Batman and Robin #18 Review

For issue #18 of Batman & Robin, the Dynamic Duo are on separate missions in order to stop the chaos that’s ensuing due to the atrocities that Memento’s been committing throughout Gotham. Batman, along with Red Hood, are trying to end a shoot out between rival mobs. Meanwhile, Damian and Lieutenant Lautrec are investigating Scarecrow’s lab to find out who’s been using it to create the Gravedigger’s Poppy toxin. Throughout this run, there’s been a tension building between the father and son and it’s having Damian question his status as Robin. Will this fissure between the two continue to widen as Memento continues to wreak havoc across Gotham? Or will they be able to come together to stop this foe once and for all? Here are my thoughts.

I thought issue #18 was another solid entry in this run by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and co., but the quality of the story took a slight step back for me. I’m still intrigued with the mystery surrounding Memento, but this issue focused more on the growing division between Batman and Robin. I believe this is the penultimate issue of this Memento arc (correct me if I’m wrong in the comments), and I feel the resolution of stopping Memento will be rushed. But I could be wrong, and maybe how they stop Memento isn’t the focal point of this story. Dr. Bashar might also be tied with both the League of Assassins and with Memento himself, so we’ll see how that plays out and what his true intentions are with Damian.

This issue in particular showcased Damian’s inner turmoil about wanting to continue being Robin or not, and it reached a turning point by the end of the issue. Damian is pretty much determined in getting this Memento ordeal over with and move on with the next chapter in his life. I would really respect the creative team if they take a huge risk by having Damian quit being Robin, but we all know that’s not going to happen. So all this conflict that’s been building between Damian and Batman just to have Damian continue being Robin is just anticlimactic with how much focus this subplot has been getting. But if the resolution is executed well in the next issue, then my opinion can change.

The artwork continues to be phenomenal. Javi Fernández and Miguel Mendonça split the illustrations pretty much evenly with Carmine Di Giandomenico returning to do one page for a flashback sequence. Even with three artists in this one issue, the art was seamless throughout and was really consistent. I’ve just been loving the atmosphere of this run. As I’ve mentioned in my other reviews, the artwork is very psychedelic and very gothic inspired. And with the amazing and vivid colors from Marcelo Maiolo, this Gotham perfectly compliments the gritty story that Johnson is trying to tell.

Jason Todd’s inclusion in this issue was fun. While I didn’t feel that he was completely necessary to the story, it was nice to see how his dynamic with Batman compared to Bruce and Damian’s dynamic. I might be nitpicking, but I felt that there was too much exposition going on during their action sequences in the shoot out. They’re having a full blown conversation while being shot at and fighting the mobsters. I know some people are good at multitasking but I don’t know about that good. Seeing Lieutenant Lautrec and Damian bouncing back and forth while they were in Scarecrow’s lab was also fun. I’m really digging Lautrec as a side character, and she seems to be one of the few characters to not be a complete idiot and figure out who Batman really is. She also makes a few good points in her conversation with Damian about Batman essentially putting him in constant danger when he should be having a normal life as a teenager.

Recommended if…

You’ve been enjoying this run.
You’ve been enjoying the fantastic artwork from all the artists that have been involved.
You’ve started to realize that Batman is kind of a horrible father and because of his actions, traumatized all of his protégés.

Overall

Batman & Robin #18 might have some flaws, but this run continues to be intriguing. There are a few questions that still need to be answered like the true identity of Memento, what his motivations are, and Damian’s future as Robin. Will the creative team be able to conclude everything in a satisfying manner? I’m looking forward to finding out.

Score: 7.5/10

DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of review.

10 comments

Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)

February 13, 2025

PKJ is a solid writer, but I really hope Damien remains positioned as Robin. He's perfect in that role ( frankly we have enough Robins and ex-Robins running around--this is NOT the time to look for a new replacement) and he'll become way more recognizable if Gunn and Co. get Brave and Bold off the ground.

