Hey all.
Today I'm back with another character analysis. What can I say? I watch a lot of movies.
I kind of switched from an anime kick to a DC/superhero kick for the last several months. And I discovered a new branch of DC media which features Damian Wayne. (Batman's son, in the newer comic lines, if you're not familiar.)
Damian is one of the most widely despised new characters in the Batman canon.
Now, full disclosure, I've only seen the movies. But I've heard he's actually better in the comics, so, I'm probably getting the worst of it by only viewing the movies.
I don't really understand the hate. Well, I do, in that I know a lot of people find certain kinds of characters obnoxious, but I have to admit, when I watched the films, I was confused.
Damian is a brat, to be sure, but the edgy, snarky, kind of AH character is really popular now. I usually see videos saying that those types are the best part of the show or movie they're in, so I couldn't figure out why the fandom seemed to hate this character. (Not all of them, but 75% at least, it felt like.)
Me? I'm weird. I thought he was adorable.
Yes, I've come to see I may have a very unique taste when it comes to what characters I like. While I do like a lot of popular characters (they're popular for a reason right?) I end up liking characters a lot of people think are obnoxious.
Sadly this is not just how I am about fiction. I tend to like real kids in my class or life who are the same way.
Sometimes I think I like them primarily because other people usually don't. I'm just that obstinate.
So trying to defend Damian Wayne as a good character is perhaps just asking for people's scorn or scrutiny...or not, I somehow think people might not really care that much if I like the character, just so long as I don't expect them to...
But we're not here not ot swap opinions, and try ot persuade each other, as fans, let's be real, so why not give it a shot?
That said, let's dive in:
1. Damian's Effect on the other characters he's around.
Okay the number one reason people hate Damian isn't even really because of Damian's characterization itself, it's how Batman and the other Bat-family members are whenever he's in the story.
I was actually talking to a friend about his character, and she admitted to hating him mostly for that reason. And I fully agree...Batman sucks in the movies Damian is in.
But, to be honest, Batman sucks period in the new 52 movies, for the most part. With some exceptions (namely the ones where he's not the main character.)
My sister told me that it's actually the agenda of comic book writers now to make Batman awful. She heard a story about an artist applying for a job working on Batman content, and being asked 'what's wrong with Batman? Why is he bad?" and when they said 'nothing' the interviewer said "that's not what we're looking for."
I can't be sure this is a true story, but I believe the agenda nonetheless, and that is a whole other post in of itself.
But I actually think Damian is one of the few good things in the new movies, oddly enough. He's a very well written character. And it's not as if it's a character's fault that the other characters are made worse when they're there...
But as I said, Batman is bad anyway, Damian just makes it more obvious by actually arguing with him...which I don't have a problem with. Feels like it's overdue for Batman to know what it's like to deal with himself. I mean they make a point of how similar personality-wise Damian and Bruce really are--though, I actually think Damian has strengths that Bruce does not have, at least in this iteration.
I also think it's not fair to the character (and by extension, whoever came up with it) to blame them for the fact that writers can't handle Batman. That doesn't make Damian a bad character just because the others are brought down to a new low when they deal with him.
And, on the flip side, I actually think Nightwing looks better when he's contrasted with Damian. He demonstrates a level of patience and understanding with him that really shows how he's not the same as Bruce, and is a kind person and also that his odd gremlin energy just makes him able to roll with the punches better. Damon and him bonding feels believable to me, because he treats Damian like a person.
And when Damian is paired with the Teen Titans in later movies, he actually brings an element of critical thinking and cynicism to them that the team kind of needed to feel more balanced. If we're honest, the flaw with the Teen Titans was always that they didn't have a character who was extremely good at looking into people's backgrounds and really figuring out who was suspicious. They didn't suspect Terra after all, and they often don't see other betrayals coming.
Damian can be a pill about it, but he makes them have to at least think of difficult things. And he also brings out a side of Raven that I think the others don't.
Raven was the dark and edgy person before Damian showed up. The one who would say things no one else liked hearing. and was at times rude. She's still kind of that way once Damian is part of the team, but he gives her the chance to also be the more compassionate and understanding person we know she is at certain times. But she's still dark enough to be someone he can relate to. She acts as a bridge between the two sides of the team's emotional core.
