Warning! Spoilers ahead for Robin #13
DC's Shadow War continues in the latest issue of Batman has in recent years. While Slade Wilson might have lost his son Grant, a new son with a complex origin has surprisingly come into his life at the dawn of Shadow War. However, even though Slade has been framed for the murder of a major DC villain, he's still being a better dad to Respawn when compared to Batman and his strained relationship with his own son Damian, the current Robin.
In previous issues of Shadow War which ties together Batman, Robin, and Deathstroke Inc., Ra's al Ghul was killed by someone dressed as Deathstroke, seemingly with the intent to frame the new King of the Supervillains. The ploy certainly worked seeing as how it kickstarted a war between al Ghul's vengeful daughter Talia leading the League of Assassins against Slade's army of supercriminals. While Deathstroke and his son Respawn have gone into hiding, Robin #13 from Joshua Williamson and Roger Cruz features Damian tracking the duo down with help from Slade's daughter Ravager.
Prior to Batman's intervention between Deathstroke and Damian who intended to kill the mercenary, Slade revealed the truth about Respawn to Robin, confirming that he's the secret son of Deathstroke and Damian's mother Talia (making him Robin's half-brother). Knowing that Damian has been absent from Gotham for quite some time following the death of Alfred, Slade confirms that he's taken Respawn under his wing as his son, something that Batman has failed to adequately do for Damian in recent comics from DC. Caught up in his own grief, Batman neglected to care for and Robin who was grappling with a lot of trauma and darkness (leading to their massive feud and falling out a few years ago).
Seen in this issue as well as in the previous chapter of Shadow War (Deathstoke Inc. #8), Slade seems to have a genuine interest in ing and training his new son, making up for the one he lost. In his own twisted way, Deathstroke takes the time to bond with Respawn by showing him his skills with various weapons as well as playing cards while they evade Talia's league in a secret safe house. In contrast, Batman has been a terrible father, having only just begun the path of repairing the damage done to his relationship with Damian.
While it's only been a few days, Deathstroke has displayed the kind of fathering to Respawn that Robin has wanted to see from Batman for years. Even though Bruce Wayne is an obviously complex individual, he should be able to display more emotion and as a dad than someone like Slade Wilson. Here's hoping his attempts to reconcile with Robin are a success as DC's Shadow War continues.
