At a Batfamily reunion in Wayne Manor…
Jason [to the other Batkids]: We’ll have two parties. A fun party down here with us, then an awkward, uncomfortable one in the living room with Bruce. He doesn’t even have to know about it. Separate parties.
Jason: Separate but equal.
Jason: Forget I said that phrase.
The Batkids are preparing a surprise birthday party for Bruce…
Dick: Okay, we don’t have much time. Bruce is in the bathroom and we all know how efficient he is in there.
Bruce [to the rest of the Batfamily]: You couldn’t handle my undivided attention.
*The search for the trident of Poseidon* Oh, it’s with Arthur Curry.
*Henry Turner shows up* Ooooh… More like, Dick Grayson…
*Henry says he wants to save his dad* Oh, Bruce must be stuck in some alternate dimension again and Dick’s doing his best to find him. Such a persistent son.
*Jack Sparrow gets into trouble* If Jack were a Batboy, he’d definitely be Jason Todd.
*Henry and Corina (?) banter* She’s kind of like Babs: relies a lot on logic and science… Dick’s more likely to believe in the supernatural…
*Henry meets Jack* Oh, oh! Nightwing and Red Hood team-up pirate AU!
I’m posting this halfway into the movie.
So, yeah… I may sort of kind of maybe have a DC/Batfamily, er, fixation.
In hopes of putting my neurotic tendencies to good use, I’ve been checking out a lot of these DC “chronology” websites (and I’m amazed at the hard work other fans have put into setting them up). I mean, we, the fandom, are intimately familiar with the bittersweet chaos we call “continuity”, and though some of us can look past the inconsistencies, a number of us do frustratingly enjoy nitpicking and trying to put two-and-two together (Guess which group I fall into?)
As a rational human being, I’ve accepted that I don’t have the time or luxury to read every issue DC has to offer (since it began way back when my grandparents were just born), I’ll just have to settle with bits and pieces of the Golden to Bronze ages (and out-of-continuity stuff and alternate universes), while I sink my teeth into the mainstream Modern Age (which I’ve been doing for a while now).
I’m pretty much in love with the Batman family (as love for fictional characters go), so I’ve actually been mapping out the histories of the main members for a while now (and hope to share them with the rest of the world someday).
I guess it all boils down to context for me. The characters become more real, more engaging, when you feel like you’re sharing their history with them. And the one responsible for painstakingly (I’m sure!) creating the website posted above explains all that pretty well, I think.
Introduction | The Unauthorized Chronology of the DC Universe
My dream Batman canon issue: ALL the four Batboys (Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian) and Cass coming out of their respective bedrooms at the Manor in their sleep civvies, woken by the scent of Alfred’s cooking; each getting to the kitchen in his/her own Extra way, playfully but competitively shoving each other out of the way; Tim breaking off from the chaos to open the door, high-fiving/fist-bumping Duke and Luke as they file in; Babs arriving two minutes later, on the phone with Steph, telling the latter to come ASAP (breakfast is almost served); Kate coming in much later, amused by the loud morning chatter, nodding at Bruce, who’s seated at a kitchen stool, patting Titus on the head while Alfred the cat purrs on his lap.
I dunno. Something incredibly MUNDANE like this when Tim comes back. We already had Batburger, and that was lovely. Just… It would be great if they were ALL there.
So, although this was originally meant to discuss a moment in Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake’s relationship, I couldn’t help but include Damian Wayne along the way because, as you’ll see, the drama unfolds because of his presence in the first place.
** Issues:
Batman #655 – 658 **
A little backstory (and some spoilers): Tim, as Robin, decides to spend some time on his own in the mountains. Bruce realizes that he, too, needs a vacation, and attends a fundraiser in London. Unbeknownst to him, Talia al Ghul has been observing him with a 10-year-old Damian by her side. With an army of Man-Bats, she attacks the party and subdues Bruce (as Batman). She explains to him that, with the death of her father Ra’s, she has taken over the family business. She reminds him of their passionate night together (though, in Bruce’s version, he was drugged and raped). After introducing him to their son, she leaves the boy for him to look after.
Bruce and Alfred make an effort to make Damian feel at home, with Bruce even offering to train him to fight crime. Damian, in turn, is incredibly rude and unappreciative, and even has a physical altercation with his father.
