Robin #182

Good issue, a contender for POTW, and a solid wrap-up to this arc... until the last few pages.  The addition of a cowl to Robin's costume REALLY helped sell how dark he was becoming, and as the guys mentioned on the POTW podcast with #181, those burns weren't going away anytime soon; so what happened?  The last few pages has Robin sitting in the cave, fully healed, and looking much more light-hearted than he had any right to be.  AND the cowl's gone.  The single thing that really helped to sell the idea that Robin could actually fill the Batman's role was taken away, instantly giving him a less-intimidating image.  The writing was great, the art fantastic, but like so many events (I'm talking single events, not line-wide) that display what should be real change in a book,  (or at least change that might stick around for a while), this issue helped to remind us that at the end of the day, the status quo never really changes - it only takes a step to the left.