Holy Sidekicks, Batman!

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

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