#I'm not a Damian Wayne Fan but I felt it's important to include him in this conversation if I want to yap about family issues

[shamelesstragedyenjoyer]

I'd love to read more canon accurate fics regarding both Duke and Damian's relashionships with their families. The prevailing fanon consensus seems to be that of depicting Duke seamlessly integrating into the Batfamily, overlooking his commitment to his living parents and his intention to reunite with them. For Duke, identifying as a member of the Batfamily feels like forsaking his existing family ties. "It's only temporary" he tells Bruce in Batman and The Signal (2018), and means it. Similarly, Damian's allegiance leans more towards the Al Ghuls than it does the Waynes. It's a very complex overall situation wherein which he sometimes prioritizes his relationship with the Al Ghuls, and others his Wayne lineage.

[giotanner]

After reading Batman 206 #147 and browsing through some online comments, I felt sorry that some thought the story somehow diminished Damian Wayne to highlight Tim Drake.

Speaking as a fan of Tim Drake, I believe he deserves recognition for his merits that have been overlooked for all these years. People reading comics in recent years found Tim useless, and… I get it. It wasn't clear what he was up to; he seemed like an outsider not included in the most important parts of the story. Which… rude, right? With the emergence of Jason and Damian, Tim seemed lost in terms of character development. They brought him back as Robin, but he seemed sidelined, without good writing.

Now, Tim Drake was one of the Robins who

1) chose to be Robin

and

2) uncovered the vigilantes' identities and knew he had to become Robin because Batman needed him as his partner.

It all boils down to this, and the last issue shows how this harmony between Tim and Bruce is crucial. This agreement between a young man who had to work hard because he wasn't a "natural," things didn't come easily to him, yet he persevered.

All of this is to say that I don't understand how this is damaging to Damian Wayne.

Let me explain my point of view: Damian blindly trusts Bruce, his father. And an abused child (by the League) who then grows up in a "healthy" environment (bat-family), where a father loves him… will struggle to find fault even though everyone tells him otherwise.

Sure, Dick is an important figure, and what happened to Jason during Gotham War is a wake-up call. BUT. At the same time, Damian is a fourteen-year-old boy who has finally grown from being that defensive, angry child.

Please, let's acknowledge that his character has had development. And precisely because of this development, he has more trust in Bruce Wayne. HE FEELS SAFE. Sure, he's Robin, and he's a detective, and he's intelligent, but he also trusts his father. And unfortunately, this leads him to make mistakes.

Instead, Tim in canon lies to Batman; he was that kid who wanted evidence first: that's how he discovered Batman, that's how he found out Bruce wasn't dead but lost in time.

It's not bad writing in my opinion. It's not a way to weaken Damian and highlight Tim. No. They are just two different characters who have grown in different ways. So I'm loving how this story is continuing.