#also I 100% want to point out that Damian's emotions about Bruce as of 2009 did not encompass crying about him in front of a portrait

[zahri-melitor]

Yeah I couldn't help myself.

Here's Damian and Alfred in Battle for the Cowl #3, aka the scene where Damian is first given a Robin tunic.

"So I'm going to help you out." ... "What the hell are you pulling here, Al?" "It's time for you to earn your keep. If you're up for it."

And here is Joshua Williamson's rewritten version of the moment of getting the Robin costume (pushed back to R.I.P. even though Damian's appearances in R.I.P. mostly involved him trailing after Talia in his assassin whites)

"Father is not dead, Pennyworth. You know that." "Bruce tends to surprise me. As do you. But what I do know is...he'd want you to have this."

Now this? This is pretty clearly not a rewrite of the Battle for the Cowl scene, but intended to be a conversation with Damian right as he gets his own custom Robin costume...aka it fits in at the start of Reborn. Not R.I.P.. So not only does everyone in that building aside from Tim believe that Bruce is very very very much dead, which is just the slightest plot point at that stage you know, but this is specifically taking any of Dick's autonomy over choosing Damian as Robin away from him, even more so than what we already have in terms of what's on page in Batman #687, Batman #688, Batman & Robin #1 and Red Robin #1.

I mean. It's in conversation with Alfred's behaviour in Batman & Robin #1 2009, but it's placing all of the decision making entirely on Alfred 'because Bruce would want it'. It's the way Morrison writes Alfred as at that point, having lost Bruce, instinctively prioritising Damian as Bruce's blood son above and beyond Dick and Tim, who he actually has long term relationships with.

But seriously as a retcon this is incredibly insulting in terms of how much it's stealing from both Dick and Tim's Reborn storylines.