Robin III Part 25: Robin #3 (of 5) (March, 1991)

Tim gains an ally…and an enemy.

I have this issue in the Robin: A Hero Reborn Trade Paperback.

Lady Shiva teams up with Tim and Clyde in going after the man behind the Ghost Dragons - Sir Edmund Dorrance, also called King Snake. She has Tim check his computer for any information regarding “Krieger War Labs” and he traces it to a German chemist named Helmut Kreiger who worked on bio-warfare for the Nazi’s during World War II. Tim follows it up with discovering that in 1940 the lab was moved from Germany to Auxille, a village in occupied France. The trio believes that to be Dorrance’s next target.

They arrive to see men loading a truck, and Tim goes with Clyde to get a closer look. Unfortunately, they’re spotted and pined down by armed members of the Ghost Dragons. Tim gets caught, and finds their leader Lynx to be Ling – the girl Tim met at the bar in Paris. Before things get too interesting, Tim’s saved by a swarm of bats woken by the gunfire and ensuing explosions.

He tries to stop the gang from taking the chemicals, but they make it to the airport and take off before he gets there. The good news is that Shiva was able to keep them from taking both containers. They destroy what they have, and trace the plane to its destination: Hong Kong. Shiva is able to get the three of them on a jet that will reach there first, and on the way Tim learns exactly what they took – Bubonic Plague.

Notes of Interest:

1) This issue takes place immediately after Robin #2.

2) Tim learns that Lady Shiva knows Batman.

3) He’s gotten very good with the sling.

4) Obviously, he “officially” meets Lynx for the first time.

5) Tim’s computer skills shine here…along with his morals…as he hacks into files belonging to The New York Times; NATO; a French airport; Balmoral Industries; Trang Chemical; Worldwide Commodities; and the American Medical Association.

6) He has a vast amount of “low-tech” skills too. He uses a Michelin Guide to track down Auxville and an English-German dictionary to identify the plague.

7) The cloak in his Robin suit contains ballistic armor.

WTF? Moment: I liked seeing Tim’s comfort level with bats. It’s something I never would have thought of, yet makes complete sense.

WTF? Moment #2: How awesome is Tim? Awesome enough to use a Michelin Guide and a bi-lingual dictionary to track down an international gang leader!