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Robin: Son of Batman
Robin – Son of Batman, Volume 2: Dawn of the Demons
He’s come back from the dead. He’s atoned for his sins. But the hardest challenge for Damian Wayne is yet to come…
He has to go home.
With his man-bat companion, Goliath, in tow, the son of Batman has returned to Gotham City, reuniting with friends, foes and family alike. But it’s not the Dark Knight whose help he’ll need in the next battle he must fight. Evil is coming in the form of yet another deadly child: Den Darga, head of the Lu’un Darga family and Damian’s most fanatical rival yet.
To stop this demonic cabal, Robin will need the help of the Daughter of the Demon herself: Talia al Ghul, his mother, mentor and tormentor all rolled into one. Can Robin and his unlikely allies stop the Dargas’ onslaught, or will his Gotham City reunion be over before it begins?
Find out in ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN VOL. 2: DAWN OF THE DEMONS, the latest chapter in writer/artist Patrick Gleason’s (BATMAN & ROBIN) hit saga of a very different Boy Wonder—featuring killer contributions from writer Ray Fawkes (BATMAN ETERNAL), artist Ramón Bachs (DETECTIVE COMICS) and more!
Collects: ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN #7-13.
He has to go home.
With his man-bat companion, Goliath, in tow, the son of Batman has returned to Gotham City, reuniting with friends, foes and family alike. But it’s not the Dark Knight whose help he’ll need in the next battle he must fight. Evil is coming in the form of yet another deadly child: Den Darga, head of the Lu’un Darga family and Damian’s most fanatical rival yet.
To stop this demonic cabal, Robin will need the help of the Daughter of the Demon herself: Talia al Ghul, his mother, mentor and tormentor all rolled into one. Can Robin and his unlikely allies stop the Dargas’ onslaught, or will his Gotham City reunion be over before it begins?
Find out in ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN VOL. 2: DAWN OF THE DEMONS, the latest chapter in writer/artist Patrick Gleason’s (BATMAN & ROBIN) hit saga of a very different Boy Wonder—featuring killer contributions from writer Ray Fawkes (BATMAN ETERNAL), artist Ramón Bachs (DETECTIVE COMICS) and more!
Collects: ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN #7-13.
176 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 2016
25 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Gleason
660 books61 followersPatrick Gleason is a comic book artist. Among his credits are the 2005/2006 miniseries Green Lantern Corps: Recharge. He has also worked on such titles as Aquaman, JLA: Welcome to the Working Week, JSA, Noble Causes, H-E-R-O, and X-Men Unlimited.
He has been the regular penciller on DC's Green Lantern Corps since its debut in 2006.
Photo by Luigi Novi.
He has been the regular penciller on DC's Green Lantern Corps since its debut in 2006.
Photo by Luigi Novi.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
May 25, 2021
(B) 73% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: A crackpot afterthought, vapidly inane, it goes straight down to cutesy-town, like a promo comic of a fast food chain.
Notes: A crackpot afterthought, vapidly inane, it goes straight down to cutesy-town, like a promo comic of a fast food chain.
July 24, 2019
Unfortunately, Patrick Gleason only draws one issue in the book and then left to start Superman: Rebirth. Ray Fawkes and Ramon Bachs take over and the book turns to crap. Poor writing and art abound for the rest of the book.
Robin is all of a sudden chasing the anti-Robin who's putting all the stuff Robin stole during the Year of Blood back so that his family can destroy the world. Somehow, his dad gains power by putting the objects back where they were. It's never explained very well. Fawkes focuses on the action and lets story and characterization fall to the wayside. Maya was a really good, interesting character in volume 1. Here she does nothing but tag along with Talia. An extremely disappointing finish to a very promising series.
Robin is all of a sudden chasing the anti-Robin who's putting all the stuff Robin stole during the Year of Blood back so that his family can destroy the world. Somehow, his dad gains power by putting the objects back where they were. It's never explained very well. Fawkes focuses on the action and lets story and characterization fall to the wayside. Maya was a really good, interesting character in volume 1. Here she does nothing but tag along with Talia. An extremely disappointing finish to a very promising series.
April 11, 2017
I expected a lot more from this book because the first volume was #10 in my top 10 graphic novels last year. That book is 99% responsible for making me love Damian Wayne. He can be a little, seemingly sociopathic jerk but that book really delved into what makes him a great character. His creators never shied away from his past. Damian has killed people, stolen sacred items from different communities and he's trying to atone for that. He is a redemption story and his biggest struggle is trying to find his identity amongst a father that appears to ignore him and a mother that bred him for evil. Unlike Cassandra, he embraces the vicious part of himself (minus the killing) and unlike Stephanie, he wants Bruce's approval. He's a really complex character and I appreciate that even while I'm cooing over Gleason drawing him with one of his front teeth missing.
That being said, this book took all of those amazing concepts, drew inspiration from a Disney Channel movie and spelled them out like the readers were stupid. It reads like a young reader novel in a way the first one didn't. The chief problem is the shift from Gleason to Fawkes. I think DC took off Gleason to work on Robin War? I wish I thought to research this book before I bought it because this was a huge bummer for me. Gleason wrote 2 of the 7 issues. A Robin War tie in and a one shot where Damian watches a family enviously from his perch near a playground.
The Robin War tie in was okay. I know nothing about that event but I liked the characters. I liked seeing Damian interacting with Tim, Jason and Duke. The summary of events in the issue that follows that one intrigues me. Those few sentences were more interesting than Fawkes' issues, unfortunately.
The next issue where Damian is envious of another boy's childhood broke my heart. It interesting to me how little I hear people talk about how much the comics paint Bruce as a bad father. Damian's earlier murderous tendencies aside, Bruce is never around. All Damian centric stories here, in Super Sons and the new Teen Titans, Damian is alone at home while Bruce is Batman-ing. It makes for an even lonelier childhood than before and I just wanna give that kid a hug. We get to see Pennyworth, Titus and Batcow! I loved this little issue. It's the last good one before the shift.
