If you’re a fan of the Batman universe, you’ll know that Bruce Wayne has had many Robins by his side. From the flying Dick Grayson to the impulsive Stephanie Brown, we have seen plenty of red and green-cladded heroes standing side-by-side with our favorite Bat. However, the most recent Robin is one who we simply cannot ignore.
Damian Wayne, the youngest member of the Bat Family and son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, may not be a familiar name to you unless you’re a DC Comic or animated movie fan. Unfortunately, he has yet to make a television debut, and the likelihood of him making an appearance in Ben Affleck’s Batman before Dick Grayson’s Robin is pretty slim, but one can hope.
This young detective has taken his position by force and wears his yellow "R" insignia with pride, choosing to follow the ways of the Bat rather than the ways of his grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul.
From his resurgence in The New 52 to his latest antics in the Teen Titans and the Super Sons, Damian has been trying to make a name for himself as a Wayne and as the newest Robin. With that said, here are the 16 Things You Didn’t Know About Damian Wayne.
16. In The Injustice Timeline He Kills Dick Grayson
Out of all the members in the Bat Family, Dick Grayson was the one that Damian grew the closest to, so many hearts were broken when Damian killed him.
This moment took place during a prison break. Damian was hell bent on letting all the inmates die, and fully believed they deserved it. However, Dick believed otherwise. Because of their disagreements, Damian grew frustrated and threw his kai stick at Dick’s head the way he did during their sparring practices. However, instead of dodging, Dick was hit by the kai stick, which knocked him out. His neck then slammed against a rock, which killed him instantly.
It was an accident, but this accident was spurred from a darkness that Damian was trying to overcome. Injustice is the right name for this series, because it did an injustice to Damian’s character. He has worked so hard to strip himself of his homicidal tendencies, to learn empathy in The New 52, and all that work was thrown away instantly.
15. He Was Introduced Canonically To The DC Universe In 1996
Prior to appearing as Damian Wayne, he was first introduced into the DC Universe in the 1996 comics Kingdom Come as Ibn al Xu'ffasch, “Son of the Bat.” In this timeline, Ibn was raised by his grandfather Ra’s al Ghul to be the heir to the League of Assassins kingdom.
However, Ibn wasn’t about that life, so he murdered his grandfather, slicing off his head (to prevent him from regenerating) and left to be with Batman.
Years after the release of Kingdom Come, writer Granyest Morrison revamped this storyline into his comic book arc Batman And Son, and recreated Ibn into the character many of us know as Damian Wayne. From then on, Damian was incorporated into The New 52 as Batman’s fifth Robin.
14. He Could've Had A Ph.D. in Geology At The Age Of 7
If you’ve been keeping up with the Super Sons comic series, then you’ll know that, in the first issue, Damian revealed that he could have received a Doctorate in Geology at the age of seven.
You might be wondering why he didn't get it. Well, it wasn’t because he lacked the intellect or work ethic to achieve it. He didn’t get his Doctorate because his villainous mother, Talia al Ghul, decided to kill his Professor and dump the body into the ocean.
To many, his mother’s cruelty may not come to a surprise, but to Jon Kent, son of Superman, the tidbit seemed so absurd that it was laughable to him. He awkwardly chuckled at Damian’s story, and said “ha! Yeah right!”
Unfortunately for Damian, murder will always be something that he’ll have to live with, and the frown he makes in this scene depicts his realization of this.
13. He's A Vegetarian
Damian might not be the most affectionate person in the world, but he does have a soft spot for animals. In Batman Incorporated vol. 2 #1, after a fight in a slaughterhouse, he declares himself a vegetarian and rescues one of the cows from the factory, naming it Bat-Cow.
As absurd as this scene may seem, Damian’s declaration to become a vegetarian was one that fans applauded, as it showed a glimpse into his humanity.
His story arc is about redemption. He is known for having homicidal tendencies and for being unfeeling towards others, so to see him acting affectionately towards something other than himself was monumental for his character development. In this moment, he wasn’t a cold-blooded assassin: he was a kid who wanted to save a life.
12. He Defeated His Mother In A Battle At The Age Of 10
On his tenth birthday, in The New 52’s Batman and Robin, Damian defeated his mother in a bone-chilling sword battle.
Prior to her defeat, a young Damian asked his mother, “who is my father, mama?” Instead of telling him who his father was, Talia avoided his questions and decided to make a deal with her child. She told him, “when you best me in a duel on your special day, that is when you will be ready to meet your father.”
