So another comic has made it into mainstream news again and once again it is involving the death of an iconic character. This time it’s Batman’s ever-present sidekick, Robin. But before we get into that here’s a little comic history lesson for those of you who either don’t follow comics or haven’t followed in a while.
The original Robin that we all know and love as portrayed by Burt Ward on the 1960s Batman TV show was Dick Grayson. In the late 1970s, he grew up and became his own hero Nightwing.
His replacement was Jason Todd who was infamously killed by the Joker and DC comics readers. He came back to life as the gun-toting Red Hood.
Jason Todd’s replacement was Tim Drake who relinquished the mantle of Robin to his successor and became Red Robin, at least in pre-New 52 continuity.
This leads us to the current Robin, Damian Wayne. Damian is the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul.
Damian is the focus of my post here today.
***BEYOND HERE LAY SPOILERS***
This past week it was made public that Damian Wayne would be killed in the pages of Batman Inc. #8 and it turned out to be the most anti-climactic death ever. In the comic, he was run through with a sword by his cloned younger but much larger brother as seen below.
There’s a bunch of reasons why this ‘death’ seems pointless and why I think that Damian will be up and around in no time. The first is that the death wasn’t dramatic enough. When they killed Jason Todd he was beaten within an inch of his life with a crowbar by the Joker and then blown up. Being stabbed seems so pedestrian. I was more shocked that Knight was killed in a previous issue. Also, Damian is actually a popular character. He’s the polar opposite of the previous Robins. He’s arrogant and ruthless and has actually killed in order to protect Batman. We’ve also been here before. Not only have comic deaths become even more than meaningless but a Robin has been killed before and like I mentioned before in a much more dramatic fashion. Lastly, Batman Inc. is a horrible comic. The storyline has been tiresome and Grant Morrison seems to be given a pass when it comes to continuity. I don’t see why he gets so much fanboy love.
If Damian’s ‘death’ is any longer than two or three issues then DC has made a huge mistake in my opinion.
The Trench Reynolds Report 