To say that Damian is rough around the edges is an understatement. If this is the only version of him you’ve read so far, you probably dislike him a great deal. His egotism is at its rawest, and not just a now-amusing quirk. He’s a far cry from the Robin-turned-Teen-Titans-leader-and-best-bud-of-Jon-Kent Damian we find adorable today because Grant Morrison’s is the one who’s fresh out of the League of Assassins, a trained killer who didn’t know better than survival through dominion, born and raised to serve the selfish purposes of his grandfather and his mother.
This is a Damian who hasn’t experienced the unconditional love of Bruce or Alfred yet, or been in the company of other young people who have overcome tragedy with the help of family and friends. He is self-entitled, cultured, and convinced that appreciation is a reward that always has to be earned the hard way.
Now, the Tim we meet in these pages has been in Robin’s shoes for a while now. Adopted and raised with love and structure within the Manor walls. More or less secure in his standing with the Bat Family.
So, when the two meet for the first time, we see the contrast in their upbringing. Tim greets him casually, with a little humor, while Damian is automatically defensive (and offensive).
Tim has rightfully earned the title of “world’s second greatest detective” because he usually doesn’t take anyone’s word for anything without enough evidence. Here, we see him question Bruce’s paternity of Damian. Now, whether it’s due to his investigative nature or to insecurity (now that a “blood son” is in the picture) is worth pondering.
(Also, Alfred’s sarcasm aside in the first panel below, Bruce definitely had his moments growing up!)
In the next set of panels, I appreciate how Bruce maintains his fatherhood to both of them. Firstly, he reassures Tim that the presence of a biological son doesn’t make him any less of a son to Bruce. And, secondly, he tries to let Tim understand where Damian is coming from since Tim is clearly upset that Damian, for all his impertinence and impetuousness, seems to get a free pass from Bruce.
I mean, if this isn’t your typical brotherly-jealousy-and-rivarly-for-father’s-approval kind of thing…?
In the next set of panels, while Bruce is away on a case, we see Tim doing his best to take the high road – giving Damian the benefit of the doubt, exercising restraint (which he probably picked up from years working with Bruce). He even reminds Damian of what an honor it is to be Bruce’s son.
We also see behavior that’s become classic Damian by now: trying to prove to his brothers that he’s superior to them. But, remember, this was back in the day when his tantrums were lethal. Tim is inviting him to spar (a traditional Bat Family bonding activity) and he takes it as a challenge.
Leaving Tim for dead, Damian catches up to his father who’s on patrol…
(So, yeah, if you think Damian’s vicious today, he sure wasn’t playin’ any games back then.)
Then, back at the Cave, Bruce makes a gruesome discovery…
And, this is how Damian justifies it.
(How incredibly unfortunate that a 10-year-old boy should live life with such heartlessness, that his own flesh and blood raised him to!)
Alfred, freed by Bruce from the room Damian had locked him in, stabilizes a seriously injured Tim in the Cave.
Meanwhile, in order to prevent Damian from doing further damage, Bruce begrudgingly brings him along as he goes off to face Talia.
In the next set of panels, we see Damian’s vulnerable side, the one craving for his father’s approval. He’s clearly misguided in how he tries to obtain it. At the very least, Bruce has earned his son’s respect, even if it’s not quite out of love just yet. (Plus, we get a glimpse of the unwavering loyalty that makes Damian who he is.)
This is a very important story arc to me because, aside from getting context for Tim and Damian’s rivalry, we also see Bruce’s paternal instincts kick in for his two youngest boys.
Firstly, he makes it clear to Damian that, regardless of what he thinks he’s achieved (by fatally stopping a criminal like Spook and defeating Tim), he went about it the wrong way.
His brand of love entails calling out his children when they mess up so that they understand the consequences of their actions.
Secondly, with everything Damian’s done, Bruce could have given up on him and sent him back to the League (or to a boarding school or whatever), but he chose to keep him under his wing. Gave him a second chance to redeem himself, knowing that upbringing was not his son’s fault. (Besides, there is no way that Bruce is sending any of his children back to the people who did them harm in the first place.)
Last, but not the least, he treats Tim and Damian fairly, in my opinion. He tries to let the other see the other’s point of view, trying to dispel their ill feelings towards each other, even if one seems “more right” than the other.
Bruce (with Alfred’s help) really has his work cut out for him, raising vigilante sons and daughters. I mean, can you just imagine?
