If you’re a fan of the Batman universe, you’ll know that Bruce Wayne has had many Robins by his side. From the flying Dick Grayson to the impulsive Stephanie Brown, we have seen plenty of red and green-cladded heroes standing side-by-side with our favorite Bat. However, the most recent Robin is one who we simply cannot ignore.
Damian Wayne, the youngest member of the Bat Family and son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, may not be a familiar name to you unless you’re a DC Comic or animated movie fan. Unfortunately, he has yet to make a television debut, and the likelihood of him making an appearance in Ben Affleck’s Batman before Dick Grayson’s Robin is pretty slim, but one can hope.
This young detective has taken his position by force and wears his yellow "R" insignia with pride, choosing to follow the ways of the Bat rather than the ways of his grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul.
From his resurgence in The New 52 to his latest antics in the Teen Titans and the Super Sons, Damian has been trying to make a name for himself as a Wayne and as the newest Robin. With that said, here are the 16 Things You Didn’t Know About Damian Wayne.
16. In The Injustice Timeline He Kills Dick Grayson
Out of all the in the Bat Family, Dick Grayson was the one that Damian grew the closest to, so many hearts were broken when Damian killed him.
This moment took place during a prison break. Damian was hell bent on letting all the inmates die, and fully believed they deserved it. However, Dick believed otherwise. Because of their disagreements, Damian grew frustrated and threw his kai stick at Dick’s head the way he did during their sparring practices. However, instead of dodging, Dick was hit by the kai stick, which knocked him out. His neck then slammed against a rock, which killed him instantly.
It was an accident, but this accident was spurred from a darkness that Damian was trying to overcome. Injustice is the right name for this series, because it did an injustice to Damian’s character. He has worked so hard to strip himself of his homicidal tendencies, to learn empathy in The New 52, and all that work was thrown away instantly.
15. He Was Introduced Canonically To The DC Universe In 1996
Prior to appearing as Damian Wayne, he was first introduced into the DC Universe in the 1996 comics Kingdom Come as Ibn al Xu'ffasch, “Son of the Bat.” In this timeline, Ibn was raised by his grandfather Ra’s al Ghul to be the heir to the League of Assassins kingdom.
However, Ibn wasn’t about that life, so he murdered his grandfather, slicing off his head (to prevent him from regenerating) and left to be with Batman.
Years after the release of Kingdom Come, writer Granyest Morrison revamped this storyline into his comic book arc Batman And Son, and recreated Ibn into the character many of us know as Damian Wayne. From then on, Damian was incorporated into The New 52 as Batman’s fifth Robin.
14. He Could've Had A Ph.D. in Geology At The Age Of 7
If you’ve been keeping up with the Super Sons comic series, then you’ll know that, in the first issue, Damian revealed that he could have received a Doctorate in Geology at the age of seven.
You might be wondering why he didn't get it. Well, it wasn’t because he lacked the intellect or work ethic to achieve it. He didn’t get his Doctorate because his villainous mother, Talia al Ghul, decided to kill his Professor and dump the body into the ocean.
To many, his mother’s cruelty may not come to a surprise, but to Jon Kent, son of Superman, the tidbit seemed so absurd that it was laughable to him. He awkwardly chuckled at Damian’s story, and said “ha! Yeah right!”
Unfortunately for Damian, murder will always be something that he’ll have to live with, and the frown he makes in this scene depicts his realization of this.
13. He's A Vegetarian
Damian might not be the most affectionate person in the world, but he does have a soft spot for animals. In Batman Incorporated vol. 2 #1, after a fight in a slaughterhouse, he declares himself a vegetarian and rescues one of the cows from the factory, naming it Bat-Cow.
As absurd as this scene may seem, Damian’s declaration to become a vegetarian was one that fans applauded, as it showed a glimpse into his humanity.
His story arc is about redemption. He is known for having homicidal tendencies and for being unfeeling towards others, so to see him acting affectionately towards something other than himself was monumental for his character development. In this moment, he wasn’t a cold-blooded assassin: he was a kid who wanted to save a life.
12. He Defeated His Mother In A Battle At The Age Of 10
On his tenth birthday, in The New 52’s Batman and Robin, Damian defeated his mother in a bone-chilling sword battle.
