DC Comics Confirms Robin Bombshell
The following story contains MAJOR SPOILERS for this week's "Batman, Incorporated" #8
More than 24 years after putting Jason Todd's death to a vote, DC Comics is ******* off another Robin.
Beneath a headline that blares, "DC ******* off Batman's ‘Boy Wonder' Damian Wayne in new comic book," the New York Post confirms what recent rumors and cover leaks already had led readers to suspect: Damian Wayne will die in Wednesday's "Batman Incorporated" #8.
"He saves the world. He does his job as Robin," writer Grant Morrison told the newspaper. "He dies an absolute hero."
The *** of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, Damian was featured as an unnamed ****** in the out-of-continuity 1987 graphic novel "*** of the Demon," and reintroduced into the DC Universe is 2006 by Morrison and Andy Kubert. Trained by the League of Assassins, the violent and self-absorbed boy was later left by Talia in the care of his ******. After the events of "Batman R.I.P." took up the identity of Robin at age 10, working first with Dick Grayson and then, upon the return of Bruce Wayne, his ******. Unlike Jason Todd in the 1980s, Damian quickly became a fan-favorite character and, as the Post notes, exits the stage at the height of his popularity.
Rumors that DC planned to **** off Damian had circulated for weeks, with a photo finally appearing Feb. 15 on Twitter showing the three covers for "Batman Incorporated" #8 – it's an homage to Alex Ross' variant cover for "Batman" #676, the first issue of "Batman R.I.P." – all showing the Robin emblem within the letters "R.I.P."
Morrison told the Post there are divorce undertones to the story, with Damian's death illustrating how parents lose sight of the ******** when they fight. "It's all about the ****** and the ****** going to hell," he said. "The two adults in the story are both culpable. The ***'s the good guy."
Jason Todd was, of course, resurrected in 2005 (after that false alarm in "Batman: Hush"), so odds are that Damian will return … eventually. It's even more likely that another Robin will appear to take his place.
"You can never say never in a comic book," Morrison said. "Batman will ultimately always have a partner."
