Damian Wayne

Current Events

Damian is currently Robin, he has recently killed the villian Nobody and has also defeated one of the Talons that was taking over Gotham City.>

Origin

Father and son.

Damian Wayne is the biological son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al'Ghul. Talia would become pregnant with him after a sexual encounter with Bruce, but would keep her pregnancy a secret from him for a decade. Instead of being birthed naturally, Damian was grown in a lab, with the intention that he would surpass his father. Shortly after his birth, Talia would leave Damian in the care of the League of Assassins so he could begin his training as an assassin. Years later, Talia reveals Damian's existence to his father and leaves him in Batman's custody in an effort to disrupt his work and get a step closer to her evil plan. Instead of shunning the boy, Bruce acknowledged his duties as a father, and accepted him into the Batman Family, which would eventually lead Damian to become the fifth and current Robin.

Creation

Damian Wayne was created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Andy Kubert during the Batman and Son story arc in 2006 within the pages of Batman. This however was not the first technical appearance of Damian, as he was inspired by the events of Mike W. Barr and Jerry Bingham's Batman: Son of the Demon in 1987 where Batman and Talia had their encounter that lead to the conception of a nameless son. Up until Infinite Crisis, Son of the Demon was considered out of continuity until it was brought back by Morrison when he took over Batman. There are slight differences in Morrison's interpretation of the events, as he has Bruce claim that he was drugged, and essentially raped by Talia, where in Son of the Demon, their encounter was consensual. In Wizard Magazine #182, Morrison addressed the differences in his interpretation.

For a long time, [DC] said [Son of the Demon] was out of continuity. Now it's just kind of out of continuity. I didn't actually read it before I started writing this. I messed up a lot of details, like Batman wasn't drugged when he was having sex with Talia and it didn't take place in the desert. I was relying on shaky memories. But now we have this new "Superboy punch" continuity. People still don't realize how important that single punch was to cover everyone's ass.

The "Superboy punch" he referred to was the event within Infinite Crisis where Superboy Prime punches through the "walls of reality" resulting in many continuity resets and changes like the resurrection of Jason Todd.

Character Evolution

The Fourth Boy Wonder

When Damian was first introduced to readers, he was a very rash, arrogant and violent characteristics similar to Jason Todd when he was Robin. Among the worst of his personality traits, Damian did not stick to the Batman Family's "no killing" rule, as his interpretation of crime fighting involved decapitating The Spook. Damian also exhibited anger issues and jealousy problems towards then Robin, Tim Drake. Damian saw Tim as his rival, since Bruce had just recently adopted him as his son. Damian felt that based off his parentage, the role of Robin was intended for him and him only, which lead him to attack Tim, in an attempt to take the mantle of Robin.Damian has even cursed at Alfred throwing a silver plate at him. Despite all his issues, Damian would be appointed the mantle of Robin after Dick Grayson became Batman. Dick felt that it was his duty to train Damian and help him control his emotions. Under Dick's guidance, Damian would become a successful crime fighter worthy of the mantle of Robin and the two would become close friends. With the implementation of the DC Universe in September 2011, Damian remained in the Robin role, but Dick Grayson would return to being Nightwing. Damian is set to join side by side with his father in a new father/son iteration of the Dynamic Duo.

Major Story Arcs

Originally, Damian appeared as an unnamed infant in the 1987 story "Son Of the Demon" which was left out of continuity due to being unpopular. Then he was reintroduced to the Batman Family during the 2006 arc, Batman and Son. It was Talia's intention that Damian would be left under Bruce's care and end up sabotaging his operations, while she planned to take over England with her army of Man-Bat Ninjas. While under Bruce's care, Damian was rash, abrasive, and violent. He would kill the Spook in an attempt to prove his crime fighting worth, and would attempt to kill Tim Drake in order to usurp the role of Robin and to get rid of Bruce's adopted son. Trying to repent for his actions, Damian offers up his mother's location to his father, and accompanies him to thwart Talia's plans. With his mother defeated, Damian decided to stay with her and would remain largely absent from the Batman Family with the exception of a supporting role within the cross over The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul.

The New Dynamic Duo

Damian would return to the Batman Family after the events of Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, where his father apparently died at the hands of the evil god Darkseid. Feeling that it was his duty to make sure Damian stayed on the right path, Dick Grayson took Damian under his wing as Robin, and the two would become the new Dynamic Duo. Early in Damian's career as Robin, he and Dick Grayson came across Jason Todd operating as the Red Hood. With Todd trying to replace the Dynamic Duo, El Penitente (Dr. Hurt) sends the murderous psychopath Flamingo to Gotham to intervene. This confrontation leads to Damian being shot in the spine several times, needing his mother's medical care to replace his spine. During his time recovering from his injuries, he and Alfred must fend off the Batman Clone that Dick dipped in the lazarus pit, thinking it was Bruce. Now knowing Bruce wasn't actually dead, both Dick and Damian soon find out that he is misplaced in time. While investigating Wayne Manor during the events of Batman vs. Robin, Damian's body was taken control of by Deathstroke thanks to an implant in his spine planted there by his mother. With Dick eventually breaking Talia's control over her son, Damian was disgusted by the fact that his mother would do such a thing to him. During a confrontation with his mother, Damian officially renounced his maternal heritage, claiming he wished to be a "worthy enemy" to the house of al Ghul,before returning to Gotham with Dick.

