Bruce visits her, a bouquet of red roses in hand... Same as every year
After all this time, the sight is familiar; there's already some wear on the stone, right on the spot where he always puts his hand, and a dry patch of grass where he always stands.
In a way, he knows this place better than he knew her.
He sets the roses down. There's not much that has happened since his last visit, but he searches for things to say anyway; Damian has properly banned him from ever making tea, Cassandra has a presentation next week... He has to call both Dick and Tim after this, make sure they're fine. He knows they're making visits too. He would call Jason but knows that will only make things worse for him.
Today is not an easy day for most of his kids.
At least he knows Stephanie planned to bake a cake, and saw Duke buy flowers. Peonies, not roses.
Talia will call. Bruce is doing his best not to get paranoid about it. Damian is happy, that's the only thing that matters.
He'll burn the anxious energy sparing with Cass. Hopefully that'll take her mind off of it too.
Bruce puts his hand where the stone is smooth and very slightly dented. He has run out of things to say, and if he stays any longer he'll get trapped inside his own mind.
I need us as fandom to use the fact Damian has a sweet tooth so much more.
Like this kid is genuinely out here having poptarts and hot chocolate for breakfast in canon.
( DC vs Vampires #2 and Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #4)
We need this energy in fandom.
Damian drinking tea 24/7. Boring, sad, he doesn't even like it.
Damian seeing his siblings take protein shakes and electrolytes when training, and deciding to imitate them by making himself chocolate milk and putting it in a sports bottle. Innovative, funny, could happen.
Imagine.
Jason, sweating: Ah, damn. Ran out of water. Can I have some of yours?
Dick: Sorry, man. Finished mine too.
Damian, offering a huge hydro flask: You can have some of mine, Todd.
Jason: Oh, thanks
Jason: *taking a sip and immediately spitting out*
Dick: Woah! Are you o–
Jason, looking at Damian horrified: WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS??
Actually, I think this is even better if the reason why Damian puts vanilla shake on his Gym bottle is because he heard the others talk about 'Protein shake' and just figured any shake would do.
I need us as fandom to use the fact Damian has a sweet tooth so much more.
Like this kid is genuinely out here having poptarts and hot chocolate for breakfast in canon.
( DC vs Vampires #2 and Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #4)
We need this energy in fandom.
Damian drinking tea 24/7. Boring, sad, he doesn't even like it.
Damian seeing his siblings take protein shakes and electrolytes when training, and deciding to imitate them by making himself chocolate milk and putting it in a sports bottle. Innovative, funny, could happen.
Imagine.
Jason, sweating: Ah, damn. Ran out of water. Can I have some of yours?
Dick: Sorry, man. Finished mine too.
Damian, offering a huge hydro flask: You can have some of mine, Todd.
Jason: Oh, thanks
Jason: *taking a sip and immediately spitting out*
Dick: Woah! Are you o–
Jason, looking at Damian horrified: WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS??
Does Ra’s have Tim’s Speen? A Deep Dive into Fandom Racism
The whole ‘Ra’s stole Tim’s spleen!!’ debacle is a very prevalent story in DC/batfam/tim drake fan spaces, with many people assuming its canon and creating even more content surrounding this narrative. This post intends to dive into the following topics:
The inherent orientalist writing of the al Ghuls
The canon events leading to Tim losing his spleen (spoiler alert: Ra’s doesn’t have it)
Why it is racist to parrot the idea of Ra’s having stole it
Common reasons people cite to defend this narrative
The inherent orientalist writing of the al Ghuls
First of all, what is Orientalism? Orientalism is a broad term describing the Western stereotype of Eastern cultures, or the Orient (particularly Asia and North Africa), as backwards and exotic. Coined by Edward Said, it describes the way Western civilization portrays itself as superior and rational, while portraying the Orient as irrational and wrong. Common orientalist stereotypes include the assumptions that Eastern societies are misogynistic, barbaric/violent, sexual/perverted, and inherently behind societally.
