Batwing quits—and what new member of the Batman family is ready to take his place?
The Good
David Zavimbe– Our departing hero gets a very cool sendoff this issue, his badassness was turned to maximum as he kicked guys in the nuts, electrocuted others, knocked out teeth etc. I’m gonna miss you David, it was an awesome thrill ride of an experience watching you try and clean up your home in Africa from both behind the cape and as a policeman.
Cover- This cover is awesome in every sense of the word! It shows a defeated David Zavimbe with Batman in the background while the new star Luke is in his shiny new suit all ninja like on the back cover. Slap me and call me Susan but this is my favorite cover yet for this series!
Closure- I honestly feel like there was enough of a reason and incentive to move on to a new protagonist given the recent events that had taken place in the life of David Zavimbe. He makes his exit in style having literally taken down the foes that left his mentor dead and a murderer on the loose, even the flying ship which dwarfed his tech was taken out. I also love how the writers leave the door wide open for David to drop in anytime and even an all new identity for the very first Batwing. That was pretty sweet!
Action– Blood, fists, feet and electrocution and torture are all here without detracting from the tale. I damn well love it!
Technology- Am I the only one that sees the eerie similarity between the new suit and the Batman Beyond Batsuit?
Pacing– It’s hard to complain about a book when the pacing is just so damn spot on. 
Forget breathing space this book dropped us in the middle of the action and just kept going while managing to wrap up the last storyline, introduce the new hero and deliver one shocking last page that literally blew my mind with the possibilities.
Black Heroes- David Zavimbe is gone, Dawn is here and a round of applause for Luke Fox our new protagonist!
Art-Eduardo Pansica’s art is the best we’ve had on this book since Ben Oiver left during the opening arc. Everything looks good! Particularly the suits and costumes.
New Batwing- Even though we only get introduced to Luke in the last few pages I can already see how his personality differs from David’s. I also see his personality leading to interesting times granted the book can get it’s sales figures up. He’s an adrenaline junkie who wants to be a superhero, this automatically makes him an attack first kinda guy but he’s also pretty smart having graduated from MIT a year early and with a dad like Lucius there are so many possibilities. This also gives or I’m hoping it will give some spotlight to the Fox clan and bring back Tam who was integral to the sublime Red Robin series in some capacity. We also have the highly relatable “son and father dynamic” where the son can never live up to the father’s expectations and son really just wants to live his own life but yet be acknowledged by the father. As I said I see the possibilities, now if everyone would just buy the damn book I could get some realization on these prospects!
The Bad
Really?– I’m sorry but Ive been reading this book from day one and I’m not convinced that the David Zavimbe that I’ve grown attached to would be crying in a cemetery with Batman. I can see him shutting down emotionally but crying seems way out of character for him the same way X2 by Bryan Singer lost me when Cyclops wept in Wolverine’s arms over Jean’s death (shudder). I must also mention in a completely off topic way on how Scott Lobell had Tim Drake in his Teen Titans weep like a little girl over Damian Wayne’s death…..they didn’t even like each other for Christ’s sake talk about bad characterization!
Ouch– I’m expecting a great many to lambast Batwing/David Zavimbe’s treatment of Dawn despite the context. Feminists will def cry fowl on his handling of this wayward and villainous woman. (which you can see in the preview pages)
Say what?- So Batman and David are having a moment at the grave of Matu Ba and considering that Wayne just lost his own son one would have expected a pep talk of some kind or at least a connection being made, instead Wayne just allows David to step down and move on without even bating an eye (pun intended). This could have been a defining moment between these two men instead it lacked the pivotal emotional punch that would have made this issue close to perfect.
In another show of Batman and the writers sometimes milking the franchise instead of thinking in real world terms we have Batman recruiting a friend’s son into the bat fold after his own son died in the lifestyle…….I guess the death of Jason Tod, the fatal injury of Barbara Gordon and the debacle of Stephanie brown as Robin didn’t teach him his lesson at all. I also expect that if Lucius finds out he will be none too pleased.
The Ugly
As sad as I am to see David Zavimbe and the African setting go I can see the reasoning and the potential behind introducing Luke Fox as the new protagonist. This issue introduced the new hero said adieu to the old while having copious amounts of action, great cover and interior art. My advice to all my fans is to run out buy a copy and tell all your friends this book is too damn good to die! 4/5
Interesting. I’ll miss David,though. He has a solid story line. Perhaps down the road they’ll bring him back, and make it a split issue.
I jumped into Batwing a few weeks ago, and having read everything up to this point, I was leery about the change to a new man in the armor. I’m cool with the addition of Luke Fox, and I understand why it had to be done, but I can’t help being a bit stung. The reason I was intrigued by the title was that it featured a Black Batman operative on the continent of Africa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in particular. Putting Luke in the armor takes that element away.
I truly hope that David Zavimbe, an excellent and under-explored character, gets a new title to star in that really allows readers to get into him and his backstory and his cast of villains and supporting characters (they could’ve done SO much more with Lord Battle).
Either way, I’m telling anyone who’ll listen to buy and read Batwing. We gotta support good characters.
I totally agree with your assessment. David is cut down too quickly. To build a wonderful climax, then pushed David out of that title which was originally created for him, for a new Batwing? It feels like their is something else, on a political level, that suddenly encouraged the creators to jerk the focus away from an well-rounded African Male Protagonist, who poses a true sense of honor. The only upside is the torch is passed unto an African American Male. Let’s hope that Luke will live up to David’s standards, (not as a direct clone but equal in potential measures and acts on them accordingly), while at the same time holds his own, and not digress into a whinny teenage, whenever his father is around. He should be his own man, not one in training, and command respect through his actions as a hero and a civilian. I understand this may be asking a great deal, but I am more into African Diaspora characters to do more than the common. Settling for less is the quickest way to see this series canceled.