On Wednesday, DC announced a whole lot of Batman content to coincide with Batman Day on September 18th. One of the announcements was DC’s first webtoon Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, which released a couple of episodes the day of the announcement.
Batman needs a break. But with new vigilante Duke Thomas moving into Wayne Manor and an endless supply of adopted, fostered, and biological superhero children to manage, Bruce Wayne is going to have his hands full. Being a father can’t be harder than being Batman, right?
- Lead Artist (Inks): StarBite
- Writer: CRC Payne
- Storyboards: Maria Li
- Backgrounds: Lan Ma
- Lettering: Kielamel Sibal
- Coloring: C.M. Cameron, Camille Cruz, Jean Kim
- Creative Producer: Susan Cheng
- Associate Producer: Wil Kennedy
I didn’t know I needed a wholesome take on Batman being a dad for a bunch of vigilantes until now.
It doesn’t take long to fall in love with the story. The art style screams “slice of life goodness” as Duke Thomas moves into Wayne Manor. Bruce and Alfred are as welcoming as ever, and Damian is, well, Damian (who, to my delight, has darker skin in this story). Duke, who clearly has a sixth sense for knowing when to stay away from danger, is hoping that someone else can give him a tour around the house.
No such luck, my friend.
Fortunately for Duke (maybe?), there is a variety of vigilantes roaming through the house, as to be expected from a hero who keeps collecting sidekicks. Each character is different, yet still retains the character traits you expect to see if you’re familiar with who they are. For example, Damian is the bratty little brother of the Robin group who is contractually obligated to pull pranks on the new guy, meanwhile, Jason Todd is the Robin who doesn’t come to the house for obvious Red Hood reasons… unless if Alfred’s baking, that is. There is a hilariously endearing moment where everyone is fighting for the last cookie, leading to Batman encouraging them to bring it in a Bat-family challenge.
Clearly, that is the most important battle in Batman’s 80+ history. There are no friends when it comes to fresh-baked cookies.
The story doesn’t just show what goes on in the house, we also get to see what goes on in Gotham City. Barbara Gordon’s doing her Oracle thing (not that the Commissioner knows that) and we get to see just how much work it is to try and give instructions to a family like this. Seriously, Barbara’s the one who should be getting those cookies.
After the first three episodes, I’m absolutely hooked on the idea of Batman’s greatest challenge focusing on how to keep everyone from beating the capes off of each other because Alfred didn’t make enough dessert. I want more of this TGIF-style sitcom for Batman, a man who just wants to drink coffee from his “best dad” mug in peace.
I’m not sure if the series is going to keep up with this sort of one-shot story per episode anecdotal vibe where we see a lighter take on Gotham’s finest, or if we will get an overarching plot at some point, but whatever direction it takes I hope it remains as charming as these first episodes have been. I absolutely do not mind a deeper story of sorts, but I still want it to be a fun, delightful read where the biggest amount of stress comes from some Robins showing up at the wrong bank robbery because they were too stubborn to listen to Oracle.
I, at the very least, hope we see more characters – maybe even some villains.
Batman: The Wayne Family Adventures is available over on Webtoon.
(Image: DC/Webtoon)
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