Summary
- Damian Wayne’s inclusion in Batman: The Brave and the Bold provides an exciting opportunity to address the criticism that Batman shouldn’t have brought kids into his crime-fighting mission.
- The decision to have Damian as Robin implies that Batman’s previous sidekicks and their complex relationships will be explored in the movie, allowing for a deeper examination of the complex sidekick/soldier/son dynamic.
- Damian Wayne’s unique backstory as a genetically grown warrior and assassin adds an interesting layer to his relationship with Batman, as the Dark Knight will likely attempt to guide and bond with his son in the midst of their crime-fighting adventures.
The inclusion of Damian Wayne in the DCU’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold will provide an exciting opportunity to explore a major Robin criticism that’s plagued all of the Dark Knight’s sidekicks. Both in the real world and within the comics’ DC Universe, it’s been argued that Batman shouldn’t have brought kids into his crusade against the criminal elements running rampant in Gotham City. However, Damian Wayne will likely serve as a dynamic lens from which to examine this criticism on the big screen.
As confirmed by new DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran during their announcement covering their vision for a new DCU with a slate of all-new projects, Batman: The Brave and the Bold was teased, set to feature a new version of Batman within this greater universe in the works. However, it was also revealed that Bruce Wayne’s biological son Damian will star in the movie as well, meeting his father for the first time as the two grapple to become a Dynamic Duo. As such, the specific decision to debut Damian as Robin is a very exciting opportunity considering Batman’s previous sidekicks in the DC canon.
The DCU’s Robin Choice Means It Has To Deal With Batman’s Oldest Sidekick Criticism
In the original DC Comics, Batman had three Robins before his son Damian took on the mantle (four if you include Stephanie Brown’s brief tenure as Robin preceding her current role as an additional Batgirl). To that end, each of these past and current sidekicks is still alive and should presumably be in the new DCU as well. Dick Grayson’s Robin became the massively popular Nightwing, Jason Todd was murdered by Joker but was later resurrected as the vigilante Red Hood, and Tim Drake is a secondary Robin in the DC mythos (though his codename has changed from time to time).
Having brought a handful of young men (and women) into his crusade, the classic criticism and accusation has been that Batman recruits child soldiers in his ongoing war in Gotham. To that end, this is a concept Batman himself has struggled with from time to time on the page, though the real reasoning is far more complex. In truth, each Robin needed guidance and someone to care for them, and each came to be known as one of Bruce Wayne’s children long before his biological son Damian. All of Batman’s sidekicks are loved and never viewed as expendable.
Batman never intended to have any sidekicks, though Dick Grayson’s discovery of the Batcave set everything in motion with Bruce seeing his own path as a means to help his charges face their own darkness, extensively training and arming each to fulfill their similar desires for justice. None were ever forced to join Batman, rather it was a choice they each made on their own. As such, the decision to have Damian in Brave and the Bold implies that Batman’s previous Robins and history will be established as well, meaning that the DCU can delve into this complex sidekick/soldier/son dynamic in ways the movies never have.
Why Damian Wayne’s Robin Story Is So Different
What will also be interesting is Damian Wayne’s particular backstory before first meeting his father at the age of 10 and becoming his new Robin. In the original comics, Damian’s birth was unknown to Batman as he was genetically grown in an artificial womb to be the perfect warrior, using a combination of Bruce’s stolen DNA and Damian’s mother Talia al Ghul, daughter of one of Batman’s greatest teachers and rivals Ra’s al Ghul. The original intention was for Damian to one day take Ra’s’ place leading the League of Shadows.
Assuming Damian’s origins in Batman: The Brave and the Bold follow the comics, Damian will already be pre-trained as a soldier and deadly assassin. This should create the need for Batman to guide Damian as his son, trying to bond with him as his father. As such, Damian can certainly be that interesting lens from which to break down the aforementioned sidekick criticism on the screen that’s plagued Batman and Robin for decades.
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