Almost everyone who is familiar with DC Comics knows that Robin had a friend who fit his personality and worldview just a bit more. Damian can be a fairly dark character at times, and he had a very difficult childhood. Pairing him with Jon Kent, who had near a perfect childhood, makes sense narratively, but Damian's first friend fits a bit more.
Damian Wayne grew up in the League of Assassins, where he was trained by his mother Talia al Ghul to become the heir to Ra's al Ghul. This wasn't exactly an easy childhood for Damian. He killed a lot of people and Damian's view of the world was a fairly dark one. It took a very long time for him to get to a place where he was okay and actually felt empathy for others. Colin Wilkes was an orphan who bounced from foster home to foster home and spent a lot of time in a children's hospital due to the large number of phobias he had. This ended up with him being kidnaped by Scarecrow and experimented on, which ended up giving him superpowers.
DC's Super Sons series make use of Damian Wayne and Jon Kent's diametrically opposed personalities to full effect. While Damian is dark and serious, Jon is upbeat and light; this also perfectly mimics the relationship of their fathers. While this works narratively, it doesn't make a ton of sense why two young boys with such conflicting personalities would want to hang out. Colin on the other hand had a fairly dark childhood of his own. Even before being kidnapped by Scarecrow, he did not have an easy life, and he came out of it wanting to help people. First appearing in Detective Comics #847 by Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen, Coin would eventually gain superpowers through a combination of Scarecrow's fear toxin and Bane's Venom, turning him. Colin took on the superhero name "Abuse" and swore to protect all the lost kids in Gotham, which is when he first encountered Damian.
Robin & Abuse Are The Perfect Gotham Team-Up
The last time readers saw Colin Wilkes, Damian had just gifted him a motorcycle nicknamed the "Cycle of Abuse" they teamed up to defeat Victor Zasz. At the time it seemed like Damian was going to be in more of a mentor situation with Colin, and given the fact that Colin has a fear of bats, their relationship could have been fascinating. Considering they're both boys of the same age in the same city trying to fight crime, their getting along together makes a lot more sense than Damian and Jon. There's no doubt that Damian and Jon are one of the best friends in DC, but Damian's relationship with Colin could have been just as good if given the chance.
Damian and Jon's partnership is one of the most iconic in DC Comics, their friendship shown in Super Sons by Peter Tomasi, and Jorge Jimenez was one of the best in comics. But it's hard not to wonder what kind of friendship Damian Wayne and Colin Wilkes would have had if DC had given Robin's first friend before Jon Kent a chance.
