Depending on what Batman media a person consumes, they'll either know Batman as a loner or as the patriarch of a vast found family. His relationship with his biological son Damian shows off both sides of his personality, as he tries to be a good father while not knowing quite what that should mean.
The DC Animated Universe committed to presenting this arc through their films, including Son of Batman, Batman vs. Robin, Batman: Bad Blood, Justice League vs. Teen Titans, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, The Death of Superman, Batman: Hush, and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. Across these eight films, the father and son learned to bond in their own way, while also finding room to grow as heroes from each other's teachings.
Their Introduction To Each Other
Damian: “This Isn’t Necessary. I Do Fine By Myself.” Bruce: “So Do I. But Things Have Changed.”
introduces Damian Wayne, detailing his complicated family background and his training as both the grandson of Ra's al Ghul and the son of Batman. While he is proud of his lineage from both sides, he doesn't see Batman as someone he can learn anything from.
Batman himself is at a point in his life where he is isolating himself from others. While Nightwing is shown, Jason Todd and Tim Drake are never mentioned, and Bruce is inflexible in his approach to crime-fighting. Altogether, neither was prepared for the other to have a place in their lives.
Bruce Claiming Damian
“Damian Should Stay With Me. … He’s Robin Now. He Stays With The Batman.”
By the end of Son of Batman, Bruce and Damian are beginning to establish a relationship with one another. Damian has become Robin, but they have only worked on one mission with each other. There is a long way to go before they have a strong relationship, but it's clear that both want one and are trying to figure out how to make it happen.
Damian ends up playing a pretty significant role in some of the best Justice League animated movies, all because Bruce and Damian took a chance on each other as partners.
Struggling To Trust Each Other
Damian: “You’ve Never Trusted Me.” Bruce: “Trust Has To Be Earned, Damian.” Damian: “That Works Both Ways.”
Although they took the first step toward establishing a relationship with each other in Son of Batman, it's clear that there is a long way to go in Batman vs Robin.
The film is all about them learning to work together and trust each other, which are limited both by Damian's refusal to follow orders and Bruce's refusal to trust his son. Bruce keeps Damian under surveillance and tries to force his moral code on his protege, which prompts Damian to look for mentorship elsewhere.
Rejecting Their Relationship
Bruce: “Despite What You May Think, Damian, I’m Your Father, Not Your Jailor.” Damian: “A Biological Accident Doesn’t Make You My Father, And It Sure As Hell Doesn’t Make Me Your Son!”
Just because Damian and Bruce have found a way to work together as Batman and Robin doesn't mean that the teenage superhero has fully accepted Bruce's role as his father. Damian was raised as the heir to the League of Assassins and learned that family is bound by fierce loyalty and tough love.
He doesn't have that foundation with Bruce, so while he respects Batman as a hero, he doesn't see the Bruce Wayne side of his father as necessary. No matter what Bruce tries to do to reach him on a personal level, Damian doesn't have a civilian identity to connect with. He was raised as an assassin, and at this point in his life, that's all he knows how to be.
Avenging The Manipulation Of Damian
“You And The Court Tried To Take Control Of My City And Destroy My Home, But Worst Of All You Messed With My Kid! So This Is Gonna Hurt, And I’m Gonna Enjoy It.”
If there's one thing Bruce does know how to do, it's fight those who are threatening what he cares for. Talon manipulated Damian, turned him against his father, and eventually threatened his life. Those aren't crimes that will be easily forgiven.
Though the key moral message Bruce is trying to get through to Damian in this film is that they fight for justice, Bruce's dark side comes out when Damian is in danger. This vengeful side of Bruce is something that Damian understands, and it provides a good foundation for them to build off of.
Damian Claiming Bruce
“You Could Never Replace Batman. He’s My Father.”
Throughout Son of Batman, audiences see Bruce struggling to accept his son, who is so affected by his upbringing that he is difficult to connect with and train. Batman vs Robin is the point where Damian gets the chance to do the same, choosing his father over other potential mentor figures.
Damian becomes a representation of the struggle between fighting to protect others and fighting to hurt those who have done harm. By choosing Batman over Talon, Damian begins his own journey toward becoming a hero.
Damian Struggling To Figure Out Who He Is
“You, Talia, Ra’s, You’re All In Here. But Where Am I? How Can I Ever Be The Son You Need Me To Be When I Don’t Even Know Who I Am?”
The battle for Damian's morality and identity isn't determined by one fight, and Damian needs the opportunity to have time to himself in order to choose his own path. Damian often struggles in the comics to determine his own identity, stuck in a mental tug-of-war between his parents.
In the movies, he takes on the role of Robin, but he is also positioned as the natural successor to the Batman mantle, a role he has taken on in the comics. Leaving both his parents gives him the chance to figure out what he really believes and become his own person.
Taking On His Father's Mantra
“Justice. Not Vengeance.”
Batman: Bad Blood begins with the disappearance of Batman, and looks at what his legacy becomes through the responses of Dick Grayson, Kate Kane, and Damian Wayne.
During a fight where the fledgling Batfamily struggles to determine how far to go, Damian uses the catchphrase his father ingrained in him in Batman vs Robin to maintain Bruce's morality, despite the harsh betrayals they face.
Breaking Darkseid's Control
"Go To Hell"
Following Batman: Bad Blood, Damian spends several years with the Teen Titans before Darkseid takes over the world and mind-controls Batman in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. After losing both his found families, Damian reverts to his original training and becomes the head of the League of Assassins.
But when Raven comes to him with a plan to save the world, he begrudgingly goes along, going head to head with his brainwashed father. The moment that changes the tides in the battle and winds up saving the world comes when Damian stops fighting and trusts that his father won't kill him, a trust which is validated by Batman breaking from his programming and turning on Darkseid.
Damian Fully Embracing His Father And His Ideals
“Dad. I Know I Wasn’t The Ideal Son, But You Took Me In And Welcomed Me. You Taught Me A Better Way. And I Thank You For That. , Father. Justice, Not Vengeance.”
After Damian breaks Bruce from Darkseid's control, he saves his father by jumping in front of Darkseid's Omega Beams. In what seems to be his last words, he thanks Bruce for caring for him and teaching him how to be a hero.
Then he reminds his father of his mantra, advising him not to let his death change Batman's moral code. Audiences see how far the two have come from their first encounter, with Damian preaching peace and Batman ready to break his one rule to avenge his son. Damian does get saved, and the world gets put back to right, but this film shows all of the good that Damian and Bruce did for each other by committing themselves to love and learn from one another.