So, each year, up until his victory, Damian would earnestly set off on a mission to defeat his mother to find out the identity of his father, and he failed miserably. However, he used his failures to learned from his mistakes. In this small time frame, he was able to hone his skills to retrieve the information that he always longed for.
11. When Dick Grayson Took On The Role As Batman, He Chose Damian To Be His Robin
After the events of the Final Crisis storyline, Gotham was left without a Batman, so someone needed to take charge. This someone was none other than the original Robin, Dick Grayson, and, if you know anything about Batman, he always has a Robin by his side. The person who took on the red and green suit was none other than Damian Wayne.
The choice to hire Damian caused some tension in the family. Tim Drake, the third Robin, was the one who urged Grayson to take on the cowl, so being casted aside for an arrogant child felt like a betrayal to him.
Whether Tim got over Grayson’s decision or not, Damian’s role as Grayson’s sidekick transformed into a friendship that taught him how to trust. He may not have trusted everyone, but at least he did trust someone.
10. He's Not Afraid To Pick A Fight With Superman
Prior to becoming the Super Sons, Damian had his reservations about Jon Kent. He considered the young Super as a potential threat to the world due to his awakening abilities, such as his ice breath and heat vision. Because of his suspicions, he kidnapped Jon to run some tests and to potentially end him.
This obviously did not bode well with Superman. Although Jon saw no harm in Damian’s antics, Superman was ready to fight. With heat seeping from his eyes and a clutched fist, he threatened to put a stop to whatever plans Damian had for Jon, telling Batman, “somebody should teach that boy of yours some manners.”
While Jon stood to the side screaming, “dad, stop! I’m okay,” Damian was armed and ready with his winged daggers, unafraid to pick a fight Superman.
9. He Was Trained To Be An Assassin Since Birth
From the moment Damian was born, he was raised to be an assassin. His mother Talia al Ghul baptized him in a pool saturated in his nursemaid’s blood to show his strength and willpower, and to welcome him into the world.
As a child, when he asked Talia why he was named Damian, she told him that his name derived from the Greek word Damianos, which means “to tame.” She told Damian that “taming this wild world is what you will do as the al Ghul Dynasty takes shape. And after you have tamed it, you will control it—possess it.”
Since then, she trained Damian to be a master swordsman, a skilled martial artist, and an intellect. Up until he joined Batman, Damian was taught only how to be a cold-blooded killer. His mother didn’t nurture him. Instead, she threw him into the deep end of the world of the League of Assassins, because the al Ghul Dynasty was what she could offer to him.
8. His Interpretation of Family Is Rather Odd
Due to Damian’s rough upbringing by the al Ghul’s and his new relationship with the Bat Family, his interpretation of the meaning of family was rather odd. In Super Sons #4, while Kid Amazo’s suit was being ripped off from his skin, Damian tried to comfort him, yelling, “that pain you feel ripping your flesh apart, Reggie? That’s Family!”
In this moment, Damian revealed that, to him, family can be painful, and in some senses, it may not seem so strange that he felt this way. Not all families are perfect and they sometimes cause pain.
Nevertheless, his interpretation seemed very skewed, particularly because he was now being raised in an environment where there was some room for family to be a source of alleviation from the pain.
7. He Loves His Father
Although he thought of his father, Bruce Wayne, as a “stubborn a**,” Damian always loved him. Despite their rocky beginnings and their endless disagreements, Damian saw his father as a hero, and held him in high regard.
In Convergence: Batman and Robin # 2, Damian admitted that he loved his father after Bruce made a heartfelt confession. While preparing both Damian and Jason for a battle against the Extremists, Bruce told Damian the “there’s so much I don’t know about being a father. I don’t even know how much time we have left. But I do know I love you. Maybe that’s all that really matters.”
This scene was important for both Bruce and Damian. The two are both emotionally restricted characters, so for them to be this vulnerable and show familial affection was a huge step for their relationship. It was a moment where Damian could feel the love of a parent, which was something that he had never experienced.
6. He Kidnapped the Teen Titans
Usually, when one wants to start any type of team, this person would first ask his friends to join and then maybe put up fliers for next best options. However, Damian is unconventional and doesn’t really have friends. So, to create his new team of Teen Titans, Damian kidnapped each of its potential members.
Regardless, he did have his reasons. In DC’s Rebirth, Damian brought together Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Kid Flash in order to recreate a better Teen Titans, and to also save them from a group of assassins known as the Demon’s Fist.
