Heartwarming / Batman: Wayne Family Adventures

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures

From little brother to big brother.

Numerous moments in this webcomics are really meant to warm the heart and they work oh so well.

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• Batman in general. While he's certainly not perfect, he at least makes the effort to be more affectionate to his adopted children, especially since his Fatal Flaw of refusing to open up has caused no small amount of dysfunction within the Batfamily due to how militaristic he is.
• Bruce welcoming Duke to the family.
• Seeing Damian be the first one in the house after patrols, running for the desserts. It's always cute to see him act his age.
• Bruce's fond exasperation when he realizes Jason's been rifling through his safehouse, even though he regularly sends him the latest gadgets. Despite their differences, their relationship is infinitely healthier than it normally is.
• The lack of Cassandra's presence in Episode 6 is in and of itself heartwarming. The premise is that almost everyone in the Bat family is wearing or using paraphernalia from other superheroes who most closely match their personalities or are personal friends of theirs. So Dick has a Superman hoodie, the brutal Jason has Wonder Woman sweatpants, and so on. Cassandra doesn't show up at all, which means she either got something off-panel...or is just that devoted to Batman's ideal. Given the amount of times she's stuck by him, even when he disregarded her, and how much she idolizes his belief to not take a life, it's almost certainly the latter.
• The Batfam rallying around Duke after his breakup. Cass and Dick keep him company on the roof and give him a gentle "it gets better" talk, while Damian guards Duke's door to hold off Bruce's well-meaning (but apparently awful) post-breakup pep-talk.
• Bruce apologizing to Cass and making up with her after missing her recital. It was clear she was never mad to begin with, and she lets him know with a warm hug. He then rents out a theater so she can show him her performance herself with just the two of them. Seeing how hard he tries to be a good dad in this comic, despite everything that tends to get in the way always warms the heart, and is definitely one of the best parts of the comic as a whole.
  • The fact Bruce opens up to Alfred about his own personal failings regarding his ability to act as both a father and Batman also qualify. There's a real sense of a father-son dynamic between the butler and his ward, and Bruce admitting difficulty with a problem helps to make him far more fleshed out and real than many of his comic appearances. The fact he follows this up by doing his best to try to be that father he wants to be for his daughter and not just the Dark Knight illustrates how great a father he already is.
• Damian's birthday episode is one long heartwarming moment. Despite Damian's insistence that he's too old for something as silly as a birthday party, his siblings and father just want him to have a good time and enjoy being doted on, telling him that "it's not every day a Wayne turns nine". They even get him a puppy!
• Talia al Ghul being shown to be a loving mother in her visit to Damian, asking if he is happy and expressing how letting him go was the hardest decision she has ever made (with her having made it for the sake of his happiness).
• The entirety of the Christmas episode is just one continuous moment of heartwarming. From Bruce watching his family doing work outside the costume to help their local community, to the group hug and Bruce telling his kids he's So Proud of You, to the Christmas photo Alfred takes of everyone.
  • Slightly sad, but Jason's insignia in the tracking app is his Robin one, not the Red Hood. For Bruce, he's still Robin in his eyes.
• Opening Up:
  • While everyone tries their best to coach Damian on how to make friends, Jason's advice is to freely admit that he broke his best friend out of prison, which started their friendship. The casual mention of how much he cares about Roy could make one smile.
  • When Damian is freaking out about making friends at school (to the point that he feels sick), he calls Stephanie, and later texts Dick. They are able to calm him down and tell him that he can do it (although Dick has to tell him that, no, Jason's suggestion that he break someone out of jail is not a good solution).
  • Later on, Damian successfully makes a friend at school, and even smiles when talking about his interests.
• Selina gently teasing Bruce after his kids overhear their flirting. It's clear that their relationship is built on mutual affection and trust, and she even places a kiss on his cheek as a bit of comfort.
• Dick is feeling terrible for constantly blowing off his plans with Tim, so Jason pays the manor a visit to reassure him. He lets his big brother know that it's okay to set boundaries, and that he can rely on the rest of his family to fill in the gaps. It's nice to see Jason showing some emotional vulnerability with his family.
• After getting annoyed at Damian for breaking into his apartment for trying to dig up dirt on him in "Dirty Little Secret," Jason lets him hang out and read Pride and Prejudice.
• Cass is feeling like a failure, being unable to turn off her ability to read body language and accidentally hurting her family when she was just trying to be supportive. However, Babs takes her aside and shows her that Cass is someone who fights for her family, who's forged her own path no matter how difficult it is, and that she is more than what her father made her. She even calls Cass her sister!
