Plot: Mark Waid & Chris Samnee
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Chris Samnee
Colorist: Giovanna Niro
Letterers: Clayton Cowles with Chris Samnee
Cover Artists: Chris Samnee & Matheus Lopes; Kevin Nowlan; Dave Johnson; Tom Reilly
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 20, 2024
While Bruce Wayne wants to help his young charge embrace who he is, Dick Grayson fixates on how others see him. Instead of embracing his loss, Dick hides his feelings behind a façade of cheerfulness. While Bruce worries about the young orphan, he also muses on Two-Face’s warning. But first, he’s got another battle to fight. Can Bruce help Dick find a positive outlet for his anger and rage? Or will the authorities take Dick away from him? Let’s leap into Batman & Robin: Year One #2 and see!
Story
Before they took on Two-Face, Bruce worried about his ability to be a parent. While empowering the orphan as his sidekick, Batman struggled to keep up with Robin's exuberance. The former circus performer has fast reflexes. But Robin only survived the trouble he rushed into because of Batman’s foresight. So in Batman & Robin: Year One #2, Bruce runs Dick through his paces. He tries to replicate the danger they'll face on the streets in a controlled environment.
While parenting Dick has its duties, it also affords Bruce pleasures. When Laura Lyn arrives at Wayne Manor, Bruce does his best to impress her. But the beautiful agent from Gotham City Child Protective Services has her shields up. And Dick's behavior gives Laura more power in her relationship with Bruce. So, after endangering their lives in their meeting with Two-Face, Dick threatens their continued ability to fight crime together in Mark Waid & Chris Samnee’s story.
Bruce realizes that Dick Grayson is a kid. He's hurting and thinks he knows it all. So Batman gives him a tour of his operation in Batman & Robin: Year One #2. He shows the boy the years of work and planning that built the foundation of his crime-fighting expertise. And while villains scheme and vie for power in Gotham's underworld, Batman shows Robin that being a caped crusader isn't just about defeating the bad guys.
Art
A front-page story provokes discussion among her colleagues in the cubicles. Laura Lyn betrays little interest as she picks up the newspaper. Chris Samnee kickstarts readers' hearts in Batman & Robin: Year One #2 with a fraught two-page spread of fast-cut action scenes. Bruce stands with Laura before a bookcase in Wayne Manor, discussing how he is overseeing Dick's education. Her eyes bulge and her jaw drops when Dick makes another spectacular introduction. As she turns away to recover her composure, Bruce glares at Dick and clenches a fist. But when she looks back at them, Bruce puts his arm around Dick's shoulders. Both are all smiles.
Giovanna Niro lavishes a limited palette of vibrant colors on Bruce's battle with Dick and Laura, Two-Face's next play, and a red-hot rescue in Gotham. A yellow cone of light illuminates a dark room, as men in gray suits surround their leader. When the General sits back in his maroon chair, he studies his father clad in a similarly colored suit. Two-Face's half-red, distorted side suggests a link to the General's father, who contributes less to the crime boss's life than his upholstered chair.
While yellow headlights herald the trouble coming to Gotham, Clayton Cowles and Chris Samnee fill white dialogue balloons with uppercase letters. The words grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and rarely shrink as Bruce and Dick struggle amid this early phase of their relationship. Sound effects enhance machine gunfire, bats scattering, explosions, and an act that will shake Gotham's crime families to the core in Batman & Robin Year One #1. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this fun and exciting all-ages look back in time.
Final Thoughts
Bruce has seen many people lose sight of who they are and get carried away by their personality. So, Bruce works to found the orphan's future heroism on rock-solid principles in Batman & Robin Year One #1. Still, Dick can't help himself. He must be Robin the Magnificent.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see the preview at Comic Book Dispatch.
For another reviewer's thoughts see Dispatch DCU's review at Comic Book Dispatch.
To look back at how the series started, see my review of Batman & Robin Year One #1.
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