*Please note that this article is an opinion-editorial.

DC continues its very public nervous breakdown by killing popular Robin and biological Bat son Damian and replacing him with legendary female Robin replacement Carrie Kelly from Frank Miller’s legendary comic book game changer The Dark Knight Returns. It hasn’t officially happened, but Kelly is in Robin garb on the surprise foldout of the cover of Batman and Robin #19. Not that anything is a surprise in the day and age of the all knowing internet.

That said, there may be a few spoilers here.

Let me say that I love Batman, I’m just not in love with Batman. I have always had a fondness for Robin, although, he is arguably an odd partner for a dark and disturbed crime fighter. I mostly fell in love with Batman and Robin via the old ’60s Batman TV show. (Reruns, friends, I’m not THAT old!)

Dick Grayson is the quintessential Robin for me. He always seemed the perfect foil for his vigilante guardian. His circus roots made it logical that he would dress up and use his acrobatic ability to fight crime alongside the caped crusader.

Robin left the nest to become Nightwing, and Jason Todd took over. Now, we all know how that turned out. Then, we move on to Tim Drake, and I think some chick at some point. Then, we get a real treat of a Robin thanks to Grant Morrison in the form of Damian Wayne. Bruce Wayne’s illegitimate son with Talia, the daughter of nefarious nemesis Ra’s Al Ghul. (And, I thought Melrose Place was hard to follow!)

Damian was awesome, fierce, fearless, and deadly. Damian proved to be one of the most difficult Robins for Batman to handle, likely made all the more difficult because of the blood ties. If any of the other Robins got sassy, he could just take them back to the orphanage. Damian would just as soon commit patricide (or Batricide in this case!)

The dynamic between this duo was awesome. The chemistry was just as electric with Dick Grayson and Damian when Grayson filled in as Bats for a spell.

With the launch of DC’s New 52 and haphazard storylines, it was apparently deemed a good idea to kill Damian, one of the best characters created in years with too much potential to be rubbed out so soon. Big mistake. Huge.

But, DC seems to be shooting itself in the foot a lot lately, e.e. Gail Simone, Orson Scott Card.

The good news is that Batman is looking for a way to resurrect his dead son with the help of Frakenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. But, as Herman Munster would say, “Sometimes, dead is better!”

I doubt he will be successful in his reanimated pursuit. It’s bad enough Looker is a vampire. Do we need a Rob Zombie? (Double entendre for days!)

I am certain everyone is all a twitter about the addition of Carrie Kelly to the mainstream DCU.

It’s always controversial when a character is brought from a beloved source material and integrated to another fotmat. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Harley Quinn and Kingdom Come Superman come to mind.

I think killing Damian was wrong. Especially when violence against children is plaguing the world too much right now. He was only 10 for God’s sake. It does little for the argument that Batman should enlist the aid if children in his war against crime. Whether Carrie Kelly is interesting in a regular capacity or just a great character from a great story remains to be seen.

Batman and Robin #19 is on sale now.

 *Love the artwork pictured above? FBC readers can purchase a print of the Carrie Kelly art here.

Michael Troy is a deeply superficial person. Born in the midwest in the ’70s, Michael came to Los Angeles to pursue his bi-polar career path as an actor and artist. 2005 saw the release of Michael’s first published book, Homo-Hero’s Big Book of Fun and Adventure (www.greencandypress.com). Michael has contributed to the Lady Gaga comic book from Bluewater Productions and has his hand in various other upcoming projects. Michael has performed stand-up comedy at all of the major comedy clubs in Los Angeles and is making his triumphant return to the main stage of The Comedy Store in September. Michael offers an off-beat sense of humor as the star of such youtube cult classics As The Gays on Film (www.youtube.com/fullfrontaltv), A Minute With Margot, a loving tribute to Superman legend Margot Kidder (http://www.youtube.com/user/rktcommander), and currently hosts a vlog style series Lethally Blonde over at www.monsterburg.com. Sitting alongside industry heavyweight Phil Jimenez at the “Divas and Lassoes” panel for the 2010 San Diego comic-con, Michael maintains and cherishes his “underground” status. A staunch believer in Blonde Ambition, Michael hopes his new comic about shallow blonde super heroes in Los Angeles, The Blonde Squad, will set the world on fire (or at least brighten it a bit). Check out Michael Troy and Lethally Blonde updates here!!!