Kaingerc

February 13, 2025

I really wish they didn't go with the cheap cliche of Robin overhearing half a conversation and getting the wrong impression of what Batman thinks about him. (The story had enough setup that it didn't require that forced misunderstanding)
Also, Bruce is being written as being a bit over emotional, but I guess that can be attributed to the drugs that are in his system.

Madeleine

February 13, 2025

The monkey is cute I guess (if you've never watched an outbreak film) but... Batman Ninja, anyone?

I haven't read any other issues of this series so I'm sure I've misunderstood some things.

I feel like PKJ writes Jason better than he writes Damian here, maybe because teenagers are hard to write. Books about younger characters incline to the side of YA but most writers' understanding of what that means is an everlasting cycle of conflict and resolution between teens and adults. There are times when Damian sounded off to me because he's being written according to a fiction formula that clashes with how I feel he ought to be. Would someone trained by Batman and the LoA tune out of a difficult conversation like that? Jason actually might; there has never been a time when he wasn't an emotionally wrought up, impulsive Robin. I don't think this act fits well with Damian, his temperament, or his upbringing--not when all things are taken into account.

Including Batfamily in almost every single present day Batman story and this entailing fights like this one is why present day Bruce has become a positive chore for me to read about. He isn't written badly here but it's the same old fighting, everything revolving around relations with Bruce. Damian considering a future in medicine is an interesting turn for him to explore but why must his announcement be set within a fight with Batdad? Why must everything be?

Besides, somewhere some Tim Drake fan is pointing triumphantly to these pages. Do we need more of that? (I've run into so much pro-Tim terrorism online these past two weeks and it almost all takes the form of attacks on Jason and Damian.)

Jason's barbed dialogue feels on point though, every line double edged. I agree that the dialogue was

I wish they'd stop drawing Jason's hair like that. With this crewcut he's begun to look every inch the generic thug he gets slammed as lately. Why promote a destructive stereotype? I also wish that they'd reduce the size of the lenses on Damian's mask. With that and as lanky as he is in some panels he resembles less any bird than he does an insect.

Teen angst aside all in all I liked the issue. PKJ is one of my hopeful picks for Batman writer after the book is freed up from Loeb and Lee. Just... tone down the Batfamily drama please.

February 13, 2025

I felt the issue was well written and drawn....but the Damian of this run just doesn't work for me. The character bounces from acting like a 10 year old to an older teen and the emotional responses just don't align with the character's history. At times, this Damian is more like Tim. Little issues like Damian's grades being unremarkable...the Damian who demanded points added to a perfect score had unremarkable grades? Just doesn't fit my understanding of the character, nor does the core conflict of a "normal" life for a character that is the Son of the Demon, Son of the Batman and son of Talia Al Ghul. I could see that conflict for Tim, but not the kid whose companions include Goliath and Wiggles.

Berkley

February 14, 2025

DC could always surprise me, but I doubt very much that Damian will stop being Robin. At most we might get an arc or two while he figures things out, with the obligatory pep talks. To paraphrase someone else's comment on another comic this week: All the real drama is brought by the fans, not the writing. The writing exists to stir it up.

The real question of the hour is why both Damian and Jason have to be cast in so many of their appearances as the "bad" Robins who waver or fail until a last minute save.

To do PKJ justice, he shows Jason as willing to help and capable. I question some of his dialogue but the characterization is good. Strong agree with Madeleine about the way they've been drawing Jason doing him no favors.

Robin MB
February 15, 2025
I'm excited to see that. PKJ has been pretty good in most of his work

Sophronius

February 15, 2025

What do you mean, they'd never let Damian quit? He already did just that. This is the first decent story he's been in since he quit being Robin, between then and now he was on an island fighting assassins or being possessed by demons or causing worldwide volcanic eruptions or fighting in a world of nightmares. He has spent basically 0 time as Robin. Which is why this plot annoys me. It's as if DC really doesn't like Damian as Robin.

