The tension between Bruce Wayne and his son, Damian, has been an ever-present issue for years… And in Batman vs. Robin #1 (opens in new tab), written by Mark Waid, illustrated by Mahmud Asrar, colored by Jordie Bellaire, and lettered by Steve Wands, it comes to a head in what can only be described as open war.
But it’s not just father versus son…
It’s father versus son for the fate of the entire DC Universe.
Spoilers ahead for Batman vs. Robin #1
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Batman vs. Robin #1 begins by bringing Alfred Pennyworth back from the dead, seemingly for real – but also not on purpose. Apparently, Damian has begun working with some evil force to claim his father’s legacy for his own. By tapping into this force, he’s caused some unexpected happenings – namely, Alfred’s resurrection.
But there’s little time to dwell on that. Damian infiltrates the Bat Cave with The Books of Magic’s Tim Hunter, a boy Batman describes as someday becoming the world’s greatest sorcerer (who happens to be a Neil Gaiman creation), and the Justice Society’s Jakeem Thunder, who commands Thunderbolt, a mystic genie in a pen (rather than a bottle or lamp) and can make it do whatever he wants who used to be paired with the Golden Age’s Johnny Thunder.
Batman puts the boys down using as little force as possible, even as Damian taunts him about how Bruce “adopt[s] innocent children” and then “draft[s] them into a secret world of shadows and violence.”
Throughout this battle, Bruce constantly tries to figure out what is happening with Damian, specifically referring to his son as having been “turned” by something. When Alfred steps in to try and help, Damian threatens him with violence. Shortly after, he shoots Batman twice in the chest, a hit Bruce only survives because he recently upgraded his suit tech.
As Bruce and Alfred escape in a hidden Bat-boat (familiar to fans of the Adam West TV show and thanks to a dock ladder Batman “hasn’t thought of in years”), Damian visits the people he is apparently working with – the devil Nezha, whom he recently freed from Lazarus Island, and his grandmother, Mother Soul AKA Rúh al Ghul. It’s heavily implied he has given into his demonic ancestry… but has he?
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In the lead-up to the release of Batman vs. Robin #1, DC teased that the devil Nezha now has supercharged magic that can overtake anyone with demonic evil – which could include Damian.
Batman vs. Robin spins out of the events of Waid’s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and the ‘Shadow War’ Batman-Robin-Deathstroke, Inc. crossover by writer Joshua Williamson. Damian apparently freed the devil Nezha from his prison on Lazarus Island in order to bring him together with Mother Soul, though it’s unclear if he was influenced into doing so or chose this path of his own volition.
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Whatever the case, Damian has managed to poison “magic itself” in the DC Universe, and magic users like Zatanna are dying brutal deaths because of it.
To stop this from happening and potentially win back his son from the al Ghul side of his ancestry, Bruce will have to use a special key provided by Zatanna to visit “the place that keeps all secrets.” And of course, it will be a perilous, dangerous journey, for both the Dark Knight and for the newly-resurrected Alfred, who hopefully won’t leave his side again.
Batman vs. Robin #1 is available now.
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