And I think it works better, personally, if Raven is the in-between person, instead of the one who veers more towards the dark side, like in the OG Teen Titans show. (I'm not saying that show isn't better than the movies. Just that the characters are all more on the zany or quippy side, and at times it was harder to take things seriously because of that. Robin usually was the only one other than Raven who acted like they felt the responsibility of the crime fighting thing.)
Of course, many people don't like Raven as much in the movies, which I understand. She is different. But I kind of appreciate the difference. She seems like a slightly older and more weathered Raven would be, without being an actual cynical person. Fits the more grim New 52 better than just the Gothic stereotype would have.
But I'm not crapping on the Teen Titans show. I just don't have the attachment to it that other people do, I only watched it as an adult. And so I think I can appreciate both the movies and show separately, for different reasons. The show might be better overall, but some of the ideas the movies had weren't as awful.
And adding Damian to the Teen Titans actually seemed like a great idea to me, since Dick Grayson aged out of it.
Damian teaches the Titans in the movies, that sometimes there is more to some people than meets the eye. That even if someone can seem like a jerk, there may be a side to them you didn't know about. Which is always a good lesson for anyone to learn. Even if it could have been done better.
And honestly, the biggest problem superheroes usually have is that they get self righteous. They think they're better than everyone else morally at all times and they can write off anyone who's not nice to them as not worth listening to. So having a character like Damian, who is rude, but often right under it, is a good way to round them out and mature them.
Starfire even admits that Damian was right when he said they needed to learn more about Raven.
Which will lead into my next point nicely:
2. Damian's Approach to people and how it's perceived by the audience and the other character's.
This is probably the second biggest reason Damian is hated. If people aren't blaming him for how Batman and the others are written, then they just hate him for being a mouthy little brat.
I've always been amazed at how un-self aware people are. I mean the way people write these comments and criticisms of Damian are just as mean and insensitive as Damian's own remarks, if not worse, and somehow we get a pass? I mean sure, eh's not a real person, but I personal tend to phrase my criticisms of real people the same way I do with fake ones, and I doubt most of the other fans are any different.
So if you're that harsh to a character, you're probably that harsh in real life. And I've seen this proven many times over when I listing to how people talk about real people and how they talk about fictional ones, and it's always the same. They're just as mean in real life. (In fact, most people are harsher on real people than fictional ones.)
Now I'm not blind to the fact that Damian is rude and often harsh when he doesn't need to be.
And sure, sometimes I wince when he says stuff like that.
But a closer look at how he acts in the movies shows that he's usually doing these things for the right reasons, he just has terrible manners.
For example, in the most hated "Batman vs. Robin" movie, Damian is at odds with Batman over trusting this assassin guy who's actually been pretty nice to him.
But the whole conflict starts after an absolute horrifying mission (one Batman never should have brought a minor on) with a psycho who was killing kids and turning them into puppets (don't watch that scene if you want my advice, it was disgusting.)
Damian doesn't kill the guy (though he certainly deserves it) since Batman said not to, but the freak attacks him and the assassin shows up and kills him and tells Damian he should deice for himself.
Batman accuses Damian of doing it, which hurts Damian, since he has enough honor to not lie if he had done it and to do as Batman said, even when he doesn't agree, because he respects authority, even when he doesn't like it. (Something no doubt drilled into him by the Assassins guild he grew up in).
This gets the conflict off on the worst possible footing.
But the saddest part is that Damian later asks Bruce, what if the psychopath had killed him? Would Bruce still not kill the man?
Bruce gives him an extremely vague answer about not wanting vengeance. And Damian is (reasonably) not satisfied.
But personally, watching it? I was completely on his side.
This crazy person was killing children...if he came after my son, you bet I'd have shot him or done whatever it took to stop him. Why? Because if it's between a psychopath and my own child, that's a no brainer. You don't let someone like that live because too many defenseless people can suffer for it.
Batman not making that distinction makes him look bad (again why people hate Damian in these films) but it's not as if it's new. Batman has been letting the Joker go for doing similar things for ages in the comics.
I'm one of those people who just doesn't get it. I know the value of life is important...but that's why I think letting these creeps go is a mistake. If you value the lives of innocent people more, then stop letting go the ones who don't deserve to live...it's just...logical.
