The DC Universe’s top vigilantes have all gone through varying degrees of absurd training, but Batman took this to the next level – as he’s often known to do – with his Robins, who are each among DC’s most capable, courageous heroes. However, the psychological toll they paid for this apprenticeship, as best exemplified by the time young Dick Grayson’s birthday became a dark lesson in paranoia, can’t be understated.
Robin & Batman #2 – by Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen, and Steve Wands – showcased Bruce Wayne’s inability to differentiate between the roles of father and mentor. When Batman first took Robin in, he had a difficult time adjusting to a parental dynamic, and sometimes this caused Batman to overstep, such as reading Dick’s personal journal.
This story saw Batman turn a fairly heartwarming birthday gift into a true lesson of paranoia. When Batman brings Dick Grayson to meet the Justice League, he secretly instructs Dick to look out for weaknesses in their sidekicks. This changes a heartwarming moment of Dick connecting with other heroes into a twisted lesson.
DC Names a Surprising Team “More Mature than the Justice League”
Writer Tom Taylor described the Titans as a “more mature” superteam than the League, citing one important advantage the younger heroes have.
Dick Grayson’s First Meeting With His Future Teammates Was Spoiled By Batman
Batman is infamous for having contingency plans against his teammates. It’s one of his worst habits. Batman’s trust was broken in the Justice League once and, ever since, he’s struggled not to scheme against his friends, planning in case they ever go rogue. This has caused significant friction in Batman’s personal life, as he doesn’t fully trust his teammates and, in turn, his teammates don’t really trust him. This is a major problem when Batman is such an iconic member of such a big team. Dick Grayson has famously always gotten along pretty well in teams; this is entirely because of him unlearning the lessons Batman taught him.
There’s no denying that Dick Grayson is one of the greatest fighters in the DC Universe, thanks to Batman’s training. However, this came at a cost. At his core, Batman is a deeply paranoid man who struggles to truly trust anyone. Batman often feels that planning for the worst is simply the better way to live, and he tried to impart this knowledge to Dick Grayson during the young boy’s birthday. While Nightwing does have contingency plans of his own, he goes about them in very different ways. Instead of secretly plotting against his friends, he makes it clear to them that he has plans for them if necessary.
Dick Grayson Was Introduced To His Friends’ Weaknesses First
Batman’s training is one of the major reasons that Dick Grayson is the hero that he is, but he also had to unlearn a lot of how Batman taught him these things. While the lessons that Batman taught were necessary, the way he went about teaching them was usually unnecessarily dark. Nightwing has repurposed Batman’s teachings over the years in a much more healthy way. He demonstrated this when he trained Jon Kent and as he led the Titans. So, while Nightwing is one of the greatest heroes in DC now, he only got that way through rather intense and at times unhealthy training from Batman.
Robin & Batman #2 is on sale now from DC Comics!
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