Dick is the son who likes to (dramatically) talk it out with him (and hopefully hug it out after)…
Jason, the one who would rather steer clear of him to avoid a fist fight or any form of parenting from him…
Tim, the one who drowns himself in work (perhaps to collect enough evidence to prove his point)…
Damian, the one who makes snarky comments and spiteful comebacks, but ends up doing what his father says anyway.
*shrugs* Probably.
When I first came across this issue, it was in one of those “sale” shelves. Apart from Batman himself, I wasn’t as intimitately familiar with the rest of the Batfamily just yet. The cover intrigued me, though, and a few pages in, I was sold.
In hindsight, it was ridiculously cheap for such a gem (plus, in fairly good condition)! It’s one of the first single issues I’ve ever bought, and one of the first to solidify my growing addiction to moments of Batfamily angst.
So, I guess the cover can clue you in about what this issue might be about, but here’s a little backstory (and some spoilers):
Outsiders #1 is set a while after the Titans parted ways following the loss of Lilith and Donna Troy (Wonder Girl). Roy Harper (Arsenal) approaches Dick Grayson (Nightwing) about forming a new team of superheroes. Dick, still brooding over their loss, is uninterested. It’s clear that he isn’t ready for the emotional burden of leading a team, then putting their lives at risk again.
Roy reminds him why they formed the Teen Titans in the first place (to be heroes in their own right, and not just sidekicks), and that this time around, they didn’t have to be as emotionally invested as they used to be. They didn’t have to be a “family” like the Titans were, just a team.
Reluctant but convinced, Dick eventually becomes their leader.
Note: Now, if the “Outsiders” sound familiar to you, remember that Batman led his own version of the team?
Anyways…
In the previous issue, Outsiders #20 (2005), following Metallo’s attack on the Outsiders’ headquarters, Indigo makes an incidental finding in the wreckage: the high-tech cables hidden in the building walls aren’t supplied by Optitron (the corporation they believe to be financing their vigilante operation), but by one with much deeper pockets…
Now, onto the current issue again (and a little more backstory):
Optitron, which was once merely a syndicated cable company, eventually acquires three of the largest cable companies in the world. As a way of giving back to the people for its immense success, the corporation becomes involved in global philanthropy. To step it up a notch, it funds a crime-fighting unit of superheroes (yes, the Outsiders).
Cue dramatic suspenseful music: *DUN-DUN-DUN DUUUUUUNNNN*
And, by “this”, it’s safe to assume that he means Bruce – to put it lightly – interferes. Ask any member of the Justice League – he’s notoriously controlling!
Now, you’d think that Dick would be more grateful, right? While other vigilantes conduct their operations in cramped hole-in-the-walls, worrying about their day jobs to carry on their night ones, he and his teammates are gettin’ paid.
But, this is a father-and-son, not benefactor-and-beneficiary, kind of issue. It has nothing to do with money. As it usually is between Bruce and Dick, it’s a matter of principle.
So, brace yourself for some DramaTM, Wayne Manor style…
So, here’s Dick, dropping some heavy truth bombs…
Part of Bruce’s parenting style is to absorb his children’s rage (over him, over anything), then channel it into a teaching moment (eventually). As long as they’re not in the middle of a life-threatening scenario, he’ll hear them out.
He’ll let them say what they want to say, how they want to say it.
Then, he’ll seem detached and uncaring. But, see, he’s not exactly Mr. Heart-on-His-Sleeve. When you’ve become as hardened by years of pain and loss such as him, it becomes a habit to tuck any semblance of vulnerability away.
It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his children – he clearly does,1000% yes – but sometimes silence is all he has to offer. A moment to listen. A mind that isn’t racing towards the next case. Because he knows that there are problems a utility belt just can’t solve. (Plus, he’s not always the best at words when emotions are concerned.)
He has his moments when he’ll let his guard down, too. When he’ll act like their father-father, not just their mentor-father. A tight hug. An affectionate hair tousle. Forgoing patrol to watch a movie (*cough* Jason *cough*). The little things. Rare, perhaps, but they do happen.
But, yeah, then there’s moments like this, too (where we’re extra thankful that Alfred’s around):
Anytime Bruce keeps something from him, Dick gets hurt. Because he’s always thought highly of Bruce and the bond that they share is sacred to him.
