Soon enough, we’ll be getting two different Batman’s on the big screen within possibly one year of each other, and it is exciting. Honestly, I think it can work in a fantastic manner. We’re already getting two Batman’s in one movie with this summer’s Flash movie that will have Ben Affleck and the legendary Michael Keaton so it’s not too far of a concept to accept two big screen Batmans in two totally unique movies within 1 to 4 years of each other.
The Dynamic Duo
I’ll be going over the future of The Batman franchise in future posts, and videos, but here, I want to talk about The Brave and the Bold. This movie, we have been told will focus on Batman and his son Damian Wayne as Robin. Now it may just be me, but it seems that this movie will be about Damian’s journey to becoming Robin, and not about him already being Robin, but I’m open to both. As James Gunn has said Damian is an “assassin,” and a “murderer,” so given his headstrong and murderous personality, he will be challenging Batman for a while.
Although, I hope the Brave and the Bold is about Damian’s transformation into a respectable Robin, I think the main focus should be about Batman and his story of learning how to become a father and mentor to Damian. Hopefully, this version of Batman will have had some experience in this arena with adopting and training Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake in the past, as well as mentoring Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. It would be great to have some of these characters show have small parts in this movie. Some spinoff movies like Nightwing and Batgirl could be great.
Robin’s Age Issue
Damian Wayne’s age and Robins age in general has been a subject of controversy over the years. Having a young crime fighter does present a few problems. For one, it is reckless for Batman to go around fighting crime with anyone whose not an adult, but especially someone around 10 years old. There have been versions of Batman this young, but I personally don’t think that is the direction to go. Now, they could have Batman training Damian, but never taking him out into the Gotham. Of course, Damian will end up sneaking out there and fighting criminals anyway.
Yes there is a common example to look at which is Hitgirl from the Kickass movies. She is somewhere around 10 to 13 and she seems to fight criminals with ease. One of the problems that I see here is that Hitgirl is often looking to go immediately for the kill and uses sharp objects and guns. Fighting to restrain and/or simply take the bad guys down can be a lot more complicated than simply using a deadly weapon such as a knife or a gun.
Damian Wayne may want to go straight for the kill, but he’s going to have to learn how to fight without killing if he’s going to work alongside Batman. Another problem here is Kickass was a comedy of sorts. It’s almost like a parody for lack of a better term. It has a specific tone that might not be the best for this Batman movie, and this new DCU world overall.
Another example that has been pointed out is that of Wolverine’s clone/daughter Laura in Logan. The argument that her character works so Robin’s character could work is quickly dismantled by the fact that she has a super fast healing factor, and razor sharp claws. Robin may be fast, but he will still be at a significant disadvantage going up against a much heavier opponent. In the comics, Damian not only has the genetics of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, his development is enhanced by scientific measures taken by Talia. However, he is still only human, and a child not a fast healing mutant.
Heroes and Villains
After receiving the news about the Batman the Brave and the Bold movie, I went ahead and watched two animated movies that had Damian Wayne as a central focus. The first one was Son of Batman and the other one was Batman Vs Robin. These movies have a lot of captivating elements. Some of these elements could be incorporated into the new Batman movie with great success. In addition to Batman and Damian Wayne’s Robin there are several great Batman related heroes and villains that we’ll play a part in this movie.
In the Son of Batman movie, Damian Wayne meets his father, but instead of Talia simply deciding it is time, she is dropping Damian off to keep him safe. Before Talia drops Damian off, Deathstroke attacks the League of Assassins. I’m sure there is a comic out there that has both Deathstroke, and Damian, but I don’t believe Deathstroke is involved with Damian’s Robin origin story. Deathstroke is a truly menacing villain that many fans have been eagerly anticipating, so having him as part of the Brave and the Bold story would be exciting.
In the comics, the character, Nobody provides a good conflict for Damian who wants to learn from his dad, but also has opposing views about how to handle criminals. In the comics, the character of Nobody is going around killing criminals that Batman has of course only been stopping. Damian ends up teaming up with Nobody briefly, and while this does lend to the struggle that Damian is going through, it seems a little convenient for the story that this Nobody guy shows up. However, these types of coincidences do seem to happen in real life.
As far as other villains go, I mentioned in the Batman Brave and Bold Expectations video that it would be nice to have one or two traditional Batman villains as side characters. For example, Two-Face could be running the streets at this point, and the police haven’t been able to pin him for the many crimes that his henchmen carry out for him. It would also be great for this new Batman and Robin duo to take on a scheme by someone like the Mad Hatter, and to see the expression on his face change when he realizes that Robin is trying to kill him. Naturally, Batman would stop him.
Since Ra’s Al Ghul, Talia, and the League of Shadows are a big part of who Damian is, it would also be good for them to play a big role in the movie. In my Batman Brave and the Bold Expectations video, I lay out a premise that shows Talia training Damian in the beginning. I think Ra’s should be involved as well. Perhaps, he wants Damian to train with Bruce more than Talia does, or the other way around. After she drops Damian off, I could see her, Ra’s and the League of Shadows get involved again in the third act, and might even team up with the Bat family in a strange turn of events.
Another great thing about the Son of Batman movie is that Nightwing was in it. In the comics, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne team up a few times, even as Batman and Robin in Bruce Wayne’s absence. They have a good big brother little brother dynamic, and Nightwing’s presence could open the door for a Nightwing spinoff movie that could show us fighting crime solo in Bludhaven, and also give us some flashbacks of his time as Robin. Tim Drake would provide a good rivalry for Damian, and Batgirl could help put Damian in his place as well.
It’s an exciting time to think that we are finally getting the Bat family back to the big screen. There is a lot of hesitation, especially because of how the movies Batman Forever, and Batman and Robin were. However, the problems with those movies extend well beyond the inclusion of the Bat family. While we don’t know for sure, it appears that with the Brave and the Bold movie, we will get a well established Bat family, and if so, it could potentially be a lot of fun to learn about their past together and how they operate together. In previous iterations, all of the members of the Bat family provide a unique personality, and Damian is no exception. It seems that by the time Damian enters the picture, they have an established way of doing things, and he throws a big wrench into their status quo.
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