I didn't say it wasn't optional or that the whole game is gonna suck because of it. I said it can create a trend--and that tends to happen.
i guess the counter argument here is: there's no trend. like doc (and the article) said, this is an optional, playable character, on non-storyline events. i believe it's even less game-impacting than the optional-playable joker character in the first game. it's also less of a story-based-role (and thus less destracting) than gordon and/or oracle in the first title -- which, as we all recall, was a fucking awesome game. and that is the only "trend" worth basing the sequel on.
Originally Posted By: Pariah
Batman and Robin's good numbers has more to do with Grayson faggots and Morrison zombies than anything else. Throw in the obligatory scumbag Collector ratio and you have better than average sales.
i'm a big morrison fan, but i disliked the latter (significantly more confusing) chapters of his JLA run. i also didn't really enjoy the whole batman RIP storyline. hell, i didn't even like damian being introduced / reintroduced. and i sure as fuck don't like anyone else being batman besides bruce wayne. however, all that said, the dynamic between grayson/batman and damian/robin was awesome. the first dozen or so books (or however many until morrison left) were incredibly enjoyable.
Originally Posted By: Pariah
I'm not saying it was a weak point of the book or anything, but do you really believe that Carrie Kelly was a major selling point of DKR?
i wouldn't call her a "selling point", but i'd certainly say she's a major factor to how much i enjoyed the book. even if taken at the very base of her description, in which miller refers to her (and "robin", in general) as a tool to make batman look cooler. from that very core, basic aspect, she ruled. beyond that, i think she was a perfect fit for a batman long-since retired, who had a bitter falling out with the first robin and a more destructive ending with jason, the "final" robin. an excellent, and dynamically new, compliment to that aging dark knight.
i liked the tim drake / jason todd hybrid robin in the new BTAS cartoon (though not so much the dick grayson robin of the earlier BTAS toon). i liked the incredibly odd and whimsical stephanie browne robin issues of a few years back. i liked the all star batman and robin development, before that was cut.
generally speaking, i think i enjoy stories where batman is the supreme commander in an army, and robin is his most loyal soldier, and all of these examples fit that. the main exception to that is the damian robin, but that whole dynamic was so awesomely backward and new.