Also, it was Damian's choice to be Robin, so why this idea of it being forced on him? That's complete nonsense. His mother wanted him to rule the world and his father wanted to get rid of him, it was only Alfred who believed in him and made him Robin. As for Bruce saying "Damian doesn't want Bruce Wayne, he just wants Batman"... come on. Are we really expected to believe that Bruce still doesn't understand the concept of children needing their fathers. Really? After all this time? Bruce Wayne, of all people, cannot understand this? Please.

In Morrison's comics, Batman pushed Damian away because of a prophesy that he would destroy the world. That may sound contrived, but it makes a lot more sense than Batman not understanding that a son needs his parents.

Finally, can we go back to making Damian dangerous instead of emo, please? It feels like DC is trying really hard to placate readers who never liked Damian by having him act vulnerable all the time, But some of us actually like his brash and confident personality. It's strange that Damian is being written for people who don't like him.

Licardo Fantastic Gwira

February 15, 2025

Damian’s grades are unremarkable? During his series Damian’s own teachers have commented on how excellent his academic performance is.

Sara

February 15, 2025

So tired of these stories about the worthiness of this or that Robin. It's not even a bad issue, per se. It's just something nobody at all wants to read again. It devalues the characters and feels like a sideways endorsement of the position that the really do not deserve to exist.

But now for the thing that made me mad, and for which PKJ is not to be blamed.

You know, if DC hadn't completely fvcked up Jason's history SEVERAL TIMES since Flashpoint, Jason's "Harvey night" would have been finding out that Bruce knew Harvey had killed his father and hid it from him, and then twisted Jason's arm, almost literally, to make him accept that he needed to forgive Harvey. Thanks to the moronic retconning of Willis Todd's death, they tossed out an important piece of the puzzle of why Jason's relations with Bruce are so incredibly bad and why Jason thinks Bruce's methods are shit. The foolishness of this choice by DC editorial CANNOT be overstated. The reason Jason is an orphan, in post-Crisis comics, whom Bruce could take in as a ward and turn into Robin, is that after Jason's mother died, Harvey killed his father. Jason had nobody, so he shifted for himself on the streets. That's how he met Bruce: By stealing from him and getting tracked down to the hovel where he was living. He said himself that he only stole what he needed to, to get by. And he had to do that because HARVEY KILLED HIS (idiot, criminal) FATHER. Then Bruce's first brilliant move was to hand Jason over to Ma Gunn. Jason had to rescue himself from a situation Bruce threw him into, with no right to do so. Jim Starlin was the first one to start messing with this, by making Willis out to be a good father who wanted to provide for his poor sick wife (no longer a smack addict who OD'd) and his young son, well loved and cared for. No mention of Ma Gunn. Starlin hated Jason. That's why he did that. And then Flashpoint happened and everything has been getting stupider all the time.

Fvck DC.

This is why I get so damn mad at Red Hood bashers. DC butchered Jason's story at the time that they were trying to kill off Two-Face and hype the Joker like mad. None of the dumbasses who take every opportunity to hate on Jason ever think about the BTS reasons for it. They just decided he's a terrible character. It's DC's fault. And a few lines of dialogue in a story that isn't even about Jason are this pitch black rabbit hole to fall into if you know anything about his past and what's been stolen from him.

Did I mention, fvck DC?

I will never not seize an opportunity to rant about this. It's infuriating.

BB
March 16, 2025
Or heck, y'know what would have made a great 'Harvey night' for Jason? When he found Gloria's dead body after she hanged herself because Felipe Garzonas threatened he was going to come back for her. That shook Jason so badly that he might have killed him (I dunno if DC ever confirmed it or not) and set him on the path to running away to find his mother.
It always annoys me when reboots or adaptations forget this moment. Because instead of just being the 'angry and violent' Robin, he did something out of righteous anger because a victim was denied justice and refused to stand by about it. He was vengeance for the unheard victims of the rich and powerful. Gee, where have I heard that before?

