The son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul is back, and he’s taking control of the Teen Titans. The first issue of Teen Titans: Rebirth hits stands September 27, depicting a mysterious-looking, hooded figure as it tracked down and kidnapped each of the Titans, who had spread out all over the world after Tim Drake died.
We find Beast Boy “dancing and drinking [himself] into oblivion”, Starfire preventing human trafficking in the Caribbean, Raven sneaking around an art museum in Manhattan, and Kid Flash fighting crime in Central City. After each of the Titans is kidnapped, the figure reveals himself to be Damian Wayne. Though he doesn’t mention a plan to kill his biological grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul, in the comic, DC describes Baby Wayne’s plan in its official plot synopsis for the Teen Titans: Rebirth saga:
The Teen Titans are farther apart than ever before…until Damian Wayne recruits Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and the new Kid Flash to join him in a fight against his own grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul! But true leadership is more than just calling the shots—is Robin really up to the task? Or will the Teen Titans dismiss this diminutive dictator?
Damian Wayne, dressed as Robin, assembles his deadly team of teenagers.
Killing is a big deal for Damian, who, in previous comics, had to be trained and retrained to follow his father’s creed in avoiding casualties whenever possible. In Teen Titans #88, former Robin Dick Grayson assigned Damian to the Teen Titans temporarily, reasoning that the kid would become less likely to kill people for no reason. He definitely has anger problems.
It remains to be seen whether the Titans will have trouble following orders from their tiny, violent Napoleonic figure, but one thing’s for sure: Damian Wayne’s existence in the Rebirth Universe is probably going to cause problems for quite a few Gothamites.
