Warning: contains spoilers for Robin #15!
A surprise addition to the Bat-Family, Damian's arc as Robin has finally come full circle with one major moment of personal acceptance.
Though versions of the character had already been toyed with, Damian al Ghul was officially introduced to the DC Universe as the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul in Batman #655, part of Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's Batman & Son arc. The storyline ends with Damian, raised to be an assassin by his mother with Batman unaware of his existence, pulled in different directions by his parents as they argue atop a submarine. "Do I have to choose?" Damian asks. "I would much rather we were all together." Robin #15 ends in much the same way, with Damian on a dock as Bruce and Talia each fight for his companionship. However, Damian now a Robin and using the Wayne name, makes a much different decision this time. He doesn't want his parents to stay together, and he doesn't want to go with either of them. Rather, he just wants them to "respect each other, and to respect [his] choice to go with neither."
Robin #15 by Joshua Williamson and Roger Cruz comes directly after Williamson's Shadow War, a crossover event spanning the titles Batman, Robin and Deathstroke Inc. Shadow War reunited Batman and Robin after years apart, while also bringing Talia al Ghul back into Batman's life during a war between Deathstroke and the League of Shadows. With Damian and his parents now reunited, this rejection of a binary dynamic within his family makes a powerful end to a character arc over a decade in the making.
The framing of Damian standing between his mother and father near a body of water clearly mirrors the aforementioned scene from Batman & Son, which opens the issue as a flashback. This intentional parallel shows how far the character has come since his initial story arc, going from an unrepentant child assassin to a reformed sidekick of his father's to, now, a man looking to find his own way in the world. Damian ends Shadow War on much better with his father than he started - the death of Alfred had driven the two apart for several years - yet still recognizes he needs to complete his journey of self-discovery. It's a touching and powerful moment for the character, made only more impactful by Batman's response: "Son, whenever you need, you will always have a home with me. I trust you."
It's unclear what the future holds for Damian Wayne and his place in the Bat-Family. In the near future, Tim Drake is set to return as Robin in Batman #125, and Damian will be pitted against his father in September's Batman vs. Robin event. Now that his arc has come full circle, Damian Wayne may soon abandon the Robin title altogether, finally establishing himself entirely as his own man.
