Warning! Spoilers ahead for DC's Shadow War: Alpha #1
In DC Comics' new Shadow War event, Batman finally had a chance to be a better father and reconcile with his estranged son Robin...only to make things even worse. Following the death of Alfred Pennyworth in 2019's City of Bane event, Bruce and Damian Wayne became estranged in the aftermath. Rather than being there for his son who was also grieving, the Dark Knight was too focused on his own pain and darkness, motivating Robin to leave Gotham for quite some time. Now, Batman has made things even worse now that Damian is back, proving his status as one of the DC Universe's most terrible fathers.
In recent issues, Damian has been abroad in his own Robin series, battling his inner demons to decide whether he is the Son of the Detective or the Heir to the Demon. While he previously admitted that he'd be willing to meet with his father, he does believe Batman would need to do most of the talking (a perspective that feels accurate). That being said, Robin #12 saw Damian joining his mother Talia in her journey to rebuild her empire, promising to treat him like a son rather than a weapon as she and Damian's grandfather Ra's al Ghul had in the past.
This brings things to Shadow War Alpha #1 from Joshua Williamson and Viktor Bogdanovic where a dying Ra's al Ghul has decided to publically share his knowledge and the power of the resurrecting Lazarus Pits to the world. Taking place in Gotham, Batman is present on the rooftops in anticipation of trouble. Robin is there too, marking the first time the father and son have been face-to-face since Damian left. Rather than "hugging his damn son" as Oracle tells Batman to do in his earpiece, he freezes. While Robin communicates his desire to talk, things spiral out of control when Ra's is assassinated by someone impersonating Deathstroke. After shooting al Ghul, the killer throws a grenade to make sure the Demon's Head couldn't be brought back. While Robin tries to recover the body in time, Batman intervenes and saves his son. Not only is Damian angered now that he's lost a second grandfather, Batman says the worst thing he possibly could in this scenario:
Batman is the Word's Greatest Detective. There's no way his comment about Alfred could have been taken well. Damian has been bound by Bane and forced to watch as the villain snapped Alfred's neck, unable to save one of the few members of the Bat-Family who actually understood and loved him the most. Batman claiming he could have saved Alfred had he been there implies that Damian wasn't good enough, only serving to make the rift between the father and son even bigger than it had been. While Robin seemed willing to work things out, there's no way he's interested anymore.
Batman has royally messed up as a father beyond what seemed to be possible. Now, his son has gone off on his own once more, hellbent on killing Deathstroke for seemingly murdering his grandfather. While it's highly unlikely that the Dark Knight will be able to make things right any time soon, it would be nice to see Batman at least make the attempt of doing right by his son at least once as Shadow War continues. While the darkness of losing his parents can attribute to some of the challenges he's had as a father, the last thing Batman should be okay with is knowing his son is alone and in pain with no one to support him. It's time for Batman to start succeeding as a father to Robin rather than continually failing him.