Fawkes doesn't seem to get what Damian's story was about before he took over. He underuitilized Maya, brought Talia back for some reason and essentially created a clone of Damian for a villain. The Darga kid is supposed to be who Damian was? Or who he would've been had he never wised up and decided to fight for himself. I think. He's set up to be this great rival except he didn't seem very formidable to me. The speech Damian gives him about finding his own value or goals or whatever was so on the nose I thought I'd stumbled into a comic version of Degrassi Junior High. I know your whole family's doing it Darga kid and it seems like the cool thing to do but don't do magic, man. It'll ruin your life and it's a gateway evil to other evils, man. Think about your future.
There is a point where this book basically becomes Long Island Medium and I was so fucking done.
Look, this may work for kids really well but the first one was great for all ages. It was mature, it trusted that its readers could see the subtleties in the writing and the art. It didn't talk down to you and beat you over the head with what Damian was struggling with. I don't know why they took Gleason off this book but his absence was painful.
This just made me even more thankful for Super Sons.
That being said, this book took all of those amazing concepts, drew inspiration from a Disney Channel movie and spelled them out like the readers were stupid. It reads like a young reader novel in a way the first one didn't. The chief problem is the shift from Gleason to Fawkes. I think DC took off Gleason to work on Robin War? I wish I thought to research this book before I bought it because this was a huge bummer for me. Gleason wrote 2 of the 7 issues. A Robin War tie in and a one shot where Damian watches a family enviously from his perch near a playground.
The Robin War tie in was okay. I know nothing about that event but I liked the characters. I liked seeing Damian interacting with Tim, Jason and Duke. The summary of events in the issue that follows that one intrigues me. Those few sentences were more interesting than Fawkes' issues, unfortunately.
The next issue where Damian is envious of another boy's childhood broke my heart. It interesting to me how little I hear people talk about how much the comics paint Bruce as a bad father. Damian's earlier murderous tendencies aside, Bruce is never around. All Damian centric stories here, in Super Sons and the new Teen Titans, Damian is alone at home while Bruce is Batman-ing. It makes for an even lonelier childhood than before and I just wanna give that kid a hug. We get to see Pennyworth, Titus and Batcow! I loved this little issue. It's the last good one before the shift.
Fawkes doesn't seem to get what Damian's story was about before he took over. He underuitilized Maya, brought Talia back for some reason and essentially created a clone of Damian for a villain. The Darga kid is supposed to be who Damian was? Or who he would've been had he never wised up and decided to fight for himself. I think. He's set up to be this great rival except he didn't seem very formidable to me. The speech Damian gives him about finding his own value or goals or whatever was so on the nose I thought I'd stumbled into a comic version of Degrassi Junior High. I know your whole family's doing it Darga kid and it seems like the cool thing to do but don't do magic, man. It'll ruin your life and it's a gateway evil to other evils, man. Think about your future.
There is a point where this book basically becomes Long Island Medium and I was so fucking done.
Look, this may work for kids really well but the first one was great for all ages. It was mature, it trusted that its readers could see the subtleties in the writing and the art. It didn't talk down to you and beat you over the head with what Damian was struggling with. I don't know why they took Gleason off this book but his absence was painful.
This just made me even more thankful for Super Sons.
January 9, 2022
This was a disappointing volume.
It starts with tie-in to Robin war so half the story is already confusing and then you have something with him recounting his adventure on chinese island and then the threat of Den darga's son starts as he wants to keep the artefacts Damian stole in his year of blood back to their places so the Darga (the villains family) may rise again and so Damian teams up with Batman, Talia and others and well haphazard advetures in Gorilla city, Dinosaur island and fighting this guy and his father Den and some other confusing thing happened in the end which was so boring.
This volume was weird and its just a random sequence of events and the writing is disappointing but its the art which is terrible and so bad. I feel like Rebirth was coming so they had to end the series and it shows and its just random and terrible throughout. So skip this volume. You're better off not reading this.
It starts with tie-in to Robin war so half the story is already confusing and then you have something with him recounting his adventure on chinese island and then the threat of Den darga's son starts as he wants to keep the artefacts Damian stole in his year of blood back to their places so the Darga (the villains family) may rise again and so Damian teams up with Batman, Talia and others and well haphazard advetures in Gorilla city, Dinosaur island and fighting this guy and his father Den and some other confusing thing happened in the end which was so boring.
This volume was weird and its just a random sequence of events and the writing is disappointing but its the art which is terrible and so bad. I feel like Rebirth was coming so they had to end the series and it shows and its just random and terrible throughout. So skip this volume. You're better off not reading this.
May 30, 2016
"You can identify with someone and still have to crush them."
Batman has basically been the worst dad ever and as much as Damien is trying to hold in his hurt about his awful parentage, this volume really shows how impacted he is.
Damien truly has created his own little family in Goliath, Titus, Pennyworth, Maya, and Batcow (yes, Batcow is back). He really wants his nuclear family to be a thing but it's clear in the book that it's just not possible. The last story is kind of heartbreaking, really.
Batman has basically been the worst dad ever and as much as Damien is trying to hold in his hurt about his awful parentage, this volume really shows how impacted he is.
Damien truly has created his own little family in Goliath, Titus, Pennyworth, Maya, and Batcow (yes, Batcow is back). He really wants his nuclear family to be a thing but it's clear in the book that it's just not possible. The last story is kind of heartbreaking, really.
September 29, 2021
Open-ended conclusion of a 13-issue run. Damian's Year of Atonement has gone off track, since the discovery that an ancient evil was using his tools of power to reawaken and return to the mortal plane. So he's off, with the help of family new and old, to save the world.
I didn't like the finales to the various climaxes within the book -- particularly the final two, as one seemed contrived and the other was not in the personal style of the characters to... resolve, not in the manner that it happened. I hope the Rebirth has a better fate in store for Damian.
I didn't like the finales to the various climaxes within the book -- particularly the final two, as one seemed contrived and the other was not in the personal style of the characters to... resolve, not in the manner that it happened. I hope the Rebirth has a better fate in store for Damian.
