Warning: the following contains spoilers for Monkey Prince #2, on sale now from DC Comics.
Monkey Prince might be a magical reinterpretation of Chinese myth, but the character is course right at home in Gotham City. This sees him come up against the most familiar faces in the city: Batman and Robin. Said encounter isn’t exactly friendly, with the Asian ape royalty losing his head in disbelief! The aftermath of the battle, however, reveals that the current Boy Wonder has taken on a peculiar new job.
In Monkey Prince #2, Damian Wayne goes undercover a something completely unexpected… a student journalist for a local high school. Looking for info on the Monkey Prince, Damian eschews his father’s playboy vocation and instead a channels the 9-to-5 of another hero entirely. Here’s how Robin becoming a mild-mannered reporter shows the influence of Superman on the Batman family.
Damian Wayne: Ace Reporter
The second issue of the series picks up directly from the end of the first, with Batman and Robin trying to apprehend the suspected “monkey villain.” Magical hijinks and mysterious beheadings ensue, with Monkey Prince safely escaping after putting himself back together -literally.
Not content with letting a suspected crook go, Damian Wayne partakes in an unexpected course of action. Joining the high school where the Monkey Prince was fought, Damian passes himself off as a (strangely diminutive looking) high schooler who works as a student reporter. Seeking intel on the Monkey Prince, the Dark Knight in the making becomes quite the little investigative detective.
After all, he is the son of the World’s Greatest Detective, so it makes sense that he’d use some of these same skills in order to get to the bottom of the muster behind the Monkey Prince. Damian already seems like a no-nonsense kind of reporter, which makes sense given his personality and his being why Monkey Prince escaped. It also brings his family closer to that of another DC superhero icon.
Superman/Batman Families: World's Friendliest
Beyond the detective premise of most Batman characters, the new job for Damian also looks like a job for Superman. After all, Clark Kent invented the idea of a hero having their ear to the ground for trouble as a journalist, and that way to make a living has stuck around with him ever since 1938. This also shows how, through all of the changes over the years to Superman and Batman’s relationship, Superman and his family have continued to be a big influence on Batman’s.
The most obvious example of this is the Nightwing identity. Though it’s now more well-known to be the adult alter ego of Dick Grayson, the first Robin, the mantle was actually Kryptonian in nature. Upon telling a despondent Grayson about the legend of Nightwing and Flamebird, the former Robin rebranded himself with the name of the former before truly making the identity his own.
There’s also been continued friendships between Boy Wonders of Steel and and Gothamite Maidens of Might. The different versions of Supergirl and Batgirl have been portrayed as being friends, whereas the Young Justice BFFs of Robin, Wonder Girl and the Conner Kent Superboy were their own version of the Trinity. Even the taciturn Damian Wayne is best friends with Superman's son Jon Kent, with the bond between the two vastly different Super Sons being one of the biggest success stories to come out of DC Rebirth. Seeing the influence of reporters like Jon’s dad Clark Kent and how vital those skills can be to being a superhero vigilante, it’s no wonder that Damian Wayne is now searching for the hottest scoops in Gotham high schools.