The Boy Surprise made his comics debut on March 6, 1940, in Detective Comics #38, a teenage character supposed to draw teenage readers to the rising medium. On March 18, DC Comics will rejoice the 80th anniversary of Dick Grayson’s first look as Robin with a 100 web page Tremendous Spectacular. The status format e-book can have variant covers galore and tales and artwork from a few of the most well-known writers and illustrators to have tackled the character, in all of their incarnations.
I say “their” as a result of whereas March 2020 marks Dick Grayson’s 80th, it additionally marks the initiation of a legacy. As utilized to comics, a “legacy title” is a secret or hero id utilized by successive people, tailored to every individual’s skills and persona however at all times with the identical core function. Within the eight many years since Dick turned World’s Greatest Detective Junior, for instance, 5 different canon characters, and an extra out of canon character, have served as Batman’s sidekick Robin.
Content material warnings: mentions of violence and sexual assault
Canon Robins
Richard John Grayson (“Dick”)
Dick grew up in Haly’s Circus, they youngest member of the Flying Graysons, a household of trapeze artists. When gangster Tony Zucco tampered with the Graysons’ gear in an try and extort the circus, the road on Dick’s dad and mom’ trapeze snapped they usually fell to their deaths. Dick was taken in by Bruce Wayne, secretly the vigilante Batman, who was on the present that night time and, due to his personal historical past, felt kinship with the boy. In some continuities Dick is Bruce’s authorized ward, and in others his adopted son.
Class ID: 1074
The Stack Publication
Signal as much as The Stack to obtain E-book Riot Comedian’s finest posts, picked for you.
Thanks for signing up! Regulate your inbox.
By signing up you conform to our Phrases of Service
Bruce educated Dick to be his sidekick at Dick’s request after studying about Zucco’s involvement in his dad and mom’ deaths, the elder man hoping to channel the younger man’s rage in a means nobody had been in a position to do for him. All through the 1940s and ’50s, Batman was not often seen on the web page with out his sidekick. By the mid-’60s, nevertheless, Dick had a facet gig with the Teen Titans (Aqualad, Child Flash, Speedy, and Wondergirl). Bored with taking part in second fiddle to Batman, Dick relinquished the inexperienced underoos in favor of the Nightwing swimsuit in 1984 (time within the Batverse is versatile re: comics).
Dick and Bruce haven’t at all times gotten alongside however they’ve at all times been household.
The primary Boy Surprise was changed by…
Jason Peter Todd
Jason’s first look was in Batman #375 (1983) however he didn’t formally take up the Robin mantle till Dick transitioned to Nightwing in 1984. Jason’s authentic origin story was much like Dick’s however was later rewritten to border him as an orphan dwelling on the road, stealing to outlive and inflicting bother for enjoyable. Judd Winick’s Batman: Beneath the Crimson Hood added the pleasant contact of Jason and Bruce first encountering each other after Jason steals the tires off the Batmobile.
Initially standard, followers soured on Jason after his origin turned much less savory and in 1988, given the chance to affect his future, voted to let the Joker beat him with a crowbar and go away him to die in an explosion.
Relying on which model you go together with, rumors of Jason’s demise have been both significantly exaggerated because of time shenanigans or true however topic to the machinations of Ra’s al Ghul and a Lazarus Pit. Regardless, he was resurrected as problematic homicide vigilante Crimson Hood in 2005. Crimson Hood was, each intentionally and paradoxically, an id that had at one level been utilized by Jason’s assassin, the Joker.
Jason was succeeded as Robin by…
Timothy Jackson Drake (“Tim”/”Crimson Robin”/”Drake”)
Time within the Batverse will get much more versatile with Tim Drake’s introduction in 1989. A revised continuity locations him within the viewers at Haly’s the night time Dick’s dad and mom died, albeit as a really younger little one; he even met Dick previous to the efficiency and had an image taken with him. As his dad and mom hurried him away from the crime scene, Tim caught sight of Batman with Dick.
At 9, matching a transfer he noticed Robin carry out on the information to 1 he had seen Dick do on the circus, and studying Bruce had taken Dick in, Tim made the connection many years of tremendous villains hadn’t’t been in a position to puzzle out with two palms and a flashlight: Batman and Robin have been, actually, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. He continued to observe the pair after Jason took over as Robin and, after Jason’s demise, turned involved that Batman gave the impression to be falling aside. He determined Batman wanted a Robin to maintain him sane.
