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Damian Wayne is more than just the current hero to hold the mantle of Batman's sidekick Robin. He's also the flesh-and-blood son of Bruce Wayne - and he'll be the co-star of the upcoming live action film The Brave and the Bold, which will introduce the new DC Studios' version of the Bat-family.
But who is Damian Wayne? Where does he come from? Who's his mom? And what does it mean that Batman's son will soon be coming to movies?
The answers could have big ramifications for the DC Universe in movies, as Damian occupies a very specific place in Batman's world and in the DCU at large. And even though he's a Robin, and a kid, Damian has been both a hero and villain - and he's even fought his own father.
Article continues belowWho is Damian Wayne/Robin?
Co-created by writer Mike Barr and artist Jerry Bingham in 1987's Batman: Son of the Demon, Damian Wayne is the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Batman's arch-enemy Ra's al Ghul. Through the years, Bruce and Talia have shared a few nights of passion in their torrid romance (Batman has a habit of falling for his enemies, it seems), and on one of those occasions, Talia became pregnant, hiding the fact from Batman.
Interestingly enough, this story wasn't considered canon until years later when writer Grant Morrison and artist Andy Kubert brought Damian into their Batman run - more on that momentarily.
For the first few years of his life, Damian was raised among the League of Assassins, molded by his mother and her greatest agents to become the world's most deadly assassin before he was even 10 years old and using secret technology to speed up his physical aging process to make him stronger and faster than other children.
After his training reached a certain point, Talia took Damian to Gotham to meet his father, where he soon became the fifth hero to use the name Robin as his father's sidekick.
However, not long after he became Robin in 2007's Batman #657 by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert, his father was seemingly killed by the villainous Darkseid (it was a bit more complicated than that, but the world believed Batman was dead), leading Dick Grayson to return to Gotham and become the new Batman, with Damian as his Robin in the landmark series Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.
This set the stage for a fun inversion of the usual dynamic between Batman and Robin, with a more lighthearted Batman and a more serious, grim Robin, as Dick Grayson does his best to rein in Damian's deadly assassin training and teach him the non-lethal ways of his father.
When Bruce eventually returned, Dick Grayson went back to being Nightwing, but Damian stayed on as Robin, with Bruce continuing to mentor Damian away from his killer instincts.
Damian Wayne in the DC Universe
Bruce Wayne's return to the role of Batman solidified Damian's place as the Robin of the DC Universe, and with that Damian began branching out. Despite a rocky start with fellow Robin Tim Drake, with whom Damian initially tried to pick a fight, he soon found his spot among the Bat-Family.
Along with forging a quick friendship with Superman's son Jon Kent (who later rapidly aged up to his teenage years, somewhat separating their bond), Damian joined the Teen Titans for a stint before deciding that level of teamwork isn't exactly up his alley.
Returning to Gotham, Damian becomes a solo hero as well as working alongside his father, taking on the League of Assassins. However, Damian finds himself in over his head while fighting the villain Heretic.
In the aftermath, Batman and Talia al Ghul fight over Damian's body, with Talia stealing his remains from their resting spot alongside Bruce's parents. Through the course of Batman and Talia's conflict, Darkseid and the minions of Apokolips become involved, and Damian is resurrected by the power of an artifact called the Chaos Shard.
Though his resurrection initially grants him superpowers including super strength, Damian eventually returns to normal and resumes his life as Robin, leading to his current status quo.
Most recently, Damian Wayne fell under the brainwashing of the villainous Devil Nezha, who pitted him against his own father in the story Batman Vs. Robin, which led right into the current Lazarus Planet crossover in which portions of the DC Universe have been remade by the power of the Lazarus Pit which resurrects Ra's al Ghul.
Damian Wayne in movies
As of DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn's recent announcements, Damian Wayne will make his way to the big screen in the film The Brave and the Bold, which will also introduce the new DCU's version of Batman and the Bat-family.
What's interesting is that a recent follow-up tweet from Gunn showed off some of the comic book stories that are influencing the films which are currently in development - including Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's Batman run, which is where Damian first became Robin and was even shown as eventually becoming Batman in the future, in his adulthood.
Could this mean that things won't quite look like we've seen before with Batman in the new DCU?
We can't help but ask the question whether Damian may find himself working alongside not Bruce Wayne as Batman, but Dick Grayson, as he did while Bruce Wayne was presumed dead - and yeah, that means we're also wondering if Gunn's Batman story will go all the way to taking Bruce Wayne out of the picture and replacing him with Dick Grayson.
Time will tell, but one thing is for sure: Damian Wayne is unlike any other Robin we've seen in live action.
See where Damian Wayne ranks on our list of the best Robins of all time.
