Robin (character)
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| Robin | |
|---|---|
| File:BatmanRobin.jpg | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #38 (1940) |
| Created by | Bob Kane Bill Finger Jerry Robinson |
| Characters | Dick Grayson Jason Todd Tim Drake Stephanie Brown |
Robin is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics universe. Robin has long been a fixture in the Batman comic books as Batman's sidekick. Since Dick Grayson's first appearance as Robin in 1940, several different youths have appeared as Robin.
The early adventures of Robin included Star Spangled Comics #65-130 (1947-1952), his first solo feature. The first Robin limited series was published in 1991, featuring Tim Drake's training to become the third Robin. Following two successful sequels, the monthly Robin ongoing series began in 1993 and is still published to this day.
Character history
About a year after Batman's debut, Batman creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, along with inker/later ghost artist Jerry Robinson, introduced Robin the Boy Wonder in Detective Comics #38 (1940).
The name "Robin the Boy Wonder" and the medieval look of the original costume were inspired by the Errol Flynn movie The Adventures of Robin Hood.[1]
Although Robin is best known as Batman's sidekick, three Robins have also been members of the superhero group the Teen Titans with the original Robin, Dick Grayson, being a founding member and the group's leader.
The following fictional characters have donned the Robin costume at various times in the main DC Comics universe continuity:
Dick Grayson
Richard John "Dick" Grayson was an eight-year-old circus acrobat, the youngest of a family act called the "Flying Graysons". A gangster named Boss Zucco (loosely based on actor Edward G. Robinson's Little Caesar character) 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. 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). Batman rigorously trained the boy, teaching him physical, fighting and detective skills. Together they investigated Zucco and collected the evidence needed to bring him to justice.
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 1970 into the early 1980s. The character was re-discovered by a new generation of fans during the 1980s because of the success of The New Teen Titans, in which he left Batman's shadow entirely to assume the identity of Nightwing.
Jason Todd
DC was initially hesitant[citation needed] to turn Grayson into Nightwing and to replace him with a new Robin. To minimize the change, they made the new Robin, Jason Peter 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), and 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.
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 to it that he was placed in a school for troubled youths. Weeks later, after Dick Grayson became Nightwing and Todd proved his crime-fighting worth by helping Batman catch a gang of thieves, Batman offered Todd the position as Robin.
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 mistakenly thought that DC was considering killing Dick Grayson, not realizing he had been replaced. Readers voted "yes" by a small margin (5,343 to 5,271) and Todd was subsequently murdered by the Joker in the A Death in the Family storyline, in which the psychopath beat the youngster severely with a crowbar, and left him in a warehouse rigged with a bomb.
Jason Todd later returned as the new Red Hood (the original alias of the Joker). A year after the events of Infinite Crisis, Todd appears posing as Nightwing, but subsequently returns to his Red Hood persona.
Tim Drake
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.
The third Robin, Timothy 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.
Tim has stated on numerous occasions that he wishes to become "The World's Greatest Detective", a title currently belonging to the Dark Knight. Batman himself has stated that one day Drake will surpass him as a detective. Despite his combat skills not being the match of Grayson's (although there are some intimations that they are far superior to Todd's when he was Robin), his detective skills more than make up for this. In addition, Batman supplied him with a new armored costume which included full leggings to give Drake improved protection.
Tim was introduced as a happy medium between the first two Robins in that, from the readers' point of view, he is neither overly well behaved like Dick Grayson nor overly impudent like Jason Todd. Apparently, the compromise was successful with readers, as Drake is the first Robin to have his own comic book series.
Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake's girlfriend and the costumed adventurer previously known as the Spoiler, volunteered for the role of Robin upon Tim's resignation. Batman fired the Girl Wonder for not obeying his orders to the letter.
While trying to prove her worthiness, Brown inadvertently set off a gang war on the streets of Gotham. While trying to help end the war, Brown was captured and tortured by the lunatic crime boss Black Mask. The brutal and sadistic torture spanned several issues. She managed to escape but died shortly after due to the severity of her injuries. Unlike Jason, there is no memorial to Stephanie in the Bat Cave.
Alternate Continuities
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. John Byrne later worked this aspect into his non-canonical story Superman & Batman: Generations.
Post-Crisis, there was one instance in continuity when Bruce Wayne adopted the Robin persona. In Batboy & Robin, a tie-in special to the DC Comics storyline Sins of Youth, Bruce and Tim Drake, the third Robin, had their ages magically switched. In an effort to keep up the illusion of Batman, Bruce had Tim adopt the Batman identity while he is forced to be Robin.
Earth-Two Dick Grayson
On Earth-Two, home of the Golden Age version of DC's superheroes, Grayson continued to be Robin even as adult, having no successors, and even after Batman's death. His allies included the All-Star Squadron along with Batwoman and Flamebird. He eventually became a member of the Justice Society of America.
