Posted in: Comics | Tagged:

Is Damian: Son Of Batman Set In The Future Of Pre-Flashpoint DC?

Published Thu, 04 Jul 2013 10:00:32 -0500

Dr Hurt writes for Bleeding Cool on the cover art of Damian: Son Of Batman;

This appears to be pre-Flashpoint. If so, that's a HUGE step for DC to actually publish a new pre-Flashpoint comic. The reason I say so is because Kubert is depicting Damian in his original costume. Even though the colorist colored it wrong, it is actually his old white/black jumpsuit with the Jason Todd tunic over it, as shown in Batman and Robin. The one with the inverted Robin mask and the spiked knuckles. That costume can't really exist in the New 52 because it uses the old Dick Grayson/Jason Todd tunic as a base. That's retconned out. We also know that shortly after wearing that suit, Alfred gave Damian a new costume, the famous lace-up boot costume he would later die in in Batman Incorporated. Moving on!

I think this image, if intentional, has a lot of implications for the story. Damian is cleary a teenager in this new art, but he isn't wearing the "new 52" style suit that debuted before Flashpoint, the one with the lace-up boots.

In the original Flash-Forward in Batman and Son, we saw Kubert still use this older costume to depict future Damian the night Bruce died, when he made his pact with "The Devil". Of course, that was back before Grant ever planned the Batman and Robin comic, and way before Tony Daniel and Frank Quitely redesigned Dick and Damian to have new costumes. Kubert was going off the only designs they had and the story was assuming Damian never stopped wearing that costume, which is what we see on this new cover.

So as far as Kubert is concerned, he seems to be telling this story from the ORIGINAL perspective, keeping Damian in his original costume and Bruce in his classic duds. To me, this implies straight forward that this is a pre-Flashpoint story and that the eventual new Damian costume(with the laces) will be retconned as a product of the New 52 depiction. This story will follow Grant's simpler vision for the character without incorporating that HUGE Batman and Robin/Return of Bruce Wayne story period.

So for all intents, this is a pre-Flashpoint story, implying Damian's last costume(lace up boots, armored tunic) and death are a result of the New 52 changing history. This story will tell the alternate timeline where Damian never died. This cover depicts him at age 14, the night Bruce dies and Damian makes that pact with the Devil. These events do NOT exist in the New 52 timeline, as Bruce averted them, which led to Damian's death. 666 does not happen in the New 52 future. It is now planted firmly in the future of the pre-Flashpoint universe, whereever it may reside in the multiverse.

I color-corrected that cover to make it accurate to his costume. The colorist apparently thought it was Damian's normal costume, not that one Kubert drew when he cobbled together Jason's memorial costume with his own black/white jumpsuit with the brass knuckle gloves. If these assumptions are correct, this is a pretty big deal. DC is acknowledging that the pre-Flashpoint DCU still exists and we're seeing how Damian's life went down, having not been killed by the Heretic.

Another Bleeding Cool reader, Derek Trum writes in to add to that theory – in that this series was proposed to be published pre-New 52.

I spoke to Mr.Kubert about upcoming projects at the New York Big Apple Con in 2011. At the time he was really excited about a Damian mini series that he was writing and drawing. He had even mentioned that he was changing his style up a bit for the series. He was very excited to do a project about Damian Wayne. The following year at the New York Comic Con, I asked him about the mini series, but he wasn't sure when it was going to be released. One has to assume that this new mini series that is coming out, will be the one he did back in 2011.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!