DC’s Robin is arguably the most famous superhero sidekick of all time, but Batman’s partner in combating crime has many origins for his name. Over five different characters have become Robin since the character’s debut in 1940, but the first – Dick Grayson – is the most famous (and the first Robin to “graduate” from his role to become Nightwing). Grayson has multiple origins in both comics and film history, but the first is still the best – so why does DC insist on changing it?
Writers Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s Batman character was a massive success, but the book encountered a problem. Batman, the World’s Greatest Detective, had no one to talk to during his cases; this led to pages of the Dark Knight talking to himself. Bill Finger wanted a sidekick character who could ask the same questions as the reader, and Bob Kane wanted a younger character with whom younger readers could identity. Thus, Robin appeared in Detective Comics #38, with a tragic origin that rivaled Batman’s own.
When his acrobat mother and father are murdered during a stunt at the circus, Batman appears before Dick Grayson and warns him that the entire town is ruled by ‘Boss Zucco’ and any attempt to talk to the police will result in Grayson’s death. Batman shares his own tragic past, and Robin begs the Dark Knight to train him into a crimefighter. In a now-famous moment, the two swear by candlelight to “…fight against crime and corruption and never to swerve from the path of righteousness!” Robin is trained and the closing narration announces Grayson has transformed into “…that young Robinhood of today – Robin the Boy Wonder!”
Other adaptations would deviate from the Robin Hood origin, however; 1995’s Batman Forever film, directed by Joel Schumacher, contained a scene in which Dick Grayson remembers “…flying in like a Robin” to save his brother during a stunt gone wrong. The Batman ’89 comic series contains a bystander shout “He’s robbin’ the store!” to the series’ eventual Robin. Finally, the ending of The Dark Knight Rises simply reveals that Johnathan Blake’s real name is Robin.
The simplicity of the original origin of the name is what makes it stand out above the others. Every other version of the name’s origin sets to rewrite what already worked: the Robin Hood character is well-known by readers and people in-universe alike. Batman’s sidekick may changed repeatedly, but Robin’s origin should remain as is.
