Batman Beyond just proved that one Robin is always welcome back home, no matter how far away he drifts from Bruce Wayne.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman Beyond #47 by Dan Jurgens, Sean Chen, Sean Parsons, Chris Sotomayor, and Travis Lanham, on sale now
While many members of the Bat-Family have gone through some dark reinventions and directions over the years, one who seems perpetually locked in the shadows is Damian Wayne. His impulses can lead him to dark places, with some versions of him (such as the Batman Beyond-incarnation) fully realizing a far different legacy than what his father wanted for him.
But despite all the drama the core Damian Wayne has been going through recently, the Batman Beyond #47 proves that Damian will always have a place with the Bat-Family.
Damian Wayne has always been the black sheep of the Bat-Family. The son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, Damian has been drawn between his parents and their conflicting views on justice, seeing the strength and weaknesses in both. But after a rocky start with his father, Damian threw himself into fighting alongside him in his war on crime. Taking on the mantle of Robin alongside Dick Grayson’s time as Batman, Damian remained in the role once Bruce returned from being sent through the time-stream. Even after being killed and revived, Damian continued to wear the red and yellow, and refused to back away from the battlefield.
But the core-DC Universe Damian has been growing increasingly distant with the other heroes he’s come to call his family. He lost one of his closest connections in the family when Dick Grayson was shot down by KGBeast and left with amnesia. His efforts to combat the villains who’d conquered Gotham in “City of Bane” resulted in Alfred Pennyworth’s death, right in front of Damian. His time with the Teen Titans saw Robin embracing a darker perspective on justice, capturing villains, and holding them prisoner within his base while influencing their minds. He even crossed a final major line when he seemingly killed Brother Blood to prevent an attack on him and the rest of the Teen Titans, leading him to finally and fully turn on his father’s teachings and give up the role of Robin.