Batman and Robin #16

Last issue, The Joker left Robin in a pit of dead worms and birds and bats and bugs with a Clown Batman. I don't know where The Joker finds people to pretend they're Batman or where Joker gets the Batsuits made or why The Joker wants Robin to fight a fake Batman. I guess it's all symbol or metaphor or analogy or something. One of those literary devices that I never pay any attention to anyway. As long as people are punching each other in the face, I'm happy!

Robin seems to be convinced he's Batman but that would put Batman in one place too many for me to believe! So it must be a henchman. Or hostage. And Damian is probably just playing along to buy some time.

Meanwhile The Joker is munching on popcorn and commanding the Bat-Joker to kill Robin. The longer The Joker watches and goofs off and Robin pleads with Batman to listen to him, the more I'm getting sucked in to believing that this is Batman! I'm too cynical to fall for The Joker's joke! Snap out of it, dumb dumb! Batman is too busy to be captured by The Joker. Except he did get captured by The Joker! So this could take place after Batman's encounter with his Royal Court in Arkham. Damian just sat around the cave for a few hours while Batman was Jokerfied and while The Joker was marrying Batgirl and while The Joker was doing whatever stupid thing Lobdell decides to make him do to Tim and Jason. And then he couldn't sit there anymore (plus Titus wanted to smell some hyena pee) and he hit the zoo. And now this. So, it could really be Batman!

Now I'm all worried and shit! How is Robin going to save the day? Oh, you know what. He's not. He's just supposed to end up in The Joker's clutches by the end of this comic book so he can get dragged to the party. Well shucks. Now that I remembered the end to this issue, I'm not worried at all!

Robin gets away for a moment and the chase continues in the aquarium. This is starting to feel a lot like Grifter #16! Comic book chases are always more exciting in a zoo where the kids reading can be thrilled by the diverse creatures that attack the hero. But unlike Grifter #16, the animals don't seem to be taking part in the fight. These two are just beating the hell out of each other.

Okay, I don't think Batman is allowed to lose teeth. Not the real Batman!

The Joker really wants Robin to kill this person because that'll create a rift between Robin and Batman. But The Joker wouldn't really want Robin killing Batman which is another clue (besides the teeth!) that this isn't really Batman. But at the end of the fight, The Joker's plan fails. Robin just won't kill his father.

My what a noble kid. Stupid though. If that were your dad and he was filled with Joker toxin, why would you let him kill you? He must have another plan up his sleeve!

If Damian did have another plan to stop Batman from killing him, he never gets to use it because Batman explodes right in front of him. But that's okay because Batman was just some karate instructor that owed one too many people. Robin collapses from the Hyena Poison without finding out that Batman wasn't really Batman. And then The Joker hauls him off to Batman #17 to find out what is underneath the cover to that serving platter!

Batman and Robin #16 Rating: No change. The interaction and conversation between The Joker and Robin in Issue #15 was superb. This issue was a bit of a let down after that. It was simply The Joker continuing to play games with Robin, trying to get him to kill Batman. But he was surprised that this violent Robin was willing to sacrifice his own life rather than killing Batman. But in the end, it doesn't matter. The Joker just drags him off to the real party and the real meat of the story taking place in the next issue of Batman. In essence, this was just filler.