There are certain pairings that just go together — insert quip about peanut butter and jelly here — but in comics one of those pairings is undoubtedly that of Batman and Robin. Batman and his sidekick has been a fixture in comics for decades and, in more recent years the dynamic of the Dynamic Duo has taken even more meaning with the Robin role being filled by Bruce Wayne’s own son, Damian. It hasn’t been an easy journey for father and son, trying to balance both their familia relationship with that of their crime-fighting activities and watching both Batman and Robin not only work together, but try to figure out what it means to be father and son. However, at least one of those relationships has now come to an abrupt halt this week as Damian Wayne has officially quit as Robin, leaving a lot of questions about what’s next not only for the Bat Family as a team but for father and son as well.
Warning: Spoilers for Batman and Robin #18 beyond this point. Read on only if you want to know. The issue is on sale now from DC Comics.
In Batman and Robin #18, the heroes continue their hunt for the supernatural serial killer Memento, but as is often the case when dealing with major threats in Gotham, it’s a divide and conquer situation. The issue sees Batman teamed up with a former Robin, Jason Todd’s Red Hood, to take on the gang war that Memento has provoked while Robin is with Lieutenant Lautrec investigating Scarecrow’s old lab. It’s during the investigation of the lab that Lautrec has some interesting insight and thoughts about Batman and his Robins, which already begins to provoke some thought in Damian about his own future — something that we’ve already seen building in previous issues in this run. Meanwhile, Batman and Red Hood also have the opportunity to do some talking about things, including Damian.
It all comes to a head when Lautrec is injured in the lab and Robin reaches out to Batman for assistance but instead of getting directly through, ends up hearing the conversation between Batman and Red Hood about him. On the surface, it is devastating. Batman seems to think that Robin is damaged by the League and will never be free of their influence and Batman even goes so far as to say that the one person who currently sees promise in Damian may be working for the League. Batman also begins to talk about what Damian is capable of and comments that he’s “unremarkable at best”. For Damian, that’s too much. He takes off his comms and handles the situation on his own and in doing so misses the rest of the conversation. It turns out that Bruce knows that his son is the best of them and knows that if he isn’t Robin, he might well lose his son.
Later that night, back at the cave, Bruce goes to say something to Damian, but is cut off by his son who informs him that he’s going to prove him wrong and not only that, he’s going to catch Memento and once he has, he’s going to quit being Robin.
Damian announcing that he is quitting being Robin is a huge status quo shift for Batman and the dynamic of the Bat Family — this comic is Batman and Robin after all — but in a sense it’s actually not that surprising when you look at the overall dynamic between Damian and Bruce and further take into consideration another aspect of Batman’s conversation with Red Hood. First, Damian and Bruce have had a fraught relationship since Damian’s arrival. Bruce is not wrong in his estimation of Damian, at least based upon how he was first introduced. As DC readers well know, Damian did come into things with a heavy League influence and with the goal not of being Bruce Wayne’s son, but Batman’s partner. For Bruce, the fear that his son would have no reason to remain with him if being Robin wasn’t an option is a genuine fear. But it also shows that Bruce has missed some critical development when it comes to Damian. Damian has become a young man who is more and more investing himself in being not just Robin, but in being Bruce Wayne’s son. Because the two have not found a way to open up to one another about these things, there’s a communication gulf that is leading to this massive and potentially catastrophic misunderstanding.
However, just because Damian is quitting and is currently feeling like his father has no faith in him does not mean that this is going to have a negative outcome for father and son. One of the elements of Red Hood and Batman’s conversation in the issue is about the “Harvey Nights” each of the Robins have had — nights when they were ready to quit. Jason reveals to Batman that his night was nothing dramatic, but at the time he knew Batman would never let him walk away and in retrospect, if Batman had been willing to let him do so, the trauma that changed him and their relationship forever (being killed by the Joker and then brought back to life) wouldn’t have happened. That simple shift would have changed his relationship with Batman — and Bruce — putting them in a very different and healthier place now.
With Damian walking away as Robin, Bruce is now being given the opportunity to do what he should have done with Jason all those years ago, something that might ultimately end up not only salvaging his relationship with his son but could potentially see Damian find his place as Robin on his own terms. If they survive Memento, that is.
Batman and Robin #18 is on sale now.
What did you think of Damian’s shocking announcement? Let us know your thoughts in our comment section!
There are certain pairings that just go together — insert quip about peanut butter and jelly here — but in comics one of those pairings is undoubtedly that of Batman and Robin. Batman and his sidekick has been a fixture in comics for decades and, in more recent years the dynamic of the Dynamic Duo Read More