Batman and Robin 13 Annotation

BATMAN AND ROBIN 13
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Title: Batman and Robin Must Die
Part 1: The Garden of Death
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frazer Irving
Cover: Frank Quitely
Variant Cover: Frazer Irving














Page 1:

Thomas Wayne rejoicing after witnessing Martha and Bruce’s death.

Page 2:

First panel shows dominoes that represents the chain reaction of death. After watching Zorro in the theater, Joe Chill arrived and killed Thomas Wayne’s wife and son. Thomas while grinning told “Now you’ll never tell” to the dead Martha. Maybe he’s referring to the secrets of Barbatos and Wayne Manor’s hidden room and now he’s glad because he’s sure that all the secrets dies with her.

Page 3:

Thomas Wayne pays Joe Chill for the hit, after attending his family’s funeral. The third panel features a Sodom orgy. Hurt wearing Thomas Wayne’s Bat-suit pours champagne on a lady’s back. The masks on the attendees depict various demons and animals, including the pig mask worn by Professor Pyg.

From red and black, notice how the colors changed in the remaining panels. Here, Hurt declared that he is Thomas Wayne through a trial or a press con and now the press is asking who is buried in Thomas Wayne’s tomb, for sure there are lots of questions to come but Hurt's P.A insisted that he should go home.

Note: The past that was shown in Pages 2 and 3 cannot be real because we all know that Bruce did not die that night and Thomas did not attend a funeral after the shooting for it was Thomas who died along with Martha. Even Joe Chill told that he was supposed to kill Bruce and he did kill Thomas and Martha Wayne in Crime Alley Batman #673.



We can say that this past is the lie that Hurt told to Bruce in Batman #681.



Because of this, Now we have 2 stories concerning the Waynes' last night:


1. The traditional account of the Waynes as victims and
















2.The lie that Hurt told Bruce in Batman #681 which is the opening of this issue.


















Pages 4-6:

Hurt enters Wayne Manor with the 99 fiends waiting for him inside having Batman and Robin as captives. The black sun that Hurt refers to is the eclipse that’s occurring every time Bruce Wayne jumps forward in time (It always occurs every time Bruce leaves a timeline not when he arrives. And it’s possible that Bruce is already back by the time this scene takes place).

Hurt’s promise to corrupt Damian seems to imply the event Damian/Batman was referring to in Batman #666 when he mentioned that he made a deal with the devil to save Gotham City.



BLAM! Dick was shot in the head. But that hasn't happened yet. It will happen three days from now.

We don’t see blood though, do we?

Page 7: Three days earlier before Hurt proclaimed he’s Thomas Wayne and the shot.

Damian’s silhouette entering the hospital seems similar to Hurt entering the Wayne Manor on Page 4. And the lineup of cops is similar to the lineup of 99 Fiends waiting for Hurt’s entrance, too. We’ll notice that one of the cops is blowing his nose.

Joker to Damian: Hello Again [little Bruce].

Pages 8-9:

Batman to Robin:Pay attention.

When you’re in the room with the Joker you have to pay attention to stay alive. Dick knows this. Damian doesn't.

We can see that the Clown Prince of Crime(who doesn't feel like he deserves that name anymore)is in captivity and physically harmless. This is his latest incarnation, notice that his word balloons are normal, and his entire speech pattern is at complete odds with all of his previous depictions.

Dick then recaps everything about the dominoes, bones and the boneyard, confirming that Joker was “digging up” the “bones” of his own crimes, and that he faked searching Naberius, and essentially planted the domino on him, back in Batman and Robin #11.

Batman to Joker: I know you like to leave clues but…you make it too obvious. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I had you figured out when I was twelve.

Note: The domino Dick’s holding seems to be different from the four-one model he “got from” Naberius (Batman and Robin #11).

Page 10:

Joker to Batman: If only you could trust me just this once.

It seems clear that the Joker's investigations as Oberon Sexton have given him advance knowledge of Hurt's plan. He asks for Batman's trust. But he wears a disguise to try to get that trust. Dick is so certain that anything the Joker says is a trick.

Can he trust the Joker? What he says is all too plausible, it makes too much sense. Of course he wants to help Dick because he wants Bruce, his Batman back, he wants the status quo to resume. But for sure he wants something else.

Dick may lose his battle with Hurt if he doesn't listen to the clues that the Joker is offering. But if he does listen, he gives the Joker an opening to betray him.

Page 11:

Jim Gordon: To think I shook hand with this filth.

Gordon shows rage as he enters the interrogation room; we’re talking about the man who shot his daughter in the spine, killed his wife and forced him to undergo hours of extreme psychological and physical torture while placed in the most degrading conditions (Batman:The Killing Joke). While the cops take the Joker away, the Joker warns Batman that the killing won’t stop unless he was as good as the first one.