Throughout the rest of this film, Damian continues to argue with Batman about whether he can trust the assassin, who is making a lot of good points, though ultimately is not on the right side.
When he does fight Batman, as the title says, it's mainly to protect the assassin guy who he's not sure really deserves to get taken down.
Instead of having a real conversation with Damian about why the assassin is wrong, and why he understands the frustration of the situation, Batman just tells him he's wrong, and pretty harshly at that.
And Damian is...10-11 in this film, it's not clear.
Right.
I have no patience for people who treat their kids like garbage. Though I have been known to defend characters like Endeavor (MHA), simply because I think they do not fully realize why that they do is wrong.
But Batman, already a hero who's supposed to be the one who shows mercy and who knows his son has never been taught what's right, really has no leg to stand on, expecting Damian to just agree with him and obey him when he has not earned that trust. That's what bother Ms.
But as far as it reflects on Damian, I actually like this trait in a child (or adult.)
Yeah, it's not one many poeple' like. I was never liked for it by too many adults (or peers) growing up. But questioning authority is necessary in life, if you don't want to be duped.
"If you stand for nothing, you will fall for everything" as the paraphrased quote goes.
I'm not even sure why Batman is surprised. He admits to Damian that there's only a thin line between him and the criminals morally, and then is puzzled when Damian is not impressed by this claim to the moral high ground enough to just do whatever he says.
I'm with Damian. If you're so morally weak you're barely a step above criminals, then, why should I listen to you?
People think Damian is arrogant. But, he's really not nearly as arrogant as he's assumed to be.
If you look at it form his perspective, hes' grown up around assassins and a monster like Ras Al Ghul, and his mother (who ends up being quite a psychopath also later on) and he was never taught anything but 'might makes right' and that the world would be better if the strong, like the assassin's, were in charge.
Naturally, he would assume that Batman's method of going around and beating crooks up to maintain order is not that far removed from Al Ghul's philosophy. And given how Batman and Al Ghul have a complicated history, he's not even that far off assuming that.
And since Batman himself claims to not be that different from the bad guys, why is Damian assuming that Batman's morally is unimpressive really such a leap? It's not.
He's just taking him at his word.
And Damain asks many times why Batman does things the way he does, and he always gets a short, and poorly explained answer.
And when he's asking him if he'd kill to protect or avenge Damian himself, you can tell he's hurt by Batman not saying yes.
Sure, wanting your parents to kill is bad, but it's somehow worse to imagine they wouldn't do it to save you. Or at least, wouldn't be angry enough to. Batman is not even willing to admit to that.
It's a question of self worth. Damian believes Batman values the lives of criminals more than his own, in a way. Or his safety at least.
And, if we ask Jason Todd (Red Hood), Damian might be right. Which is a very disturbing thought.
That said, Damian still never actually wants his father to die or suffer in the film, and is horrified when he realizes the assassins were just using him to get to Batman.
And in the end, since it's the man who was helping him who takes them all out and helps Damian escape, Damian's trust in him was somewhat justified.
So thinking critically, not just taking Batman at his word, sure, it led to some bad things, but on the other hand, Damian helped bring down a pretty huge threat ot Gotham and Bruce Wayne, by not being so close minded as Bruce. Even if he fumbled it in the end, but, he's a child. He did pretty well for someone without the understanding of depth an adult would have.
And what's Batman's excuse then? He missed the obvious in the film also, even more than Damian did, and no one blames him for it at the end.
I'm not saying that kids should disobey their parents, or that Damian was wise to do it. But Batman gave him no reason to think he really cared about him, and in the end, it's just heartbreaking that you can understand Damian's lack of trust and feeling secure in the Bat-home. Nightwing is a better father figure than Bruce is.
Granted, people object to how Damian talks to Nightwing also.
And that is the one thing I disliked about Damian, initially. Honestly, I don't care that he sassed Batman, because Bruce really has it coming with the way he acts towards him, but Dick tries to be nice, and Damian is still pretty rude to him.
And constantly reminding him that he is the "blood son."
However, after I inspected it a bit more closely, I did understand why Damian felt the away.
