The New York Post has confirmed that Batman's latest sidekick, Robin the Boy Wonder, will be killed in a battle against a vicious enemy in a comic book published this coming Wednesday.
The death of the Dark Knight's accomplice will first appear in issue Number 8 of "Batman Incorporated." However, the publisher told The Post that his death, and the aftermath, will leave a lasting impression in the world of DC Comics.
Behind the mask, Robin the Boy Wonder is of Bruce Wayne's 10-year-old son Damian Wayne. He was born out of wedlock from a love affair Bruce Wayne had with Talia, the daughter of his deadly foe Ra's al Ghul. Damian decides to bear the mantle of Robin after talking with another superhero Nightwing.
"He saves the world. He does his job as Robin," writer Grant Morrison told The Post. "He dies an absolute hero."
Damian is slain while fighting a massive assassin who is a "brother" cloned from his genetic material. Morrison says that Batman arrives too late to save his protégé which illustrates how parents can't protect their children when they're fighting.
"It's all about the family and the family going to hell," said Morrison, whose own parents suffered from a divorce. "The two adults in the story are both culpable. The kid's the good guy."
Introduced in 2006, Damian is a brilliant and clever kid who turned from a violent and immature assassin into a selfless leader.
"What we did was turn this little monster into a superhero," said Morrison. "He's a little brat, but he's a super-brat."
Like other Robin's, Damian may be resurrected in subsequent stories or replaced.
"You can never say never in a comic book . . . Batman will ultimately always have a partner," Morrison added.