Page 12:

Dick takes Gordon in the Batmobile and now on their way to the Bat-bunker.

Note: The Bruce that Gordon is referring to is Hush/Tommy Elliot, whose adventures as Bruce are being chronicled in Batman: Streets of Gotham.

Page 13:

I’m still confused on why Dick wants to put the Mayor onside their investigations regarding the killings. Didn't he know that the mayor is in league with the Black Glove and Hurt back in Batman: R.I.P?


The “I’ll call you Commissioner Gordon, sir, if that’s okay” line and the little boyish smile with which Dick accompanies the dialog really sells it. It’s like a father and son talking inside the car. Let’s assume that at this point, Gordon knows this is the first Robin he’s sharing information with.

He’s a brilliant cop, he probably does.

Pages 14-17:

What Batman and Jim Gordon are discussing about is the antidote from Batman and Robin #3 that carries the threat that Dick thought he was alleviating. The poison has already been delivered to a huge number of people and Jim Gordon's sneezing tells us that he's obviously going to be one of the first victims to succumb.


The discussion is being interrupted by the report that the Joker wants to talk to Robin. Batman quickly gets inside the Batmobile while yelling “he could kill him!”





Pages 18-20:

Have you spotted any ‘The Dark Knight’ connection? Anyone?



The Joker’s “You sound just like him” isn’t an exclamation of shocked surprise, it’s him revealing his true self after all that fake weeping and pleading. We must take note that before Joker revealed his identity he’d already spent time with Damian as Sexton - enough to recognize little-Bruce in there.


Note: Also the HIM in the line “You sound like him” could mean Jason Todd as well. As Damian’s playing Todd’s ironic punishment back in A Death in the Family arc. In fact, Jason Todd gave Joker the exact same “You’re NOT as crazy as you pretend to be” speech immediately after crowbarring him in Batman #649.











Pages 21-24:

Dick Grayson and Commissioner Gordon are shot down in the flying Batmobile by bazooka-wielding thugs of the 99 Fiends. This is when the dominoes start falling figuratively. As the Batmobile goes down to the ground, someone wearing a white glove is watching it in a distance (Page 22, last panel). Batman is unconscious while a huge numbers of Dollotrons attack him and Gordon. Meanwhile across town, Pyg was freed from Blackgate Prison by the rest of the 99 fiends. Notice the dark knight chess piece tattoo in the head of the guy who gave Pyg his mask.

Next in Batman and Robin: The Triumph of Death

I don’t know if this may ring any bell. Batman #676 debuts a new Batmobile made by Bruce. Now, in this issue the new Batmobile of the new Batman and Robin was destroyed (Dick and Damian). Like Batman #676, Batman and Robin #13 is the beginning of an arc that will change a Batman’s life (Batman: R.I.P, Batman and Robin Must Die). Batman R.I.P led to Bruce’s "death". Hopefully this time, it’s the opposite. Hopefully this arc will deal on a Batman’s resurrection and not on another Batman’s death.

Deducing Who Oberon Sexton And The Domino Killer Is

In Batman and Robin #12, it was revealed that Oberon Sexton and the Domino Killer is the Joker.

Below is the clue that suggests that Oberon Sexton is the Domino Killer:

Oberon’s last name Sexton is defined as a caretaker of graveyard, and often also as bell-ringer and gravedigger.

All the Black Glove victims wear domino masks. In the game Mexican Train, unused dominoes are kept in the “bone yard”; Bone yard is synonymous to graveyard, which relates to Oberon and his alias.


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In Batman and Robin #13 Joker reveals that since the death of "his Batman" he is no longer the "Clown Prince" he once was and took on the identity of Oberon Sexton to gain the new Batman's trust.

Most likely, the detective persona was a conscious façade. It's also possible that Joker’s Multiple Personality Disorder led to a detective personality.

However, Dick Grayson the Batman found out that Oberon Sexton is the Joker as he solved the crimes pertaining to the murders of the four deceased Black Glove members having clues all designed to hint at jokes.



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1. The Oil Sheikh, the peanuts and the restroom.