Poetic Justice

In Gotham, all hell soon to broke loose as Doctor Hurt returned to Gotham, claiming to be Damian's grandfather, Thomas Wayne. Meanwhile, the Joker had also returned and remained under the custody of the GCPD. Damian manages to lock himself into an interrogation room with the Joker, and mercilessly beat him with a crowbar, the very same way the Joker did to the second Robin, Jason Todd. But the Joker manages to trick Damian, scratching him with his poison laced fingernails. Joker who also wanted to go after Doctor Hurt, kept Damian tied up until as he felt it necessary to use Damian as his ace up his sleeve against Hurt. Damian manages to make his way to Wayne Manor where he meets up with Dick and eventually Bruce. The trio would successfully defeat Doctor Hurt and bring order back to Gotham,with Damian saving Gotham by disarming a thermonuclear bomb.

With Bruce back in the picture, both Damian and Dick were uncertain about their roles in the future of the Batman Family. After going on a mission with Damian, Bruce determined that he would not be able to work with his son as Batman and Robin. But with the introduction of Batman Incorporated, Bruce decides that Damian should remain Robin with Dick Grayson as Batman in Gotham City. Since then Damian has teamed up with other members of the Batman Family, and under Dick's encouragement, joined the Teen Titans.

In Batman: Gates of Gotham, Damian, along with Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and Cassandra Cain, must face the threat of The Architect, a mad bomber with ties to Gotham's past. As with the first time he meets anyone, Damian shows animosity towards Cassandra but eventually is able to work with her, as the two prevent Gotham's Kane Memorial Bridge from being destroyed.

In Batman, Incorporated, while Damian remains absent from his father's quest against Leviathan for a majority of the time, he along with Dick and Tim have to go after Bruce, whose been drugged and caught in Dr. Dedalus' "web." Damian finds his father just in the nick of time, before Dedalus electrocutes him to death. With no other options, Damian is forced to make a difficult decision, and throws Dedalus' discarded blade towards the mad scientist, impaling him in the head, killing him instantly. Immediately distraught, Damian pleads with his father that it was his only choice, as Dedalus was seconds away from killing him. Bruce doesn't acknoledge it at the time, as he knows the ordeal isn't over, as he knows Dedalus wasn't the true leader of Leviathan. Moments later, on a phone call, it is revealed that Damian's mother, Talia al Ghul, was the head of Leviathan the entire time, who had been seeking retribution for the events of Batman and Son. Talia informs Bruce that she's placed a half a billion dollar bounty on their child's head, forcing Bruce to keep him close to protect him during the upcoming ordeal. With Dick Grayson returning to Nigthwing soon after that, and Bruce returning to Gotham, Damian soon becomes Robin under his father's watchful eye.

Tempted by Nobody

Damian's tenure as Robin under the direction of his father at Batman starts out very roughly. Since it is the first time the two have actually worked together as Batman and Robin, they both struggle to understand each other. Bruce feels that he needs to "fix" or "save" Damian from his violent tendencies he learned while training with the League of Assassins, while not realizing just how far Damian has come and how much of an effort he's made to work past that. Meanwhile, Damian feels as if his father simply doesn't trust him, yet doesn't adapt to the way his father operates out in the field. All of these issues begin to frustrate Damian who tries to repress his emotions, leading him to begin to lash out violently. This all comes to a head, when Nobody, son of Henri Ducard, one of the men who trained Bruce, appears in Gotham, and tries to tempt Damian into giving in to his violent nature, as a devil on the young Robin's shoulder. With the relationship with his father strained, and Bruce keeping secrets about Nobody from him, Damian eventually abandons his father to train under Nobody. Damian is put through a test by Nobody to gauge his loyalty, that ends in Nobody asking Damian to shoot and kill a corrupt ambassador. Damian pulls the trigger, but the gun doesn't fire, as Nobody simply wanted Damian to prove he's willing to abandon his father's "no kill" rule. Damian humors Nobody on for a short time there after, but eventually alerts his father to their position, to Nobody's dismay. Damian points out that he knew by the weight of the gun that it was never loaded, and despite their problems, he'd never betray Bruce, simply for the fact that he's his father. Nobody begins to badly injure Damian, having Bruce listen through their communicator. Bruce locks in on their position, then once he shows up, enters in a very brutal and personal fight with Nobody. Driven by his anger, Bruce eventually throws Nobody into his vat of acide with the intent to kill him for what he had done, but when he looks at Damian, he comes back to his senses, pulling Nobody out before he dies, then chaining him up for the police. While Bruce tries to clear ruble to leave, Nobody begins to speak to Damian, telling them not to disappoint him, and that he'd be back to kill them both. Bruce turns around to see Damian executing the temporary paralysis technique Nobody taught him, but instead of simply hitting a certain spot on Nobody's forehead, Damian's fingers penetrate his skull, killing him instantly.

