Damian Wayne Robin Appreciation 2021

[Rac7d*]

Oh my God if Damian gets his own escrima sticks, that would just further cement my belief that he should have stayed Dick's partner instead of Bruce's. In fact...it's not too late. Bruce already has Tim, who seems dead set on being the forever Robin. Give Damian back to his Batman!

I see Damian being a successor not Nightwing if Dick ever put it down.

[dietrich]

Williamson said Damian would be focused on Bruce when he comes to Gotham in the next arc and that Damian would be part of the batfamily again eventually. I think that sounds a lot like a team-up or at least like a Bruce and Damian centric arc. You can't really return to the batfamily if you aren't on speaking terms with Bruce and they have a lot to sort out. Too much to do it all off-panel.
So the Batman books might not give us a team-up, but I think the Robin book might.

That makes me more hopeful.

Plus it means Williamson will be one handling their interactions not Tynion which is a huge positive.

[dietrich]

@Rac7d, Can't believe I forgot Maps earlier.

@Shen Yeah I'd love to see Maya and Mara meet. Damian is always the fall guy which is not only unoriginal it's boring as heck. I'd like to see him make friends not antagonise everyone.

At least develop the friendships he has made up to this point.

[Morgoth]

So the Batman books might not give us a team-up, but I think the Robin book might.

Batman book definitely won't give it, for one simple reason. This reason is called Tynion.
I guess we either getting this arc in Robin, or it's going to be that Robin and Batman book, which was mentioned.

[Astralabius]

Batman book definitely won't give it, for one simple reason. This reason is called Tynion.
I guess we either getting this arc in Robin, or it's going to be that Robin and Batman book, which was mentioned.

I have to say, when they announced Tynion would be taking over Batman I expected to see Tim Drake get an important role in it, but that didn't happen. Instead Tynion is trying to push his own characters, probably because it makes him more money, which I can understand, but I can't say I'm interested in them. I don't hate his run, I just couldn't get myself to care about it.

Anyway, originally I thought that the Robin and Batman book they teased for this year would be another out of continuity anthology (probably focused on all the Robins and their adventures with Batman) because Tynion said he knew nothing about the book when he was asked about it a few months ago, but now we've already gotten the October solicits and the book is still nowhere to be seen.
Unless they cancelled it alltogether I would say there could be a small chance that Robin and Batman might actually be an in continuity book with Bruce and Damian. At least it would explain why it hasn't been announced yet.

It's probably just wishful thinking, but the relationship has suffered so much in recent years that rebuilding it would certainly warrant a book (at least a limited series, not necessarily an ongoing), not just an arc. Plus, maybe DC is finally beginning to feel uncomfortable with Bruce being seen as an absolutely terrible father by a lot of readers. It's not a good look for a hero (yeah, who am I kidding, that's probably not the case. Then again, Didio is gone, idk)

Considering Damian's personality and current mindset I could certainly see him agreeing to work with Bruce again on the condition that it has to be Robin and Batman from now on (and Bruce agreeing because he's desperate and tired), thus the name of the book. If the title stays the same. They did say that the titles might be changed.

[Blue22]

No. Dick's title needs to focus on Dick. Enough with the Bat characters getting propped at his expense. It's bad enough with Babs and 'Best robin' Tim don't want Damian there as well. The book is called Nightwing. I want it to focus on Nightwing.

Bruce doesn't have Tim. Dick has Tim. He has been showing up in Nightwing not batman

Damian needs to be on his own building his own world back up. I want Colin, Maya, Suren, Kid Amazo, the Fist etc. His own characters.

That's pretty much everything I want for them too but there's not really any reason why you can't do both. It sure as hell wouldn't be the first time that a Batman and Robin duo (or...in this case, Nightwing and Robin) have worked together while still going off to do their own things.

I'm still totally overjoyed with direction they're both going in right now. Williamson and Taylor have been killing it. But his relationship with Dick is one of the first things that made him my favorite Robin and it's something that a lot of more recent stories have...done a not so great job of showing. So I'm always down for some kind of team up book (even if it's just a mini) of those those two working together again. The best dynamic duo :P

I still remember reading that mini arc in Rebirth Nightwing where Dick confessed that they thought about taking Damian back to Bludhaven with him when Bruce came back from the "dead". And while I reeeeeeally loved Tomasi's Batman and Robin, I still couldn't help but think "...Wow, Dick. You really should have done that."

[Rebeca Armus]

They said last year something about many timelines without relationship, you guys care too much if things that want happens or not in canon (main time line)?
I am pretty happy if it's not, like the last super sons.
Also can't they write Nightwing and Nightwing & Robin? Like there was Batman, but also Batman & Robin?

[Rebeca Armus]

I like the idea of Damian running his own stories/team/path, but... can't wait until he become at least 17...?
Ah, one character I think has a good match with him is Billy Batson, they had a pretry short interaction, but enough for me say "DO IT!, write them team uping!", I don't really now about Billy in comics, but usually Damian ending with more naive characters, so he ending looks liking a bad guy/influence/mean kid, if he stay with a smart little brat will be a new dinamic.