Across the similar time, Dick left the Titans for a a journey of self-discover. Tim adopted him, helped the unique Robin clear up a thriller at Haly’s, and satisfied Dick that Batman wanted a companion once more. Hesitant to retake the Robin mantle, Dick went in as Nightwing and each he and Batman have been captured by Two Face. With Alfred’s assist, Tim wiggled into the tights and saved each males. Bruce was reluctant to tackle a brand new sidekick however Tim, with an help from Dick and Alfred, finally satisfied him—although Tim endured months of coaching earlier than he was allowed to go on one other mission. Within the interim, his mom was (you guessed it) murdered by a psychopath and his father left in a coma; slightly than giving in to anger, the fallout left Tim much more decided to implement the regulation. His father finally awakened and there was numerous difficult emotions stuff between Tim, Jack, and Bruce.
Along with partnering with Bruce, Tim was additionally Robin to Jean-Paul Valley’s Batman (Az-Bats) and did the identical for Dick throughout his first time beneath the cowl.
Extra contemplative than Jason and extra of a detective than Dick, Tim is essentially the most cerebral of the Robins—although he’s positively had moments through which he misplaced management and went rage monster, often when somebody he liked was threatened. Like Dick, he had a facet gigs with groups of heroes his personal age (Younger Justice, New Teen Titans), although Tim did so whereas (principally) sustaining his Robin id.
Tim gave up crime-fighting quickly when his father found his secret id. He returned after Stephanie’s “demise” (see Stephanie Brown under)
Tim had the Robin mantle taken from him completely when Dick, throughout one in every of his turns as Batman, defined he noticed Tim as an equal and never a sidekick, passing the Robin mantle to Damian. Tim…didn’t take it properly and went off on a facet quest, although he did return to Gotham when Dick and Damian requested for assist preventing the Black Lanterns, rejoining the household utilizing a brand new alter ego: Crimson Robin.
He has since been satisfied by himself in one other dimension to go by Drake. Which…A of all, that’s his final title so I’m unsure what kind of id cowl it offers and B is a duck, so…Look, I’ve no management over different individuals’s choices.
Stephanie Brown
Stephanie invented her id as Spoiler after her father Cluemaster (Batman Rogue’s Gallery third stringer) returned to a lifetime of crime post-prison, leaving clues that may enable the police or Batman to catch him. Through the chase, she met Tim in his Robin id. The 2 teamed up once more when Cluemaster later broke out of jail. When Stephanie was kidnapped as a part of one in every of her father’s plots, Batman and Robin got here to her rescue after which she and Tim introduced down the remainder of the gang, over Batman’s objections that Stephanie be included. She popped up as soon as extra to help when Tim and Connor Hawke (then Inexperienced Arrow) busted up a gun-running ring.
Shortly after that, Tim and Stephanie started courting.
There’s a lot of relationship drama, made much more dramatic by the very fact Stephanie solely knew Tim as Robin (hear, I don’t make the foundations…) for an enormous chunk of their relationship. Whereas Tim was away on a secret mission in Tibet (due to course he’s) Bruce approached Stephanie as Batman and provided to coach her, additionally revealing Tim’s actual id. Tim apparently felt this was a betrayal of some kind and he and Bruce have been on the outs for some time; the revelation additionally triggered points between Stephanie and Tim which…yeah, okay. No matter. Stephanie took BatDad up on his supply and likewise on his referral to the Birds of Prey, who assisted with Stephanie’s coaching. Stephanie and Tim finally made up.
In one in every of his dickier strikes (and that’s saying one thing), after a time, Batman knowledgeable Stephanie she wasn’t actually “hero materials”; the BOP additionally withdrew their help. Stephanie gave all of them the metaphorical finger by persevering with to patrol with Tim, although she additionally went on a solo ass-kicking rampage after being knowledgeable her father had died on a mission with the Suicide Squad. (Shocker: it was later revealed he had not, actually, died on a mission with the Suicide Squad.)
Batman apparently revised his place on Stephanie once more when Tim’s father found his secret id and Tim retired quickly; Stephanie made her personal costume and snuck in to the Batcave, demanding Bruce prepare her to fill Tim’s spot and he agreed. They received alongside for some time however after Steph killed Victor Zsasz to avoid wasting her personal life and disobeyed Batman’s orders to avoid wasting his life, he fired her. Refusing to surrender, Stephanie went after Black Masks, who injured her “fatally.” Bruce later found that his as soon as belief ally, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, had really withheld remedy from Stephanie to make some extent to Bruce in regards to the violence his strategies engendered. Women fridging women. I can not even.
