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Continuity Catch-Up: The General – Part 2: vs Robin

Last week we focused on the origin of Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong since it looks as if he may be the man behind the cowl of Red Robin it is time to play continuity catch-up.

SpaceBooger presents: Continuity Catch-Up: Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong: Robin vs. The General

Robin 19 & 20

When we last left the General (Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong) in Detective Comics #656 he was carted off to the youth jail. His next appearance starts off where the first left.

Ulysses returns home six months early to an excited mother and a father who along with Ulysses’ siblings wish that that the key was thrown away. The interaction between Ulysses and his family, his mother more so than the rest, is presented in a humorous way showcasing him as a pompous and arrogant child.

While on a field trip to the art museum Ulysses meets a bum dressed in a toga and a hotel bath towel and proceeds to save him from getting sent to jail for loitering at the museum. Ulysses takes the man who believes himself to be Julius Ceaser home telling his parents that he is doing charity work and helping the homeless.

Meanwhile at the Batcave the Boy Wonder notices that among the normal crimes in Gotham there was an amateur production of “Julius Caesar” that had all of it’s props and costumes stolen and the theft of a circus lion.

Ulysses, following suit from his first appearance in Detective Comics, employs a familiar tactic of taking over small street gangs to build his own army. Dressed in Roman warrior garb along with a nicer dressed Julius Julius Caesar, the General uses the earlier mentioned stolen lion to employ his first recruits. Robin, being the mini detective that he is, used his contacts on the street to determine that Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong was playing “The General” again on the streets of Gotham.

Ulysses and the homeless man dressed as Caesar begin to live like the ancient Romans they are pretending to be. After a humorous scene involving the Armstrong family and a near sacrifice of the family’s dog Robin appears on scene. Upon entering the Armstrong residence Robin falls into a trap – a covered pit complete with a ferocious lion.  With the help of Ulysses’ siblings Robin escapes the pit. The other Armstrong kids show Robin Ulysses’ war room and ask that he puts their brother away for good this time.

Using the plans found in Ulysses’ room Robin figures out the next gang that the General plans to violently take over. After a couple page car chase Robin easily catches Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong and sends him back to the youth center.

These two issues were the first of many that feature Ulysses using his superior military knowledge to manipulate an adult to fight his battles for him. These issues were also the first to feature Ulysses not dressing like a modern soldier, instead he often wore replicas of other historical general’s uniforms. This characterization continued as Robin and the General met again in: Robin 36 & 37.

Robin 36 & 37

This story, like the previous one, starts off with Ulysses begin let out of the Youth Center early again much to his mothers surprise and his father and sibling’s despisement. Ulysses’ first night home and Robin pays him a visit just to let the General know that there will be a little bird watching him at all times.

Ulysses takes a shopping trip with his family in search for a new military action figure. Upon finding the limited edition action figure he wanted an adult snatches the toy before Ulysses can grab it. The man with the toy is no other than The Toyman.

Ulysses again joins forces with another adult playing the role as the military strategist. The General and the Toyman, who hats children, set out to steal one of Ulysses’ most sought out toy and the Toymaster’s greatest invention – the prototype Johnny Napalm action figure.

The Toyman hates Ulysses, because he is a child, but puts up with him so that he can use the General’s military genius to steal the rare toy from a collector who keeps his toys in a vault. Ulysses plants a robotic toy tank complete with a miniature army of robotic soldiers created by the Toyman at the collector’s mansion. The toy tank successfully blasts its way through the collectors vault alerting the owner and authorities of the theft.

Robin, doing what the sidekick of the world’s greatest detective would do, follows clues he found at Ulysses’s house to the home of Mr. Crouch the toy collector just as the toy army reaches the sought after Johnny Napalm. With the toy in hand, the Toyman turns on his military sidekick. Robin arrives at the scene just in time to save Ulysses. The ungrateful general instead of thanking the Boy Wonder he turns the scene into a three way battle. After a couple pages of fighting between two grown men, two teenagers, and tons of toys.

Again the setup is longer than the ending and Robin grabs Ulysses while Mr. Crouch, the toy collector, puts a shotgun to the Toyman’s head. Ulysses is sent back to the Youth Center while the Toyman went back to Metropolis to torture Superman… I guess.

There is one more appearance that features Robin vs. Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong continues for one more storyline in Robin 47 and 48. This story, like these other two, feature Ulysses dressing like old historical generals uses an army that is not his.

Now that Ulysses seems to be as old as Tim Drake he seems to have matured as much as Robin. I have recently stated in my “Last Week In Comics” posts that Tim has shown signs that he could (I said could, not would) take the mantle of the Bat from Bruce Wayne. If Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong has matured as much as Robin, then with his knowledge of military history and strategy he could be worth of being Robin’s arch enemy.

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Posted by Fred on October 30, 2008 @ 9:54 PM Under: Throwback
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One Response to “Continuity Catch-Up: The General – Part 2: vs Robin”

  1. LWIC: A Clasic Comic and a Classic Origin | SpaceBooger.com Says:
    November 24th, 2008 at 10:19 pm

    [...] he didn’t “magically” grow up and become Robin’s equal. Since in his first couple appearances he was younger looking in appearance and physique. Don’t forget my first two [...]

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