History (Submitted by Oracle)
Damian Wayne: 1999 - 2014
Damian is the only biological child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. Damian’s parents were briefly married during Bruce’s training with the League of Assassins, but Bruce broke ties with the League before Damian’s birth. It is unknown if Bruce knew of Talia’s pregnancy at the time (as Bruce remains tight-lipped about his experiences with the League).
After Damian’s birth, he was sequestered within the League’s inner circle, his existence known only to those most trusted by Ra's al Ghul, with the threat of execution upon any who spoke of Damian to outsiders. Once of an age to learn, Damian was instructed by private tutors on all manners of subjects, both academics and artistic. By night, he was schooled in the ways of the League by masters within the order (Sandra Wu-San, David Cain, Jade Nguyen, Slade Wilson and even Ra’s al Ghul himself). When he was not being taught, Damian was given every luxury as he had a retinue of servants devoted to his care and his wishes. For all intents and purposes, Damian was the prince of Assassins.
As a teenager, Damian was initiated into the order under the name “Ib al Xu’ffasch’. It was here that Damian first met Tim Drake, another prominent initiate. They became immediate rivals, both competing to be named as Ra’s al Ghul’s steward (and both at conflict over who was the true “Son of the Bat”). Acting on a hunch, Damian shadowed Tim and learned that he was a traitor sent into their midst by the Batman; however, by the time of this discovery, Damian was unable to stop what Tim had set in motion. After the capture of most of the League’s commanders, Talia (who was spared capture by Batman) sent Damian to live with his father for his protection, as she tried to keep what was left of the League from in-fighting.[1]
Robin: 2014 - Present
It was difficult for Damian to adjust to life as the son of Bruce Wayne. Damian felt entitled as he was the “true son” of Bruce Wayne, finding his adopted siblings (Dick, Jason, Cass, and especially Tim) to be “pretenders” to Damian’s rightful position. So, it was that Damian arrived at Wayne Manor with a purpose: to show his siblings that he was the “one true son of the Bat.”
Within his first month in Gotham, Damian had ambushed each of his siblings and bested them in some manner. Though Bruce ignored this at first, as pointless sibling rivalry, he had to take notice when Damian put Tim in the hospital after challenging Tim to an impromptu sword fight. When Bruce scolded Damian, the boy only rebelled further, eventually running away.
Dick was the one who found Damian hunting down gangbangers in the Narrows. After getting Damian’s attention by defeating him in personal combat, Dick managed to talk some sense into the teenage miscreant, marking the start of Damian’s rejection of his League programming.
Following this, Stephanie suggested that Damian be given a chance to prove himself as Robin, passing on her mantle to the Anti-Christ himself (sorry, I meant “Damian.” Damn autocorrect). As Bruce had recently launched Batman, Incorporated at the time and needed to have Batman and Bruce Wayne make many public appearances together to defuse speculation that they were one and the same, Dick Grayson became Batman with Damian sporting a new suit fashioned with elements from all previous Robins (and some League influences as well) as his new Robin. Somehow, the team of a lighthearted Batman and ornery Robin worked.
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Damian Wayne
Part of Dick's taming of the shrew required Damian to spend some time at Titans Tower and had enrolled Damian in the Academy where he made 'friends' (and so many enemies). Damian insisted he should be the leader on his very first day at the Tower and attempted to demonstrate that by disabling Cyborg and Red Tornado and then locking the Titans in the Tower as he proceeded to hunt them down one by one. He was eventually bested by Tim who just happened to be at the Tower in the capacity as a mentor while still recovering from the injuries Damian had given him.
It took a while for us to break Damian in and I actually give most of the credit to Alfred. Even though Damian shows the butler such disdain, it's easy to notice that Damian generally only makes such remarks about Alfred when he is nowhere in sight and I have also noticed that Damian is surprisingly well-behaved when Alfred is watching, especially if the butler has a wooden spoon in hand.
Having attended Brentwood Academy, Damian made friends with my mini-me: Carrie Kelley and he has actually done a lot to help her train to meet the demanding role of Batgirl. Now that two have graduated, it remains to be seen what they'll do or where they'll go, but both seem uninterested in college, at least in the immediate future. I suspect they will be spending more time with the Titans, trying their hands at fighting crime full-time. [2]
Threat Assessment
Abilities
- Assassin: Damian is a skilled martial artist, has a keen intellect, is a skilled weapons user especially with a sword, escape artist and can mimic a person's voice all from his training in the League of Assassins. His voice mimicry is so good that he could fool the Batcave's voice recognition security system, copying Tim Drake's voice. Despite being the youngest Robin, Damian Wayne is one of the most skilled and has even given Jason Todd a good fight. He was trained by both the League of Assassins, Batman, and Talia al Ghul. He claimed that he knows "a thousand ways to kill a man." He has trained intensely from a very young age. He also claimed that he knows as many martial arts as Batman, though it may be due to his arrogant nature.
- Artistry: Damian is considered as skilled with a brush as he is with a sword. Yeah, surprised me as well.
- Business Management: Trained by his mother and the League of Assassins in the way of controlling a company with an iron grip. Even as a young boy he knows that in business there are wars and even in war there are assassins. Once in an attempt to prove his worth to his father, Damian intimidated the board members by tracking down financial irregularities within the Wayne Enterprises' accounts.
- Disguise: A master of impersonation and infiltration, Damian is a remarkable actor and manipulator. He once spent a week disguised as a substitute teacher at Brentwood Academy.