Spoiler popped up once more a couple of yr later and Stephanie defined that she had requested Dr. Thompkins to assist her pretend her personal demise (good retcon save there, guys) so she might begin over. Unable to surrender the vigilante life, nevertheless, she continued preventing the great struggle as Spoiler till taking up as Batgirl when Cassandra Cain relinquished that mantle.
Damian Wayne
The thought of Bruce and Talia having a toddler was floated in a number of totally different Elseworld and particular occasion tales between 1987 and 2006, when Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert made the kid’s existence canon and named him Damian. A eugenics experiment utilizing the Wayne and Al-Ghul DNA, gestated in a synthetic womb, Damian was initially raised by Talia and her father Ra’s al Ghul within the League of Assassins, and was a formidable warrior and killer earlier than he hits double digits. Bruce didn’t know of his son’s existence till Talia dropped Damian off, a precocious, obnoxious, conceited, deadly tween, meaning to interrupt BatDad’s crimefighting work. Decided to win a spot at his father’s facet, Damian instantly went after Tim, intent on killing him and taking the Robin mantle. As a result of he was raised within the League, Damian thinks he has to kill all rivals to please his father.
Yikes.
In a uncommon match of optimism, nevertheless, Bruce thinks possibly he may help Damian develop some…let’s name them boundaries.
Then Bruce up and dies, leaving the taming of the beast to Dick. Who does finally handle to earn some modicum of respect from Damian, although he blows his relationship with Tim up within the course of when he chooses the spawn of the demon as his Robin (see Tim’s part for rationale). Damian does, finally admit to a grudging respect for Dick that slowly grows right into a sibling relationship although he and Tim proceed discover causes to beat the crap out of each other.
Although Damien by no means provides up his swagger, he does finally select the BatFam over the Al Ghuls and the League, at which level Talia disowns him and grows a brand new son she believes she’ll be capable to maintain in examine. Bruce chooses that point to return from the lifeless and leaves Damian’s coaching to Dick in order that he can deal with being a father.
With the appearance of the New 52, which worn out all of the Batmen besides Bruce, Damian turned his father’s companion. He died battling an older clone of himself in 2013. I’m certain you’ll be shocked to listen to he was in the end resurrected. His mom’s facet of the household continues to be making an attempt to kill him. He and Tim nonetheless actually don’t like one another. He and Jason additionally actually don’t like one another. He and Jonathan Kent faux to not like one another.
One side of Damian’s origin story (written, retracted, after which rewritten by Grant Morrison. Nobody is aware of what’s happening in that shiny head besides Morrison), one I don’t suppose will get talked about sufficient, is the very fact Damian is a product of sexual assault. Talia drugged Bruce to, basically, accumulate his DNA, and by doing so robbed him of the power to consent: that’s the definition of sexual assault. She then created a toddler from that DNA, hid stated little one from him for a decade, then dropped Damian off in Gotham. She did so with none warning or rationalization, that means that Bruce learns he has a toddler that’s the product of assault and is requested to lift that little one on the similar time with no time to soak up or settle for or, as soon as once more, consent.
Cease and take into consideration the implications of that for each the now-custodial father or mother and the kid for a second.
And other people suppose comics are only for youngsters.
Jarro
Severely, ya’ll, I simply work right here.
Non-Canon Robins
Caroline Keene Kelly (“Carrie”)
Carrie Kelly crafted her personal Robin swimsuit after an older Batman, who had retired after Jason’s demise, determined he might not stand by and watch Gotham collapse beneath the load of crime and saved her from some thugs. Decided to assist him struggle crime, she went on patrol armed with a slingshot and firecrackers. Batman agreed to take her on as a companion after she saved his life in return, and collectively they defeated The Mutants. Carrie then helped Batman defeat the Joker. When the federal government despatched Superman to take Batman down, Carrie helped Bruce and Alfred pretend their deaths after which escape, together with Robin and Inexperienced Arrow.
And sure, I swear, that’s the quick model.
Hope you’ve all loved this foray into the historical past of Robin. Glad Anniversary, Boy Surprise. I’m each excited and completely terrified to see the place you are taking us subsequent.