The first movie with Damian (The Son of Batman), centers around a plot where Slade wants to take Damian's place as the heir of the Assassins group. Slade being the non "blood" son to the group, and Damian having the 'rightful' claim.
From Damian's upbringing, he's taught to value blood ties above other ties, and so it's actually understandable that he assumes he has more value than Dick, right off the bat, because he's the blood son.
And sure, he's wrong, but the funny thing is, in the majority of cultures in the world that attitude is still considered pretty normal. Dick would be a second class member of the family in most societies, and it's only because the West is different (now) that we find the idea so abhorrent.
But Damian is not an American, and was not raised that way, so expecting him to understand this, when again, Batman never sits him down and tells him any different, is kind of stupid.
Come out think of it, I have to acknowledge that it's because I actually work in childcare and have read a lot of books about kids, that I understand not to expect them to just get it. The average viewer, who may never have interacted with any child other than their siblings and classmates, and who probably has no interest in kids, is going to miss this and just assume Damian is monster because he likes being that way.
But you can't know what you haven't been taught. Most of us would think no different if we weren't told otherwise. How many kids understand the idea of 'adoption' at a young age? Most of them have to mature into it over time. And that's even in America and other Western countries where it's normalized to have non-blood related family members.
So yeah, while he's a jerk about it, it makes sense.
And on the other hand, he does grow out of it. He comes to care about Nightwing and to respect him, even going so far as to awkwardly try to praise his decisions in "The Judas Contract" movie, and later in "Apokalips War" he even tried to save his life (not very successfully, but that's not the point). And I think he also grows out of it in the comics.
And Nightwing, who is by far the best male character in these movies, actually seems to understand that he can't take all this personally.
He tells Starfire in the "Teen Titans vs. Justice League" film that Damian has never had areal childhood or known how interact with kids, or anyone. And he seems to feel sorry for him.
But maybe that's because he can see where Damian's urge to prove himself, and to not look weak, and to find value in things that he was told are valuable, is coming from. And understands he'd probably be no different if he was in his shoes. They do eventually reconcile and get along a lot better.
And since I'm already on the Teen Titans, let's look at how Damian handles them.
Yeah, things get off to a rocky start.
Not helped by the fact that Batman assigns Damian to the Titans in order to basically have someone else deal with the problem he apparently cannot seem to correct himself. (imagine that.)
Damian is already mad about this when he joins, so he does take it out on Blue Beetle. And is rude to Starfire, and Raven.
However, Raven is not really fooled by this and states that she thinks Damain is "sad."
Which seems odd, since he never acts sad, until we consider that the events of the previous movies had him leaving home because he didn't feel he belonged, coming back only to save his ungrateful father from his crazy mother, and then sticks around for lack of anywhere else to go, and then getting chewed out for disobeying orders. Which, yeah, he did, but Batman didn't really 'nuture' him at all to give him more faith in his judgement. (Frankly, considering how often Damian, or Nigthwing, has to bail Batman out in these movies, you can't really blame him for thinking he shouldn't follow his orders. Batman seems to get himself nearly killed a lot.)
And the records shows Batman doesn't trust him, so Damian's feeling like he's being shoved to the side probably makes sense.
On top of that, he's being sent to people he doesn't know and doesn't like and is basically alone all over again.
So yeah, maybe he is "sad."
Doesn't stop him from challenging Jaime (Beetle) to a duel just to prove he's tough.
And people also hate Damian for starting this, but challenging people is just kind of how the assassins raised him. He had to fight all the time, and it was how you earned respect and your place in the group. He approaches everything the same way in life. A lot like modern gangs do in the intercity. But when was he ever taught otherwise? Batman didn't teach him, for sure.
And after it goes disastrously wrong, and Raven steps in to heal him, Damian does regret how he acted. Especially after Raven tells him he should make things right. Which he does, sort of.
Now this is after one day.
Honestly, most kids with his issues wouldn't come around that quickly. It shows that underneath the arrogance, Damian is able to see he was wrong, and has before, in the other movies.
But his first instinct is to be defensive because people are always either trying to kill him, or they're accusing him of something. Which happens again here.
But once he realizes that Jaime wasn't really so bad, and the others are okay, and that Raven is cool, he feels a little less threatened.
