Batwing #18

Come on! I'm not done mourning Robin yet!

If David Zavimbe is killed, am I just supposed to accept the next Batwing because of the stupid super hero name? There's nothing about the character of Batwing that makes a Batwing comic book worth reading. But the character of David Zavimbe makes the book interesting. Well, somewhat interesting. I've still never been completely sold on this book. Maybe a new person and new writers are what is needed! I hope Dawn has another inexplicable change of heart and decides fighting for good is actually what she wants to do and she becomes the next Batwing. But she has that sword creating super power and I'm not sure if people in the Bat-family are allowed to have super powers.

This issue begins with Sky Pirate's ugly ass spaceship, The Flying Dutch Oven, blowing the shit out of Matu's house which is also Batwing's Haven. Matu is inside Haven but I think he'll survive long enough to have a few last words with Batwing.

Sky Pirate was hired by some rich white bastard to kill Batwing because Batwing didn't play by the rules. Sure, he played by the normal rules. The rules I'm talking about are the ones where if somebody has enough money, they don't have to play by the rules. It's the not allowing someone to not play by the rules rule that Batwing wasn't playing by. So he deserved to die. So the guy hired The Sky Pirate.

Looking at Sky Pirate's spaceship which is the size of a small city, I can't even begin to imagine how much money it costs to hire that guy. He must charge a large fortune simply to pay for the ship's fuel and the salaries of the ship's crew and the munitions and the parking fees and the bribes to all the law enforcement and military so that they continue to pretend they don't see this gigantic spaceship shooting the shit out of civilian houses. I would think just paying ten thousand people with guns to shoot at Batwing next time he appeared in the sky would be cheaper.

Sky Pirate isn't much for subtlety. Or research. Since this Matu guy was linked to the Batwing technology Sky Pirate recovered, it must mean Matu was Batwing. Duh! Now pay up!

David ends up in the hospital to find Matu on the edge of death from burns. The Haven is a complete loss which means all of Batwing's technology is destroyed. Hopefully he had the Batman Incorporated Credit Card on his person at the time of the explosion. He must have an emergency Batwing suit somewhere, right? Batman has two or three dozen hidden all over Gotham. Probably.

Meanwhile, Dawn learns why being a mercenary is a stupid idea. Not only does it completely go against the character Judd Winick developed, but it also tends to get a person killed. Instead of getting paid, Marksbury tries to have her killed so that nobody will know where his son is. But he fucks it up and she gets away. Hopefully the first place she'll head is to where Marksubry's son is and beat the fuck out of him.

On his near-death bed, Matu says one thing: Children's Harbor. It's the school for Wayward and Deadly Youths that Matu and Rene created. It's where Dawn and David grew up. And it's where David eventually finds a pod Matu launched out of Haven filled with an emergency Batwing suit!

This suit doesn't make him look fat. It makes him look distorted.

Batwing #18 Rating: -1 Ranking. This issue was simply boring. I guess Fabian's entire run was to simply make Batwing turn away from his refusal to kill and wade back into the war he knew growing up. And since Batman wouldn't approve, I have a feeling Batwing has just quit Batman Incorporated. I still have to wonder how a mercenary like Sky Pirate gets his hands on a ship that dwarfs Jason Todd's ship he stole from Crux.