Batman is one of the most popular (and profitable) superhero characters on the planet. People who’ve never read a comic book know him. And most of those people know that his sidekick is Robin, The Boy Wonder, thanks to decades of movies and TV shows featuring the Dynamic Duo. But what they don’t know is that there have been six different Robins in the comics, and the current one is Batman’s biological son Damian Wayne!
Several key Damian issues, including his first full appearance and his debut as Robin, are coming to auction this weekend! Check ‘em out ASAP.
The Son of the Bat
Batman #657, 1st cover appearance of Damian Wayne.
Damian first appeared in Batman: Son of the Demon. That original graphic novel saw Batman and Talia al Ghul, daughter of his nemesis Ra’s al Ghul, embark on a steady romantic relationship. That relationship produced an unnamed son, whose death Talia fakes at the story’s end. The book was considered non-canon for nearly twenty years.
That changed in Batman #655-658, written by Grant Morrison with art by Andy Kubert. The arc, entitled “Batman & Son”, saw Talia finally introduce Batman to their kid. Now named Damian, he struggles to fit in with his father’s found family. Turns out that raising a kid in a fanatical cult of ninja assassins doesn’t produce someone well socialized. Who knew? Damian’s attempted murder of his brother, Tim “Robin III” Drake, and successful murder of D-list supervillain Spook fail to ingratiate him to his father. The arc ends with Damian returning to his mother’s side, not really feeling welcome in the Batcave.
The All-New Batman & Robin
That remained more-or-less Damian’s status quo for a couple years: wanting to join his father’s familial war on crime, but a little too messed up by his mom’s ninja assassins to pull it off. That changed after Grant Morrison killed off Batman in Final Crisis #6. Or, more accurately, Morrison killed off Bruce Wayne. Dick Grayson, the original Robin and longtime Nightwing, took up the mantle of Batman to keep his adoptive father’s ideals alive.
Battle for the Cowl #3, 1st appearance of Damian as Robin.
Naturally, a Batman needs a Robin. Enter Damian Wayne! The new Dynamic Duo debuted in He did so in 2009’s Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3. This created an interesting role reversal, in which Batman was the more light-hearted crimefighter and Robin was the dour, single-minded soldier in the war of crime. The pair remained Gotham City’s Dynamic Duo even after Bruce Wayne came back, their run only ending when the whole DC Universe was rebooted in 2011.
Batman & Robin, A Father and Son Story
In the last decade, DC has struggled to balance Damian and Bruce as the Dynamic Duo. Damian’s been dead, on a solo adventure of redemption, a full-time Teen Titan, and a few other things to keep him away from Gotham City. In recent years, however, a decent rhythm has been found. Damian sees himself as the Heir of the Demon and The Bat, trained from birth to be a living weapon in body and mind. Bruce sees him as a child who had his tender years stolen from him by a crappy mom and absent father. Bruce thinks Damian needs love and to learn to exist in “normal” society. Damian thinks he should be leading the Justice League by now. Together, they fight crime and participate in Damian’s school activities.
General audiences will get to know Damian in The Brave and The Bold. That movie’s going to introduce Batman and son into the new cinematic DC Universe that kicks off in next summer’s Superman. Now is the time to pick up Damian’s key issues before more casual speculators start sniffing around. Luckily, Back to the Past can help you with that in this weekend’s auction! And when the time comes for you to sell your comic collection, we can help with that too.
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