An Introduction to Robin

*Originally published on 9/22/09


Robin, he is the jelly to Batman's peanut butter, the cheese to his ham, the Garfunkel to his Simon. Like Green Lantern and Flash, Robin has actually become something of a legacy character as many people have donned the title.

The first, and most likely still well known, Robin is Dick Grayson. He was an acrobat who had a circus act with his parents. A gangster, who had been extorting money, had Dick's parents killed. Bruce saw this and, having suffered a similar trauma himself, took Dick in and raised him as his own. In addition to adapting the boy as his ward, Bruce decided to train him so that he too could become a crime fighter.

As time went on and Dick got older, he outgrew the role of Robin. The fact that he was becoming dissatisfied with Batman's methods led to a falling out. This resulted in Dick Grayson adapting the name, Nightwing, and moving to a new town called Bludhaven. Due to recent events in DC Comics, Dick Grayson is now acting as Batman.

The second Robin was named Jason Todd. Batman found him trying to steal the tires off of the Batmobile. In the early years, he was essentially a Dick Grayson clone. His first origin story was even a direct copy of Dick's. However, after the DC mega-event, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Todd's story was re-worked completely into more of a "street punk" persona.

Fans weren't pleased with him. Picking up on the negative reception of the character, DC decided to create a story where Todd's life was put in immediate danger. The end result would be decided on by fans, who could vote on whether or not Todd lived. They put their thumbs down and Todd was killed by the Joker in what remains one of the more powerful Batman stories.

Jason Todd made a comeback during Infinite Crisis, being resurrected as a side effect of Superboy Prime's actions. He took on a more "grim and gritty" vigilante persona, going after the Joker, though he harbors resentment towards Batman as well as the other Robins. He remained under the radar for a long time until Countdown to Final Crisis, where he had a large role. He disappeared after that again until the Battle for the Cowl arc. He is presumed dead at this point, but it is still open ended.

After Jason, a young boy named Tim Drake took on the role of Robin. Tim has proven himself a capable detective and fighter. Bruce even notes that one day, Tim will surpass even him. Tim is notable for being able to carry his own series as Robin. The title was dropped after, Battle for the Cowl, but Tim continues in another series called Red Robin.

While these are the three most well known Robins, others have taken the role as well.

In Frank Miller's graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns, a young girl named Carrie Kelly takes the title, though Batman is hesitant after Jason's death (this was an elseworlds story that came out before he died in proper DC canon). She also made an appearance in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series that featured a segment heavily based on Miller's story.

Another female named Stephanie Brown also acted as Robin. Tim resigns at one point after killing a minor villain and slides into a depression. Brown takes over the role while trying to help him deal with his guilt. When she's not Robin, Stephanie acted as a vigilante known as Spoiler. She now acts as Batgirl after Cassandra Cain decides to call it quits.

The current Robin is Damian Wayne, son of Bruce and Talia al Ghul. He's annoying, but Dick seems intent on training him. While Tim was originally mad that the role was going to Damian, Dick explains that Robin is supposed to be a sidekick where Dick sees Tim as his equal.

So, there you have it, a brief rundown on the many people to take the role of Robin. With Batman's long history, it's not really surprising that the role has been passed down from one person to another. It is odd, though how Dick and the others have grown older while Bruce stays the same age. You could probably explain that with all the reality rewrites the DCU undergoes, but that's another topic entirely.