- Driving: Damian explains that he learned to drive at the age of five.
- Investigation: As the son of the 'World's Greatest Detective' Batman, Damian must have been given some training in the arts of being a detective by his mother and grandfather. Damian has shown some rather impressive detective skills in the field whether that's with a partner or just on his own.
- Martial Arts: Trained by the League of Assassins, Damian has stated he knows just as many martial arts as Batman and can use them more effectively. This may be a largely overstated comment but one should not ask for verification. Damian may not be as physically tough as a grown man like his father or even Dick Grayson but he knows how to control his weight and has stated that he knows, "one thousand ways to kill a man." Damian's training has made him a formidable hand-to-hand combatant able to defeat or hold his own against multiple opponents, armed opponents or skilled hand-to-hand combatants. I know he was able to subdue Dick, Jason, and Tim all at once when he ambushed them.
- Genius Level Intellect: Damian seems to have definitely inherited the genius-level intellect of his parents.
- Mimicry: Damian can imitate anyone's voice and speech patterns near-perfectly. His "Tim Drake" impersonation is uncanny and is good enough to fool the state-of-the-art voice recognition software in the Batcave.
- Peak Physical Condition: Damian is at the peak of human conditioning for a boy of his age and build. Damian's body is actually so well conditioned on account of not only his training, but also a full regimen of genetic therapy, steroids, and Lazarus Baths which Talia al Ghul exposed him to during his youth to make him as near perfection as possible.
- Pedagogy: Apparently he is a skilled teacher. He once taught an geology class for a week at Brentwood Academy.
- Son of Batman: I, uh, didn't put this entry in here... Damian? Are you in here?
- Stealth: Of all the Robins, Damian may be the one that is the most silent... when he wants to be. The irony is he's probably the most outspoken Robin as well.
- Swordsmanship: Damian assaulted both Tim Drake and Bruce Wayne on separate occasions with his sword, apparently the same sword used by Ra's al Ghul. Although Damian no longer uses his sword he may be unmatched with one if armed correctly.
- Throwing: Damian is trained by the League of Assassins in shuriken throwing and further trained by Batman in Batarang throwing.
Paraphernalia
- Robin Suit: Damian wears a suit similar to that of past Robins. That includes the red top, along with green boots. He wears a hood, which separates him from the others before him. He has gauntlets like those of Batman and can be used for protection and as a weapon. He carries an utility belt which includes Batarangs and Wingdings, smoke pellets, tear gas, and the rest of the standard Bat-clan standard issue gadgetry. Damian's uniform is slightly resistant to bullets, shock, and fire.
Weaknesses
- Arrogance: More often than not, Damian believes himself to be better than he is, this has allowed him to underestimate opponents as well as irritate his allies.[3]
Trivia and Notes
Trivia
- Damian has a strong love for animals. He has a pet dog which he has named Titus and is in the process of training the dog to be his "Bat-Hound."
- Damian has seemingly shown romantic interest in a few of his fellow Titans. Carrie Kelley, Mia Kent, and Emiko Queen among them. Damian also used to have a pretty big crush on Stephanie Brown, not that he'd admit it.
- I will sooner die than allow him and Carrie to ever be a thing.
- Damian often addresses people by their last name, likely as a way to depersonalize them. Examples: Alfred becomes "Pennyworth," Tim becomes "Drake," Dick becomes "Grayson, and I become "Gordon."
- Damian used to always address Bruce as "father" but we've caught him slipping up recently and saying "dad" with more regularity.
- Despite his intense rivalry with Tim, Damian has shown that he legitimately cares about his brother. As seen when Tim was attacked by El Flamingo.[4]
- Damian is a skilled painter and digital artist. When Bruce grounded Damian from using any of his cars after crashing a Batmobile, Damian sold a painting at one of Julie McGinnis' art expos for enough money to buy himself a used luxury car.
- Apparently while Damian was being raised in secret locations, he spent some time on a rural farm and finds doing farm work to be just as good as meditation. After discovering that Mia Kent lives on a farm, Damian began visiting Smallville in disguise to work on the Kent Farm for a summer job. When Clark Kent discovered this, he thanked Damian and let him name one of their cows. Damian named it "Bat-Cow."
- Since Selina moved into Wayne Manor, the mansion has had a few extra stray cats on the grounds, mostly due to Selina feeding them. Damian enjoys feeding them as well and he and Selina have bonded over this. The two often sit outside at dusk, watching the felines dine. One particular cat has taken a liking to Damian and I hear he's named it "Pennyworth" after Alfred.
- Damian was nearly killed by the assassin known as Heretic. Coincidentally, that happened to be the same night that his sister Helena Wayne was born. Damian has since recovered fully thanks to the efforts of doctors Leslie Thompkins and Charles McNider.
- Damian is a surprisingly affectionate brother toward his half-sister Helena, often volunteering to babysit her at night instead of going out on patrol.
- Oracle often refers to Damian as the Anti-Christ.
- Damian gets along with Tefé Holland, as the two often go gardening whenever Damian needs to relax and clear his head.
- He is close friends with Ryuko Orsono and the two are often sparring partners.
Notes
- Talia revealed to Bruce that he had a son in Oracle Files: Talia al Ghul 1.
- Damian being stabbed by Heretic is a nod to the way his comic book counterpart died.
Links and References
- Appearances of Damian Wayne
- Character Gallery: Damian Wayne