August 8, 2017
There's a Robin War tie-in issue here which is neither here nor there, but at least DC had the intelligence to put 'previously' pages before and after it, so it makes more sense without the surrounding issues. Hallelujah, it only took them until the New 52 was almost over before thinking that might be a good idea.
Anyway.
Patrick Gleason bids farewell to the series after that, with one final issue that ties into the current Batman status quo with Bruce Wayne being all memory-loss-y and stuff, which is sad, and also back into Gleason and Tomasi's Batman & Robin run by bringing back some characters from there too. It's a good place for the series to stop, given how the story came to a close last issue, but instead we get five more issues that I could have done without to be honest.
Ray Fawkes and Ramon Bachs take over the series and resurrect Den Darga's son Suren, who sets about replacing the rest of Damian's artefacts from the Year Of Blood in order to restore his father to life and detonate the Lazarus Heart, destroying all life on earth. That's nice. Damian, Goliath, Nobody, Batman, and Talia race around the globe trying to stop him, predictably failing at every turn, and then the story ends...before going on for one more issue just because, like it can't decide whether it wants to finish happily or on a cliffhanger or what. Very strange.
Ramon Bachs' art is very dynamic, if a bit angular for my tastes, and Damian has a GIANT head which is sometimes off-putting. He also likes doing the Goliath-flying-into-a-new-place splash pages, which are great every single time.
Honestly, I'd say read issues #1-6, and then #8 of this series, then stop. The final arc is fun, but a bit of a mess and not really very necessary when everything's already finished off before that.
Anyway.
Patrick Gleason bids farewell to the series after that, with one final issue that ties into the current Batman status quo with Bruce Wayne being all memory-loss-y and stuff, which is sad, and also back into Gleason and Tomasi's Batman & Robin run by bringing back some characters from there too. It's a good place for the series to stop, given how the story came to a close last issue, but instead we get five more issues that I could have done without to be honest.
Ray Fawkes and Ramon Bachs take over the series and resurrect Den Darga's son Suren, who sets about replacing the rest of Damian's artefacts from the Year Of Blood in order to restore his father to life and detonate the Lazarus Heart, destroying all life on earth. That's nice. Damian, Goliath, Nobody, Batman, and Talia race around the globe trying to stop him, predictably failing at every turn, and then the story ends...before going on for one more issue just because, like it can't decide whether it wants to finish happily or on a cliffhanger or what. Very strange.
Ramon Bachs' art is very dynamic, if a bit angular for my tastes, and Damian has a GIANT head which is sometimes off-putting. He also likes doing the Goliath-flying-into-a-new-place splash pages, which are great every single time.
Honestly, I'd say read issues #1-6, and then #8 of this series, then stop. The final arc is fun, but a bit of a mess and not really very necessary when everything's already finished off before that.
May 11, 2017
Had it's moments but not enough.
World: The art is okay, it's not Gleason art so it is a step back and I found the characters and the art overall a bit jaggy which I did not fancy. The world building builds upon the last arc, which was a bit muddled and all over the place with the mystic magic stuff. So Damian is suppose to put those pieces back, but now he doesn't want to put those pieces back...what?? Yeah it was a bit choppy in the world building department.
Story: The story was choppy and all action meaning there was not a lot of quiet moments, there were some and this is where the best parts of the book are, but they are few and far between. The best parts were the family stuff with those emotional panels of Damian just opening up, seeing his Mum and Dad bicker and moments with his "sister" Maya, those were the best. The rest is forgettable and meh.
Characters: The bat family is getting crowded now, but I don't mind it I think each can have their own little piece of Gotham and their own story to tell and I like how Damian has his own little family now and his own little piece of supernatural DCU to play with. Damian is well written, those quiet moments really puts into perspective how messed up his childhood was. The rest of the cast was light on the development though, there was not a lot of Maya development and Talia, which I wanted to have more of this arc was just her old self...zzz.
It was an aight end to an aight series, potential was there but not reached.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art is okay, it's not Gleason art so it is a step back and I found the characters and the art overall a bit jaggy which I did not fancy. The world building builds upon the last arc, which was a bit muddled and all over the place with the mystic magic stuff. So Damian is suppose to put those pieces back, but now he doesn't want to put those pieces back...what?? Yeah it was a bit choppy in the world building department.
Story: The story was choppy and all action meaning there was not a lot of quiet moments, there were some and this is where the best parts of the book are, but they are few and far between. The best parts were the family stuff with those emotional panels of Damian just opening up, seeing his Mum and Dad bicker and moments with his "sister" Maya, those were the best. The rest is forgettable and meh.
Characters: The bat family is getting crowded now, but I don't mind it I think each can have their own little piece of Gotham and their own story to tell and I like how Damian has his own little family now and his own little piece of supernatural DCU to play with. Damian is well written, those quiet moments really puts into perspective how messed up his childhood was. The rest of the cast was light on the development though, there was not a lot of Maya development and Talia, which I wanted to have more of this arc was just her old self...zzz.
It was an aight end to an aight series, potential was there but not reached.
Onward to the next book!
October 13, 2022
So this volume starts with an issue that continues the story from issue 7 of "we are robins" without completing it (boy am I glad I actually had read that issue before hand, or I'd have been super confused), but still why do that?
Anyway thankfully after that we get back to where we left off in the last volume.
Damian's character development is just fantastic, istg this gremlin is just growing on me so much 😭 I love my boy.
There is alot of moments in this that I enjoyed so much, the scenes where Bruce and talia fight whilst Damian is with them, or when Damian holds their hands so that they work together as a family :")
I have to say I enjoyed the art style in this volume way more, I loved the way Damian was drawn (mind you with his missing tooth too).
Anyway thankfully after that we get back to where we left off in the last volume.
Damian's character development is just fantastic, istg this gremlin is just growing on me so much 😭 I love my boy.
There is alot of moments in this that I enjoyed so much, the scenes where Bruce and talia fight whilst Damian is with them, or when Damian holds their hands so that they work together as a family :")
I have to say I enjoyed the art style in this volume way more, I loved the way Damian was drawn (mind you with his missing tooth too).
September 15, 2019
This second volume of the series provides a decent resolution, although it starts off weakly with a Robin War tie-in that doesn't do a whole lot. Then we return to the Year of Blood (sort of) as a background motivation as it turns out the actions were intended to stave off a rival, and Damian's redemptive acts end up putting the world in more danger, at the hands of another kid very similar to him. Nobody earns her keep here a bit more, and Goliath gets a couple of fun moments. The antagonist has a decent arc as well, and the ending is appropriate for the intended audience. The art is still energetic, but it felt much more readable this time. And the reappearance of another dead character is actually handled pretty well, with some family issues resolved in entertaining ways. I think the entire series is worth a read, even if it starts off a bit weak. The art is fun, Damian gets to grow and show some depth (and I don't think he says 'tt' more than once or twice in the entire series), and even have some fun. I'll take it.
September 23, 2016
The ending was pretty disappointing. It became very cheesy and hokey at the end. It felt like, right at the end, it suddenly needed to be written for a preteen audience.
December 1, 2016
Cease publication quickly ,and be forgotten.
July 30, 2020
Goliath is still best boi
March 13, 2021
when someone talks trash about damian
March 16, 2022
whoever in dc headquarters decided that comics should not be in order and that you have to read 2729 series at the same time to get a cohesive plot is going to hell
February 15, 2023
3.5 stars
I got Brutalia and Damian what's there more to ask.
I got Brutalia and Damian what's there more to ask.
June 13, 2025
the art does suffer quite a bit when gleason leaves imo, but contrary to what others have said the writing decidedly does not. i loved gleason's writing, don't get me wrong, but fawkes sticks the landing and then some. this is one of damian's best books.
July 13, 2020
From bad to worse. Not only does this suffer from the same incoherent storytelling as the previous volume (see my other review), but now we have a Robin War crossover interrupting (I even read all of Robin War just to try to care about it), and Gleason leaving the book after two or three issues.
Again, there's moments here and there that show potential. But is this Bruce and Talia's reunion since the insane events of Batman Incorporated? Or had they met again before that? Because the last time they met, some very intense stuff went down and their cute banter doesn't feel weighty enough considering what she put Batman through in that series.
I found this still incomprehensible and frustrating. A series about Damian could be so great. But this couldn't be more unfriendly to new readers. I'm not even a new reader and I was completely lost and bored.
Again, there's moments here and there that show potential. But is this Bruce and Talia's reunion since the insane events of Batman Incorporated? Or had they met again before that? Because the last time they met, some very intense stuff went down and their cute banter doesn't feel weighty enough considering what she put Batman through in that series.
I found this still incomprehensible and frustrating. A series about Damian could be so great. But this couldn't be more unfriendly to new readers. I'm not even a new reader and I was completely lost and bored.
January 18, 2018
I told a friend that I wasn't going to review items from my comic collection on here and was only recording them because Goodreads recognises them as books and it would help me achieve a much higher challenge total than previous years (and help me remember which I had read).
However, this one was so bad, I just couldn't help myself. When DC launched the New 52 universe, I finally ditched my habit of buying individual issues and went totally-TPB, eventually managing to buy every volume that was released during the New 52's lifetime. This series is by far the worst and a clear indication that DC should never have messed about with the character of Robin.
Messy, at times incomprehensible and I really don't like the character (which doesn't help, I admit).
However, this one was so bad, I just couldn't help myself. When DC launched the New 52 universe, I finally ditched my habit of buying individual issues and went totally-TPB, eventually managing to buy every volume that was released during the New 52's lifetime. This series is by far the worst and a clear indication that DC should never have messed about with the character of Robin.
Messy, at times incomprehensible and I really don't like the character (which doesn't help, I admit).
August 14, 2017
A threadbare script revolving around magic artifacts that can somehow (it is never explained) bring about the end of all life on Earth when thrown into a volcano. This kind of dopey story is best relegated to a part of the DC Universe where realism is neither expected nor wanted. It would make for a pretty decent extended episode of Teen Titans Go! on Cartoon Network.
There is an attempt to show Damian's growth as a character, which works in places. The author struggles to find the proper tone for the book. There is never a sense of how perilous a situation Damian is in, which is a problem when the stakes are worldwide genocide.
There is an attempt to show Damian's growth as a character, which works in places. The author struggles to find the proper tone for the book. There is never a sense of how perilous a situation Damian is in, which is a problem when the stakes are worldwide genocide.
November 3, 2016
This Volume and overall title run was alright. Nothing crazy special. Damien, fresh from saving Nobody, tracks down a thief who is stealing back the artifacts he got during his "Year of Blood". Batman and Talia appear here, but only help to distract from the story.
Overall, recommend, if you really love Damien. Otherwise, skip.
Overall, recommend, if you really love Damien. Otherwise, skip.
October 24, 2016
Preferred the first volume. This one at times is hampered by need to be part of a crossover and reflect other changes like Batman's status.
June 16, 2018
Robin: Son of Batman: Dawn of the Demons picks up where the previous trade paperback left off, collecting the last seven issues (7–13) of the 2015 on-going series.
Robin: Son of Batman: Dawn of the Demons opens with the Robin War event issue (Robin: Son of Batman #7) written by Ray Fawkes, albeit plotted by Patrick Gleason and penciled by Scott McDaniel. It is the penultimate issue of six issues, so we don't know how the storyline started or how it would end and could be problematic if one hasn't read the proceeding issues.
It's starts out with having Damian Wayne as Robin and his older brothers, Jason Todd as Red Hood and Tim Drake as Red Robin with the We Are Robin crew trying to escape from being illegally detained by their Talon jailers. After the battle, Damian Wayne disappears only to reappear at the end of the issue being the Gary Son of Gotham – the leader of the Talons.
The rest of the trade paperback deals with Damian Wayne coming to terms that his father has amnesia and doesn't remember that he's Batman and that he is truly alone, but he decides to stay in Gotham City to protect it. Furthermore, he isn't sure how to continue his Quest of Atonement, because if he continues to return the relics he has stolen during his Year of Blood – it would strengthen the Lu'un Darga and bring about their prophesied apocalypse.
However, the decision was taken from him when the last three relics have been stolen from his secret submarine. Damian Wayne with Goliath heads off to Mexico hoping that whoever that stole the last three relics haven't returned them to their proper places. Apparently, Soren Darga, the son of Den Darga, decided to take matters into his own hands and continue with the apocalypse.
So, the remaining issues pit Soren Darga, heir to the Lu'un Darga vs. Damian Wayne, heir to the Bat and League of Assassins. Meanwhile Talia al Ghul kidnaps Maya Ducard from Badhnisia, because she thought Maya betrayed Damian Wayne and Batman, having regained his memory, meets them in Gorilla City to fight against Soren Darga and his Lu'un Darga warriors along with Robin and Goliath. Unfortunately, they couldn't stop Soren Darga in time as he disappears with Maya Ducard.
Damian Wayne managed to get to Soren Darga in time for him to stop placing the last relic in place, but couldn't convince him not to place it. With the eight relics in place: the Stone Head of the Guardian at a Mesoamerican Pyramid in South [sic] America (Robin: Son of Batman #2), the Crystal in a cave at Hornstrandir, Iceland (Robin: Son of Batman #3), Canopic Jars at the ruins of Alexandra, Egypt (Robin: Son of Batman #4), Scall Dru'un at the Temple of Den at North Asia (Robin: Son of Batman #5), the Bloodless Blade in a temple at China (Robin: Son of Batman #8), the Serpent Heart at the Crystal Cave in Chihuahua, Mexico (Robin: Son of Batman #10), the Helmet of Solovar at Gorilla City in the Congo Basin (Robin: Son of Batman #11), and finally the Eye of the Sleeper in the heart of a volcano on Dinosaur Island in the South Pacific (Robin: Son of Batman #12) – the apocalypse begins.
As the world is coming to an end, Damian Wayne and Soren Darga are fighting for their lives. Damian Wayne manages to convince Soren Darga with a heart to heart to question his father and his faith just enough for Soren Darga to halt the prophesied apocalypse from happening. As a reward for stopping the destruction on all life on Earth, Soren Darga was knocked out by Damian Wayne. The last issue, Robin: Son of Batman #13 has Damian Wayne, Maya Ducard, and Soren Darga engaged in a battle with Soren's father to stop his back-up plan in the Tunguska Crater Site in Russia.
With the exception of Robin: Son of Batman #9, which was written by Patrick Gleason, the rest of the trade paperback was written by Ray Fawkes – although it should be noted that Patrick Gleason plotted the Robin War issue (Robin: Son of Batman #7), but was written by Ray Fawkes. The sole issue written and penciled by Gleason was really poignant and beautiful. For the most part, Fawkes was written rather well, but it felt rushed – like a story he had to finish and soon. Regardless, he did rather well for ending a story that Gleason started – a story not his own.
Robin: Son of Batman: Dawn of the Demons have three pencilers. For the most part this trade paperback was penciled by Ramon Bachs (Robin: Son of Batman #8, 10–13) with Scott McDaniel and Patrick Gleason penciling one issue each (Robin: Son of Batman #7 and #9 respectively). Besides McDaniel, whose penciling style is much to be deserved, the rest have their strengths and weakness on their own. However, together it didn't flow well – artistically.
All in all, Robin: Son of Batman: Dawn of the Demons is a wonderful conclusion for the series. It is a lovely series that I quite enjoyed reading, but the second half seemed rush, which is probably was because of the Rebirth event happening. Regardless, it was a wonderful read.
Robin: Son of Batman: Dawn of the Demons opens with the Robin War event issue (Robin: Son of Batman #7) written by Ray Fawkes, albeit plotted by Patrick Gleason and penciled by Scott McDaniel. It is the penultimate issue of six issues, so we don't know how the storyline started or how it would end and could be problematic if one hasn't read the proceeding issues.
It's starts out with having Damian Wayne as Robin and his older brothers, Jason Todd as Red Hood and Tim Drake as Red Robin with the We Are Robin crew trying to escape from being illegally detained by their Talon jailers. After the battle, Damian Wayne disappears only to reappear at the end of the issue being the Gary Son of Gotham – the leader of the Talons.
The rest of the trade paperback deals with Damian Wayne coming to terms that his father has amnesia and doesn't remember that he's Batman and that he is truly alone, but he decides to stay in Gotham City to protect it. Furthermore, he isn't sure how to continue his Quest of Atonement, because if he continues to return the relics he has stolen during his Year of Blood – it would strengthen the Lu'un Darga and bring about their prophesied apocalypse.
However, the decision was taken from him when the last three relics have been stolen from his secret submarine. Damian Wayne with Goliath heads off to Mexico hoping that whoever that stole the last three relics haven't returned them to their proper places. Apparently, Soren Darga, the son of Den Darga, decided to take matters into his own hands and continue with the apocalypse.
So, the remaining issues pit Soren Darga, heir to the Lu'un Darga vs. Damian Wayne, heir to the Bat and League of Assassins. Meanwhile Talia al Ghul kidnaps Maya Ducard from Badhnisia, because she thought Maya betrayed Damian Wayne and Batman, having regained his memory, meets them in Gorilla City to fight against Soren Darga and his Lu'un Darga warriors along with Robin and Goliath. Unfortunately, they couldn't stop Soren Darga in time as he disappears with Maya Ducard.
Damian Wayne managed to get to Soren Darga in time for him to stop placing the last relic in place, but couldn't convince him not to place it. With the eight relics in place: the Stone Head of the Guardian at a Mesoamerican Pyramid in South [sic] America (Robin: Son of Batman #2), the Crystal in a cave at Hornstrandir, Iceland (Robin: Son of Batman #3), Canopic Jars at the ruins of Alexandra, Egypt (Robin: Son of Batman #4), Scall Dru'un at the Temple of Den at North Asia (Robin: Son of Batman #5), the Bloodless Blade in a temple at China (Robin: Son of Batman #8), the Serpent Heart at the Crystal Cave in Chihuahua, Mexico (Robin: Son of Batman #10), the Helmet of Solovar at Gorilla City in the Congo Basin (Robin: Son of Batman #11), and finally the Eye of the Sleeper in the heart of a volcano on Dinosaur Island in the South Pacific (Robin: Son of Batman #12) – the apocalypse begins.
As the world is coming to an end, Damian Wayne and Soren Darga are fighting for their lives. Damian Wayne manages to convince Soren Darga with a heart to heart to question his father and his faith just enough for Soren Darga to halt the prophesied apocalypse from happening. As a reward for stopping the destruction on all life on Earth, Soren Darga was knocked out by Damian Wayne. The last issue, Robin: Son of Batman #13 has Damian Wayne, Maya Ducard, and Soren Darga engaged in a battle with Soren's father to stop his back-up plan in the Tunguska Crater Site in Russia.
With the exception of Robin: Son of Batman #9, which was written by Patrick Gleason, the rest of the trade paperback was written by Ray Fawkes – although it should be noted that Patrick Gleason plotted the Robin War issue (Robin: Son of Batman #7), but was written by Ray Fawkes. The sole issue written and penciled by Gleason was really poignant and beautiful. For the most part, Fawkes was written rather well, but it felt rushed – like a story he had to finish and soon. Regardless, he did rather well for ending a story that Gleason started – a story not his own.
Robin: Son of Batman: Dawn of the Demons have three pencilers. For the most part this trade paperback was penciled by Ramon Bachs (Robin: Son of Batman #8, 10–13) with Scott McDaniel and Patrick Gleason penciling one issue each (Robin: Son of Batman #7 and #9 respectively). Besides McDaniel, whose penciling style is much to be deserved, the rest have their strengths and weakness on their own. However, together it didn't flow well – artistically.
All in all, Robin: Son of Batman: Dawn of the Demons is a wonderful conclusion for the series. It is a lovely series that I quite enjoyed reading, but the second half seemed rush, which is probably was because of the Rebirth event happening. Regardless, it was a wonderful read.
March 15, 2021
More fantastic characterization of Damian in this volume. It starts with an issue of Robin War which has no ties to the main Dawn of the Demons plot line, doesn't get resolved and doesn't get introduced. If you haven't read Robin War or, like me, read it a long time ago this issue is going to be pretty mind boggling. It has five of the Batboys in it, which is always fun to see, but honestly I would suggest skipping this issue and starting with the second one, which picks up shortly after the end of volume 1. You can always go back to it for a taste of Robin War and then pick up the actual book if you're interested because it has no relevance to Damian's mission.
After returning most of his trophies to their rightful places, Damian accidentally resurrects the son of Den Darga, the rival family of the Al Ghuls bent on bringing about the end of the world. We follow Damian as he tries to right his wrong and stop Darga from siphoning power from the rest of the trophies. This volume reunites Damian with our favourite bat dragon, Goliath, Maya Ducard, Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul. I absolutely love Goliath and Maya, and think they are two of the best things to happen to Damian Wayne. Goliath offers him unconditional love and loyalty and Maya gives him everything you could ask of a friend. She supports him and defends him, but isn't afraid to call him out on his bullshit. Damian, in turn learns what friendship truly is, as we see him longing to contact Maya but then stopping himself because "she's happy... she's safe." These positive relationshps have a profound effect on Damian's character and certainly make him more endearing.
The art is also great! I know many people were disappointed that Gleason did not illustrate the whole issue, but where he drops the ball, Bachs picks it up.
I think the main flaw of this volume is that you really have to know what was going on in the DC Universe at the time of its publication. The volume starts in the middle of Robin War, where Jim Gordon is playing the role of Batman in a mechanical suit and (I think) Bruce Wayne has no recollection of his time as Batman. There's a somber scene where Damian kneels at the head of his father's bed and claims "Father... I am truly alone." Gleason does fantastic references to past issues, as this mirrors a page in B&R 2011 where Damian knelt at the head of his father's bed to wake him up so they could patrol together. A few issues later, Bruce is in the Bat suit and goes after his son to help him though, and there is no explanation for what changed. I definitely would not recommend Robin: Son of Batman as a starter comic for anyone new to the universe, but it is a great one for well versed fans of Damian Wayne.
Highlights:
- Damian making Goliath swear the solemn oath of justice over the Bat Signal
- The ways they show that Damian is, at his core, still just a kid (him longingly watching parents play with their kids, his missing tooth, his parents fighting)
- Maya Ducard! She's honestly as great with Damian as Stephanie Brown was and I love that they kept this relationship platonic
- The parallels between Damian's upbringing and Suren Darga's
- Damian's character growth (and flaws)
- Goliath! Honestly such a precious baby
- Every time Batman refers to Damian as "my son." Honestly, I think of Bruce as a pretty terrible dad in general, so I love soft little moments when he indirectly states how important Damian is to him
After returning most of his trophies to their rightful places, Damian accidentally resurrects the son of Den Darga, the rival family of the Al Ghuls bent on bringing about the end of the world. We follow Damian as he tries to right his wrong and stop Darga from siphoning power from the rest of the trophies. This volume reunites Damian with our favourite bat dragon, Goliath, Maya Ducard, Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul. I absolutely love Goliath and Maya, and think they are two of the best things to happen to Damian Wayne. Goliath offers him unconditional love and loyalty and Maya gives him everything you could ask of a friend. She supports him and defends him, but isn't afraid to call him out on his bullshit. Damian, in turn learns what friendship truly is, as we see him longing to contact Maya but then stopping himself because "she's happy... she's safe." These positive relationshps have a profound effect on Damian's character and certainly make him more endearing.
The art is also great! I know many people were disappointed that Gleason did not illustrate the whole issue, but where he drops the ball, Bachs picks it up.
I think the main flaw of this volume is that you really have to know what was going on in the DC Universe at the time of its publication. The volume starts in the middle of Robin War, where Jim Gordon is playing the role of Batman in a mechanical suit and (I think) Bruce Wayne has no recollection of his time as Batman. There's a somber scene where Damian kneels at the head of his father's bed and claims "Father... I am truly alone." Gleason does fantastic references to past issues, as this mirrors a page in B&R 2011 where Damian knelt at the head of his father's bed to wake him up so they could patrol together. A few issues later, Bruce is in the Bat suit and goes after his son to help him though, and there is no explanation for what changed. I definitely would not recommend Robin: Son of Batman as a starter comic for anyone new to the universe, but it is a great one for well versed fans of Damian Wayne.