• When Stephanie reveals her fear that she may not be good enough to Tim, he replies that he's also gone through the same thing, and reassures her that she's more than worthy to stand with the rest of the Batfamily.
• Publicly released to coincide with the start of Pride Month 2022, the "Better and Brighter" two-parter is about Tim dating Bernard Dowd, getting nervous about whether he's ready for hand-holding, asking Kate for advice, and being given some solid advice about treating a partner like an equal and just asking Bernard if he's unsure about something. It ends with Bernard reassuring Tim that he'd love to hold hands, and the two men smiling at each other as they walk hand-in-hand.
• The "Strong Enough" two-parter. In the first part, Jason has a panic attack in the Batcave after Steph scrapes a tire iron on the ground, reminding him of how The Joker beat him to death. Jason runs up to Bruce’s study, hoping to escape. Luckily, Bruce arrives to comfort him, telling he’ll be okay. The second part continues the heartwarming, with realistic grounding techniques used to counteract Jason's panic attack and various members of the bat-fam trying to help (Tim getting him a weighted blanket, Alfred providing advice and snacks, Steph sharing comforting cat videos). It ends with Bruce confessing he's dealt with similar pain when thinking about the death of his parents, as well as admitting that there were times he's failed Jason in the past but he'd never give up a second of their time together, which Jason reciprocates.
  • The fact that Bruce kissed Jason's head warmed even the coldest hearts.
  • Another heartwarming fact, watch Bruce's shadow; in all other appearances Bruce's shadow shows him as Batman but not this time, this time he is just Bruce a father trying to comfort his son not Batman the vigilante showing us how much he loves Jason.
• In "The World's Finest", Alfred meets with the Kents so they can have dinner together. The three adults enjoy their time together, commiserating over their children's activities as heroes.
• After Barbara nearly burns herself out in "One More," Dick swings by and reminds her to take a break, since the rest of the team has her back. He calls her "Batgirl" as he leaves, and she calls him "Boy Wonder" in return; they were Batman's first two sidekicks, and their bond is as strong as it ever was.
• Batman not only takes a night off to spend some time with his kids in the season 1 finale, but he actually asks Superman and Harley Quinn to cover for him. While it's Played for Laughs as the two get into a fight over who's Bruce's Best Friend, it still shows how much he trusts both of them that he'd leave his city in their care for the night.
• After Barbara finds out about Jason's dating profile, she takes a moment to tease him for a bit before saying she's glad he's putting himself out there. The final panel is of him asking for advice on what picture is best for the profile.
• "Suit Up":
  • Crossed over with Funny, but it's bizarrely cute to see Red Hood, Batwoman, and Nightwing good-naturedly competing to prank Batman with the goofiest suit each of them can find. When Dick holds up the Bat-Toga, Jason, who suggested the mummy suit first, admiringly admits it's great, and both he and Kate happily agree in seconds that Dick won when he pulls out the Rainbow Batman suit.
  • Commissioner Gordon, who has as much trouble with Gotham as the Bat-Family does, gets a rare moment of enjoying his position when he sees (and snaps a photo of) Batman in rainbow regalia.
• The "Why We Fight" two-parter has Bruce exposed to Scarecrow's fear gas after giving his rebreather mask to Tim, whose own mask broke. In his mind, he's taunted by Scarecrow and brought down to his knees, being told that his crusade of justice will never end, and it will never bring back his dead parents. But then, figments of Dick and Alfred appear to help Bruce back to his feet, and the rest of the Bat-Family start appearing behind him; this Bruce is motivated not by the scars of his past, but by protecting the people in the present who have already been hurt yet are doing everything in their power to bring goodness into the world. Back in reality a day later, Bruce and Tim talk about their mutual instincts to want to save each other at the cost of themselves and end up sharing a hug.
• The reason why Damian takes picture day so seriously: he wants Bruce to have a nice photo of him, one he can be proud to put in his office. Bruce responds that they can have a new photo taken if Damian likes, but any photo of Damian will be good enough for the office in his eyes.
• "The Choices We Make" two-parter has Tim and Damian finally talk out their issues, and it's revealed that the reason Damian's remained such a jerk to Tim in particular was... the impossible legacy that Tim specifically left him to fill. As he put it, Dick and Jason had nothing when Bruce took them in, Steph had family honor to regain, and Damian himself was raised from the ground up as a living weapon. But Tim? Tim chose to be Robin. He didn't (at first) have any real reason or traumatic origins to lead him to do so. He became a hero solely due to it being the right thing to do. Damian's mental image of Tim standing triumphantly and heroically, compared to the other four Robins... that's true admiration right there.
