Batman: Wayne Family Adventures #97-#101
CRC Payne – Creator
Rhett Bloom (StarBite) – Creator
Review by Marsha Reilly
The Batman: Wayne Family Adventures #97-#101 deliver some cuteness and shared family trauma. Released every Thursday on Webtoons, this series is a great way to break up a long day.
I Could Talk About Daddy Issues All Day
A kidnapping threat isn’t nearly as worrisome for a member of the Bat Family as it is for an ordinary person. In fact, they all treat it like a badge of honor and receiving one makes the person an official part of the family. It’s Duke’s first threat of abduction, but luckily he has his adopted siblings. With Dick boasting about villains still trying to kidnap him, Jason just says woe betide anyone who tries.
Tim’s determined to keep their secret identities secret, and Damian’s there to keep the family’s honor, so Duke has everything to worry about. There’s even more to concern them all when the electricity goes out during one of Mr. Freeze’s cold snaps and no one knows where the wood for the fire is. After something literally blows up in their faces, they warm up by cleaning away all evidence of the explosion, until Alfred returns and saves the day.
Wonder Woman makes an appearance too, but trying to make plans for an important mission goes out the window when Alfred (the Cat, not the butler) shows up. Then Bruce makes the mistake of saying that there are more animals around the mansion, so they even take a trip to the barn to meet Batcow and Goliath, which is one of the cutest things ever.
Unfortunately, we do have a little family trauma thrown into the mix of stories when Steph catches a thief who turns out to be the son of the criminal. It’s not a secret that everyone in the Bat Family has family trauma, so Tim Drake, seeing Erik following in his father’s footsteps does not go down well. Barbara and Jason are there to calm her down and encourage Steph to talk to the boy before doing anything rash.
Conclusion
The creators are great at mixing light-hearted chapters with deep topics in a way that doesn’t drag the mood down. It’s done in a way that it’s still light and doesn’t ruin the mood completely, but also shows the family bond we’re all here for. The chapter with Steph remembering her father is no exception. Jason’s there to calm her down, to tell her that they were lucky, so maybe the kid following in his father’s footsteps just needs someone to believe in him as well. It works out in the end, as it always does, and she talks to Erik about her own experience with a parent she strived to earn affection from:
One of the hardest things I had to learn was that people won’t change just because you want them to. They have to want it for themselves.
– Stephanie Brown
This is a review of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures #97-#101. Click here to read all our previous reviews.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment and WebToon