Bruce Wayne: Abusive Father?

[oasis1313]

Bruce has been very abusive toward all the Robins--except for Tim, of course.

[oasis1313]

What comic is this from?

Oops--double post, sorry. Crime-fighting doesn't leave you with much free time to take your kid to the dentist. Seriously I think these panels are a lot of wish-fulfillment to suck up to Didio. "I know the Boss will love THIS! Maybe I'll get a raise!"

[WontonGirl]

Oops--double post, sorry. Crime-fighting doesn't leave you with much free time to take your kid to the dentist. Seriously I think these panels are a lot of wish-fulfillment to suck up to Didio. "I know the Boss will love THIS! Maybe I'll get a raise!"

Do you know what comic that is from?

[WontonGirl]

Bruce has been very abusive toward all the Robins--except for Tim, of course.

He has? He's been abusive with Damian as well? And Tim really is his favorite Robin?

I don't know enough about Steph as a Robin.

[Godlike13]

No, Tim just got a more filtered and nicer Bruce. Much like Duke gets.

And as hard as Bruce can be on Dick, he has had plenty of redeeming and kind moments too. Even after that punch, we got scene of him apologizing by the the end of the arc.

[dietrich]

He has? He's been abusive with Damian as well? And Tim really is his favorite Robin?

I don't know enough about Steph as a Robin.

If you go by what is written Damian and Dick is his favourites. In fact Dick is favourite Damian he gives special treatment sometimes but that might be because he is the baby.

He did smack dick about a fair bit but that was more a sign of the time.
But he is emotionally and mentally abusive to all the Robins.

Though Dick gets it the most because Bruce I believe has a special place for him.

He has great feels for Jason and Damian. you can tell them a lot by how emotional taut their relationship can get's. The emotional baggage he wrestles with him concerning them is an indication of how much he loves and cares.

He does not smack Tim carries very little emotional baggage about him even now that Tim is supposed to be dead there is just nothing. He gets along with Tim because Tim does exactly what it says on the box. He was designed to be Robin to function as a sidekick for Batman and his was that. Their relationship was more functional partnership like a CEO and his valued assistant.

Oasis like to make jokes about the high and mighty Timmy Drake. They are usually sarcastic, scathing and heavy on the mockery.

[dietrich]

Perhaps maybe Bruce is not meant to be a Father or is good at being a Parent. Every person is not meant to be a parent nor should be. I think Bruce, despite being a guardian to these teens, still perhaps is not really the "parenting" type. But Bruce will always TRY to do the right thing.

That's why Batman and Robin was so special Bruce actually trying to parent. He is not normally the parenting type so it was great to see him doing it.

The story of Batman is about family about fathers and sons.

[L.H.]

Do you know what comic that is from?

The first one is from Batman 2011 issue #7, the second from Nightwing 2011 issue #7.

[WontonGirl]

The first one is from Batman 2011 issue #7, the second from Nightwing 2011 issue #7.

Thanks! It seemed like it was the same smack, only from different directions.

[Frontier]

I thing Bruce has given preferential treatment or preference to all the Robins at some point or another.

Dick was the "first son," Jason was the son he failed, Tim was the "good son," and Damian is his blood son.

[kaimaciel]

In my opinion, Bruce tries to be a good parent, but he isn't very good at it. He's a good mentor and even a paragon, but as a father, he let down his sons on several occasions.

He might smack Dick more than the others, but it's blatantly obvious how much he loves him. Dick was his first boy, his most likely successor and the one who always brought light and laughter to his dark life. We often see a preferential treatment towards Dick. He's his golden boy.

Damian is a close second because he's his biological son, raised in a very harsh manner and the baby of the family who needs more care, guidance, and attention. However, it makes my blood boil whenever Bruce only mentions Damian as his son and not the other boys, like we saw when he met Flashpoint Thomas Wayne. It conveys the idea that blood bonds are more valid than adoption, which is incredibly wrong and cruel.

Tim and Jason are in a complicated position as the middle kids. Tim is a good, dutiful son and sidekick, which sometimes leads to him being overlooked and taken for granted. When Damian died and Bruce tried to dissect Frankenstein, he was stopped by Tim and told him that 'Damian was the only one who deserved better' and 'the only one who was loyal'. That was cruel.

Jason is complicated, brash and bears as much darkness as Bruce. He's the son Bruce failed the most and the adopted son who desperately needed a good father figure after his birth parents treated him so poorly. His death, resurrection, realizing he had been replaced by his father figure with a kid who was the complete opposite of him while his murderer was still alive and killing were all very serious strains on their relationship (plus being blamed for his own death and used as a cautionary tale didn't help either). Another instance where Bruce completely failed as a parent was, again, when was trying to find a way to bring Damian back to life and tricked Jason to go to the warehouse where he was killed in order for him to remember how he was resurrected.

Now, Bruce loves all his boys, I'm sure of it, but he's terrible at showing them how much they mean to him. That's what makes his relationship with them so interesting.

[WontonGirl]

Damian is a close second because he's his biological son, raised in a very harsh manner and the baby of the family who needs more care, guidance, and attention. However, it makes my blood boil whenever Bruce only mentions Damian as his son and not the other boys, like we saw when he met Flashpoint Thomas Wayne. It conveys the idea that blood bonds are more valid than adoption, which is incredibly wrong and cruel.

I could understand why he told Thomas Wayne that he had a grandson, I mean, Damian is his biological child so yes, he would be the one mentioned to Thomas. He shares Thomas' blood and the blood of Thomas' Wayne parent and the blood of Thomas' Wayne grandparent and so on. He shares the blood of all of those Waynes all the way to the first Wayne relative in Scotland. (If that hasn't been changed). So yes, I can completely understand why Bruce would tell Thomas about his blood grandson, another person to carry on the Wayne bloodline.

I don't think it was a slight toward Dick or Jason or Tim.

[Godlike13]

What Dick and Jason have with Bruce is unspoken. Him telling Thomas only about Damian can easily be explained as Bruce not feeling he has the right to claim Dick and Jason as his. Even though he raised Dick, and wanted to raise Jason. Screw that with Tim though. Tim had a father, and his relationship and circumstances with his father factored into many of Tim's stories when he was Robin.

[dietrich]

What Dick and Jason have with Bruce is unspoken. Him telling Thomas only about Damian can easily be explained as Bruce not feeling he has the right to claim Dick and Jason as his. Even though he raised Dick, and wanted to raise Jason. Screw that with Tim though. Tim had a father, and his relationship with his father factored into many of Tim's stories.

Pity poor Jack Drake alive but because his name isn't Bruce Wayne fans ignore his existence.

[Dominick1216]

I tend to view Bruce as the type who does genuinely care about the people in his life (sons, friends, etc...), but because of how messed up he's gotten, he expresses his emotions the wrong way. He has showed care and love for each and one of his sons before in the comics. He can be abusive, but that depends on who is writing his character in the comic or at the time. Some writer portray Bruce differently.