• "Branching Out" not only depicts reformed villains Harley and Ivy in a caring romantic relationship, with Ivy concerned about her girlfriend's recent crimefighting injuries and kissing her on the forehead while telling her to rest, but it also shows that they're both respected by the Batfamily girls, with Spoiler and Orphan calling Harley a teammate and then following Ivy's instructions on proper plant care after asking her for advice on a houseplant. Similar to how the webcomic treats Jason, their pasts as villains have not prevented them from turning over new leaves, finding happiness with each other, and befriending the same family they used to fight.
• "Thankful"
  • Dick realizes that Alfred is going to be alone for the Thanksgiving holiday. He immediately starts calling everyone about it and they immediately vow to get back in time for the celebrations. The end of the strip has Alfred thankful to have a loving family in the Wayne Manor as everyone gets ready to sit down for dinner.
  • Bruce is initially reluctant to make any promises... until Damian starts pouting at him. Yes, even Damian refuses to let Alfred be alone on the holiday.
  • Jason gets a nice moment as well, as he initially refuses due to being in the middle of a mission, but when he hears that it’s because Alfred’s gonna be alone? He immediately vows to be there, stating he’ll call in the Outlaws to help him so he can be back in time.
  • Dick's speech to Alfred about how instrumental he's been in making a new home for Dick and every single member of the Bat-Family. In-universe, it makes Alfred cry a tear of joy.
• The two-parter "Hunted" is one long Awesome for Barbara, as she allows herself to be captured by men targeting her father, steals the computer of the ring leader, sends all of his information to the cops, and disarms the guy who's trying to shoot her with her bare hands. Barbara Gordon isn't Batgirl anymore, she's someone stronger.
• "High Heels" features a) Selina openly welcome in the Batcave, b) Stephanie and Damian competing in a cute, healthy, sibling (?) sort of way, by way of a really silly contest, c) Selina gently chiding Bruce to let them have their fun, and d) Bruce giving Selina an adorable cheek kiss and "yes ma'am."
• We get a little look into Cassandra Cain's psyche at the start of "Snowfall (Part 1)," where it's shown that Cassandra has a group chat with her contemporaries labeled as 'Bat Family,' with three 'bat' emojis serving to imply the use of the word 'bat,' followed by three heart emojis. The word 'family' is even surrounded by two faces with heart eyes, and is spelled in all-caps, as if Cassandra is shouting about having a family to call her own to the heavens. Seeing the most stoic and concise member of the Bat Family so dearly love everyone else that's a part of it, whether through being fellow adoptees or just incredibly close family friends, is sure to warm some hearts.
• In "Holding Hope", Dick doesn't know what to tell a young runaway who just lost her parents, and Bruce states that not even he knows - when he took Dick in, he was always afraid of making a mistake, and worried that he kept Dick from having a normal life... but Dick still came out as the best person he's ever known, and a symbol of hope for people in the dark. Dick replies by stating that he doesn't regret how his life turned out to be, thanking his adoptive father for everything he's done for him. In turn, Dick tells the child that it's always hard to lose your parents - particularly at the age both of them did - but she should always remember that the love her parents held for her will always be with her.
  • Not to mention this bit at the end:
  Dick (hugging Bruce): Thanks for being there when I needed someone. You changed my life.
  Bruce (returning the hug):You changed mine, too.
  Dick: For the better?
  Bruce: Without a doubt.
• In "Sneak Attack", we get to see Spoiler and Bluebird on a patrol/dinner date...which is quickly ruined by Orphan scaring them. In the same issue, we see Red Hood (one of the most hardcore members of the family) talking gently with a lost little kid. No one in the Bat family would let a kid be scared or hurt.
• The clearly strong friendship between Dick Grayson and Wally West, and how much fun they clearly have together whilst looking for new (less embarrassing) ways for speedsters to carry Bats.
• In "Objects in Mirrors", Clark and Jon help Connor learn how to use his heat vision to shave (which is actually the only way they can shave due to normal razors breaking when they come in contact with Kryptonian hair).
• Barbara, Helena, and even Selina helping Dinah get back her rings...although Catwoman can't resist stealing everything else of value that they find on the property.
• Orphan and Robin are tracking the Mad Hatter, only for the villain to hypnotize the former into killing the latter. When Damian begs her to wake up, Cassandra remembers how her father only trained her to become a weapon, never caring for what she wanted... but then Barbara saved her, her and the Waynes became her family, and when the time came for her to become Batgirl, it came down to what she chose to be. This allows her to fight off the Mad Hatter's control.