Papa Grande ( formerly deevo)
February 13, 2025
PKJ is a solid writer, but I really hope Damien remains positioned as Robin. He's perfect in that role ( frankly we have enough Robins and ex-Robins running around--this is NOT the time to look for a new replacement) and he'll become way more recognizable if Gunn and Co. get Brave and Bold off the ground.
Kaingerc
February 13, 2025
I really wish they didn't go with the cheap cliche of Robin overhearing half a conversation and getting the wrong impression of what Batman thinks about him. (The story had enough setup that it didn't require that forced misunderstanding)
Also, Bruce is being written as being a bit over emotional, but I guess that can be attributed to the drugs that are in his system.
Madeleine
February 13, 2025
The monkey is cute I guess (if you've never watched an outbreak film) but... Batman Ninja, anyone?
I haven't read any other issues of this series so I'm sure I've misunderstood some things.
I feel like PKJ writes Jason better than he writes Damian here, maybe because teenagers are hard to write. Books about younger characters incline to the side of YA but most writers' understanding of what that means is an everlasting cycle of conflict and resolution between teens and adults. There are times when Damian sounded off to me because he's being written according to a fiction formula that clashes with how I feel he ought to be. Would someone trained by Batman and the LoA tune out of a difficult conversation like that? Jason actually might; there has never been a time when he wasn't an emotionally wrought up, impulsive Robin. I don't think this act fits well with Damian, his temperament, or his upbringing--not when all things are taken into account.
Including Batfamily in almost every single present day Batman story and this entailing fights like this one is why present day Bruce has become a positive chore for me to read about. He isn't written badly here but it's the same old fighting, everything revolving around relations with Bruce. Damian considering a future in medicine is an interesting turn for him to explore but why must his announcement be set within a fight with Batdad? Why must everything be?
Besides, somewhere some Tim Drake fan is pointing triumphantly to these pages. Do we need more of that? (I've run into so much pro-Tim terrorism online these past two weeks and it almost all takes the form of attacks on Jason and Damian.)
Jason's barbed dialogue feels on point though, every line double edged. I agree that the dialogue was
I wish they'd stop drawing Jason's hair like that. With this crewcut he's begun to look every inch the generic thug he gets slammed as lately. Why promote a destructive stereotype? I also wish that they'd reduce the size of the lenses on Damian's mask. With that and as lanky as he is in some panels he resembles less any bird than he does an insect.
Teen angst aside all in all I liked the issue. PKJ is one of my hopeful picks for Batman writer after the book is freed up from Loeb and Lee. Just... tone down the Batfamily drama please.
J
February 13, 2025
I felt the issue was well written and drawn....but the Damian of this run just doesn't work for me. The character bounces from acting like a 10 year old to an older teen and the emotional responses just don't align with the character's history. At times, this Damian is more like Tim. Little issues like Damian's grades being unremarkable...the Damian who demanded points added to a perfect score had unremarkable grades? Just doesn't fit my understanding of the character, nor does the core conflict of a "normal" life for a character that is the Son of the Demon, Son of the Batman and son of Talia Al Ghul. I could see that conflict for Tim, but not the kid whose companions include Goliath and Wiggles.
Berkley
February 14, 2025
DC could always surprise me, but I doubt very much that Damian will stop being Robin. At most we might get an arc or two while he figures things out, with the obligatory pep talks. To paraphrase someone else's comment on another comic this week: All the real drama is brought by the fans, not the writing. The writing exists to stir it up.
The real question of the hour is why both Damian and Jason have to be cast in so many of their appearances as the "bad" Robins who waver or fail until a last minute save.
To do PKJ justice, he shows Jason as willing to help and capable. I question some of his dialogue but the characterization is good. Strong agree with Madeleine about the way they've been drawing Jason doing him no favors.
1. Robin MB
  February 15, 2025
  I'm excited to see that. PKJ has been pretty good in most of his work
Sophronius
February 15, 2025
