you guys want bad dad bruce wayne so bad you’ll go out of your way to absurdly mischaracterize him. i totally understand the need for angst, i do, but come on. he knows the line between discipline and abuse, he literally locks guys up for that shit. so, here’s my take on bad dad bruce wayne.
overall, he’s honestly a good dad. he’s there when he’s not busy with the league and batman, which is rare but he tries to make breakfast every morning and at least one family dinner. he spars with his family but he holds back and only dishes out what he knows they can handle (he’s gotten yelled at by all his kids for going easy on them, mainly from tim and damian). he tries to stay present in his kids lives but to tell the truth he can barely keep up. he just knows that they’re alive and healthy, that’s all that matters.
i know, this seems like a good dad. so where’s the bad dad?
he’s manipulative as fuck.
bruce wayne is insanely charismatic. he puts on the bruce wayne persona without blinking, he manipulates people everyday in every way possible, he can make a right wing pro choice in a matter of minutes, he could make a heavy leftist senator vote for pro guns (not saying he would or wouldn’t do either, these are just examples) and manipulating people is far too natural for him.
and it’s an easy way out. he doesn’t want to do something? well… he doesn’t have to. tim wants to quit red robin but bruce knows how much he is needed for their team? let’s just say tim signed his life away the day he put on that suit—plus, bruce knows he loves the wind against his skin, he just needs a reminder.
intentionally or unintentionally bruce manipulates the fuck out of his kids on a daily basis. it took everyone a while to notice it, sometimes they still don’t—and, honestly, duke and damian are in denial.
so yeah. that’s my take on bad dad bruce. he’s good. he cares. it’s just he cares too much and he’s super controlling and needs things to go his way in his city, for better or for worse. of course, i also LOVE to write good dad bruce where everything he does for his family is just misunderstood bc his wordings as shit as his comprehension of emotions.
but peak parenting bruce? that’s good and bad. because a good character has flaws, some of which he’s aware of, some so subtle that he doesn’t notice.
