Damian: Son of Batman Review

“The Batman lineage is a proud and honourable one that must be upheld. A link that cannot be broken, Fate, not chance has brought this moment to you. You must take your place… as the next Batman.” – Ra’s al Ghul

Damian Wayne, the son of Batman, has adopted the cape and cowl as his own… but what horrific events set this troubled hero on the path of his dark destiny? It’s a possible future that may never be in this epic written and drawn by Andy Kubert. Plus, in a tale written by Grant Morrison, Damian Wayne is the Batman of tomorrow in a story set 15 years from now in a nightmarish future Gotham City. This graphic novel is a collection of Damian: Son of Batman #1-4 and Batman #666.

This is the latest Batman-related graphic novel from DC Entertainment, which has been a banner year for Batman as the iconic hero celebrates his 75th anniversary in style with several different runs in comics, being part of many DC Universe related storylines, and having his own tour at the Warner Bros. studios. This latest release is a very Damian Wayne centred story, so should you be running to your local comic book store to get your hands on this collection?

Let’s take a look at the future of the cowl and the newest graphic novel in the Batman franchise. Is this something to embark upon and add to the pantheon of legendary graphic novels that DC Entertainment has produced in the Batman franchise? The simplest answer I can give being a life long Bat fan is that this is something you should really read, but it doesn’t necessarily live up to the lofty heights of some of the all-star entries like The Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns and Long Halloween.

This story follows the journey of Damian Wayne; Batman and Bruce here are really just background, and serve mostly as mentor in the beginning and then eventually as the ideal kind of crime fighter that Damian is trying to be. Damian is a completely different animal than his father that’s for sure, and it’s blatantly true across this whole book. This is fantastic though because it’s not following the same line of just Bruce simply giving up the cape and cowl to Damian and he follows in his footsteps. In this case, Damian is the mirror opposite of his father. Where Bruce would have apprehended criminals like Mr. Freeze, The Joker and other villains, Damian takes the complete opposite road and kills them. Damian sees everything a much different way; instead of the villains of Gotham being put in a place like Arkham where they can either escape or be let out due to some ridiculous circumstance, killing them ends all trivial matters there and then.

Damian really brings a lot of finality to crime in Gotham. Realistically, knowing that they are likely to get murdered for committing a crime, the criminals of Gotham get more violent and respond in kind to Damian’s brutal methods. However, going back to the beginning of this graphic novel, it’s very cool to see the plot device used to pull Damian deeper into the Batman world where he is essentially forced to put on the cape and cowl, instead of it being handed to him. Not only that, but before he goes to the lengths to put on the cape, he takes measures to consult with his mother and grandfather about the right or wrong decision to do so. I wouldn’t want to ruin any more plot points about any of that but suffice it to say there are some very, very well written scenes that really show us all what Damian Wayne is made of, and which side of the family he takes after more, his father or his mother.

The storytelling in this book is well written as it should be since the always great Andy Kubert and the legendary Grant Morrison are on board. If there are two writers out there who are the best suited to tell a great Batman tale, it’s these two. Morrison’s work on any of his Dark Knight,/i> projects have been fantastic; they have taken Batman to new levels and kept him very relevant in the 21st century, while also keeping him one of the most popular characters in comics today.

The artwork is, as expected, excellent as always. Lines and colours are very well done, as should be expected from one of the big two comic producers, and the artwork really pops off the page. The fight scenes are very well drawn and you really feel the viciousness of some of Damian’s fights where he is really up against the wall in terms of scale of people that he is fighting at once, and you can easily keep track of who is who. Nothing just fades off into the background and everything in the scene is there for a reason.

While the scale and the stakes are high throughout, it doesn’t really stand up to the classic Batman tales that have graced graphic novel pages over the years. I understand that this is more about Damian’s journey in a possible future where he may wear the cape and cowl and seeing the lengths he is willing to take to preserve his fathers legacy, but something is lacking. His story is well done, but in the past Batman has tangled with the likes of Joker, Riddler, Ra’s al Ghul, Scarecrow, and Bane; these villains really put Batman through the paces and really elevated him to where he is today. In Damian’s story, the city is not truly in danger and the overall threat is low in comparison, though it does set things up for the future in a pretty surprising way at the end of the book. There isn’t that ‘big villain’ that is ever-present on Damian’s mind and there is no pressure mounting that’ll conclude with him taking on someone of Joker’s caliber.

I know it’s unfair of me to be comparing Damian: Son of Batman to some of the must own Batman titles, but when you read a Batman related graphic novel, how can you not? The bar was set extremely high by those early writers, and it’s easy to say that those high standards have been one of the contributing factors to why the Batman franchise has been so good over the years, and why so many readers have it on their must-read list.

When it all comes down to it, Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert have once again delivered another great entry. While it may not be granted entry into the pantheon with the other legendary graphic novels sporting the Batman name, it is still an excellent story. If you are a fan of Damian Wayne, Robin, Batman, or just excellent storytelling, this is a book for you to enjoy.