So, here’s sort of a continuation of a previous post I made about Tim and Damian’s first encounter, and Bruce (with Alfred’s help) dealing with the fallout. Since Bruce and Damian were resolving their issues, I wanted to acknowledge a moment when Bruce and Tim did, too.
A little backstory (and some spoilers): After that whole father-son and brother-brother fiasco in the “Batman and Son” story arc, we move on to “Three Ghosts of Batman”. Bruce think he’s hallucinating when three villains, all dressed in twisted Batman costumes, show up at Gotham and commit crimes. As it turns out, they’re actually real police officers selected among the GCPD to be trained as replacements for Batman just in case something were to happen to the real one. This is also connected to an isolation experiment that Bruce underwent some years back, the Black Casebook, etc., etc.
Anyways.
After being brutally beaten up by a Bane-like Batman, Bruce reaches the Manor with the help of a prostitute and passes out. With Alfred and Tim at his bedside, he is woken up by a nightmare involving Damian and three “ghosts”.
“I’ll be careful , Alfred. You know I’m always careful.”
In the next set of panels, perhaps it’s seeing Bruce not being in his element – vulnerable, fearful – that drives Tim to do something unusual – take an uncalculated risk. Despite Bruce’s warning that Tim is basically outclassed, the latter goes after the impostor anyway, while the former passes out.
“Young Master Tim feels he has a lot to prove.”
When Bruce comes to, he realizes that Tim is gone. And, as Alfred points out, the teenager still has feelings carried over from the debacle with Damian. Bruce sets out to find the impostor (and hopefully Tim?) himself, rubbing his own imposing scent all over him (perhaps to instill some sort of primal fear in his enemy?).
So, here we see Tim show a lot of bravado as he faces an enemy who was able to beat the Batman.
“Nice work.”
The same thing almost happens to Tim, but Bruce arrives just in time to rescue him. He then says two words that would mean a lot to any Batkid.
On any given day, Bruce would have chewed Tim (or any of his other children) out for being “irresponsible” or “stupid”. (He hates it when his children take uncalculated risks!) But, this time, he puts Tim’s feelings over his pragmatism, knowing that this son of his doesn’t need a lecture right now, but reassurance that he’s means no less to his father than Damian.
“You don’t have anything to prove to me.”
And, of course, the last panel below – the one that made me write this post in the first place.
Bruce says it so casually, mid-battle, like they didn’t have to sit down and have a long talk in the manor to get it over with. Right there and then, he wants to ease Tim’s mind.
And, Tim responds as if Bruce didn’t just tell him the words he’s probably been longing to hear for a while now. Doesn’t flinch when Bruce says it out loud and out of the blue. As if they’ve been having a telepathic conversation about it the whole time.
No other words need be said. As Bruce has said before, nothing’s changed between them.
Every now and then, Bruce’s children need reassurance from him. They don’t usually ask him for it (and end up doing stuff to get his undivided attention).
And, every now and then, Bruce will notice that need and actually do something about it. But, when he doesn’t, count on good ol’ Alfred to point it out.
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