Powers and Abilities

Skilled Assassin

Damian is a skilled martial artist, has a keen intellect, is a skilled weapons user especially with a sword, escape artist and can mimic a person's voice all from his training in the League of Assassins.

Healing

Damian's mother Talia Al Ghul, anticipating that her highly trained and slightly insane son may be hurt in his adventures, has apparently cloned Damian. The clones are designed not to replace him, but to replace any vital organs or bones that may be irrecoverably damaged (depicted in Batman and Son). This in essence makes him somewhat immortal, as not only can he not die from wounds that WOULD kill him eventually, but every time he is healed in this manner, his NEW organs wont have the wear and tear of life on them, technically extending their life and effectiveness.

Other Versions

A possible future

A Darker Batman

A possible future showed Damian becoming Batman of the future after he is unable to save Batman from being killed by an unknown killer. Damian has some supernatural power, is willing to kill, as well as having a cat he has named Alfred. He seems to have developed a rivalry with Commissioner Barbara Gordon (who strongly condemns his actions, claiming that he killed someone close to her). When asked why she hates him so she says "That monster was responsible for the death of... of a good friend. He can't be trusted." This Batman is darker than his father, more willing to injure and kill opponents if he judges it necessary to do so and possesses some form of supernatural ability (most visibly, the ability to heal catastrophic wounds in moments). It is implied that, in this possible future, Damian made a literal deal with the Devil: his soul in exchange for the immortality and healing abilities he felt he needed to protect Gotham.

In Batman #700, Damian is fighting a villain who is using old Joker Gimmicks. He is seen interrogating Max Roboto for information before leaving him to be eaten alive by carnivorous rats. The joker gas is affecting all the people of Gotham City, however it is not killing them. Barbara Gordon is requesting the help of Batman to fight off the people of Gotham. However, Damian only has 8 minutes left until his oxygen mask runs out. He eventually confronts 2 Face 2, a criminal who is trying to use Joker's book of Jokes to control Gotham City.

Training Terry

He also has a young Terry McGinnis, whom he is holding hostage. In the end, Damian saves Terry McGinnis and gives him an antidote to the Joker formula that was in his body. Several years later, Bruce is shown to be partners with Terry McGinnis where he is the current Batman.This story is set after the events of Superman/Batman #75's annual with Damian having retired giving the mantle of Batman to Terry.

In Superman/Batman #75 Damian Wayne is seen meeting with Conner Kent who is the future Superman at a memorial every year despite the two not getting along. But for the sake of Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent, they put aside any conflict. Damian shows some doubt over whether he should allow Terry McGinnis to pick up the cowl after him.

Justice League: Generation Lost

Damian in a 150 years in the future

In another possible future started by Maxwell Lord, Damian Wayne survives 150 years into the future utilizing Lazarus Pits. He leads a Justice League and wears a suit similar to the Batman from Kingdom Come. He's killed by Maxwell Lord.

Kingdom Come

Ibn al Xu'ffasch, the Son of the Bat

On Earth-22, the child birthed between Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul that was the inspiration for Damian in the story Batman: Son of the Demon grew up as Ibn al Xu'ffasch. Through out his childhood, Ibn was mercilessly trained by his grandfather Ra's al Ghul to become a master assassin and heir to his empire. Ibn would eventually be driven to murdering his grandfather by cutting off his head. Due to the events of his childhood and his shaky relationship with his father, Ibn would seek help in the form of therapy in order to try and deal with some of his torment. Ibn eventually falls in love with Nightstar, the daughter of Dick Grayson and Starfire. During the great crisis of Kingdom Come, Ibn would apparently side with Lex Luthor, eventually joined by his father Bruce on Luthor's side. But after Bruce reveals that he had deceived Luthor it is suggested that despite their shaky relationship , Ibn could have been working as a spy for his father within Luthor's inner circle. After the crisis, Bruce meets with Superman and Wonder Woman, informing them that he and Ibn are trying to work through their problems, but it is hard for Ibn, as he has many personal issues to deal with. Years later, at Bruce's funeral, Ibn shows up married to Nightstar with children of his own.

In Other Media

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

The New Batman & Robin

Damian Wayne gets his first appearance in television in Batman The Brave And The Bold "Knights of Tomorrow!" When Bruce Wayne marries Catwoman (Selina Kyle), he and Selina retire to raise their son in a normal life. While Bruce might be retired from being Batman, Batman's name and mission continues! Dick Grayson becomes the second Batman. However, a new Joker appears to battle Grayson, working with the old Joker. Shortly after his parents are killed, Damian Wayne joins Dick Grayson to fight against this new Joker. Later, he is seen as the future Batman. In the end it is revealed the whole episode is merely a story conjured up by Alfred.