15 Emotional Comic Book Moments That Made Us Shed A Tear
12. Alfred Mourns Damian
While the death of any child in a comic book is inherently tragic, Damian Wayne's passing in 2013 was a special case. The 10-year-old son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, Damian had a bizarre upbringing and was trained by the League of Assassins as a child, learning to kill at a very young age. When he eventually assumed the mantel of Robin, he often clashed with his father over his don't kill philosophy, and was generally portrayed as being erratic and violent. As such, Damian wasn't just some kid who was just killed - this was something he was essentially prepared and ready for.
Still, Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason manage to give the character an appropriate and emotional sendoff in the pages of Batman and Nightwing #23. The comic focuses on Bruce using Internet 3.0 to revisit the night of Damians death, and then kicks it up another emotional level by addressing how the shocking event has impacted the Wayne family butler and friend, Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred, who first helped train Damian when Bruce was dead during the Batman R.I.P. storyline, blames himself for the childs demise.
As he revisits that fateful night, Gleason gives the reader a visual of Alfred holding a sleeping Damian in his arms. And that's when the full emotional magnitude hits the reader. Damian Wayne, hardened killer, was still just a little boy.