Robin (comics)

Robin is a DC Comics superhero, a teenaged sidekick to Batman. Since 1940, several different characters have stepped into the role of Robin. In each incarnation, Robin's brightly colored visual appearance and youthful energy have served as a contrast to Batman's dark look and manner.

Robins

The following fictional characters don the Robin costume at various times in the regular Batman continuity:

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Richard "Dick" Grayson

:{{main|Nightwing}}

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In Detective Comics #38 (1940), Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane, along with artist Jerry Robinson, introduced the first Robin, Dick Grayson, a half-Romany (gypsy) aerialist and the character still best known as Robin. The sidekick debuted only a year after Batman and was part of an effort to soften the character of his mentor, originally a dubious, nightstalking vigilante. DC Comics also thought a teenaged superhero would appeal to young readers.

Related Topics:
Detective Comics - 1940 - Bill Finger - Bob Kane - Jerry Robinson - Vigilante

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The name "Robin the Boy Wonder" and the medieval look of the original costume were inspired by the legendary hero Robin Hood, as well as the red-breasted American Robin, which continued the "flying animal" motif of The Batman.

Related Topics:
Robin Hood - American Robin

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Richard Grayson was an eight-year-old half-Romany circus acrobat, the youngest of a family act called The Flying Graysons. In the original comics storyline, a gangster named Boss Zucco had been extorting money from the circus and killed Grayson's parents, John and Mary, by sabotaging their trapeze equipment as a warning against defiance. The Batman investigated the crime and – as his alter ego millionaire Bruce Wayne – had Dick put under his custody as a legal ward (later adopting him as his son), and rigorously trained the boy in physical, fighting and investigation skills to be his assistant. Together they investigated Zucco and collected the evidence needed to bring him to justice. However, in the 1995 movie Batman Forever with Val Kilmer as the new Caped Crusader, Grayson's parents were murdered by Two-Face/Harvey Dent during a similar sabotage in the annual Gotham Circus. Chris O'Donnell portraying his role as The Boy Wonder Robin in the movie and in 1997 film Batman and Robin with George Clooney as the new Dark Knight.

Related Topics:
Circus - Acrobat - Boss Zucco - Trapeze - Batman Forever - Val Kilmer - Two-Face/Harvey Dent - Chris O'Donnell - 1997 - Batman and Robin - George Clooney

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From his debut appearance in 1940 through 1969, Robin was known as the Boy Wonder. However, as he grew up, graduated from high school and enrolled in Hudson University, Robin continued his career as the Teen Wonder, from the 1970s into the early 1980s, when he left the Batcave and his former identity to become Nightwing.

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Jason Todd

:{{main|Jason Todd}}

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DC was initially hesitant to turn Grayson into Nightwing and to replace him with a new Robin. To minimize the change, they made the new Robin, Jason Todd, who first appeared in Batman #357 (1983), almost indistinguishable from a young Grayson. Jason Todd was also the son of circus acrobats killed by a criminal (this time the Batman adversary Killer Croc), adopted by Bruce Wayne. In this incarnation, he was red-haired and unfailingly cheerful, and wore his circus costume to fight crime until Dick Grayson presented him with a Robin suit of his own. At that point, he dyed his hair black.

Related Topics:
1983 - Killer Croc

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After the mini-series Crisis on Infinite Earths, much of DC Comics continuity was rebooted. Dick Grayson's origin, years with Batman and growth into Nightwing remained essentially unchanged, but Todd's character was completely revised. He was now a black-haired street orphan who first encountered Batman when he attempted to steal tires from the Batmobile. Batman saw that he was placed in a school for troubled youths. Weeks later, after Dick Grayson became Nightwing and Todd proved his crimefighting worth by helping Batman catch a gang of thieves, Batman offered Todd the position as Robin.

Related Topics:
Crisis on Infinite Earths - DC Comics continuity - Batmobile

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Readers never truly bonded with Todd and, in 1988, DC made the controversial decision to poll readers using a 1-900 number as to whether or not Todd should be killed. The event received more attention in the mainstream media than any other comic book event before it. Some outside the comic book community thought that DC was considering killing the original Robin. Readers voted "yes" by a small margin (5,343 to 5,271) and Todd was subsequently murdered by The Joker (See also: ) with a crowbar.

Related Topics:
1988 - 1-900 - The Joker

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Jason Todd has recently been brought back, having been revealed to be the new Red Hood, the original persona of The Joker. Batman is still unaware of how his 'resurrection' occurred but it has recently been discovered that Jason Todd's original coffin was empty and had never been occupied, indicating that the 2nd incarnation of The Boy Wonder had never actually died in the first place.{{-}}

Related Topics:
Red Hood - The Joker - The Boy Wonder

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Timothy "Tim" Drake

:{{main|Tim Drake}}

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DC Comics was left uncertain about readers' decision to kill Todd, wondering if they felt Batman should be a lone vigilante, disliked Todd specifically, or just wanted to see if DC would actually kill the character. In addition, the 1989 Batman film did not feature Robin, giving DC a reason to keep him out of the comic book series for marketing purposes. Regardless, Batman editor Denny O'Neil introduced a new Robin.