Now, keep in mind that part of why Dick became Nightwing was to shed his sidekick persona. Much of his adult life has been spent trying to step out of Bruce’s shadow and become his own kind of superhero.
So, understandably, he feels betrayed. In his mind, Bruce lied to him and is still closely keeping tabs on his endeavors.
(That act of “omission” on Bruce’s part? I guess we can chalk it up to his habit of not-needing-to-explain-himself.)
For some reason, the next set of panels reminds me of that episode from the first season of Young Justice in which Bruce requests a private meeting with Kaldur’ahm (Aqualad) in which even Dick (then Robin) isn’t invited. Dick gets jealous and takes it out on the (concrete?) gym wall. By the end of the episode, Bruce makes it up to him by challenging him to a one-on-one basketball match – undivided attention! – which Dick gladly accepts.
Bruce’s opinions matter very much to Dick, whether the latter agrees with them or not. In both instances (Young Justice and this issue), he’s expressing his insecurity (though, he seems to be denying it in the fourth panel). Where does he stand with Bruce? (A question which every Batfamily member has probably asked at least once in his or her life.)
Bruce. Ever the pragmatist. Always punishing himself with reminders of his failures, of people he wasn’t able to save.
And, Dick, ever the optimist. Always trying to give others the benefit of the doubt.
For the purpose of closure: At the end of the issue, we find out that it wasn’t actually Bruce who’s been giving Roy intel all this time, but Slade Wilson disguised as Batman.
Bruce and Dick… they’ll have these fits of rage, then calm down as if nothing happened. Neither needs to say “It was my fault” or “I love you” or whatever. It’s all just kind of understood somehow.
Like, you know, a family.
So, just a disclaimer, Jason Todd isn’t actually in the issue, but it does revolve around him. He hasn’t come back as Red Hood just yet.
Let’s just say that it’s reminiscent of the period immediately after his death when Bruce Wayne was noticeably more broody and brutal in his anti-crime spree than usual. Back then, the Bat Family was only composed of Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, and a persistent young Tim Drake “auditioning” for a membership. This time around, their family has grown somewhat, and includes Cassandra Cain as Batgirl and Stephanie Brown as Spoiler.
Backstory (spoilers ahead): A new drug called G.H.D. is circulating the Gotham streets, killing some citizens, including a young female. Batman tracks down the supplier and throws him through a window several stories off the ground. Batgirl swoops in to catch the man, and Batman gets more information out of him through what his does best – instilling fear.
After the bust, Cass calls Bruce out on his… unusual behavior.
That look on Bruce’s face in the third panel below… You just know that he can’t argue with her observation.
That cool detachment Bruce has? That wall he built around himself? All of it is meant to keep his mission from being compromised. His mission to protect his family, his friends, innocent lives. That’s the form of affection he’s developed over years of trauma and obsessive discipline to equip himself for this mission.
So, if he tries to shut down Steph’s aspiration to be a vigilante? It’s personal. If he tries to keep a brash young lady from jumping headfirst into the field without a parachute – the same way a fifteen-year-old boy once did? It’s personal. And, if you think he’s an unreasonable grumpy old man for doing it, he won’t fault you for begrudging him. (He’ll care, sure, but he won’t show it.)
This issue is actually entitled “Scarification”, and it seems that the next set of panels explains why. It’s probably this day, out of all the days in the year, that reminds him why his scars matter. Why everything seems to matter more.
I love how much the Batkids understand Bruce. Even if they know that it’s, more often than not, futile to appeal to him on an emotional level, they’ll keep trying anyway, knowing that he secretly needs them.
Bruce harasses one more criminal before the set of panels below. He finally tracks down the supplier and makes him choose between taking his own lethal drug or jail time. (Guess which one he picks?)
It’s these last two scenes that gives the story its story. Bruce always has difficulty with expressing emotion, so it shouldn’t surprise us that sometimes it comes out as aggression.
On the day that reminds him of the son he lost to the thing they do, with another teenager wanting to be part of it all… must be extra hard, huh?
This was a simple, but sweet tribute to Jason. A reminder that Bruce loved loves him and knew him well. That in his memory, Bruce is trying to keep from making the same mistakes.
(And, it was bittersweet how Cass “met” Jason for the first time like that… It gets better in the New 52′s Batman and Robin Eternal, though!)
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