Connection:

Rich Oil Sheikh Joke

A rich oil sheikh was visiting the White House to discuss the oil trade with political bigwigs. His personal servant was attending to the sheikh's every need, as was customary and expected. The sheikh, never having tasted salted peanuts before, took an instant liking to them, and began munching them like you wouldn't believe. Naturally, the salt made the sheikh thirsty, and he called to his servant to get him some water. His servant left the room and came back with a glass of nice, cold water. Munching some more on the peanuts, the sheikh got thirsty again, and called to his servant to get him another glass of water. The servant immediately complied with his master's wishes, and returned in a jiffy with another glass of water. Really taken by the peanuts, the sheikh virtually stuffed himself on them, and got a healthy thirst to match. He called to his servant to get him some more water, and off the servant went. This time, he came back empty-handed. The servant apologized profusely, and begged his master's forgiveness. Furious, the sheikh yelled and screamed at his servant, 'You son of a flea-infested camel, why can't you bring me my water?!?' 'But Master', begged the servant, 'I cannot bring you your water because a white man sits on the well...'

http://www.opendb.net/element/15152.php

2. Cardinal Magi strangled by his own dog collar.

Connection:

There are jokes about cardinals’ "white collar crimes” pertaining to the misdeeds of the cardinals.

But this one is the closest.

Cardinals Jokes

Two boys were playing football in a Dallas area park when one is attacked by a Rottweiler. Thinking quickly, the other boy rips off a plank of the nearby fence, wedges it down the dog's collar and twists, breaking the dog's neck. A reporter who was strolling by sees the incident, and rushes over to interview the boy.

"Cowboys Fan Saves Friend From Vicious Animal," she starts writing in her notebook.

"But I'm not a Cowboys fan," the boy replies.

"Redskins Fan Rescues Friend From Horrific Attack," the reporter starts again.

"I'm not a Redskins fan either," the boy says. "I'm a Cardinals fan."

The reporter writes on a new sheet in her notebook: "Redneck Bastard Kills Family Pet."

http://anti-cardinals.blogspot.com/2009/10/crapnals-jokes-from-old-site.html

3. The Newspaper Tycoon with the Heart Attack and a Young Mistress.

I haven’t found any joke/jokes referring to this one. But maybe, just maybe, an old man having a heart attack while having sex with his young mistress is funny enough for the joker.

4. Remains of the Russian general Malenkov found inside an Alligator.



We’ll remember that the Russian general Malenkov was killed by Joker in Batman #681. In Batman and Robin #10 Oberon (who is the Joker in disguise) told Batman that Malenkov’s remains is found inside an alligator.















Connection:

One of Russia’s combat helicopters was named ‘Alligator’, but it is more likely that the alligator being described by Oberon is the reptile one.

http://www.enemyforces.net/helicopters/ka52.htm

Also, there’s this "bar joke" about a man and an alligator which is more likely have the closer connection:

Alligator in the Bar

A guy walks into a bar with a pet alligator by his side. He puts the alligator up on the bar. He turns to the astonished patrons. "I'll make you a deal. I'll open this alligator's mouth and place my genitals inside. The gator will close his mouth for one minute. He'll then open his mouth and I'll remove my unit unscathed. In return for witnessing this spectacle, each of you will buy me a drink." The crowd murmured their approval. The man stood up on the bar, dropped his trousers, placed his privates in the alligator's open mouth. The gator closed his mouth as the crowd gasped. After a minute, the man grabbed a beer bottle and rapped the alligator hard on the top of its head. The gator opened his mouth and the man removed his genitals - unscathed as promised.

The crowd cheered and the first of his free drinks was delivered. The man stood up again and made another offer. "I'll pay anyone $100 who's willing to give it a try."
A hush fell over the crowd. After a while, a hand went up in the back of the bar. A woman timidly spoke up. "I'll try, but you have to promise not to hit me on the head with the beer bottle."

href=http://www.eszlinger.com/jokes/barjokes.html

Have you spot the connection? No?

Penis is also referred to as genital. In the joke the man puts his penis, his genital into the alligator’s mouth. What’s the connection to Joker killing Gen. Malenkov?

The Joker put the general (ge~ne~tal) into an alligator’s mouth.

That’s it.

There are plenty of clues that suggest who Oberon Sexton and who the Domino killer is and they’re all hiding in plain sight.



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Dick found it, obviously we did not.

Joker: I Started A Joke

WARNING: The image you are about to see is a disturbing one. So, do you want to proceed? Or, do you want to proceed?



Above is an image from the pages of Batman and Robin #13. Here, Damian Wayne who is the new Robin, is beating the Joker into a pulp with the use of a crowbar. I added the scene from A Death in the Family where Joker did the same thing to poor Jason Todd on the background to make it more intense.

Serves him right? right?

Hope you guys like it.

Looks Like Dr. Hurt Doesn't Stand A Chance

When I saw this, I got troubled because...


A page from Batman and Robin #13

I remembered this...

A page from Batman #666

Then I saw this...and I smiled.


Cover for Batman and Robin #16