Prior to her defeat, a young Damian asked his mother, “who is my father, mama?” Instead of telling him who his father was, Talia avoided his questions and decided to make a deal with her child. She told him, “when you best me in a duel on your special day, that is when you will be ready to meet your father.”
So, each year, up until his victory, Damian would earnestly set off on a mission to defeat his mother to find out the identity of his father, and he failed miserably. However, he used his failures to learned from his mistakes. In this small time frame, he was able to hone his skills to retrieve the information that he always longed for.
11. When Dick Grayson Took On The Role As Batman, He Chose Damian To Be His Robin
After the events of the Final Crisis storyline, Gotham was left without a Batman, so someone needed to take charge. This someone was none other than the original Robin, Dick Grayson, and, if you know anything about Batman, he always has a Robin by his side. The person who took on the red and green suit was none other than Damian Wayne.
The choice to hire Damian caused some tension in the family. Tim Drake, the third Robin, was the one who urged Grayson to take on the cowl, so being casted aside for an arrogant child felt like a betrayal to him.
Whether Tim got over Grayson’s decision or not, Damian’s role as Grayson’s sidekick transformed into a friendship that taught him how to trust. He may not have trusted everyone, but at least he did trust someone.
10. He's Not Afraid To Pick A Fight With Superman
Prior to becoming the Super Sons, Damian had his reservations about Jon Kent. He considered the young Super as a potential threat to the world due to his awakening abilities, such as his ice breath and heat vision. Because of his suspicions, he kidnapped Jon to run some tests and to potentially end him.
This obviously did not bode well with Superman. Although Jon saw no harm in Damian’s antics, Superman was ready to fight. With heat seeping from his eyes and a clutched fist, he threatened to put a stop to whatever plans Damian had for Jon, telling Batman, “somebody should teach that boy of yours some manners.”
While Jon stood to the side screaming, “dad, stop! I’m okay,” Damian was armed and ready with his winged daggers, unafraid to pick a fight Superman.
9. He Was Trained To Be An Assassin Since Birth
From the moment Damian was born, he was raised to be an assassin. His mother Talia al Ghul baptized him in a pool saturated in his nursemaid’s blood to show his strength and willpower, and to welcome him into the world.
As a child, when he asked Talia why he was named Damian, she told him that his name derived from the Greek word Damianos, which means “to tame.” She told Damian that “taming this wild world is what you will do as the al Ghul Dynasty takes shape. And after you have tamed it, you will control it—possess it.”
Since then, she trained Damian to be a master swordsman, a skilled martial artist, and an intellect. Up until he ed Batman, Damian was taught only how to be a cold-blooded killer. His mother didn’t nurture him. Instead, she threw him into the deep end of the world of the League of Assassins, because the al Ghul Dynasty was what she could offer to him.
8. His Interpretation of Family Is Rather Odd
Due to Damian’s rough upbringing by the al Ghul’s and his new relationship with the Bat Family, his interpretation of the meaning of family was rather odd. In Super Sons #4, while Kid Amazo’s suit was being ripped off from his skin, Damian tried to comfort him, yelling, “that pain you feel ripping your flesh apart, Reggie? That’s Family!”
In this moment, Damian revealed that, to him, family can be painful, and in some senses, it may not seem so strange that he felt this way. Not all families are perfect and they sometimes cause pain.
Nevertheless, his interpretation seemed very skewed, particularly because he was now being raised in an environment where there was some room for family to be a source of alleviation from the pain.
7. He Loves His Father
Although he thought of his father, Bruce Wayne, as a “stubborn a**,” Damian always loved him. Despite their rocky beginnings and their endless disagreements, Damian saw his father as a hero, and held him in high regard.
In Convergence: Batman and Robin # 2, Damian itted that he loved his father after Bruce made a heartfelt confession. While preparing both Damian and Jason for a battle against the Extremists, Bruce told Damian the “there’s so much I don’t know about being a father. I don’t even know how much time we have left. But I do know I love you. Maybe that’s all that really matters.”
This scene was important for both Bruce and Damian. The two are both emotionally restricted characters, so for them to be this vulnerable and show familial affection was a huge step for their relationship. It was a moment where Damian could feel the love of a parent, which was something that he had never experienced.