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Tweak says, "I like your kitchen."

kingrockwell (kingrockwell) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-07-02 01:30:00

Current music:	Queens of the Stone Age ~ "Into The Hollow"
Entry tags:	char: alfred pennyworth, char: robin/damian wayne, char: robin/nightwing/dick grayson, creator: frank quitely, creator: grant morrison, publisher: dc comics, title: batman and robin

Batman and Robin #2

Pyg's jerks attack Gotham PD, trying to break Toad out.

Heh.

After the whole thing's over, Dick and Damian have words. Note that the whole issue is Dick telling the story of the incident to Alfred.

I started pulling this series because I remembered how much I like Frank Quitely's art that wasn't New X-Men, stayed for the characters. I know a lot of people are apprehensive about Damian being a Canon Sue, but this exchange kind of sets me at ease. No one's pretending that Damian isn't a little dickweed, but part of the Batfamily has always been to steer the Gotham's more misdirected heroes down the right path, and in my opinion Dick trying to take the little snot under his wing and do his best for him is an even better tribute to Bruce's legacy than wearing the cowl ever could be.

And Alfred being wise and fatherly is always a good time. Shame it's without snark, but I imagine Bruce's thickheadedness required more sarcasm to penetrate while Dick called for a softer approach.

Also, it's looking like we're getting Damian in a classic Robin role next issue, ropes and all! So what say, S_D, anyone else really like this issue?

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	foxhack 2009-07-02 06:13 am UTC (link)
	Jason had a good reason for being rebellious (story-wise). He didn't grow up in a loving family and his life was hell in the street until he met Batman. Damian's just a snotty brat. (oops, edited.) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	runespoor7 2009-07-02 06:20 am UTC (link)
	Also, Jason's most obnoxious days were written by someone who was perfectly aware he was writing the character as obnoxious. There was no "he can design thingammies better than Batman" going on. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mysteryfan 2009-07-02 06:52 am UTC (link)
	Heh. Yes. (Reply to this) (Parent)

mysteryfan
2009-07-02 06:32 am UTC (link)

We are supposed to be intrigued by Damian's early (pre age 10) years was with the 'monsters' that are people like Talia and Ra's.

But I have to think that Talia and Ra's do have some basic skills that would not subject their spawn to... the things Jason was subjected to. Also, Damian didn't have to live on the streets alone, possibly doing all kinds of things to get by.

In short, I think you and I are on the same page. Jason (2) had a more terrible upbringing (probably, story-wise) than Damian. Who is a snotty, entitled brat. Agreed.

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	kagome654 2009-07-02 01:37 pm UTC (link)
	Being 'brutalized and indoctrinated' throughout his youth isn't a good reason for Damian to behave the way he does? Damian didn't exactly grow up in a loving family either. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foxhack 2009-07-02 01:58 pm UTC (link)
	I don't recall hearing about being brutalized. Indoctrinated, maybe, what with the brainwashing from his mom saying his father was the kewlest guy evar. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

kagome654
2009-07-02 02:20 pm UTC (link)

It's a direct quote from Batman during Damian's introductory arc;

'Tim, I know the kid's very tough to be around. He was raised by international terrorists in his grandfather's League of Assassins. Brutalized, indoctrinated, then used as a weapon in his mother's insane war with me.'

There's a very important difference between Jason and Damian. Jason, for a short time at least, was able to be a child and had two parents who loved him and, in their own way, did their best for him (this was explicitly stated). He may have been a disadvantaged child, but at least he was allowed a childhood (even if it was cut short).

Damian, as far as we know, was never permitted such a childhood. He never had the security of knowing that he was loved by his parents. He knew Talia and Bruce more as symbols than as parents who loved him (he said Talia wasn't around very much when he was growing up). He was always treated as a weapon or a tool, the people around him cared more about his potential (either as a host for Ra's Al Ghul's soul or as the future Batman) than they did for him as an individual. He was a kid who was never treated as the child he was, and he was raised without love. I believe that is just as tragic as someone like Jason having that love, that family, cruelly ripped away from him.

I do think Talia loves Damian, and in his own way he loves her, but I don't think he is fully aware of it. He seems to think he was, is, and will always be alone. I find it hard to blame him for that, given what little we do know about his childhood. He doesn't know how to act as part of the 'Batfamily' because he's never really had a family, and I think that is incredibly sad.

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