Batman to lose son Robin

New York: Batman may be able to save the world, but he'll lose his sidekick Robin - who in his current incarnation is his son - in the upcoming Batman Incorporated comic book series.

DC Comics said the caped crusader's acrobatic young assistant, Batman alter ego Bruce Wayne's son Damian, will die in Wednesday's issue number eight.

"This master theme of damaged and ruined families was nowhere more in evidence than in the creation of Damian, the first 'Son of Batman' to be acknowledged in the canon," series writer Grant Morrison said in a statement.

"In many ways this has been Damian's story as much as it has been the story of Bruce Wayne and it's a story that had its end planned a long time ago - for what son could ever hope to replace a father like Batman, who never dies?"

The good news for those who might miss Robin is that this is the comics universe and characters who are killed can easily return. Even a previous incarnation of Robin was killed and resurrected before.

"You can never say never in a comic book," Morrison told the New York Post. "Batman will ultimately always have a partner."