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Batman & Son Part 2: 'Wonderboys'
The title is a play on the nickname for Robin of ‘the boy wonder’, pluralised here as we get two Robins in this story.
This fairly pedestrian issue serves primarily to introduce us to the personality of Damian, Batman’s newly revealed son. He first challenges Batman to a fight, brushes off Tim Drake (the current Robin) when introduced, and acts the spoilt brat with Alfred. When Batman is called out into Gotham’s sewers to deal with a kidnapping situation orchestrated by The Spook, Damian breaks out of Wayne Manor to ‘help’ and beheads the villain. Upon returning to the Batcave he confronts and beats up Robin, before meeting his father on a rooftop and declaring himself the new Robin.
Page 1
Panel 3 - With his bat wing shaped eyebrows, Damian seems destined for the Wayne family.
Page 2 & 3
The Batcave. Most artists with a run on Batman get to their Batcave shot. Everyone seems to give it a different look and layout, but there are usually some consistent elements such as we see here; a bat-plane, a bat-boat, and trophies from Batman’s past adventures. Given the premise of Morrison’s story is that all past continuity is canon, it’s no surprise we get some of these souvenirs:
- The giant dinosaur is an animatronic construct originally from ‘Dinosaur Island’, a theme park, and first appeared in Batman #25 (1946). It often ‘comes alive’ to fight off intruders to the Batcave,
- Despite coins being usually associated withe long-standing villain Two-Face, the giant penny in the Batcave is actually a memento from Batman’s encounter with the Penny Plunderer in World’s Finest Comics #30 (1947).
- The huge joker playing card is, unsurprisingly, a souvenir from Batman’s run-ins with arch-nemesis the Joker. It originally appeared hung on the Joker’s wall in Detective Comics #114 (1946), in a bizarre story that revolves around acrostic poems (no, really!)
- In the glass displays are costumes from two other members of Batman’s history - Mr Freeze’s helmet and, what looks like, the outfit of either the Roman themed Batman ally the Legionary (who is reintroduced in a few issues time) or Maxie Zeus the Greek mythology obsessed supervillain.
Page 6
Panel 1 - Our and Damian’s introduction to Tim Drake, the third character to take on the Robin moniker and role as Batman’s sidekick/protégé, he first appeared in 1989’s Batman #436. Drake actually worked out the true identities of Batman and Robin (Dick Grayson at the time), and was eventually picked to become Robin after the death of Jason Todd (the second Robin). More of a detective than previous Robins, he’s an obvious choice to help introduce Damian, as their personalities are almost complete opposites. It’s not long before Morrison moves Drake out of the larger story, so the spotlight can remain on Damian, however he plays a significant role in looking for Bruce Wayne after his ‘death’ - though mostly in other non-Morrison written Batman related comics.
Page 8
Panel 4 - These fancy alternative Batman costumes appear to be based on action figures - possibly from the Batman: The Animated Series line - however, despite trawling the internet I’ve been unable to definitively tie them to specific figures. Anyone who can - let me know!
Page 9
Panel 1 - “What about us?” Tim’s concern about Batman’s apparently new-found son is particularly acute because he had just been legally adopted by Bruce in Batman #654, the last issue before Morrison took over.
Page 11
Panels 3 &4 - Damian’s brattish tempter tantrum is only ended when Batman expresses anger, authority, and the codes of the martial arts. This works because that is how Damian has been raised, and is what he’s used to. However, throughout Morrison’s run Damian only begins to grow as a character and leave his horrific upbringing behind him when Batman, and the Bat-Family, being to treat him differently and show him there is an alternative to the way he was raised.
Page 12
Panel 1 - The Spook - real name Val Kaliban - is a minor, rarely seen, Batman villain who made his first appearance in Detective Comics #434 (1974). A world-class escape artist who uses those skills, along with a combination of special effects, to portray himself as a real ghost to commit crimes - predominately breaking other criminals out of prison via the underground network of tunnels that feature in this issue. Having only made half a dozen appearances since the 70s, he’s another example of Morrison digging deep into Batman’s past.
Panel 2 - “Over my dead body, Mister Mayor!” The Spook foreshadowing his own death a couple of pages later. At the time of writing he remains dead, and with his bit-part history one suspects this may will be the last we see of him.
Page 15
Panel 4 & 6 - Damian escapes the Batcave by deducing the key code from Alfred’s fingerprints, and then mimicking Tim perfectly to override the voice activated locks. We're being shown that behind the immature exterior, Damian does possess skills well beyond his years.
Page 16
Panel 6 - Confusingly, Damian now suggests he escaped his room by killing Alfred and taking the key. Alfred is later revealed to be fine, so how he got the key and how he really escaped is left unexplained.
Page 18
Panel 1 - More mementos in the Batcave. On the left is the Robin outfit worn by Jason Todd, the second Robin who was murdered by the Joker. Next to it is the proto-Batman costume worn by Bruce’s father to a fancy dress party in Detective Comics #235 (as discussed here), and soon to be worn by Dr Hurt in Batman R.I.P.
Page 21
Panel 5 - ‘There’s a new Robin now’. Not only does this panel herald Damian as the new Robin, but Tim’s removal from the role and adoption of the Red Robin moniker after Batman’s disappearance. More tragically, in taking Jason Todd’s costume, Damian has damned himself to the same fate as it's previous wearer - death.
