Title: “Last Man Standing”
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Tony Daniel
Cover by Tony Daniel
Colors by Sandu Florea
Editor – Mike Marts
Published – May 20th 2009
Publish Price - $2.99

Official DC Comics Synopsis:
With the destruction of Arkham Asylum, the return of the Black Mask, and dozens of Gotham City's most lethal villains rioting through the streets, Nightwing, Robin and their allies seem to have their hands full. But when you add a deadly Jason Todd masquerading as a gun-toting Batman to the mix, things have definitely spiraled out of control!This is the issue everyone's been waiting for – find out who wins the Battle for the Cowl! Who earns the right to take on the mantle of the Bat? Will it be Robin? Jason Todd? Nightwing? Azrael? Catwoman? Two-Face? Damian Wayne? Batwoman? Or someone completely unexpected? This 3-issue series continues to shock and surprise as the battle comes to a startling finale for the ages!

REVIEW BY: Jamie Desrochers

***SPOILER ALERT***

I’ve been vocal about my displeasure with the Battle For The Cowl since issue 1. I tried to like it, but overall the glaringly uncharacteristic portrayal of my favourite members of the Bat-family turned me from an objective and reasonable guy to a foaming-at-the-mouth, rabid fanboy. I really resented it. Other than the art in this series, it seemed that it was a complete train wreck. Would #3 follow suit?

Pleasantly, no. It was actually kinda good…not great, but good.

Our story opens with Dick narrowing down the likely suspects responsible for all the chaos in Gotham. He’s deduced that neither Two-Face nor Penguin are responsible, but the player is still in question. Nightwing mobilises the Network in order to save Gotham while he hunts down Jason Todd. He surmises that Jason was pushed off the edge and that something set him off (accounting for his recent mis-charactaraterisation).

One interesting tidbit we discover is that Bruce’s “will” advised Nightwing against becoming Batman. Bruce thinks that Nightwing and Robin should be sufficient. This is a cool concept – Bruce acknowledges that Nightwing is his own man. I was pleased with this addition, as it also shows that Bruce did not estimate the psychological impact of having Batman in Gotham. It’s not just a vigilante…the Batman is beyond myth.

While the GCPD contemplates the burning city, Damian has risen from his being shot by Jason Todd. While Alfred is quick to point out that he’s not in shape to fight, he does let the lad leave with his new chaperone, Squire. This was a fun team-up and their playfulness was “cute” for a lack of better words.

In one of the most interesting panels in BFTC #3, we see Black mask sitting in the darkness, without a mask…speaking to either himself, or someone else. The question of who Black Mask is will remain unresolved in this series…but it has now become intriguing.

The throwdown this has all built up to then begins with Dick tracing Tim’s signal to Jason’s “Batcave”. In a very dramatic fashion (flames! Crucified cowl!), Jason begins the battle proclaiming that he killed Tim and that Dick can join him as Robin (I found this part quite amusing…as well as a good indicator that Jason is looped beyond repair). Dick proves that he is Bruce’s protégé by attempting to “save” Jason once again. Tying into the last issue of Robin, Dick plays Bruce’s “last will” message to Jason. It implies that there is a deep, dark secret that Jason is hiding from his childhood (before becoming Robin). There are reasons that he was such a troubled teen…and reckless enough to get himself killed. Jason, however, becomes livid at the message and continues his attack on Dick by detonating charges in his lair.

Tim, who barely survived Jason’s attack in BFTC#2, is faced with a collapsing floor with the detonation of Jason’s “batcave”, and falls to his certain death….only to be saved by Damian. Can you say “Pass the torch!”?

While Dick and Jason move their fight on a moving train, Jason reveals that he knows who the criminal mastermind behind Gotham’s downfall is….and Dick is left to wonder if the Black Mask is the same that was killed by Catwoman, or someone entirely new. And how does Jason know this? As the fight escalates, Dick shows the second Boy Wonder why he’s the Original: he kicks him off the train. In a typical Hollywood movie “take my hand! You can still be saved! It’s not too late for you!” moment, Jason proclaims that we haven’t seen the last of him and plunges into the abyss….

As Dick contemplates Jason’s mistakes, he walks into the Batcave, with Alfred and a new Robin present (Damian), to assume the mantle of the Bat.

So here we are at the end…and Dick Grayson is Batman. Is it much of a surprise? No…even without the leaked picture on Tony Daniel’s blog. Dick was the logical choice. Yes, he’s been Batman before in Prodigal, but this time around, Dick thinks that Bruce is dead. There is a lot more weight behind it – Dick doesn’t think Bruce is coming back.

I for one will look forward to the new dynamic of the…err…Dynamic (I tried not to say Dynamic twice in the same sentence! Damn! 3 times!) Duo. I think Grant Morrison likes the idea of a brooding Robin and light Batman. I do too.

Based on BFTC…my predictions for the dangling threads are:

· Something will happen to Cass Cain, and Squire will become Batgirl
· Black Mask may be Jason Todd….with the Joker as an influence!
· We will discover that Jason was abused by his father in ways we could never have imagined
· Tim Drake will discover something that will lead him to believe Bruce is alive…and become Red Robin.

The Good: “Please tell me you appreciate this!” A definite funny moment
The Bad: The inconsistency in this series
The Ugly: A bloody, smiling Jason Todd looking over Tim Drake’s body

SCORE: 3.5/5