Publisher: DC Comics
Writers: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Allison Borges
Colourist: Dave McCaig
Release date: OUT NOW!
Price: $2.99

There’s a new heavy in Gotham City, since the video game Batman: Arkham Knight tells us so. The Arkham Knight is Jason Todd, the Robin who simply won’t stay dead. And has no intention of ever being an ex-Robin if the events unfolding in Batman: Arkham Knight: Genesis #2 are anything to go by.

Batman: Arkham Knight: Genesis #2 starts with a bloody fight amongst Deathstroke, Robin and Nightwing. What they don’t know is Jason Todd is pulling Deathstroke’s strings. As Todd sits and watches in judgement of both the battle and his former mentor the reader begins to understand how Jason Todd got there. The theme of putting children’s lives in danger is no stranger to Batman readers, and is one of Jason Todd’s pet peeves. But his psychological motivation is more complicated. “It’s not my fault Batman refused to see me as I really am,” Jason Todd states, for the record.

In Batman: Arkham Knight: Genesis #2 Batman is a cruel taskmaster, rubbing salt into the wound when he finds fault. “You reminded me it’s better to work alone,” he tells Jason in a flashback. The problem is Jason thought Bruce Wayne was looking for a son, and instead was looking for an assistant. But after the Joker lures Jason into a trap, it’s not clear why he blames Batman for his actions. But blame him he does.

The book is entertaining in a DC way, gritty and relentless. But Jason’s emotional motivations are squishy. Trying to untangle them will make your head hurt. Borges’s art is dynamic and quick. The figures spend most of their time fighting, and Borges’s keeps them fluid and graceful. Colourist McCaig, a decent artist in his own right, keeps everything suitably dark, even in daylight.

Batman: Arkham Knight: Genesis #2 has plenty of action and physical conflict. But if the series manages to establish a good, solid psychological foundation for Arkham Knight’s mental state it would give much-needed depth. The clock on that one, as they say, is ticking.

Reviewer: Joe Lovece
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker