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DC is taking Damian Wayne dark in Robin's first adults-only comic, The Boy Wonder

Like father, like son - Damian Wayne is becoming even more darker, like his father Batman

The Boy Wonder #1
Image credit: Juni Ba/Chris O'Halloran/Aditya Bidikar (DC)

Popverse is breaking down all of DC’s May solicitations, from Superman facing an army of Lobos, Batman and family dealing with more trouble in Gotham, and Wonder Woman’s ongoing war against the forces of Sovereign in the monthly comic releases — to say nothing about the start of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s final Nightwing story — to new collections including Tom King’s Mister Miracle with Mitch Gerads and Supergirl with Bilquis Evely and a new collection of Kurt Busiek Superman stories. There’s also one very important new series launching in May that sees a fan-favorite character and fan-favorite creator come together for the first time.

Damian Wayne is the darkest Robin in the Bat-family, but this May he's getting even darker.

The Boy Wonder #1
Image credit: Juni Ba/Chris O'Halloran/Aditya Bidikar (DC)

Robin is about to go fully adult in a new five-issue series from DC's Black Label imprint that is aimed for audiences 17 and older. The Boy Wonder by writer/artist Juni Ba will take the character's long-and-winding story and boil it town to a standalone origin story meant to be a perennial for comics fans and fans of the Batman franchise from other mediums alike.

“There is in Robin, something quintessentially fun and superheroic” says Ba in the announcement.. “To me, he is the epitome of childlike adventure and wonder. Coming from the generation of fans that loved Batman: The Animated Series, I want The Boy Wonder to capture the fun of episodic adventure, and the compelling characters in an accessible book that anyone can enjoy regardless of prior history."

As DC puts it, Ba's The Boy Wonder will be "synthesizing the characters’ complex history into an accessible and heartrending fairy tale." The creator has my vote (and dollars) on the strength of his previous creator-owned work Djeliya and Monkey Meat.

"And I chose to do this with my favorite little gremlin Damian, for who better to teach us about heroism and family, than someone who, deep down, fears he’s not a good enough person to deserve either?," he continues. "The story will be fun, but tug at your heartstrings, too.”

Joining Ba on this is colorist Chris O'Halloran and letterer Aditya Bidikar. Here is a preview of what's inside The Boy Wonder #1:

The Boy Wonder #1 (of 5) goes on sale May 7, 2024.


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Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant is the Popverse's Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)

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