I Could've Been A Contender!

I was greatly impressed with the story contained in issue #47 of Robin. It showed the reader that our superheroes don't always win the battle. As I read the story, I pondered the various ways it could end: Everything from "Young El sees the light and turns over a new leaf;" to "Young El escapes from Robin after the rescue." I did even suppose that Young El could die (a la the movie Never Give an Inch (based on the book, Sometimes a Great Notion), with Paul Newman and Henry Fonda). I finally decided that Young El wouldn't drown since this was a comic book. I realize that people die in the comics, but usually it is either an unknown "extra," or a main character that can always be brought back to life. Low and behold, just like we saw Karl R. swept off the pages of Robin, so goes his killer.

The real reason I am writing this letter is to voice my opinion that the next issue (I realize that it is already written and drawn, so this is a moot point), would be a prime opportunity for Bruce to help Robin through his "failure." As I thought about this particular issue I remembered the story-arc that passed through several issue of LOTDK under the title Venom. While the little girl that drown in the Venom story was an innocent, and Young El was not, the situations were very similar. I know Bruce is much more extreme than Tim, but Tim could very easily travel the path that Bruce did so long ago. Tim is younger, less mature, working through personal problems with his father and girlfriend and under the influence of the entity that made the people of the world depressed and hopeless. If Bruce (who was in his prime both physically and mentally), asked himself the questions that led him to Venom, then why should we expect Tim to shrug off this "failure" and continue on in life as though it was no big deal. At the very least Tim should seriously question his abilities as Robin. The next issue's story could make for great character development as Tim interacts with Bruce, Dick, Alfred and even Barbara Gordon. If Chuck Dixon didn't latch onto this opportunity, then in my opinion, he blew a great chance.

When I finished reading issue #47 I felt somewhat disappointed. While not completely ignoring his inability to save Young El, Tim bounced back a bit more quickly than expected. I admire Tim's level-headedness and maturity, but he shouldn't have rebounded back so quickly. As mentioned in the above paragraphs, Bruce's failure to save the little girl in Venom had a terrible effect on him, while in issue 47 of Robin, Tim appeared a bit "down," but not so much that he questioned his ability to lead a two-man strike team into the middle of a full-blown war.

Was Young El's death merely a plot device for the readers to see the effects of Genesis on Tim? It would appear so. Instead of launching into the current fray, issue 47 would have been better served as a character development issue, with Bruce, Dick, Barbara and Alfred helping young Timothy through the trauma.

In summary, the two issue story that Chuck Dixon gave us was nothing special, but it could have been.

In conclusion, the two issue story that Chuck Dixon wrote was nothing special, when it could have been one of the most powerful episodes in Tim's life. All that being said, I must applaud the art contained in issue 47. The characters were drawn full of life, and the background was interesting and appealing. I'm not one for "shoot 'em ups," but this one was done very well. I hope the current team (yes, even Mr. Dixon), stays together for many issues to come.

Column by Dave Runyon

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