To graduate as an official member of the Demon’s Fist, these assassins in training were told that they had to kill a target of their choice. Each of these assassins chose the new Teen Titans members as their targets, seeing them as rivals.
Maybe kidnapping wasn’t Damian's best option, but at least he brought them together for the greater good, right?
5. He Approves Of Nightwing and Starfire's Relationship
After Nightwing asked Starfire to live with him in DC’s animated film Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Damian had a brief conversation with Nightwing about his approval of their relationship.
With arms crossed, he walked up to an unmasked Nightwing and said “by the way, I should offer you congratulations on your cohabitation, Grayson. Starfire has proven herself to be a decent leader. I approve.” Eyebrow raised, Nightwing replied with a surprised “thank you.”
Maybe Nightwing was surprised because Damian’s not the type to approve of or trust anyone aside from Batman and Alfred. Or maybe he was surprised because Damian’s not really the type to let anyone else be the leader. Regardless, a congratulations is a congratulations, and it's a moment where Damian tried hard to follow the norms of social etiquette.
4. He's Bruce Wayne's Only Blood-Related Son
Bruce Wayne has many children, but for those who don’t know, most of his kids are adopted, except for his youngest son, Damian. In Grant Morrison’s Comic Batman and Son, Damian’s backstory is deepened, and it is explained how he was conceived. On one fateful night, while at the Tropic of Cancer, Damian's mother, Talia al Ghul, drugged Bruce Wayne and, several months later, Damian was born. Manipulative much?
Morrison has since said that this was a canonical error and has even tried to stray from it, by characterizing Bruce to have feelings for Talia, but the gritty backstory of Damian’s birth wasn't so easy to erase and is still dubbed as canon throughout the DC Universe.
Damian’s birth was a bit messy, and so is his claim to the Wayne Dynasty. Although he is the only blood-related child of Bruce, he still needs to work on his family skills. Blood may be thicker than water, but trust goes a long way, and he has barely scratched the surface in comparison to many of his Bat siblings.
3. He's Started Fights With Everyone In The Bat Family
Damian can be a bit arrogant for a preteen, especially when he's put into a position where he is the newest member of a group. His unsavory attitude is the reason why he has started fights with every member of the Bat Family, including Alfred. Although these fights weren’t always physical, it’s safe to say that many of them were.
When he was securing his role as the new Robin and to trying to make it clear to his siblings that he was the better one, he made it his mission to defeat them by finding their weaknesses and using these to his advantage.
In Batman and Robin vol. 2, the youngest Boy Wonder took down Jason Todd in his Gotham apartment, stole his red mask, and blackmailed Tim Drake into admitting that he wanted to kill Fist Point. These are just some instances of Damian aggravating his family members.
Fighting your family is never the answer, but one could argue that he did these things out of love-- Damian just wanted to prove to his dad that he was born to be Robin.
2. He Made His First DCAU Appearance In "Son Of Batman"
Back in 2014, DC released a straight-to-DVD animated feature titled Son of Batman, where Damian Wayne made his first onscreen appearance. This film is an adaption of Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert’s storyline Batman and Son, which follows the beginnings of Bruce and Damian Wayne’s newfound father-son relationship.
Voicing Damian is none other than Young Artists Awards Winner Stuart Allen, and, for those familiar with the DCAU, the voice of Batman is Jason O’Mara.
Although not the best DCAU film, the movie is one to see if you’re an avid movie watcher, especially if you’re interested in all things Damian Wayne. Not only is his back story explained in this featurette, but he is also seen working side-by-side with his father as the new Robin, which is something you don’t get to see often on screen.
1. He Was Brought Back From The Dead
In Batman and Robin: Robin Rises, Damian was brought back from the dead. For those who don't follow The New 52 comics, prior to him rising from the grave, his mother Talia al Ghul attacked Gotham City, waging war against his father and even putting Damian up for a bounty.
She and the clone she made of Damian, named the Heretic, caused quite the ruckus. In a battle at Wayne Tower between the Heretic, Damian, and Nightwing, the Heretic took a sword from a display case and pierced Damian through the heart. This was a devastating blow to Batman.
He knew he had to find a way to bring Damian back, so he went on an impossible mission against the Justice League’s orders and fought against Ra’s al Ghul and Glorious Godfrey in order to not only obtain Damian’s body, but to also acquire the chaos shard that could bring him back to life.
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Can you think of any other interesting facts about Batman's Damian Wayne? Let us know in the comments!