During his later years, he adopted a more Batman-like look for a time, and by the 1960s had become a lawyer and the ambassador to South Africa. Although in semi-retirement, he was called back to active duty when he rejoined the Justice Society during the period when Power Girl and Star-Spangled Kid also assisted them.
He died during the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, in which the DC Multiverse was reduced to one universe, and this version of Grayson, as well as the Earth-Two Batman, were deemed never to have existed.
52
In the final issue of 52, a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-2". As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-2, including Robin among other Justice Society of America characters. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear, but the Robin is visually similar to the Dick Grayson Robin of the pre-Crisis Earth-2 Because the heads of Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake can all look similar, it is not possible to assign an alter ego based on the single image.[2]
Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-2.[3]
Other Versions
Robin monthlies
| Robin | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Limited series: Robin (1991) Robin II: Jokers Wild (1991) Robin III: Cry of Huntress (Bi-weekly; 1992-1993) Ongoing: Robin (1993-present) |
| Main character(s) | Robin (Tim Drake), Robin (Stephanie Brown) |
The first Robin miniseries was printed in 1992 following Tim Drake's debut as Robin. The series centered around Tim's continued training and set up villains linked to the character. It was followed up by another series Robin II: Joker's Wild which pitted Tim against his predecessor's murderer the Joker. With Batman out of town, it was up to Tim and Alfred to end the Joker's latest crime spree. A final miniseries, Robin III: Cry of Huntress wrapped up the trilogy, teaming Tim with the Huntress. In 1994, the success of the three miniseries led to the ongoing Robin series which is still published to this day.
Homosexual interpretations
In 1954, Psychologist Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent asserted that comic books, intentionally or otherwise, were corrupting the morals of children. One notorious four-page polemic in the book claimed that Batman and Robin are homosexual. "They live in sumptuous quarters, with beautiful flowers in large vases, and have a butler," Wertham wrote. "It is like a wish dream of two homosexuals living together."[4]
Wertham said he became aware of this interpretation reading through his conversations with fans of Batman in the fifties. Wertham says the fans who brought the comic book to his attention as an idealized example of a "homosexual lifestyle." Despite the lack of any concrete evidence or studies to prove reading comics led to "deviance", these suggestions raised a public outcry during the 1950s, eventually leading to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority.
It has also been suggested that the characters of Batwoman (in 1956) and Bat-Girl (in 1961) were introduced as heterosexual love interests for Batman and Robin, respectively, to refute the claims of homosexuality.[5] Julius Schwartz has said that, when he became editor of the Batman comic book series, he was conscious of the inferences that could be drawn from Batman's living arrangements. Because of this, he and writer Bill Finger had Batman's butler Alfred killed and his role in the stories filled by Dick Grayson's Aunt Harriet, effectively providing a female chaperon at Wayne Manor.[6]
Burt Ward has also remarked, in his autobiography Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights, that Robin's relationship with Batman could be interpreted as a sexual one in the 1960s TV show. Ward, who played Robin (Dick Grayson) notes that due to the show's double entendres and lavish camp may give an ambiguous portrayal of Robin.[7]
While changing views on homosexuality have made the issue less important today, popular culture and a number of artists continue to play off the homosexual connotation of the Batman-Robin relationship against the wishes of DC Comics.[8] One example happened in the summer of 2005, when painter Mark Chamberlain displayed a number of watercolors depicting both Batman and Robin in suggestive poses. DC threatened both artist and art gallery with legal action if they did not cease selling the works and give DC all remaining art, as well as any profits derived from them.[9] Another example (though probably not as intentional) was on one episode of the sitcom Friends, when Chandler comments that instead of giving Monica Batman, she gets Robin, Phoebe responds by saying "I know, Robin is so gay."
All Robins, both as a superheroes and in their civilian identities, have been portrayed throughout their years in comics and other media as having enjoyed heterosexual romantic relationships. Robin's sexuality has been intended by most authors to be predominantly heterosexual. Homosexual readings of the comics are therefore non-canonical reader interpretations.
References
- ^ The Comics Journal #271
- ^ 52, no. 52, p. 13/3 (May 2, 2007). DC Comics.
- ^ Brady, Matt (2007-05-08). ""THE 52 EXIT INTERVIEWS: GRANT MORRISON"". Newsarama. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
- ^ Daniels (1999), pg. 84
- ^ York, Christopher (2000). "All in the Family: Homophobia and Batman Comics in the 1950s". The International Journal of Comic Art. 2 (2): 100–110.
- ^ Daniels (1999), pg. 99
- ^ "Bruce Wayne: Bachelor". Ninth Art: Andrew Wheeler Comment. Retrieved June 21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Ennis, Garth (March 2006). "Midnighter is the Gay Batman". Newsarama.
- ^ "Gallery told to drop 'gay' Batman". BBC. 19 August 2005.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Extensive biography on Dick Grayson
- Extensive biography on Jason Todd
- Extensive biography on Tim Drake
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