Throughout the comic universe, many creators have introduced readers to various super children. From Catwoman’s daughter to Power Girl’s son, it’s been a hard knock life for the children of various heroes and villains. One such child, the product of a hero and a villain, made his debut appearance 30 years ago.
Damian Wayne made his first appearance, albeit unnamed, in the 1987 story Batman: Son of the Demon. Initially, this graphic novel, written by Mike W. Barr and Jerry Bingham, was not considered canon. Due to this, various alternate universe stories were created giving the character different origin stories and names. In 2006, writer Grant Morrison reinterpreted the character as Damian Wayne and officially introduced him into main continuity in Batman #655. Damian is the son of Bruce Wayne/Batman and Talia al Ghul and thus, the grandson of Batman villain Ra’s al Ghul, a/k/a the Head of the Demon.
Damian was genetically perfected and grown in an artificial womb, with the intention of making him a formidable warrior. Much of Damian’s origin is unknown to Batman, largely because he was raised by Talia and the League of Assassins. By the time he is a teenager, Damian is already an incredibly talented martial artist. At this time, Talia reveals Damian’s existence to Bruce Wayne and leaves him in his custody in an effort to disrupt his vigilante work.
Due to his upbringing, Damian is a precocious, spoiled, and violent young man. While in Batman’s custody, Damian battles Tim Drake with the intent of replacing him as Robin. During the ensuing battle, Damian escapes, donning a variant Robin costume made of Jason Todd’s old tunic and mask and assorted League of Assassin gear. Despite being clearly misguided and malicious, Damian really wants to aid Batman’s war on crime and earn his father’s approval. Unfortunately, his upbringing has left him with a lack of common sense in regards to social behavior. He believes that in order to gain Batman’s acceptance he must kill any rivals, which included Tim Drake. While confronting Talia over Damian’s true identity, both Talia and Damian are caught in an explosion. Though they survive, Damian’s badly injured body requires several transplants of harvested organs.
Following his full recovery, Talia takes Damian to the Outback, where he is tutored in the secret history of his grandfather Ra’s al Ghul. After realizing Ra’s evil plans, Damian flees to alert Batman. Given their history, Drake doesn’t trust Damian when he returns to warn him and Batman. Eventually, Damian and Drake are able to put aside their differences to fight side-by-side against Ra’s. Over the years, Damian has come a long way from the violent child he once was. Of course he still has his issues, Damian was later able to take up the mantle of Robin to aid Dick Grayson’s Batman. In an act of defiance, Damian attempts to make the Robin mantle independent from that of Batman. Fortunately, he fails miserably, thus allowing Grayson to train him on how to properly become the new Robin.
In addition to various comic series, Damian made several appearances in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Teen Titans Go! Stuart Allen voiced Damian in Son of Batman, Batman vs. Robin, Batman: Bad Blood, Justice League vs. Teen Titans, and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. The character of Damian made additional appearances in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Gotham City Breakout, and Batman Unlimited: Mech vs. Mutants.
While he may not be a traditional hero, not that his father is either, Damian has certainly grown into one of pop culture’s most memorable super children.