Once someone does anything nice for him, he always begins to be more grateful and to warm up to them.
Which says a lot about how hungry for love and acceptance Damian must have been.
And once he and the Titans fight together, he realizes that they could make a decent team and decides to give the whole idea a try, finally.
The nice thing is, unlike with Batman, he's not constantly being overshadowed here and told he's wrong.
In one of the scenes that pissed people off about him, he talks to Starfire about Raven and saying that they should know more about her, and that he doesn't think just 'having faith' in people is a good approach to life.
Starfire is mad at him over invading her privacy (and that's justified), but tells him she just thinks that Raven needed a home, just like the others.
Damian is not convinced.
But once eha ot rmeo that he ilatl jsti talked to Raven, and told her he saw Trigon (not know it was him) in her mind, and he knew osemiot was off, and Ravne flat out fiu to answer his questions (Which wahsioasn fair since she knew his secrets after their midn meld but I Can' lbns her for not want ot tell him her dad was a demon).
So yeah, I mean, that would raise a red flag for most people. Damidn't stupid, he knew she was hiding something bad.
But interestingly, he doesn't tell Starfire what he saw. Whether it's because he respects Raven's privacy, or because he doesn't trust Starfire, it's still a notable choice.
And his point to Starfire, while rudely put, isn't wrong. You road should be vetting people with weird, magical powers who never tell you anything about themselves, before you just let hem hang around your group of other young and vulnerable teenagers...sorry Starfire, but that's just common sense.
I'm also not against taking people in, of course, but Damian's point is a fair one. Granted, Starfire can make the choice to allow Raven in anyway, and the others can all make the choice to stay in the Titans,if not knowing doesn't bother the others.
But if Damian wants to know before he risks his life and health hanging around these people, then isn't that fair? I mean he's being forced to live here, and if he is worried about someone else who lives there, isn't that valid? He's been kidnapped enough times to be worried about any mystery girl what magical powers who won't tell him why she's there.
Granted, he doesn't dislike Raven, but he knows that people can come after you if you have powers. Or a past. And he wants to know what he's getting into.
Now put like that, it sounds reasonable.
Damian is bad at explaining himself. However, Starfire later admits he was probably right once Raven's past does almost get them all killed.
See, I take less issue with Damian's lack of communication skills because I expect no different from someone with his background. It's not like he was ever taught how to talk to people. In his history, being strong and forceful was all that was needed. And that's what he is.
When he does show a softer side, he's nervous about it.
There's a good scene with him and Raven, right before Trigon attacks, where after he gives a little girl a toy sword he won at the carnival, Raven tells him that he doesn't even know this about himself, but the has a "kind and generous soul".
Damian just looks at her weirdly.
Of course, this is the first time anyone's ever told him that.
Because most people assume he's a jerk. But when I looked at the other movies, I thought Raven was right. And Damian was always that way. Sure he didn't know how to show it and he didn't really have room to express while he was in the assassin's group, but he is show to worry about this family, to want to protect them, to take pity on people when he feels safe doing so, and to regret it when he endangers them by accident.
And in the second Teen Titan film, "The Judas Contract" there's a scene that no one ever talks about when they complain about Damian, where he is talking to Terra.
He's suspicions of Terra at this point--with good reason-- but instead of accusing her of things in the scene, he actually tries to sympathize with her about not fitting in, and attempts to find out what's bothering her.
This is unusual behavior from Damian, and shows he's gotten more comfortable being kind, in his own weird way. Sure he's awkward about it, but he's not mean.
And when he thinks Slade is attacking Terra, he tries to defend her.
After he finds out Terra was a traitor, he even tries to warn her that it won't work, instead of accusing her of being an awful person, because he knows how manipulative Slade is.
It doesn't work...but I fail to see how that makes Damian a jerk.
He also begins to show respect for Starfire and Nightwing both in this film. And while he is still annoying in how he expresses concern for the team, he is worried about the team, and it shows in his actions.
All this taken into consideration, I really think Damian Wayne is a good character.
I don't have time ot go into any more examples in detail, but we see little signs of him being caring in other films, comforting his father after Superman's death, worries about his father's love life (which is a weird scene, but I blame Talia for that), and in the Justice League Dark movie, he's a pretty solid team member.
