Robin finds himself with his throat in the vice-like grip of the new Batman, Jean-Paul Valley. Robin fears for his life, wondering at the fact that his death could come at the hands of the man hand-picked to replace his mentor, Bruce Wayne. Desperately, he jabs one of his R-shaped shuriken into Jean-Paul's arm, and the shock causes his adversary to release him. Strangely, Jean-Paul seems to come out of a trance, claiming that he had been under control of The System, a prospect which doesn't encourage Robin with respect to the new Batman's reliability or sanity. Rather than stick around, Robin hops into the Redbird and escapes from the Batcave.