Batman #412

After taking down Two Face what fiend does new Robin Jason Todd face with Batman? Prepare yourself for--the Mime!

OLDER SPOILERS AHEAD



As Saturday turns into Sunday Batman likes to watch the sun come up by a catherial. Jason wonders if Batman is religious since it's become a ritual but he says he just likes to hear the bells. His boy wonder points out there haven't been any bells ringing which clearly means they have to investigate. Really Bruce? This is a priority with you or is everything a crisis? Jason basically echos this sentiment after he discovers the clapper is gone. He's got the classic symptoms of a Robin in the midst of having fun with alliteration when party pooper Batman says it's no joke. Gordon at least appreciates Robins' way of words when he calls them to talk about that very case. All the churches are having the same thefts go on. I'm not sure why this was deemed important enough for Batmans' attention. I mean I know he's a detective and apparently loves bells but shouldn't he be working on a kidnapping case or something? It might be a Gotham thing as the church goers are distressed that there aren't any bells.

Actually Jason mentions the oddness of Gordon wanting them to look into it which is shrugged off as Gordon wanting to see if there's some hidden message to it. A street mime performs and despite the mixed reactions she ends up earning a nice amount of money. Since she's actually in the middle of the street this blocks traffic and starts car horns honking for her to move. It also gets the heroes attention just as she loses her patience with one particular driver and shoots him. Batman has more sense this time as he tells Jason to say with the wounded man while he goes after the mime. He falls for her innocent act and gets an electric shock when he tries to help her up.

The cabbie Jason helped out goes in to check out the line up of mimes they have. This is funny but at the same time it should be the norm in Gotham. This doesn't go anywhere and Bruce decides to look for answers with Vicki. Apparently the mime is quite famous making it a little odd that no one recognized her. Yes her career couldn't go anywhere since miming isn't a really commercial art but she was on magazine covers. Anyway she hates noise because her father was a rich fireworks maker. That's pretty much her backstory since she devoted herself to silent arts. Jason hates mimes in general which is kind of a sudden reaction since it's the first time he reacts like this on the case. Cute though because it's a very kid response.

Guessing that the mime is responsible for the silencing of the church bells they look for other places she'd hate for being loud. The Blister Twister, a Kiss like group are her next target. Batman attacks after she takes out the band on stage and Jason turns on the juice so the feedback gets her to bend over to cover her ears. Jason enjoys the concert as Batman wonders if they did the right thing. Oh Bruce will your hatred of music never end?


Overall: The corniness is still here with the Mime set up and some of the dialogue. It's not as bad as the Two Face sections of the last arc though. I like that the nod to Jason's taste of music from his first issue (with the posters on his wall) is brought back here. This was silly but fun. The kind of story you'd like if you want a change of pace from the grim and gritty.

Say What?: Okay I smiled when Bruce's answer to whether or not he was religious was to say he's been said to have an the Old Testament outlook.

Batmans' unfinished exclamation about anyone who'd steal from a church. Look I know it's especially hard to take from the church but you know who usually steals besides super villains? The poor. They do it to survive and in fact his sidekick was living on the streets before he took him in. This just feels very self righteous and the fact he's rich makes him seem especially out of touch.

Questions Raised?: I'm guessing neither of the dynamic duo attend church but what is their schedule? Having them eat breakfast in the afternoon makes me wonder how they work crime fighting in with school and work.