When it comes to DC, the way the al Ghuls are portrayed is inherently orientalist. They are of mixed arab/chinese descent - you can find some more details about that in this post by @/daminette-56 (the post is about Damian's Chinese heritage in particulal, but it still applies). They fit into the racist trope of the ‘Asian Assassins’ - elite East Asian ninja assassins which use traditional/ancient combat forms to kill. Ra’s is the controlling man, Talia is the Dragon lady/Femme Fatale, and their overall concept can be attributed to oriental views. This is furthered by the existence of Damian’s character, since it caused Talia to be converted to a 2-dimensional villain to facilitate Damian’s white saviour story when he is sent to live with his white father to ‘learn to live normally’, or to be civilized.
Despite this, the al Ghuls are interesting characters. Ra’s motive as an environmental terrorist and Talia’s inner dilemma over her loyalty to her father make them complex characters. Damian’s love for animals stemming from his upbringing with the al Ghuls The fandom tends to ignore this, however, and keep them as boring background characters without much depth.
When I analyze fandom racism surrounding the al Ghuls, it is important for me to distinguish between what is coming from DC and what is coming from the fandom. As such, it is vital to determine whether or not Ra’s having Tim’s spleen is canon.
2. Does Ra’s have Tim’s spleen?
The short answer is no.
Lets summarize the events which caused Tim to lose his spleen. Tim loses his spleen in his standalone Red Robin series. It happens in the second arc of the series (issues 5-8), called The Council of Spiders. There's a bunch of buildup, but Tim essentially teams up with Ra’s al Ghul to complete his current mission - finding Bruce, who is lost in the time stream. Tim agrees to work with Ra’s (after he kidnaps him and his coworker Tam), however he secretly plans to take down the League Of Assassins from the inside.
During this time, Tim survives an ambush by a group called the Council of Spiders. Later on, Ra’s tasks him with defeating this rival assassin group since he is the only one known to have survived an attack from them. Tim sets up a plan, however it backfires and they are attacked by the Spiders. In this attack, Tim is stabbed and resigns himself to death, however he is saved by White Ghost who stitches him up (presumably with the help of fellow assassins) and removes his spleen due to the damage it has sustained. When this happens, Ra’s is nowhere near.
Tim’s spleen is never mentioned again. The arc concludes with Tim blowing up all LoA bases that currently exist, and Ra’s threatens to blow up Wayne Enterprises in retaliation.
Ra’s is not shown to be nearby when Tim’s spleen is taken. He is not implied to have it. He is never shown in possession of it.
It is safe to conclude that Ra’s al Ghul is not in possession of Tim’s spleen.
3. Why is it racist to parrot the idea that Ra’s has Tim’s spleen?
The reason this fandom narrative is inherently racist is since it feeds into multiple orientalist stereotypes. As defined before, Orientalism is the idea that Western society paints itself as superior to Eastern society. Here are the two most harmful ideas it feeds into:
Creepy Brown Man imagery: Brown men in media are often painted as inherently creepy and dangerous. This is closely linked to the ‘othered foreigner’ trope, where writers focus on the otherness of characters of colour rather than any other trait. Now, I will not deny that Ra’s is dangerous. However, the way he is portrayed by the fandom as borderline obsessed with Tim, going as far as to keep his spleen as a trophy, clearly feeds into the ‘creep’ aspect of this stereotype. It also ignores the fact that Tim was kidnapped by Ra’s for this mission purely due to the tactical advantage - Tim was the only one to have survived a Spider attack, so it was logical to have him be part of the mission. Instead, it shifts the narrative to make Ra’s seem irrationally attached to Tim.
Sacrificing characterization for propping up a white character: Ra’s is never portrayed as anything other than an evil tyrant within the Tim Drake fan space. His characterization as an eco-terrorist whose goal is to save the Earth from ecological destruction is sacrificed, and he is instead characterized as power hungry, obsessed (see above paragraph), or plain evil with no reasoning behind it (all of which contribute to the Evil Brown Character stereotype separately. Together? It's even worse). Once again, it ignores the logic that accompanies Ra’s decision in choosing Tim, and either paints him as a poor victim attacked by Ra’s, or a fighter so powerful that even Ra’s had to acknowledge him. Any logic Ra’s applied to the decision is ignored in favour of propping up the white character.
4. Common justifications given for this narrative/storyline
It's literally canon! → as I've already broken down, it isn’t.
But Ra’s is obsessed with Tim!! He calls him Detective and respects him and his fighting! → Ra’s also refers to both Bruce and Dick as ‘detective’. This title is not exclusive to Tim and does not prove anything. Additionally, respecting someone as a fighter and stealing their body parts as a trophy for beating them are two very different things.
