A break from the Lazarus Tournament allows Robin to learn his newest friend’s connection to one of his father’s foes.
WARNING: This following contains spoilers for Robin #6, on sale now from DC Comics.
Now that all the fighters taking part in the mysterious Lazarus Tournament have died at least once in the ring, the requirements have been met for the real competition to begin. Damian Wayne proves he’s the Bat-Family’s deadliest fighter by taking down two opponents in record time, leaving him enough time to scope out the competition. The one fighter that interests him the most, and proves to be almost as quick as Damian himself, is the one who killed him in the very first issue.
Flatline and Damian can’t help but bump into each other in the Boy Wonder’s solo series and that’s the case once again in Robin #6 by Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melnikov, Luis Guerrero, and ALW’s Troy Peteri. After having ripped out the hearts of yet more opponents, Flatline joins Damian on the benches. Though he still clearly holds a grudge against her for making quick work of him during his first day on Lazarus Island, it seems he doesn’t entirely hate her company.
The two watch the tournament together, discussing their fellow competitors over some tea. Whilst it might make sense for Flatline to keep some of her observations about the fighters to herself, she readily shares them with Damian. This could have given her the edge in the competition and ensured that the Boy Wonder lost but instead she decides to help him. That isn’t the only helpful thing she’s done for him. Next, she pulls out Damian’s manga (something he’s kept a close secret) and gives it back to him. She explains that fellow fighter XXL tried to steal it when Damian disappeared and she stole it back for him. Not only that, but she actually likes Damian’s taste in storytelling too and as the two connect over their shared interests, Flatline opens up about her past.
Flatline’s mentor is old Batman villain Lord Death Man. He was created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff and first appeared as simply Death Man way back in 1966’s Batman #180. At that time, he used a special technique to appear dead in order to escape justice. Though Batman deduced this charade, the villain was struck by a bolt of lightning right in front of the Dark Knight, killing him for real. Despite his demise, he returned in Grant Morrison’s Batman Inc. series. It was revealed that his dalliance with death granted him the ability to die and come back to life for real. He moved to Japan, where he renamed himself Lord Death Man and became a feared crime boss there. He also killed the mentor of another fighter in the Lazarus Tournament, Jiro – the Batman of Japan.
Flatline tells Damian that because of her fascination with death and her inhuman ability to absorb the skills of people as they die, she was misunderstood as a child. This led her to seek out Lord Death Man, perhaps the only person who could understand what she was going through. She asked him to teach her about death and he obliged. The idea for Flatline to enter this deadly tournament was Lord Death Man’s, as it would allow his protege to absorb the skills of some of the world’s greatest fighters. Given the Lazarus Tournament’s policies on resurrection, that makes it the perfect opportunity for Flatline to greatly increase her skills in a short amount of time without any risk of real death at the hands of the world’s greatest fighters.
Despite willingly seeking Lord Death Man out though, Flatline admits to Damian that her mentor frustrates her, something she and the Boy Wonder have in common. Even still, she believes training her has changed the immortal villain for the better. It seems Lord Death Man’s apprentice is growing on Robin too, as the Alfred that haunts Damian’s subconscious approves of her. Though they started out as enemies, it looks like the two are soon becoming fast friends. Maybe even more.
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