3. Why I personally think Damian is an important character type.
This is probably going to be the most subjective part of this, because, it's more based on my experience than on just the movies themselves. But here goes:
I like Damian's character for another reason. Simply put, he reminds me of me a lot.
When I was the same age as him, I was always getting in trouble for mouthing off to my father, for questioning authority, and for being rude and overly harsh, according to some people.
Not everyone felt that way, but I rubbed a lot of adults the wrong way. And I didn't always get along with my peers either.
And a lot of it was for the same reason that Damian doesn't. I just didn't know how.
I wasn't really mean on purpose.
I treated my father that way because, as I've said before on this blog, he was a jerk to me. And my mother, and my sisters. I didn't respect him because he constantly disrespected us and devalued us and treated us like his servants. So I fought back the only way I know how.
And since he was bigger and stronger than me, the only way I really could. I couldn't fight with him, and if I even tried, he'd just threaten me into submission...so being defensive and snarky was the only way I could vent my frustration, and it never really worked.
I'm not surprised it didn't work now, but I don't know what else I could have done back then, even so. Reason never worked on my father either, even when I tried to do the mature thing.
And because so many adults assumed the worst bout me, I got very defensive for many years.
I was always offending people without knowing it, according to them. And nothing I did ever seemed to change their minds, not even if I apologized.
So I got tired of it and shut down to them emotionally. I even stopped talking, basically, because I could never think of what would be safe to say. And usually it didn't really matter what I said.
And because of the way I was treated, I often can't tell when people are making fun of me, or when they're criticizing, or just teasing in a good natured way. So I can be overly sensitive.
I'm much better about it now, but it's been 12-14 years...
So when I see a character like Damian, I know how realistic it is for him to act the way he does. He hasn't had the time to mature and experience the different types of people that I have, and he has the intelligence to know he's being teat unfairly, like I did, but not the emotional maturity to know how to shake it off. Which really only comes with age, you have to practice it, it can't happen overnight.
And like Damian, I tended to latch onto people who were nice to me, because it was so rare. And I can be fiercely loyal and defensive of those people, since I can't take it for granted.
While I realize that I need to grow still, I know that where I started from, essentially, wasn't that different from Damian.
But I know also that I had a good heart back then. I was generous and willing to help people. But I sucked at expressing it. The friends I did have probably just knew that about me.
And it's hard to know what people want to hear, if you've never heard it yourself, I might add.
Like it's hard to know people want you to encourage them, if you've never been encouraged by your parents in a normal way.
Or to know that being too brutally honest with people can be a turn off, if that's how you've been spoken to your whole life, or worse.
So, for what I was working with, I might have been doing pretty well, but other people didn't know this about me, so I got judged a lot for it.
I guess that's why it bothers me to see people talk about characters the same way. Because, people talked about me that way, so I know it's real.
And there are real kids who are like that, they don't mean any harm, but they have no idea how to act.
I'm not by any means saying Damian is a perfect angel who's just misunderstood. I know he has problems, just like real kids like him do.
But they're not the monster people say they are. They're misled, and misdirected human beings, but often, they can be the best kind of people once they mature.
I could easily believe Damian would surpass both Bruce, and Dick, even, when he matures. Because he shows the signs of becoming a more caring person, under the trauma and defensiveness, and he would do well in the right environment. Which is why in the Teen Titans, he grows more in a few months than he did with Batman for years. Because he is allowed to grow. And he's encouraged to be kinder by them, instead of it being seen as weak.
And probably because he's around Dick, the only male figure in his life who doesn't berate him all the time.
So yeah, that's my take on Damian Wayne. He's a good character, who is mishandled by the writers so that fans dislike him. a better writing staff would know how to make his good points more obvious to the audience, but, as it is, there are people who get it and fend him, and I salute them.
And for the people who give real life kids like that a chance, and understand where they're coming from, I salute you too. I try to be that kind of person myself.
So, until next time, stay honest-- Natasha.
[If you're interested in reading my attempt at writing Damian's character, or other superheroes stories, check out my fan fic on Wattpad under Natasha Queen/worldwalkerdj. https://www.wattpad.com/story/307445603-justice-league-worldcrossed]
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