The Boy Wonder #1
Chad Burdette
Recap
The young prince Damian Wayne was raised to be the heir to the fearsome League of Assassins — to follow in the footsteps of his deadly mother, Talia, and the Demon's Head himself, his grandfather Ra's al Ghul. But everything changed when his father, the Batman, reclaimed him and brought him back to Gotham City.
As Robin, young Damian suddenly discovered he was merely one of a number of princes, preceded in the role by his "brothers" Nightwing, Red Hood, and Red Robin… and Damian doesn't care to be merely anything. But when his father is forced to leave the city on urgent business, and a rash of abductions is accompanied by whispers of a demon stalking Gotham's dark alleys, Damian will find himself battling alongside his adoptive brothers — and in the process, learning what the mantle of Robin really means!
Review
The Boy Wonder #1 starts with a semi-comical moment as a rich couple drop a glass of champagne which lands a burglar’s head (somehow not killing him) and readers see that Damian (presumably) is being held hostage and proceeds to tell his origin about a king who protected his city with his three adopted sons and his other son who did not feel like he belonged. Ba sticks to Damian’s origin established over in the main DCU’s continuity, remaining faithful to Grant Morrison’s creation. Where Ba adds to this story is in the artwork, which is very much in the style of the late Darwyn Cooke, who also has a quote on the title page.
Ba takes Damian’s story in a different direction as the narrator tells of the new Robin’s attempt to prove himself worthy. Instead of the Man-Bats, Ba has Robin chasing demons who, in a nice twist turn out to be not what they seem, and instead one of Batman’s rogues, hoping to distract the Bat-Family. With Batman away, Nightwing and Batgirl are called in to assist and readers are once again given a subtle revelation that this is not the main DCU or the person narrating doesn’t know all the facts, making implied guesses to fill in the gaps or embellish the story.
Ba also gives a quick recap of Dick Grayson/Nightwing’s origin and talks about he was a beacon of light to Batman’s darkness. The cliffhanger of the issue reveals that Daimian may have been right about mystical forces at work in Gotham and a promise to introduce the next person to take the mantle of Robin, Jason Todd.
Final Thoughts
The Boy Wonder #1 overall is a fun read and the art style gives the book a tone all its own. While it is a strong first issue the question is raised as to what will make this story worth the Black Label imprint. So far nothing this issue screams anything that would denote being published under the imprint, hopefully next issue or soon there will be something, be it story points or artwork that justify the Black Label treatment other than a different spin on Damian's journey as Robin.
The Boy Wonder #1: Damian’s Story Of Becoming Robin Gets The Black Label Treatment
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 9/109/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10