It is not out of character for Ra’s to take his spleen! He’s a cult leader and taking trophies from people isn’t uncommon !!! → Ra’s is an ecoterrorist. He has no use for anyone’s spleen. Although he is sometimes depicted taking trophies, they are in the form of land or material items, not body parts. (The assumption that Ra’s takes human body parts as trophies is also orientalist, by the way. Goes back to the original ‘Asian Assassins’ trope, as well as the ‘Barbaric Brown People’ ideal.)
All of the Batfamily are trapped. Truly trapped. It's worse than any situation they've ever been in, and it's beginning to look like there's no way out.
They already ran out of choices, already thought of every plan, but there's nothing they can do. And nobody else is coming to save them, all of them are here.
There is only one silver lining: they can get one of them out to safety. Only one.
Once the situation sets everyone starts moving. They start gathering supplies, ropes, weapons... Whatever they will need to make it out.
It's like everyone already knows what they have to do, which one of them they're saving.
Everyone except Damian.
Damian doesn't understand. They should be talking about this, the situation is too dire and they don't have time. They should be using the sparse minutes to discuss. They should be choosing someone!
There's really no choice to make.
Dick knew who they were picking the moment he realized what was happening. Same as everyone else.
They begin to strap the supplies on Damian, preparing him for what's to come. Jason and Cass have to restrain him. As understanding dawns on the kid, he begins to kick and scream.
Bruce wishes he could save one more of them. Even if it's just one. Maybe Tim or Duke, they're both still so young... It's not fair. He failed, he failed all of them. And now he has condemned his youngest to the very same thing that broke him. To see his family die.
As hands linger, as kisses softly drop on his head Damian fights. He begs. He says every single thing he can think of. From insults to very well constructed arguments. Anything to make them change their mind.
It shouldn't be him. It cannot be him.
Stephanie and Duke tell him to be a kid. Cass tells him to fight. Jason and Tim tell him to persevere. Dick can only smile at him. Bruce hugs him. And Damian begs and begs.
He doesn't understand!
Dick knew who they were picking the moment he realized what was happening. Same as everyone else.
All of the Batfamily are trapped. Truly trapped. It's worse than any situation they've ever been in, and it's beginning to look like there's no way out.
They already ran out of choices, already thought of every plan, but there's nothing they can do. And nobody else is coming to save them, all of them are here.
There is only one silver lining: they can get one of them out to safety. Only one.
Once the situation sets everyone starts moving. They start gathering supplies, ropes, weapons... Whatever they will need to make it out.
It's like everyone already knows what they have to do, which one of them they're saving.
Everyone except Damian.
Damian doesn't understand. They should be talking about this, the situation is too dire and they don't have time. They should be using the sparse minutes to discuss. They should be choosing someone!
There's really no choice to make.
Dick knew who they were picking the moment he realized what was happening. Same as everyone else.
They begin to strap the supplies on Damian, preparing him for what's to come. Jason and Cass have to restrain him. As understanding dawns on the kid, he begins to kick and scream.
Bruce wishes he could save one more of them. Even if it's just one. Maybe Tim or Duke, they're both still so young... It's not fair. He failed, he failed all of them. And now he has condemned his youngest to the very same thing that broke him. To see his family die.
As hands linger, as kisses softly drop on his head Damian fights. He begs. He says every single thing he can think of. From insults to very well constructed arguments. Anything to make them change their mind.
It shouldn't be him. It cannot be him.
Stephanie and Duke tell him to be a kid. Cass tells him to fight. Jason and Tim tell him to persevere. Dick can only smile at him. Bruce hugs him. And Damian begs and begs.
He doesn't understand!
Dick knew who they were picking the moment he realized what was happening. Same as everyone else.
It's hard seeing Damian be completely aware that people around him dislike him. "I just assume everyone hates me" is such a heartbreaking thing to say
This poor kid trying his damn hardest to turn his life around despite knowing people don't have fate in him, understanding Prime and trying to help... Damian Wayne the world doesn't deserve you
I firmly headcanon that Damian is a "watch this" kid.