Highlights:
- Damian making Goliath swear the solemn oath of justice over the Bat Signal
- The ways they show that Damian is, at his core, still just a kid (him longingly watching parents play with their kids, his missing tooth, his parents fighting)
- Maya Ducard! She's honestly as great with Damian as Stephanie Brown was and I love that they kept this relationship platonic
- The parallels between Damian's upbringing and Suren Darga's
- Damian's character growth (and flaws)
- Goliath! Honestly such a precious baby
- Every time Batman refers to Damian as "my son." Honestly, I think of Bruce as a pretty terrible dad in general, so I love soft little moments when he indirectly states how important Damian is to him
April 4, 2024
Another surprisingly good read from the Robin Saga.
We begin with a recap of Robin War, including our fan favorites like Agent 37 Grayson, Red Hood, Red Robin, and of course, Robin as the group along with 'We Are Robin' take down the Court of Owls.
The story then diverges briefly into a mini adventure whereby Damien attempts to preserve his father's legacy by defending Gotham while Bruce battles amnesia. It is then that it is revealed that potchers who worked wiry Nobody are now torching the remains of her father Morgan. Damien attempts to stop them but fails and is awoken by the saving hands of Goliath, then assembles his pets in the Batcave to continue his work to protect the remaining trophies from the 'Year of Blood'.
We are then regaled with a mini-story about Damien & Maya facing their fears of becoming their destined paths while returning a trophy back to its rightful place (which occurred supposedly during vol 1). Damien tells this story all while receiving a haircut from Alfred, which only seeks to enhance the readers' enjoyment, haha 😉😂👍.
We then learn that the son of Den Darga seeks to restore the last 3 artifacts back to their rightful place to 'resurrect' his father and family. During this adventure, Talia learns of the resurgence of Suren Darga and kidnaps Maya for believing that she betrayed her son Damien by telling him the whereabouts of the trophies.
We get one epic conclusion when Robin, Maya, Talia, Batman, and Goliath come to the rescue and shut down the Dark magic of the Family Den Darga. The story concludes with one final attempt for the father Den Darga to return only to be thwarted by Robin, Maya, and Suren. The sacrifice almost proves to be too much as Damien nearly dies but is restored due to the help of his friends.
Overall, this was clear plot adventurous story filled with action. The plot and underlying themes of love, acceptance of one's self, repentance of past sins, and the choice to lead one's fate are all extremely impactful and wonderfully done 9.5/10 🌟. The Dark demon images, I could have done without 0/10 🌟.
We begin with a recap of Robin War, including our fan favorites like Agent 37 Grayson, Red Hood, Red Robin, and of course, Robin as the group along with 'We Are Robin' take down the Court of Owls.
The story then diverges briefly into a mini adventure whereby Damien attempts to preserve his father's legacy by defending Gotham while Bruce battles amnesia. It is then that it is revealed that potchers who worked wiry Nobody are now torching the remains of her father Morgan. Damien attempts to stop them but fails and is awoken by the saving hands of Goliath, then assembles his pets in the Batcave to continue his work to protect the remaining trophies from the 'Year of Blood'.
We are then regaled with a mini-story about Damien & Maya facing their fears of becoming their destined paths while returning a trophy back to its rightful place (which occurred supposedly during vol 1). Damien tells this story all while receiving a haircut from Alfred, which only seeks to enhance the readers' enjoyment, haha 😉😂👍.
We then learn that the son of Den Darga seeks to restore the last 3 artifacts back to their rightful place to 'resurrect' his father and family. During this adventure, Talia learns of the resurgence of Suren Darga and kidnaps Maya for believing that she betrayed her son Damien by telling him the whereabouts of the trophies.
We get one epic conclusion when Robin, Maya, Talia, Batman, and Goliath come to the rescue and shut down the Dark magic of the Family Den Darga. The story concludes with one final attempt for the father Den Darga to return only to be thwarted by Robin, Maya, and Suren. The sacrifice almost proves to be too much as Damien nearly dies but is restored due to the help of his friends.
Overall, this was clear plot adventurous story filled with action. The plot and underlying themes of love, acceptance of one's self, repentance of past sins, and the choice to lead one's fate are all extremely impactful and wonderfully done 9.5/10 🌟. The Dark demon images, I could have done without 0/10 🌟.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2023
A rudderless collection of stories about Damian Wayne and ... well, it's supposed to be about his atonement for the Year Of Blood but it's frequently sidetracked, introduces a new member of the Damian Wayne superteam, and then it just stops.
I mentioned that volume one would have been better served as an all-ages story about Damian, rather than part of the Nu 52 Batman family. That is still very true in this volume. When Ray Fawkes takes over the book from Gleason, the dialogue and pacing improve dramatically, and it appears that Fawkes has an interesting idea of where to take the story, but it was cancelled four issues later.
I have never read any of the Robin books that follow this one, but I'm guessing that they don't follow the "The adventures continue!" ending of this volume.
Whie I didn't enjoy reading these volumes, I appreciate that, even if they're canon, they're immaterial to understanding any other Bat books. So, even if you're a serious continuity buff, you can flip through these books, and if they don't appeal to you, you don't have to suffer through them to be rewarded in later books for knowing anything that happens here. But if you do enjoy them, I hope that Patrick Gleason and/or Ray Fawkes does get a chance to revisit this idea as one of DC's comics aimed at children because the characters aren't without merit, and a Damian Wayne kids book seems like it would be a lot more fun than this series was.
I mentioned that volume one would have been better served as an all-ages story about Damian, rather than part of the Nu 52 Batman family. That is still very true in this volume. When Ray Fawkes takes over the book from Gleason, the dialogue and pacing improve dramatically, and it appears that Fawkes has an interesting idea of where to take the story, but it was cancelled four issues later.
