10 Amazing Legacy Superheroes Who Proved Fans Wrong

9. Damian Wayne

Robin Damian Wayne
DC Comics

Storylines To Read: Batman & Robin: Reborn, Batman Incorporated

The idea of Bruce Wayne having a son was always going to frustrate certain Bat-fans, certainly so, given the reaction to Terry McGinnis' connection to Bruce in Batman Beyond. If there was ever a case of a character not only proving their detractors wrong, however, but also turning them on their side, then it'd be Damian Wayne - Bruce and Talia Al Ghul's son.

Created by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert during the start of Morrison's run on the character, Damian defined his early appears through his brattishness and willingness to kill. That, and he considered himself to be the rightful Robin, challenging Tim Drake repeatedly for the right to wear the red, yellow and green of the Dark Knight's sidekick.

The defining event for Damian proved to be the moment of his father's passing. With Bruce now gone, Dick Grayson (who I'll get to in a minute), became Batman. Launching the franchise anew, Batman: Reborn totally redefined the dynamic of the team, making Damian and Dick the new dynamic duo and forcing Tim to adopt a new Red Robin identity. It's a personal favourite series, and Damian's role in Morrison's run was beyond perfect.

No wonder everyone was upset when he was killed off...

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.