What do you mean, they'd never let Damian quit? He already did just that. This is the first decent story he's been in since he quit being Robin, between then and now he was on an island fighting assassins or being possessed by demons or causing worldwide volcanic eruptions or fighting in a world of nightmares. He has spent basically 0 time as Robin. Which is why this plot annoys me. It's as if DC really doesn't like Damian as Robin.
Also, it was Damian's choice to be Robin, so why this idea of it being forced on him? That's complete nonsense. His mother wanted him to rule the world and his father wanted to get rid of him, it was only Alfred who believed in him and made him Robin. As for Bruce saying "Damian doesn't want Bruce Wayne, he just wants Batman"... come on. Are we really expected to believe that Bruce still doesn't understand the concept of children needing their fathers. Really? After all this time? Bruce Wayne, of all people, cannot understand this? Please.
In Morrison's comics, Batman pushed Damian away because of a prophesy that he would destroy the world. That may sound contrived, but it makes a lot more sense than Batman not understanding that a son needs his parents.
Finally, can we go back to making Damian dangerous instead of emo, please? It feels like DC is trying really hard to placate readers who never liked Damian by having him act vulnerable all the time, But some of us actually like his brash and confident personality. It's strange that Damian is being written for people who don't like him.
Licardo Fantastic Gwira
February 15, 2025
Damian’s grades are unremarkable? During his series Damian’s own teachers have commented on how excellent his academic performance is.
Sara
February 15, 2025
So tired of these stories about the worthiness of this or that Robin. It's not even a bad issue, per se. It's just something nobody at all wants to read again. It devalues the characters and feels like a sideways endorsement of the position that the really do not deserve to exist.
But now for the thing that made me mad, and for which PKJ is not to be blamed.
You know, if DC hadn't completely fvcked up Jason's history SEVERAL TIMES since Flashpoint, Jason's "Harvey night" would have been finding out that Bruce knew Harvey had killed his father and hid it from him, and then twisted Jason's arm, almost literally, to make him accept that he needed to forgive Harvey. Thanks to the moronic retconning of Willis Todd's death, they tossed out an important piece of the puzzle of why Jason's relations with Bruce are so incredibly bad and why Jason thinks Bruce's methods are shit. The foolishness of this choice by DC editorial CANNOT be overstated. The reason Jason is an orphan, in post-Crisis comics, whom Bruce could take in as a ward and turn into Robin, is that after Jason's mother died, Harvey killed his father. Jason had nobody, so he shifted for himself on the streets. That's how he met Bruce: By stealing from him and getting tracked down to the hovel where he was living. He said himself that he only stole what he needed to, to get by. And he had to do that because HARVEY KILLED HIS (idiot, criminal) FATHER. Then Bruce's first brilliant move was to hand Jason over to Ma Gunn. Jason had to rescue himself from a situation Bruce threw him into, with no right to do so. Jim Starlin was the first one to start messing with this, by making Willis out to be a good father who wanted to provide for his poor sick wife (no longer a smack addict who OD'd) and his young son, well loved and cared for. No mention of Ma Gunn. Starlin hated Jason. That's why he did that. And then Flashpoint happened and everything has been getting stupider all the time.
Fvck DC.
This is why I get so damn mad at Red Hood bashers. DC butchered Jason's story at the time that they were trying to kill off Two-Face and hype the Joker like mad. None of the dumbasses who take every opportunity to hate on Jason ever think about the BTS reasons for it. They just decided he's a terrible character. It's DC's fault. And a few lines of dialogue in a story that isn't even about Jason are this pitch black rabbit hole to fall into if you know anything about his past and what's been stolen from him.
Did I mention, fvck DC?
I will never not seize an opportunity to rant about this. It's infuriating.
1. BB
  March 16, 2025
  Or heck, y'know what would have made a great 'Harvey night' for Jason? When he found Gloria's dead body after she hanged herself because Felipe Garzonas threatened he was going to come back for her. That shook Jason so badly that he might have killed him (I dunno if DC ever confirmed it or not) and set him on the path to running away to find his mother.
  It always annoys me when reboots or adaptations forget this moment. Because instead of just being the 'angry and violent' Robin, he did something out of righteous anger because a victim was denied justice and refused to stand by about it. He was vengeance for the unheard victims of the rich and powerful. Gee, where have I heard that before?

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