Unpopular Opinion Time: Damian Wayne Resurrection

Morrison wanted to kill Damian Wayne since he first started writing him then decided to keep him around longer to make his death have more of a meaning. I've already talked about my feelings on Robin deaths here. I want to talk about something that seems to be building up in Batman and Robin lately and why the fallout of the death it's self feels lacking. Damians' possible resurrection and why I'm not as taken with it as others are.


As I said in The Ethics and Responsibilities of Raising Robins I do feel that Damians' death is a repeat of Jasons' death. Going through the extreme Batman grieving process once more (a.k.a. acting crazy and treating others like dirt) for another kid isn't something I care to read through again. How it's treated is very uneven in a way that seems like there are two different Bruces' reacting to the loss. As a result the death it's self never feels like it holds much weight. I don't like the implications that it means more in Batman and Robin since he's the biological child but everywhere else it seems everyone--including Bruce-- is moving on. Tomasi has Bruce treat Tim and Jason horribly (the latter is especially gulling considering that's the other kid he lost) yet Snyder has Bruce more subdued.

Johns had the potential memorial case in the cave being put together by Alfred only to be smashed and forgotten about soon after. DC claimed it didn't want the Bat Cave to be filled with dead sidekick cases as an excuse for not giving Stephanie Brown one but that looks like it has some truth to it. Jason Todds' display is still the only one up, even if Damian does return the fact that he hasn't gotten one or won't get one when he returns doesn't make sense. Jasons' alive and well yet his still exists. The only way this would make sense is if Damian didn't die. Bruces' (retconned) excuse for not giving Stephanie a case was because he suspected she was still alive. Of course that answer doesn't make sense here given his behavior under Tomasi.

This creates a feeling that Batman and Robin takes place in a different world because Bruce and everyone else handles the loss differently in other books. Snyders' Bruce knows to let the dead rest and that it's not wise to tamper with that. He wouldn't push his family away more after Death of the Family. Especially when there wasn't even a body when he tired to find means to bring his child back while treating his middle kids rottenly. I don't see where Tomasis' Bruce is coming from because he should know better and flips emotions on a dime.

The resurrection it's self I'm not in favor of because it's been done with Jason. In fact they never fully explored what happened with these characters and are going to do it again with another character? Two Robins dead and brought back? The aftermath of the death never meant much to me because I already felt like there were plans to bring him back. Jasons' return was after 20 years when no one really thought they'd do it. That made the impact on the Bat family feel like it was earned and created a believable sense of conflict. The drama is taken out with Damian especially since we already know his mothers' side is known for coming back from the dead. This makes both the death and resurrection feel very unneeded.

If he has to return then have it be a clone that died instead. The clone plot is set up anyway, why not use it? This doesn't take way from the message Morrison was trying to tell either. All Morrison wanted to do was show that neither Talia or Bruce were paying attention to their kid, this would be the same thing. Ra's could have kidnapped Damian to replace him with a clone. Why take the body then? Why wouldn't he? It would be suspicious if he just took Talia. Besides what better way to send a message then take them both?

If Damian's coming back then don't go over the same ground as Jason. While a faked death was taken with Stephanie that isn't canon anymore and in the Bat Universe it didn't have much impact outside her circle. The clone route makes sense, makes Ra's more of a player than a grave robber and clone taker, maybe even bringing him back to the guy that cared about his family. This would also show how neglectful Bruce has been, something we already know since he didn't know where Damian was most of the time.