Batman and Robin Are Undergoing a Major Character Arc, But They’ve Already Done It Several Times

Superhero comic books inherently exist in a circular story arc. Superheroes are made to be the stars of never-ending stories. So eventually, they must always reset back to a status quo so that audiences can always recognize the character. There can be changes that stick and character growth that becomes the new status quo, but generally speaking, there is a certain way characters are and act that they return to. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just a consequence of their nature, but when that reset is pushed too hard, too fast, and too often, it becomes a problem. One of the biggest offenders in that regard is Damian Wayne, Robin.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s run on Batman and Robin (2023) is a classic example of resetting a character so they can experience the same arc again. It happens to both titular characters in extreme cases. The main theme of the run so far has been Bruce and Damian learning to grow closer as father and son, and Damian maturing into a kinder, wiser man. The problem is that the previous run of this series had that exact same theme, and Damian has long since grown past his rambunctious assassin days. 

The Start of an Identical Arc

So far, there have been two writers for the current volume of Batman and Robin. Joshua Williamson and Phillip Kennedy Johnson have both written for this comic, and the central themes of their runs have been nearly the exact same. Both runs focus on a divide between Bruce and Damian as they’ve spent their entire lives working as superheroes, but have no idea how to be a family. There are plenty of differences, obviously, but the two runs tackle this same issue. This isn’t a bad thing, but Williamson’s run resolved this part of their relationship, only for it to immediately be undone.

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This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, especially with Damian’s character. Damian is the number one poster child for character resets. Ever since Damian’s introduction, he’s been learning to be a better person, but every time he makes progress, he is reset back to being immature. For example, Damian and Bruce had a falling out in Teen Titans Annual (2016) #2, where he quit working with his dad and went out on his own. He became a killer and closer to his mother, but over the course of Robin (2021) and Batman and Robin (2023), they grew closer again. Damian went from being an immature, angry boy to a wiser and grounded young man.

The end of Williamson’s run established that Bruce and Damian had finally figured out how to interact as father and son, and Damian had a prosperous school life to look forward to. However, Johnson’s run immediately removed the years of development Damian went through. The Damian who appeared in issues #13 and #14 legitimately read like different characters. Yes, Johnson’s voice for Damian was good, but only if this comic had come out ten years ago. 

The Status Quo Trouble

Batman and Damian were reset to a status quo, and while that is an inevitability in comic books, the continuous resetting of character arcs is very jarring, especially when they are so close together. Damian and Bruce have suffered from this more than most other characters, but the fact remains that any character suffering from it like this is too much. Comic books already have a large barrier to entry, and the last thing that they need is turning fans off because they think that the story arcs they read have no bearing on what comes next. Every longtime comic fan has been burned by a new run ignoring everything set up in the previous story at least once.

Returning to the status quo is inevitable, but that status quo can be changed at least a little bit. Damian is known to be a hothead who spouts off insults and acts like he’s better than everyone. None of those things need to disappear if he grows up a little bit and gets closer to his dad. Instead, he is dragged back to his starting point with no regard for all the strides he’s made to be better. Comic books are circular stories, and that is a large part of their appeal, but that does not mean circular character arcs are a good thing. People like to see the same story again and again, but not see characters learn the same lesson over and over again.

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