Taking a dive into the world of the Wayne family is always fun when you’ve been a fan of Batman your entire life. What makes Merry Little Batman such a fun entry in the world of Batman lore is that it makes Batman less of a brooding and foreboding character and more a dad trying to do the best for his son.
Director Mike Roth’s Merry Little Batman brings us Luke Wilson as Bruce Wayne. A very light hearted portrayal of the Dark Knight, Wilson’s Bruce appears to be a single dad to an adolescent Damien Wayne (Yonas Kibreab). As someone who thrives under the rule of the Bat Dad, I was having the time of my life watching Damien rule the Wayne Manor (even if Helena Wayne and the BatCat days are more my speed than that of Batman and Talia al Ghul).
The story is quite simple: Damien wants to prove to his dad that he can be Batman. Bruce is too protective of his son to let him be anything more than a kid. With themes that will make diehard Batman fans have those emotional moments they’ve often found solace in with Bruce as a character, the animated film, which brings us into a Gotham that has been rid of crime thanks to the work of Batman, is one that shows a different side to a character we’ve come to love so deeply throughout the years.
Batman is forced into putting on a façade, but so is Bruce Wayne. What Merry Little Batman does to honor both the holiday season and the character is bring to life qualities that make Bruce a good father while still making him that man we’ve come to love in protecting Damien.
Some good Bat Dad content!
Damien Wayne is the star of Merry Little Batman and rightfully so, a precocious little boy who just wants to be a hero for his dad. Bruce just wants his son to have the childhood he never got to have, but when the villains of Gotham want to make their grand return, Damien has to learn what it really means to be Batman.
That means that Bruce has to come to terms with the fact that being a dad isn’t about just sheltering Damien from everything. Damien and Bruce’s relationship isn’t a tense one, but it is one that could be rife with issues as Damien gets older because Bruce won’t let him try things and make mistakes. What we see in Merry Little Batman is a boy and his father growing together and learning how to communicate in a way that works for them, and it is a sweet story in a darker universe that so many of us love to see.
For me, someone who does love when Bruce Wayne gets to be a dad, especially with Damien (and, as I said, Helena), I absolutely adored Merry Little Batman. Hopefully this will lead to the Bat-Family series being more of Bruce and Damien learning how to work together, because it truly is a beautiful dynamic. And who knows? Maybe my dream of Damien and Helena being actual brother and sister could become a reality.
(featured image: Prime Video)