[KrustyKid]

@Rac7d, Can't believe I forgot Maps earlier.

@Shen Yeah I'd love to see Maya and Mara meet. Damian is always the fall guy which is not only unoriginal it's boring as heck. I'd like to see him make friends not antagonise everyone.

At least develop the friendships he has made up to this point.

Exactly, I agree with this 100%. There are some great characters that could play off of Damian pretty well.

[Astralabius]

That makes me more hopeful.

Plus it means Williamson will be one handling their interactions not Tynion which is a huge positive.

I recently learned (from an interview with Williamson from 2018) that it was Williamson who had the idea that the first thing Bruce would want to talk about when he met Flashpoint Thomas Wayne was Damian and that he wrote that conversation, not King. I know some people really disliked that, but to me it showed that Williamson understood that Damian should be important to Bruce. Which I can't say about King. I bet if he had been tasked to write that conversation Bruce would have started talking about Catwoman for no damn reason.

Tynion's Batman doesn't seem all that concerned about Damian. I never expected it to play a huge role, but I thought it would at least be important enough to mention it here and there when Bruce is moping about what is currently going wrong in his life again.

[Astralabius]

Bruce doesn't have Tim. Dick has Tim. He has been showing up in Nightwing not batman

Yeah, I've seen several people act like Tim is currently playing the role as the Robin at Batman's side, but neither the current stories nor the solicitations prove that claim as far as I'm aware. Did I miss something? Did Mariko Tamaki or Tynion say anything about Tim playing an important part in their upcoming stories?

[Konja7]

Did Mariko Tamaki or Tynion say anything about Tim playing an important part in their upcoming stories?

No. Tynion mentioned that the Batfamily (except Oracle) won't have a big role in his Batman run. He wants to focus on his new characters.

[KrustyKid]

No. Tynion mentioned that the Batfamily (except Oracle) won't have a big role in his Batman run. He wants to focus on his new characters.

Which makes sense. That way he can develop them without oversaturation of other characters

[garazza]

I recently learned (from an interview with Williamson from 2018) that it was Williamson who had the idea that the first thing Bruce would want to talk about when he met Flashpoint Thomas Wayne was Damian and that he wrote that conversation, not King. I know some people really disliked that, but to me it showed that Williamson understood that Damian should be important to Bruce. Which I can't say about King. I bet if he had been tasked to write that conversation Bruce would have started talking about Catwoman for no damn reason.

I really hated that conversation in The Button because I am the biggest Damian fan and I would have never written that. Bruce is the father of multiple children, not just Damian. I remember Geoff Johns worked on that book with King, but I completely forgot Williamson was even involved, so now I have an issue with him.

Tynion's Batman doesn't seem all that concerned about Damian. I never expected it to play a huge role, but I thought it would at least be important enough to mention it here and there when Bruce is moping about what is currently going wrong in his life again.

Back during the New 52, the reason Damian rarely showed up or was referenced in Batman was because Snyder was told not to write about him because any and all Bruce and Damian stuff was to be told in Tomasi and Gleason's Batman and Robin. I'd say a similar arrangement is in place now with the edict in Tynion's Batman being focus on new characters and Williamson's Robin will be the place to deal with Bruce and Damian's issues, while all the ancillary titles will feature the rest of the Batfamily.

[Astralabius]

I really hated that conversation in The Button because I am the biggest Damian fan and I would have never written that. Bruce is the father of multiple children, not just Damian. I remember Geoff Johns worked on that book with King, but I completely forgot Williamson was even involved, so now I have an issue with him.



Back during the New 52, the reason Damian rarely showed up or was referenced in Batman was because Snyder was told not to write about him because any and all Bruce and Damian stuff was to be told in Tomasi and Gleason's Batman and Robin. I'd say a similar arrangement is in place now with the edict in Tynion's Batman being focus on new characters and Williamson's Robin will be the place to deal with Bruce and Damian's issues, while all the ancillary titles will feature the rest of the Batfamily.

Eh, I have seen some people get enraged simply because of scenes where Bruce refers to Damian as his son or when a writer dares to give us a glimmer of affection between those two because "Damian's existence is undermining Bruce's adopted children!!!". I'm sure you don't mean it that way, but I'm kinda over people getting needlessly angry at this.
I recently reread Tynion's run on Detective Comics and I noticed how many hugs Bruce gives to Tim, Cass and Steph. The last time Bruce hugged Damian was 2015 in Convergence. The best we've gotten since then were some hands on a shoulder and some nice words about how Bruce cares about Damian when he wasn't even there to hear it. People need to calm down.

That's not entirely true though. Damian's death and how Bruce handled it played a part in Snyder's run too, not just in Batman and Robin. While Damian is not dead he did quit as Robin, had a big falling out with Bruce and ran away from his family. I expected that to have a bigger impact. I had to sit through two years of Teen Titans character assassinating Damian, the least they can do is make it feel like it mattered. Even in Tomasi's last arc on Detective Comics the whole thing seemed to be at the bottom of Bruce's priority list. It's just kinda sad at this point how little this seems to matter to the characters around Damian.