Related Topics:
1989 - Batman - Denny O'Neil

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The third Robin, Timothy Jeff Drake, first appeared in a flashback in Batman #436 (1989). Drake was a young boy who had followed the adventures of Batman and Robin ever since witnessing the murder of the Flying Graysons. This served to connect Drake to Grayson, establishing a link that DC hoped would help readers accept this new Robin. Drake surmised their secret identities with his amateur but instinctive detective skills and followed their careers closely.

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After Batman grew progressively violent and reckless following Jason Todd's death, Tim confronted Batman and offered to become the new Robin, since he believed that Batman needed a Robin to keep him in check. After an extended training period in which Tim endured countless months of physical, mental and pychological tests, Batman finally allowed Tim Drake to become the newest Boy Wonder (this time wearing a more practical uniform). Since that time, Drake has followed in Dick Grayson's footsteps and formed his own team of teenage superheroes called Young Justice, which eventually became the Teen Titans.{{-}}

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Stephanie Brown

Stephanie Brown, Tim's girlfriend and the costumed adventurer previously known as The Spoiler, volunteered for the role of Robin upon Tim's resignation. Brown had always been reckless and impulsive and, after only three months, Batman fired her for not obeying his orders to the letter.

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In a misguided attempt to prove her worthiness, Brown sneaked into the Batcave and discovered a plan developed by Batman to unite the Gotham underworld under a single leader, "Matches" Malone, to make it easier to control. Unbeknownst to Stephanie, Malone is actually one of Batman's aliases. The plan was to be used only in a dire emergency, in which Batman's only option would be to seize control of the underworld himself and weaken it from the inside. Brown attempted to implement the plan, but without Batman/Malone's involvement, it backfired, causing a brutal gang war.

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While trying to help end the war, Brown was captured and tortured by the criminal Black Mask. She managed to escape but died of her injuries a short time later, due to the willful negligence of Dr. Leslie Thompkins.{{-}}

Related Topics:
Black Mask - Leslie Thompkins

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Non-canon Robins

Bruce Wayne

A Batman story from the 1950s featured the young Bruce Wayne assuming the identity of Robin, complete with the original costume, in order to learn the basics of detective work from a famous detective named Harvey Harris. This story was later revised in the 1980s to edit out any reference to Bruce Wayne having ever called himself "Robin" or worn any costume before he finally donned his Batman costume as an adult.{{-}}

Related Topics:
1950s - Detective - 1980s

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Carrie Kelly

The famous 1986 mini-series The Dark Knight Returns introduced Carrie Kelly as the first female Robin in the Batman franchise's history. In that series, which takes place in an alternate future, Kelly was a Batman fanatic who instantly took it upon herself to become Robin after Batman returned from retirement. In this series, Todd's death led to Batman's retirement, but Batman still accepted Kelly.

Related Topics:
1986 - Mini-series - The Dark Knight Returns - Alternate future

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By the time of the 2001 sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Kelly had taken the identity Catgirl, but continued to accompany Batman and his allies.

Related Topics:
2001 - The Dark Knight Strikes Again - Catgirl

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Both of these stories take place in a future that has not come to pass in current DC continuity, and so neither is considered canonical.

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In an interesting note, in Teen Titans v3 #18, when the Titans were transported 10 years into the future, we are shown a graveyard full of deceased Batman allies and villains. One tombstone reads "Carrie Kelly".

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Also in the ' episode, "Legends of the Dark Knight", a girl that closely resembles Carrie Kelly is one of the kids telling Batman stories. The story she tells is from The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel.{{-}}

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Alfred Pennyworth

Alfred is a familiar character in the Batman books as Bruce Wayne's elderly butler. But in an Elseworlds book called Batman: Dark Allegiances, set in the World War II era, a young Alfred is Robin to that era's Batman.{{-}}

Related Topics:
Alfred - Elseworlds - World War II

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Tris Plover

In the Elseworlds science fiction series, Robin: Legend of The Dead Earth, the Earth has been destroyed and what remains of humanity is trying to reach other worlds in generation ships. On one of these, a group called the Proctors have seized control and everyone else are slaves who are executed on their 30th birthdays to conserve the ship's resources.

Related Topics:
Elseworlds - Generation ship

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Tris Plover, a 29 year old slave, rebels against the Proctors. She meets another rebel, called the Batman, who gives her the Robin identity. At the cost of their lives, they succeed in defeating the Proctors and Robin sets the ship on a course for the planet New Gotham.{{-}}

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Robert Chang

In the digitally rendered Elseworlds tale Digital Justice, in which Commissioner Gordon's grandson James Gordon takes on the mantle of the Batman, a character somewhat reminiscent of post-Crisis Jason Todd named Robert Chang takes on the mantle of Robin.

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