors of Jordie Bellaire upgrades the script to cinematic quality. Each scene comes preset with a predominant shade of color that sways with the book’s tone and directs the pacing to an extent. Asrar’s bold lines pose the characters in a wide variety of martial arts moves, with the inking bringing out the musculature as well as the pensive looks on their faces. Letterer Steve Wands spaces out Damian’s narration so that every thought precedes the action. Batman’s demonic voice feels intense in the red and yellow speech balloons, despite the emboldened letters feeling a bit overused.
True to its name, Batman vs. Robin #5 delivers an epic showdown between a father and a son. Batman shows the devilish charm that he so often invokes from the shadows. But now, under the spell of an actual demon, he can only watch as all he holds dear comes asunder.
This is where Damian shows his mettle, and when the time comes for the ultimate sacrifice, he steps up like a leader, moving people with his words and lighting the fire of hope in them. Batman vs. Robin #5 shows how far the father-son duo has come after fighting so many battles, both personal and physical, which gives meaning to their eventual reunion.
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