Robin III Part 46: Robin II #3 (of 4) (Late-November, 1991)

Tim finally gets to use his computer skills for something other than video games…and it’s about damned time.

I have this issue in the Robin: Tragedy & Triumph Trade Paperback.

Tim meets Gordon and learns that Joker’s computer-based chaos has been traced to the phone company. Unfortunately, the city’s computer experts can’t get past the safeguards. Later, during a football game, Joker makes his demands: one billion dollars in cash in one week…to be delivered by Batman.

On Alfred’s insistence, Tim meets his friends for a game of Warlocks and Warriors. As acting Gamemaster, Tim comes up with a module mirroring the Joker’s plan. His friends come up with the answer, which leads Tim back to the Batcave where he attempts to hack in to Pellinger’s (and therefore Joker’s) system. It backfires, and he’s forced to shut down the Bat-computer.

Back at square one, Tim returns to Pellinger’s house to look for clues, and after three hours of searching, finds one.

Tim returns to the commissioner’s office, where Gordon tells him that Joker has added a demand - Batman is to drive the tractor trailer of cash.

Notes of Interest:

1) Not much character development here, except we get to see him in action…

WTF? Moment: …and that’s my complaint. We've seen Tim do his acrobatic stuff, and when he does he looks like most other characters. What makes Tim so different are his deductive reasoning and computing skills. He’s as good a detective as Bruce is, and even better with computers. This miniseries lets us see Tim at his best – on his own – but he still loses the online battle to Pellinger? A necessary plot point to be sure, but it still sucks…