Like, he doesn't know how to start a conversation normally so instead he'll just walk up to people and go "Want to see me do something cool" and start flipping around or juggling knives or some shit. Secret identity be damned.
Tim at gym class, getting paranoid: I can't let people know I'm athletic. They'll figure out I'm secretly Robin!... I know! I'll trip on air and break my femur on six places. That'll throw them off!
Damian, at math class, trying to make friends: Do you want to see me use this stapler to close an open stab wound?
I feel like one aspect a lot of people often overlook is that Damian will pretty much say anything in an argument to get under the other person's skin even if he doesn't truly feel/think that way about someone or something.
When he was with Dick!bats he was constantly insulting him and praising Bruce as Batman, then when Damian was with Bruce as Batman for the first few missions Damian was talking positively of Dick as Batman and how Bruce didn't need to come back from the time stream because they had everything under control. And he pretty much gets that from Bruce who also often says the most hurtful things he can think of in an argument, which in one instance resulted in Damian and Bruce both claiming they would never agree to work as Batman and Robin again after their first mission together didn't go well at the same time, kind of cancelling their attempt to hurt the other out.
Which is one reason why I don't agree with the take that Damian is truly yearning for a normal life that a lot of people seem to have taken from the first part of PKJ's Batman and Robin run.
Important context for the scene where Damian announces that he would quit as Robin to become a doctor was that Damian was already in a crisis of faith due to failing to save the little girl at the start of the arc, but such moments are pretty normal for the genre and don't mean that the character really wants to quit. Normally they will overcome their crisis by the end of the arc and decide that being a hero is still the right decision (which is what ends up happening in this arc too).
Another part of context was that Damian had overheard Bruce and Jason talking about him without them knowing:
Which Damian doesn't react well to and of course he stops listening right when Bruce reaches the part his whole speech was building up to where he talks about his fear of losing Damian if he stops being Robin because...drama.
Anyway, Damian is hurt that Bruce seems to think he's incapable of leading a normal life and doesn't believe in Bashar simply seeing potential in him (he doesn't know that Bruce was simply jealous that Damian was seemingly picking another mentor/father-figure to spend time with and confide in over him to a degree that his paranoid brain convinced Bruce Bashar must have been sent by Ra's...who is dead lol. Comics are soap operas) so to hit back at Bruce he threatens to do exactly what Bruce thinks he can't do:
Which of course triggers all of Bruce's fears about losing Damian and Bashar being a ploy of the league of assassins to get Damian back under their influence.
After they resolve their miscommunication, make up and Damian decides to stay on as Robin we even see Bruce taking Damian's "wish for a more normal life" more seriously than Damian does with Bruce being the one who suggests they go watch a movie together in a public cinema:
And Damian is the one who has doubts if that is the right thing to do:
Even if one day Damian truly would decide to quit to become a doctor I don't think he would stay away from hero life for good. I think he would notice pretty quickly that civilians will never really understand him and quite honestly...I think he would grow bored.
Damian likes fighting, he likes learning all kinds of skills, he likes winning, he's way too ambituous to live a quiet life. Not that I think his relatives wouldn't pull him back into their bullshit anyway.
Exactlyyy! I keep seeing people talk about Damian as if he somehow hates Robin or is tired of it...
Damian wanted to quit Robin out of FEAR.
A little girl almost dies, and he feels so guilty and helpless about it, his knee-jerk reaction is to reject the whole vigilante thing.
This panel is basically the whole thing: Damian is so terrified of failing to save people it paralizes him. Rejecting Robin is just a way for him to avoid facing that fear.
And then Bruce is like "Why aren't you being Robin tf?!", and it pushes Damians buttons (what op is talking about), and then Damian starts feeling like Robin is something he is being forced to be.
So he doubles down and rejects Robin harder .
But it is never about Robin itself: It's about self-doubt, about fear and about wanting to choose one thing for himself for once in his life.
Damian loves being a hero, he just realizes for the first that there's more.
The way some people talk about Damian has me hoping to god they never have any children of their own.
"Bruce should be allowed to beat Damian", "If I was Bruce I would slap that little shit so hard–" I'm calling CPS as you speak dude.
Like I'm sorry, if Damian –in all his fictional character glory– has you this rage baited I just can't imagine you dealing with an actual tantrum in a healthy way whatsoever.
