Merry Little Batman’s version of Bruce Wayne has given up his superhero duties and decided not to become Batman anymore. Not in the dark and cynical way, but in the wholesome, “I want to take care of my son” way. Gotham City is crime-free. Bruce is happy. Alfred is happy. The citizens of Gotham are really happy. But Damian, who idolizes Batman, wants to fight crime as soon as possible, even though he is too young to fight goons. He fails to cherish the concept of peace, and his immature wish is answered when Bruce is tricked into leaving Gotham, and a couple of thieves break into Wayne Manor. Damian manages to thwart them pretty easily, but when one of the goons runs away with his prized utility belt, which was Bruce’s Christmas gift for him, he realizes that he can’t wait for his father’s approval or the “right moment” to become a vigilante. So, he gets into the Batcave, snags a Batsuit (which is voiced by an A.I. version of Bruce), and goes out to retrieve his utility belt. However, this endeavor of Damian’s can make or break Christmas for Gotham.
Spoiler Alert
What Was Joker’s Plan for Gotham?
Terry and Francine weren’t random thieves going around the neighborhood and stealing gifts. They were doing so on the Joker’s orders. Thanks to Damian, their haul was completely destroyed, and all they got was the utility belt. Initially, the Joker was disappointed by the outcome because he had put a lot of effort into tricking Batman into leaving Gotham so that he could begin his crime spree again. But when he learned about the existence of a Little Batman, a plan to use him to destroy Christmas for Gotham started to form in his evil brain. Damian walked straight into the Joker’s trap when he went to a mall to innocently ask Santa about the whereabouts of his belt, or at least learn about the people who stole his belt, and he got attacked by Bane and Poison Ivy. The not-so-dynamic duo riled up Damian by dangling the belt in front of him, and, to be fair, it backfired on the villains because Damian put up a really good fight. They had to resort to cheating to get the belt away from Damian, which then caused the little guy to tumble out of the mall and cause all kinds of damage and destruction on the streets of Gotham. When Vicki Vale, the reporter for Gotham News Network, blamed Batman for all the mayhem, it seemed like the Joker would have his Christmas cake and eat it too.
How Did Damian Almost Ruin Christmas?
When the utility belt was picked up from the streets of Gotham, Damian noticed that the perpetrator was going to the Gotham Zoo. So, he went there. Before the next action sequence began, Damian had a sweet conversation with A.I.-Bruce, where they talked about loneliness, the pros and cons of being a superhero while being a parent, and more. I loved how Mike Roth and the writers slowed things down to let this moment breathe and make Damian a three-dimensional character. Anyway, coming back to the plot, it was revealed that The Penguin had the utility belt in his possession. He thought he had trapped Damian, but Damian managed to one-up him and make Oswald Cobbleplot run for his life. That led to a chase over the Christmas Day parade floats.
Just like before, Damian managed to give The Penguin a run for his money. However, he caused all the floats to fall to the ground and catch fire. This caused chaos, and the people of Gotham began to villainize Damian. A.I.-Bruce got deactivated while trying to break Damian’s fall. So, with no belt and no one to talk to, and the Gothamites baying for his blood, Damian felt lost. Christmas was ruined because of his crusade. Now, before going on this crazy mission, Damian had fooled Alfred into going out and getting marshmallows. However, when Damian was overwhelmed by everything that was unfolding around him, it was Alfred’s caring hand that reached out to him and assured him that he had a lot of time to work on himself.
How Did Damian save Christmas?
During Merry Little Batman‘s ending, Damian was lured into the Joker’s lair with the help of his utility belt. It seemed like Damian had learned his lesson and was not going to fall for it. But something inside him snapped, and he willingly went to the Joker. Once he stepped into his factory, the Joker turned the building into a massive snow globe, thereby trapping Damian in there with the Joker, Poison Ivy, Bane, and The Penguin. All the gifts that the villains had stolen while Damian was trying to retrieve the belt were also there. So, with no gifts to give out to the kids, the Joker had ensured that Gotham’s Christmas was ruined. Like every good Christmas movie, The Joker explained why he did all this. He was angry at Batman for focusing on Damian and cleaning up Gotham. Crime was the only way he got some kind of attention. Without any crime, he felt neglected and alone. That was why he orchestrated this whole heist, and Damian unknowingly helped him succeed.
Now, since Damian had been labeled a villain by Gotham, the villains gave him the opportunity to become one, officially. They equipped his prized utility belt with all kinds of weapons and convinced him to take up a life of crime instead of partaking in vigilantism. However, Damian resisted the temptation and destroyed the belt, which in turn destroyed the globe. The villains rushed to kill him, and that was when Batman made a return. Dr. Freeze was meant to keep him busy, but Batman captured him and brought him back to Gotham, just in time to help Damian save Christmas. The father-son duo beat up all the villains and distributed the gifts with the help of the Batwing. That said, just when it seemed like the Bat-Family had tied up all loose ends, Damian told Bruce that the Joker craved his companionship and advised him to give him some attention before he was jailed. Bruce didn’t want to indulge the Joker, but Damian insisted so politely that the caped crusader caved in. That makes Merry Little Batman the best Christmas-themed Batman movie since Batman Returns, and I think the world needs more adventures with Little Batman!
