Breaking down the fight

I wanted to get more into the actual fight of Jason vs. Damian in my review for the TT Annual but it already ran long.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I already mentioned some of the tricks Damian employed to try to have an edge over Jason in my review. The ones that attempted to make Jason lose his temper, trigger his PTSD, etc. None of which actually worked and Jason saw through them immediately. But I really appreciate the way each approached the fight it's self which tells you a lot about their characters. It also tells you why one of them failed and why one of them succeeded. Now I think that it should be obvious going in that Jason should win, he has the most advantages. Frankly I believe that all of his brothers should always be the superior fighters. Whether he wants to admit it to himself or not part of Damian knows this hence the tricks he attempts and the way he opens the fight.

After failing to gleam any hint of deception from Jason while talking about his team almost being killed he waits for Jason to have his back to him. I've seen different commenters say he stabs Jason in the butt, hip or thigh. It's a little hard to tell with the impact art but I'd like to say the hip (with the tip of the dart hitting a little higher than we can see) because I think the hip would potentially be the spot that would make it harder to fight. I'd like to think Damian would consider the easiest and most effective area before attacking. Regardless the injury doesn't seem to hinder Jason in the slightest. Which makes sense as Lobdell has said Jason has a high threshold for pain.

Damian tells the locals to get out as he tries to jump on Jason's back. In response Jason tosses Damian out of the window which solves two problems at once. It gets them away from the civilians faster than the bystanders could leave the bar and gives him enough distance to get his bearings. Damian himself admits Jason is faster than he expected. This is the first sign that he's in over his head and severely underestimating who he's fighting. Which could be a combo of his ego (definitely at play) and Jason holding back when he's around the family.

Damian Wayne: But Red Hood is nothing more than a glorified street fighter.

That line right there underlines how poorly he understands Jason and is making assumptions based on his own biases. It's the moment you know his overconfidence is going to be his downfall. He's not taking previous battles Jason has won into account and apparently knows nothing about Jason's training with the All Caste. There's a sense of elitism in what he's thinking, a classism in Jason's upbringing in his word usage. He's basically saying Jason is an overrated brawler.

Damian Wayne: His only advantage is his size. Which I can easily turn against him.

Again he is severally underestimating Jason by thinking his size is his only advantage. Jason was trained by some of the same people as Damian (depending on what's canon.) That's why he knows the "use their strength against them" trick. That's something all Robins have to learn when they start out and Jason already knew that from surviving on the streets. In his Post-Crisis origin he's already able to take on bigger foes. That's why he tossed Damian out a window. Still his size is a factor since it gives him a better reach and makes him stronger. Both of which help him succeed against Damian.

When Damian tries to hit him with a batarang/birdarang Jason is fast enough and strong enough to deflect them with a crowbar while holding a conversation. Damian's boot to the face only seems to momentarily stun him but he didn't do damage since he hit one of the (if not the only) armored parts of the current Red Hood costume. The punch to the chest seems like a better target only Jason doesn't react like it hurt. Instead he grabs the arm and tells Damian not to do this. It's one of those panels that lets you know just by how their depicted who actually has the power to win. Jason looks intimating while Damian just looks like a little kid.

The art doesn't depict how Damian gets free but I'd like to guess Jason let go to give him the chance to be reasonable. Still not taking the hint Damian tries to play on Jason's issues with Bruce and his death to distract him. I don't buy him being able to force someone that large to bend their knees like it's shown so he might trying to hit pressure points. He seems to be attempting to twist Jason's arm back. The impact on the knee might have forced Jason down (?) but it seems to be using it to launch him up.

This might have been his original plan in the bar, to climb onto Jason's back then taser him. But I'm curious what the wattage is compared to the taser Jason used in his last costume. Either Damian's is a smaller wattage or Jason's stamina and capacity for pain is incredible. Most people were taken out instantly by Jason's, Bruce couldn't do anything to stop him and Artemis only seemed to be briefly stunned. Jason is brought to his knees, makes a "nnn..." sound and then continues talking.

Damian Wayne: Before I throw you in one of my prison cells to rot with the rest of your kind--I want the truth. Say it. Say you're working with the Other. Tell me how you served us up to him on a silver platter.

He treats Jason like he's just one of the prisoners he tortures and likewise demands answers from him the same way. Wanting and needing to know that his own actions were right. At this point Damian thinks he's already won and brings out the box as his ultimate trump card. Note that Jason is not restrained or really even hurt, yet he really thinks it's all over. Only when Jason gets mad does Damian truly understand how much Jason was holding back. I mean look at the slap that knocks the box out of his hand. Damian cries out in pain, Jason only really reacted like that to the stab with the dart (which was partly surprise) and maybe the kick to the face. Not even the taser got much of a reaction from him.

Panic takes over and realizing his foe isn't beaten like he thought he blindly races for the box. Jason takes advantage of Damian's back being turned and uses his superior reach to yank the cape back then toss Damian into the side of his truck. Then delivers a two handed hit to the back which leaves Damian woozy. From there Jason holds him by the hair/head then strikes him across the mouth/jaw, hits his stomach and knees him in the face breaking the mask. (Which only now reminds me of Jason at the end of UTH with half his mask on.)

I don't think Jason's actual skill as a fighter was on full display here. We don't see his All Caste training or anything jaw dropping. The thing is, I got the impression Jason knew he didn't have to do much to harm Damian which is one of the reasons he held himself back for so long. We can see Jason's amazing strength, his speed, stamina and his smarts. None of Damian's physical attacks seemed to do much. Jason tanked it all and when it was his turn every single blow looked devastating.

Damian used some tricks like the dart/element of surprise, his taser, birdarangs, the box, verbal taunting and tried to end it by climbing onto his back. Which leaves me to believe he didn't really think out any other tactic for using Jason's size against him. Jason on the other hand quickly used the environment to his advantage (tossing Damian out the window and later into the truck) and use Damian's weakness (his cape) against him. Damain planned ahead, Jason didn't and was able to come up with something on the spot which really says something for his resourcefulness.

In a few fast and powerful moves Jason showed how outclassed Damian was. It drove home how deluded Damian was with his belief that he was the superior one that could easily win. Meta wise I think it was truly an impactful story just based in a fight scene. I can only hope the lesson sticks this time and other writers don't back track on it.