Warning: Spoilers for Little Batman: Month One #1!The newLittleBatmanfranchise expands with a perfect follow-up to a new Christmas staple. Last year,Merry Little Batmanpremiered on Amazon Prime as a Christmastime, kid-friendly special for the whole family. It’s the holiday movieBatman fans didn’t know they needed, but has already been viewed as a must-see for every holiday season.
The special was positively received enough to warrant a sequel in comic book form,Little Batman: Month One#1 by Morgan Evans, Jon Mikel, and Ian Herring.Recreating the same magicthat went into such a beloved movie is hard enough, but doing so in an entirely different medium presents a new kind of challenge for the creative team. Thankfully, the creative team eagerly rises to the occasion.
Little Batman: Month One #1captures the same cute humor and tone of the original special while still paying respect to classic Bat lore, all with a cute spin.
Little Batman: Month One #1 Takes Place Mere Days After The Original Amazon Prime Movie
Twas Six Days After Christmas
The originalMerry Little Batmanmovie focused on a world where Bruce Wayne retires from his superhero duties after doing theunthinkable: winning his war on crime. Gotham is finally crime-free, but when The Joker strikes back while Bruce is out of the city, it’s up to his son, Damian, to save the day.Little Batman: Month One#1 takes place six days after the events of the original movie. Already, it seems like Gotham is back to normal, without a hint of crime, much to the chagrin of Damian Wayne.
Always eager to leap into some sort of action,Damian Wayne’s taste of being Little Batman—especially as Bruce officially begins his training—gave him an adrenaline boost that he’s not ready to let go of yet. This is especially evident during a New Year party dinner that Damian is particularly bored at. He wishes he could just be Little Batman forever without having to masquerade under his secret identity. Anxious to putBatman’s greatest abilities into practice, Damian starts investigating a woman who’s snooping around Wayne Manor, taking pictures.
The originalMerry Little Batmanmovie is available now to stream on Amazon Prime Video, with a television show sequel announced for a 2025 release.
Before Little Batman could tell the big Batman what he saw, that’s when Wayne Manor and its guests are invaded by Scarecrow and his goons. He warns that unless Bruce Wayne comes with them peacefully, then people will get hurt.To Damian’s surprise and confusion, his father surrenders himself without a fight. The issue ends with Damian crying that his father has just been kidnapped, all with the confusion as to why his dad never turned into Batman to protect himself.
A Batman Parody Understands Batman Better Than Most Batman Stories
Respecting the Lore
Even as a parody,Little Batman’screative team understands the importance of Bruce’s dual identities and makes space to tackle that theme seriously.
One of the most impressive aspects ofMerry Little Batmanis how the movie managed tounderstand the core of what Batman was while still carrying the spirit of satire. That same aspect can be seen thoroughly throughoutLittle Batman: Month One#1. The story pokes fun at recurring tropes and character traits, but it wholeheartedly understands those tropes and traits without necessarily making a mockery of it. After all, like the movie that came before it, Little Batman is a Batman parody at heart.
It puts comedy first, but does so as a loving tribute to the original material, paying respect to the material at the same time. Case in point, a running question throughout a lot of Batman stories is asking what truly is the mask between the Bat cowl and Bruce Wayne. When Bruce tells Damian why they can’t be Batman 24/7, he says"being Bruce is what allows me to be Batman.“He adds,“being Damian is a superpower all its own.“Even as a parody,Little Batman’screative team understandsthe importance of Bruce’s dual identities, and makes space to tackle that theme seriously.
Little Batman Begins With Month One
A True Origin Story For How Damian Understands How to Be Little Batman
To that last point, that quote from Bruce Wayne could prove to be the mission statement ofLittle Batman: Month Oneas a series going forward. Little Batman: Month One may be priming itself to be Damian’s definitive origin story in the same way that Batman: Year One is Bruce’s definitive origin story. Yes, audiences saw why Damian becomes Little Batman in Merry Little Batman, but Month One could show how he truly becomes Little Batman and what that distinction means for Damian.
Batman: Year Onelooks at the first year in Bruce Wayne’s life on active Bat duty. The actual “why” to his origin story can be found elsewhere, but as far as seeing how Bruce understands how to be and what it means to be Batman,Year Oneis his definitive story.For Damian to understand what it means to be a superhero, he’ll need to understand what it means to be Damian Wayne. That kind of ideology is on full display in the final panels from Little Batman where Bruce sacrifices himself to Scarecrow’s gang, another classic Batman trend.
DC’s New Batman Movie Breaks A 34-Year-Old Dark Knight Trend
Almost 20 releases into the Batman franchise, 2023’s new Dark Knight movie breaks a trend that has come to define Gotham’s Caped Crusader.
Readers well versed in Batman lore understand Bruce’s motivations. Not only does Bruce run a risk of exposing his secret identity, but he puts the guests' lives at risk. Readers know this and, most importantly, Batman knows this. Bruce understands that distinction between hero and secret identity, and why each identity has a time and place. In the end, he saves the partygoers not as Batman, but as Bruce Wayne. The series will likely delve deeper into Damian figuring that out on his own, andonce Damian understands, that’s when his hero journey will truly begin.
Little Batman: Month One is Off to a Strong Start
A Worthy Sequel for the Avid Batman Fan
For anyone who enjoyedMerry Little Batmanor considers it a must-watch every Christmas season now,Little Batman: Month One#1 is a must-read. Even beyond being a fan of the Amazon Prime movie, any die-hard Batman fan is going to love this premiere issue and issues going forward. Anyone well-versed in the nostalgia, the lore, the tropes, and the trends that make up the Batman franchise will catch the numerous subtle references and inside jokes. At the same time, well-researched fans will appreciate the love and careLittle Batmanoffers as a homage.
Meanwhile, fans of Little Batman’s predecessor will appreciate how the comic perfectly duplicates the tone, humor, and art style ofMerry Little Batman. It expands on everything that made that movie fun to watch in the most entertaining way possible.The comic can also be expected to be viewed as a necessary gap between the movie and the upcoming 2025 TV series, making it all the more essential to read.LittleBatman: Month Oneis a worthy sequel to a newly beloved Christmas classic.
Little Batman: Month One #1is on sale now from DC Comics
