Summary
- In one universe, Wonder Woman betrays Batman and kills Damian Wayne, hurting him more than any other villain, including the Joker.
- Unlike the Joker’s random act, Wonder Woman deliberately hurts Batman to inflict maximum pain and does it in front of him.
- Batman’s inability to save Damian and the knowledge that his own choices led to the situation make Wonder Woman’s betrayal even more devastating.
Batman has gone through quite a lot of tragedy in his time fighting crime, but that tragedy is usually due the villains he fights almost daily all trying to hurt him — physically and psychologically. This is why it’s all the more surprising that, in one universe, Wonder Woman hurt him far worse than the Joker or any other villain ever has.
There are few villains who have hurt their corresponding hero as badly as the Joker has hurt Batman. Almost every bad thing in his life — even, in some versions of the story, the death of his parents — all come from the Joker. Anytime there’s a truly major Batman story, it often revolves around the Joker as well. The biggest example of this is the death of Robin Jason Todd at the hands of the Joker. Jason’s death is widely regarded as one of the worst things Batman has ever been put through. But, in another universe, Wonder Woman hurt Batman in almost the same exact way — but much more brutally than Joker.
Wonder Woman Kills Damian Wayne in Front of Batman
\Wonder Woman’s brutal betrayal takes place in Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe #3 by Tim Seeley, Freddie E. Williams II, and Jeremy Colwell. After Superman takes over the world following Lois Lane’s death, Batman leads a resistance against him. After several years of action, Batman is captured and mind-controlled by Superman, and the resistance turns to other universes for help. One of these universes is home to the Masters of the Universe characters. With the help of He-Man and Teela, the resistance — now led by Damian Wayne — launches a full-scale attack on Superman’s base to save Batman. Unfortunately, this ends with Damian having his neck snapped, right in front of Batman, by none other than Wonder Woman.
This is one of the worst Robin deaths ever. When the Joker first killed Jason Todd, he did it simply because the opportunity was presented to him. Originally, he didn’t even intend to take credit for the deed. But when Wonder Woman kills Damian Wayne, she does it entirely to hurt Bruce — and she does in front of him. Batman failed to save Jason because Jason decided to go off on his own, and Batman wasn’t fast enough to get there to save him. But when Wonder Woman kills Damian, it’s because Damian was trying to save Batman — and still Bruce could do nothing to stop this cruel version of Wonder Woman.
Batman Mourns the Death of His Robin, Damian Wayne
This Robin death is even worse than Jason’s because Batman is both unable to stop Wonder Woman, and he knows that Damian was only in that position due to Bruce’s own choices. In the main DC Universe, Wonder Woman is one of the kindest and most heroic characters that the publisher has to offer. But in Injustice, Wonder Woman is one of the universe’s most brutal villains, and she proves this by hurting Batman far worse than the Joker ever did.
Check out Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe #3, available now from DC Comics.