• Damian and Jon visit the Daily Planet to see a journalist's daily work. Lois takes them both to her latest news source: a landlord who's deliberately making conditions in one of his buildings unsafe so he can force the tenants out and jack up the rent. After Lois tells them how important this kind of news are for the normal people, the kids agree that Lois is "basically a superhero", and Damian decides to tell his father about the issue so the Wayne Foundation can help.
• In "Win or Lose", Red Hood is tracking Black Mask when he saves a kid from being beaten up, only for the kid to berate him for saving him only because it was convenient. Jason gives him a tracker and tells him to press the button if he ever needs help. A couple of days later, Red Hood finally finds Black Mask and is about to arrest him, but then the tracker triggers. With only a brief hesitation, Red Hood asks Oracle to send someone else for the crime lord while he runs to save the kid. The boy gives him a hug and thanks him for keeping his promise to help, and Red Hood escorts him back home, telling Oracle they can catch Black Mask later.
  Oracle: You're a good man, Jason. I hope you know that.
  (Beat Panel as Jason lets the compliment sink in)
  Red Hood: Thanks, Oracle. That means a lot.
• Diana meeting the Wayne family pets, including Alfred (the cat), Titus, Ace, Bat-Cow, and Goliath the dragon-bat. They all love her.
• "Kidnapping Clinic":
  • Duke getting reassurance from Bruce and all of his foster brothers over his first kidnapping threat. Each of them (in their own way) promise Duke that he'll be okay, and that, even if the impossible does happen and someone does kidnap him, his brothers will be there to save him.
  • Speaking of Bruce, while he puts on a calm face for Duke, it is clear that he is seething with fury over the threat... and it's equally clear that he intends to confront the perpetrators as Batman.
• Pretty much everything about the "Enough" two-parter. Stephanie reviews her own history with having a supervillain parent while trying to think of the right thing to do regarding a kid she captured trying to interfere with his father's smash-and-grab. With some encouragement from Jason of all people, who actually acknowledges just how much Bruce changed his life for the better, and a reminder that she became who she was in spite of Cluemaster's influence, not because of it, Stephanie is able to help the kid, Erik, realize that he will one day find people who will care about him and do right by him if he continues to persevere - even adding that she'd be there for him, too. Stephanie's reply regarding why she's willing to bother with rehabilitating someone she just captured could serve as the central thesis for the comic:
  Erik: Why do you care so much about me?
  Stephanie: Because everyone deserves someone who cares.
• All the injured Batfamily members teaming up to make dinner for a sick Alfred in "Bad Day". And you know the uninjured ones would have too, but they were almost certainly doing extra patrol shifts.
• "Mask Off": Red Hood's soft spot for kids strikes again. The Bat-Family is trying to evacuate a building under bomb threat. As he struggles to coax a young hostage out of hiding, he realizes his mask is scaring her and removes it so she can see he's "just a regular guy who wants to help." He calmly, gently talks to her even as the bomb continues ticking and Oracle screams at him to get out. By the last panel, she's in the crook of one arm, on the verge of trying on the Red Hood mask herself as Jason tries to get her to give it back.
• "There Can Be Only One" is all about Dick and Jason having a day at the fair with Roy and Lian, with the former two spoiling Lian rotten as they compete to be her favorite uncle. It's as adorable as it sounds, and as hilarious.
• "PhD":
  • Robin/Damian is captured and in danger. He's clearly tense and furious as he waits for rescue or an opportunity to escape... but the second he hears the sound of criminals going down, he visibly relaxes. He might not be the nicest family member, but he trusts his family with his life. Plus, his only reaction to seeing Harley Quinn as part of the rescue party is surprise, and only because he didn't expect to see her there. He sees her as a part of the family, though he'll likely never say so out loud.
  • Also, Harley Quinn's nickname for Robin is "Baby Bat". Robin may not like it, but it is completely adorable.
• "Batman and the Signal" is all about the Bat-Family looking out for each other. For context, Duke got kidnapped in an explicit attempt to kill Batman by blowing up the building once he showed up. This of course doesn't work, but Batman goes into an ice-cold fury mode when he learns they were going to kill Duke just to get to him. He calls up Alfred to call the family to take the criminal empire down tonight. When asked who to call, he replies "Everyone." Duke for his part is furious they were specifically out for Batman and demands in, something Bruce anticipated.

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