Holmes. Watson. Daffy.
Porky. Mario. Luigi.
Frodo. Sam. Harry.
Ron. Batman…
The concept of a secondary character in a narrative pre-dates American
comic books and has, throughout its use, demonstrated characteristics (and
oftentimes flaws) of our heroes. We, as
a reader, know Sherlock Holmes is a good man because Dr. Watson tells us
so. The introduction of The Boy Wonder in
Detective Comics #38 in the Spring of 1940 was the first instance of a teen sidekick
joining a pre-existing hero. The
function of Robin was to be a window into the world of Batman and to serve as
an outlet for exposition for the hero.
I’ve always loved the concept of The Dynamic Duo. And, while there have only been four “official”
Robins, many characters have held the role over the past 76 years. Here are (in my opinion) the Top Five:
Honorable Mention: Stephanie Brown
Originally appearing in Detective Comics #647 (August 1992),
Stephanie is revealed in the following issue as the teen vigilante
Spoiler. Her father is a villain known
as The Cluemaster, a retired game show host who intentionally leaves clues (but
definitely not riddles) at the scenes of his crimes. Stephanie learns who her father is and sets
out to “spoil” his plans. When Batman’s
current Robin is forced to hang up his cape, Stephanie steps into the
role. She serves as Robin for only a
handful of issues before being killed at the hands of the Black Mask during an
event titled “War Games”. Following the
DC Rebirth event, Stephanie is alive and appearing as Spoiler in Detective
Comics.
#5- Damian Wayne
The concept of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul having a son
was first mentioned in 1987 and a version appeared in Kingdom Come in 1996, but
it was writer Grant Morrison who named Damian and fleshed out his story. Grant’s “Bat-epic”, spanning from September
2006’s Batman #655 (the debut issue of Damian) to Batman Incorporated #13 in
August 2013, is one of my favorite runs in all of comics. Different from the other Robins on this list,
Damian started not as Bruce’s sidekick, but as Dick Grayson’s. When Bruce is presumed dead (he was really
just trapped in time, because comics), Dick takes up the mantle of the Bat and
chooses Damian as his Robin. When Bruce
returns to the role of Batman, Damian remains as his Robin. Interestingly, Bruce and Damian rarely appear
together in present-day comics; Damian is more often found on his own. It’s
because of this lack of appearance together on the page that The Grandson of the
Demon landed the lowest on the countdown. Damian can be seen as the leader of the Teen Titans
(currently being published) and teaming with Jon Kent, the son of Superman, in
their forthcoming series Super Sons.
#4- Jason Todd
Three characters have altered the landscape of Batman comics
in a monumental way: Thomas Wayne, Martha
Wayne, and Jason Todd. And all they had
to do was die. First appearing in Batman
#357 (March of 1983 and becoming Robin later that year in December’s #366),
Jason was caught by Batman attempting to steal the tires off the
Batmobile. The introduction of this new
Robin was not dissimilar from that of the original. By 1983, the original Robin had moved on from
appearing as Batman’s sidekick and become the leader of DC’s teen team, the
Teen Titans. Seeing a need still for the
“window for the reader” a second Robin was created. This new Robin was unlike the original in
that he was more brash, he was hot-headed, and he was rebellious. The fan backlash was overwhelming, it led to
DC Editors allowing the fan base to decide the outcome of a comic. “A Death in the Family” was a story published
in Batman #426–429 in 1988. At the conclusion
of #427, Jason was beaten by The Joker and left to die in an explosion. The inside back cover of the issue listed two telephone
numbers that readers could call to vote for the character's death or survival. The outcome was a slim-margin, but was in
favor of the Boy Wonder’s death. DC
Editor Denny O'Neil is quoted as having said that hundreds of votes to the “Jason
Dies” line came from a single person. "I
heard it was one guy, who programmed his computer to dial the thumbs down
number every ninety seconds for eight hours, who made the
difference". Jason’s death would devastate
Batman and would inform his mentality toward sidekicks for a period of time
following this. While DC upheld its
mandate to not revive the character, the publisher relented in 2005 as Jason
was reintroduced as the Red Hood, a murderous vigilante. Jason’s rebirth effected Batman nearly as
equally as his death. The two characters
would remain adversarial for several years before Red Hood would rejoin the
Bat-Family.
#3- Carrie Kelley
The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller’s seminal work on
Batman depicted a retired Bruce Wayne putting back on the cowl to defend Gotham
once again. Batman comes out of
retirement to defeat a gang of mutants (it was the 80s…) but, as he quickly
learns, he isn’t as capable as he once was.
His first encounter with the Mutant Leader ends with Batman being saved
by a young girl with neon shades and a slingshot who was inspired to put on the
Robin costume by the Dark Knight’s return.
Carrie helps Batman in his newly waged war on crime and helps Bruce
Wayne overcome obstacles to become Batman once more. Despite having the fewest number of appearances,
Carrie is significant in that each of those appearances were in one of the most
groundbreaking Batman stories of all time.
#2- Dick Grayson
With the most appearances in comics, movies, video games,
television, radio, and animation, Dick Grayson is Robin. Grayson held the title of Robin from his first
appearance in the Spring of 1940 to his transition to Nightwing in July of 1984
- over half of the existence - making him the longest tenured character in the
role. Grayson serves as the shining
light in the dark mythos that is the Batman universe. Coming into Batman’s world following the death
of his circus performer parents, Grayson’s acrobatic abilities made him
perfectly suited to become Robin. Due to
his charming and outgoing personality, Grayson is viewed as a leader in the
superhero community, oftentimes, more so that Batman himself. Due to his iconic status, Grayson is
considered by most to be the definitive Robin.
#1- Tim Drake
My personal favorite, however, is Tim Drake, the third Robin. Tim earns the opportunity to become Robin
after deducing the identities of Batman and Robin. Being that Tim’s first appearance was in
Batman #436, about a year after the death of Jason Todd, Batman forced Tim
through rigorous, intensive training.
This was done not only for story purposes, but also to avoid the same
backlash Jason received. And evidently
it was successful, as Tim went on to serve as Robin from 1989 to 2009 when he
relinquished the role to Damian and assumed the new identity, Red Robin. Tim is my favorite for sentimental reasons
(he was the Robin of my adolescence), yes, but he is also the ultimate Batman
prodigy, having been called “Detective” by Ra’s al Ghul, a moniker previously
reserved for Batman himself. Currently,
he serves in the Red Robin role as part of Batman’s team appearing in Detective
Comics.
Thanks for reading!
-Josh
Batman,
related characters, and images in this blog are owned and trademarked
by DC Comics, a division or Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.