I have never read any of the Robin books that follow this one, but I'm guessing that they don't follow the "The adventures continue!" ending of this volume.
Whie I didn't enjoy reading these volumes, I appreciate that, even if they're canon, they're immaterial to understanding any other Bat books. So, even if you're a serious continuity buff, you can flip through these books, and if they don't appeal to you, you don't have to suffer through them to be rewarded in later books for knowing anything that happens here. But if you do enjoy them, I hope that Patrick Gleason and/or Ray Fawkes does get a chance to revisit this idea as one of DC's comics aimed at children because the characters aren't without merit, and a Damian Wayne kids book seems like it would be a lot more fun than this series was.
October 30, 2023
4/10
The good: The relationship between Damian/Nobody and Damian/Goliath is still the standout portion of this series. Even though these are two brand new characters, the backstory given makes them feel like theyve been part of the universe and are integral to Damians rebirth storyline
The meh: The art is very stylized. It's not bad art, it's just not right for this series. The series is at odds with itself. Damian is a hardened murderer turned superhero, Nobody is an assassins daughter bent on revenge turned hero, and Golaith is a bloodthirsty monster. But then at the drop of a hat, Damian is playful and emotional, Nobody is whiny, and Goliath is a whimp.
The bad: The collection is poorly paced, and plot has no imagination. The first issue is a tie in with Robin war that makes no sense in the context of the book, then we have Damian telling alfred another story of his year off, and then we are introduced to a Nega-Damian type character. Child born to be a murderer from an almsot immortal father bent on world domination. Its the MCU problem of having them fight a mirror image of themself
The good: The relationship between Damian/Nobody and Damian/Goliath is still the standout portion of this series. Even though these are two brand new characters, the backstory given makes them feel like theyve been part of the universe and are integral to Damians rebirth storyline
The meh: The art is very stylized. It's not bad art, it's just not right for this series. The series is at odds with itself. Damian is a hardened murderer turned superhero, Nobody is an assassins daughter bent on revenge turned hero, and Golaith is a bloodthirsty monster. But then at the drop of a hat, Damian is playful and emotional, Nobody is whiny, and Goliath is a whimp.
The bad: The collection is poorly paced, and plot has no imagination. The first issue is a tie in with Robin war that makes no sense in the context of the book, then we have Damian telling alfred another story of his year off, and then we are introduced to a Nega-Damian type character. Child born to be a murderer from an almsot immortal father bent on world domination. Its the MCU problem of having them fight a mirror image of themself
October 30, 2025
Still love Damian Wayne and the concept of his “Year of Blood,” however, I found myself questioning everything in this second volume.
I wasn’t sure how the first issue with the We Are Robin movement and the Court of Owls and Lincoln March tied in with the rest of the story, as it seemed that Damian was converted at the end? Maybe there’s some other issues in between that this and I am missing here.
For the rest of this volume, despite being in the process of putting the artifacts back in their rightful homes, the enemies of this story, Den Darga and his son, Suren Darga, are… also putting the artifacts back in their rightful places? I thought they would just steal the artifacts for themselves… but alas.
I was super into the parallelisms of Suren Darga and Damian, but like with my review of the last volume, I felt like that progression went faster than was believable. And unfortunately, it seems that Suren Darga doesn’t make any more appearances after this run, which is a shame.
Oh well, I still love Goliath.
I wasn’t sure how the first issue with the We Are Robin movement and the Court of Owls and Lincoln March tied in with the rest of the story, as it seemed that Damian was converted at the end? Maybe there’s some other issues in between that this and I am missing here.
For the rest of this volume, despite being in the process of putting the artifacts back in their rightful homes, the enemies of this story, Den Darga and his son, Suren Darga, are… also putting the artifacts back in their rightful places? I thought they would just steal the artifacts for themselves… but alas.
I was super into the parallelisms of Suren Darga and Damian, but like with my review of the last volume, I felt like that progression went faster than was believable. And unfortunately, it seems that Suren Darga doesn’t make any more appearances after this run, which is a shame.
Oh well, I still love Goliath.
December 18, 2024
Just a 3 this time, this volume felt largely pointless, especially given the previous build up.
It starts with an out of place tie in to the We are Robin thing. I'm glad there were explanations for understanding, but for me it added nothing. I don't mind the art shift that much.
The main story was all over the place. The Darga kid mirroring Damian wasn't a bad idea. But the threat set up last volume doesn't feel important. Talia looked promising too, but I was disappointed. Batman and Maya were kinda just there.
The ending was underwhelming, Suren Darga reforms in 5 seconds to literally ride off into the sunset with his ex enemies. He barely felt like a character. Damian says he did a year of atonement. I'm pretty sure the action didn't take a full month.
It starts with an out of place tie in to the We are Robin thing. I'm glad there were explanations for understanding, but for me it added nothing. I don't mind the art shift that much.
The main story was all over the place. The Darga kid mirroring Damian wasn't a bad idea. But the threat set up last volume doesn't feel important. Talia looked promising too, but I was disappointed. Batman and Maya were kinda just there.
The ending was underwhelming, Suren Darga reforms in 5 seconds to literally ride off into the sunset with his ex enemies. He barely felt like a character. Damian says he did a year of atonement. I'm pretty sure the action didn't take a full month.
June 4, 2018
Overall, very entertaining but I do feel the first volume was a bit better. Not sure if they knew it was gonna get cancelled or they just were naturally going to wrap up the arc this way, but the end seems a bit rushed.
While the first volume feels more mature and well paced, this volume is a bit frantic and somewhat dumbed down a bit. Maybe they wanted to appeal to a broader audience and make it more kid friendly, which I totally get but I did appreciate the take on the character from the first volume a bit more.
Bonus points for the Damian/Maya brother/sister relationship as it continues to grow here. Also Goliath is awesome!
While the first volume feels more mature and well paced, this volume is a bit frantic and somewhat dumbed down a bit. Maybe they wanted to appeal to a broader audience and make it more kid friendly, which I totally get but I did appreciate the take on the character from the first volume a bit more.
Bonus points for the Damian/Maya brother/sister relationship as it continues to grow here. Also Goliath is awesome!
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