Gotham City is a busy place, with a lot going down each and every week. In this monthly column, Joshua Lapin-Bertone helps you stay on top of it all by letting you know what you should be paying attention to within the Bat-Family…and why.
Batman is a master of many skills, but parenting isn’t really one of them. Lately, the Caped Crusader has been trying to do normal father/son activities with his son Damian, and it’s proving to be harder than tackling an army of Arkham’s worst rogues.
“The Quiet Man” is a storyline running through Batman and Robin where Bruce and Damian attempt to stop a former convict from getting revenge on Two-Face and Penguin. The storyline also contains an interesting subplot where Bruce, bothered by recent events, tries to give Damian a “normal” childhood with typical father/son outings.
“I want you to have a life here,” Bruce tells Damian in Batman and Robin #25. “Beyond Batman and Robin. You deserve both. I’m going to give you both.”
This is building on the father/son relationship that writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson has been exploring in his Batman and Robin run, but it also ties in perfectly with the existential crisis Bruce has been having in other DC titles. In a recent Come Out Writing column, I wrote about how the events of Gotham War, Absolute Power and other storylines have caused Batman to take a real look at his life, and he’s realized that he has done so much as the Dark Knight that he hasn’t left anything for Bruce Wayne.
Bruce doesn’t want this for his son, so it’s only natural to see him reacting the way he has in Batman and Robin. Giving Damian a normal childhood is especially important because he’s not as grounded as Tim, Jason and Dick were when they held the mantle (being raised by ninja assassins will do that to you). The Damian of 2025 is a far cry from the Damian readers met in 2006, but he’s still a long way from being a “normal kid.” The thing is, Bruce doesn’t feel like he’s in the best position to help him with that.
Bruce tries taking Damian to the movies in Batman and Robin #25, and Damian immediately clocks that his father is having a hard time living in the moment. Not because he wasn’t looking forward to the movie, but because he was worried about what would happen to Gotham if he took a few hours off.
“Your heart rate and eye movement are rapid,” Damian says. “You’re nervous. We both are. Anything could happen while we’re here.”
“This isn’t a luxury we’ll have often,” Bruce responds. “But I think tonight we can let our guard down, just for a moment.” Bruce says.
However, it’s clear Bruce is trying to convince himself as much as he’s trying to convince Damian. Naturally, this is when the Quiet Man chooses to launch an assault on Penguin’s operations, which will probably make Bruce hesitant about taking another night off.
Struggling with how to be the father Damian needs, Bruce turns to Clark Kent in this month’s Batman and Robin #27. In a moment of emotional vulnerability, Bruce admits that he isn’t sure what he’s doing as a parent, and everything was easier when Alfred was around.
The conversation Bruce has with Clark recontextualized how I look at Batman as a father. It made me realize that raising Damian is Bruce’s first real experience as a single parent. With Dick, Jason and Tim, he had Alfred to rely on as the co-parent. Bruce’s faithful servant would act as the voice of reason and be the “good cop parent” to Bruce’s “bad cop.”
With Alfred gone, it’s like Bruce is a widower raising his son alone for the first time. Yes, Alfred has quit and had extended periods of absence, but he’s always returned. Until now.
I love the idea of Batman turning to a fellow father for parenting advice, because that’s a relatable thing that most parents go through. This makes me wonder if Alfred had similar doubts when he was raising Bruce after the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Did he feel lost at sea as a single parent? If so, who did he turn to for advice?
Damian is the only child Bruce has had to raise on his own, and it’s scary. Luckily, he has a friend like Kal-El to keep him grounded.
“None of us know what we’re doing, Bruce,” Superman says. “We just take what we were given and try to pass on the best parts. Damian is an extraordinary kid who’s been through extraordinary trials. You understand him better than anyone, and you know how to help him help others. No one in the world would be a better father to him than you. Not even Alfred,”
Being a single parent is a rough road, but Bruce is going to do just fine. If you don’t believe me, then just take Superman’s word for it.
Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
