Why a "Robin"?

[OmegaPaladin]

We know the story of how Dick Grayson met Batman, but I'm curious why he became 'Robin'. It is easy to see where Batman was inspired - a night hunter who is terrifying to behold that just so happens to live in a cave - but Robin? Robins aren't particularly scary or powerful, and they are seldom seen out at night. Frankly, Raven or Owl would seem more appropriate.

[SimonMoon5]

Robin Hood.

[Crow]

Well, it does roll off the tongue.

You think of a robin and you think quick, nimble, and uhhh gracious I think but that's the wrong word for this context.

[BonyT]

We know the story of how Dick Grayson met Batman, but I'm curious why he became 'Robin'. It is easy to see where Batman was inspired - a night hunter who is terrifying to behold that just so happens to live in a cave - but Robin? Robins aren't particularly scary or powerful, and they are seldom seen out at night. Frankly, Raven or Owl would seem more appropriate.According to Les Daniels' Batman: The Complete History, Robin was created for a couple of reasons. Batman, being so dark and brooding, naturally wasn't a very chatty character; that made filling comic panels with dialogue somewhat of a problem. Robin was, on one level, simply someone that Batman was forced to talk to in the comics. Also, it was believed that a child character would pull in more of the youngest audience, by giving the kiddies someone they could better identify with. Bob Kane didn't like the idea; he saw Batman as a lone dark crusader, & preferred him that way. Still, he bowed to the pressure, & Robin was born.

But more to your question, why did the other half of the dynamic duo specifically become Robin? Part of the idea dramatically was that the kid sidekick should be a foil for Batman; so where Bats is dark & solemn, the sidekick was to be brightly colored, energetic, peppy -- a nice red "Robin" instead of a black "Raven." They were really shooting for contrast with the sidekick, not a small clone of the Dark Knight.

One problem came later, when someone made the charge that the Batman/Robin relationship had a homosexual undertone. Kane & Finger were horrified: They had specifically chosen a boy sidekick to avoid any hint of Batman taking improprieties with a girl character; the idea that anyone would see any homosexual dimension had never occurred to them. (...Okay, by today's standards, it really seems like that garish Robin costume, with the little elf booties, would be something that you'd know to avoid. But the '30s & '40s were a different time; and part of the idea was to model the sidekick as a young Robin Hood, so they drew from that imagery, with a kiddie twist, for the costume.)

Also, later sensibilities would note that having a minor for a sidekick is reckless child endangerment on Batman's part; but again, in the more innocent times in which Robin was born, nobody was thinking in such serious terms about comic book characters.

Later generations of artists have tried to remedy the Robin problems -- drawing him to look older, making a few somewhat more masculine tweaks in his costume. In a way, I suppose that approach culminates with the Hollywood Robin, portrayed as an adult and wearing an almost entirely black costume. Thing is, if you're gonna do all of that, you've pretty much lost Robin's original function as a contast/foil for Batman; he becomes just a Batman clone, more "Raven" than "Robin." It's a catch-22 as far as maintaining the Robin character.

Personally, I don't think there's a good solution to the Robin problems. To be honest, I mostly prefer to just ignore Robin's existence altogether. With the use of internal monologue in modern comics, it's not as necessary to have someone for Batman to converse with. And while I do like the idea of Batman getting help in his war on crime, people like Alfred & Gordon fill that role well enough.

[Karkull]

Actually, a Batman / Raven team-up would be kinda cool.

[BonyT]

Actually, a Batman / Raven team-up would be kinda cool.But the "Raven" name is already taken now.

... or did you mean a team-up of Bats with the existing Raven character (a la Teen Titans)?

[raykremer]

The Timm/Dini show handled it well though. Robin was around sometimes, but Bats was usually his usual loner self.

[Kury Wagner]

Actually, a Batman / Raven team-up would be kinda cool.
I think so too!

[Phantasm]

I like Robin.A lot.He brings out the fatherly side of Bats which is just priceless and so humorous!

[Zergrinch]

I prefer to think that Batman keeps Robin around to draw fire away from him. Why else would the boy wonder's costume be so garishly colored, while the Bat blends in with the dark? :evil:

[OmegaPaladin]

I like Robin.A lot.He brings out the fatherly side of Bats which is just priceless and so humorous!
So do I. It's natural that Batman would take someone under his wing. In addition, I think we saw what Batman ends up like without anyone to provide a light in his dark life in BB:Rebirth.

However, I always thought of Robin as a Batman in training, a little like Terry in BB. The coloring of the suit just doesn't seem to work as member of the Bat family. Batgirl only makes it more obvious.

I think the TNBA design are a good happy medium, with a darker, more Batman-inspired costume.

[AdamYJ]

You know, I actually like Robin a little bit more than Batman. Robin's not as driven, and he actually seems to be capable of having fun with his life. Though, that's debatable if we're using the comic book Tim Drake as an example (sometimes that kid seems to worry and overthink everything).

The rationale for the Robin costume is that it was a costume that Bruce Wayne himself wore when he was young and training under a detective named Harvey Harris. He didn't want anyone to know it was him, so he wore this fanciful disguise he created for himself. It didn't really help much, because Harvey Harris went on to be one of the first people to deduce his real identity.

Personally, I think the switch in the comics from the Dick Grayson/Jason Todd costume to the Tim Drake one was a big enough step in improving it.

[Crambam]

I had read somewhere that Dick Grayson was born on the first day of spring, and Robin was a nickname his mother called him. It's on some website I found. I also remember they explained it in one of the movies, but then again, those movies botched just about every origin.

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,


The rationale for the Robin costume is that it was a costume that Bruce Wayne himself wore when he was young and training under a detective named Harvey Harris. He didn't want anyone to know it was him, so he wore this fanciful disguise he created for himself. It didn't really help much, because Harvey Harris went on to be one of the first people to deduce his real identity.
Officially, that story isn't "in continuity" any more (and, frankly, sounds pretty silly to me). I think Harvey Harris popped up again as a detective teaching the ropes to Bruce in Detective Comics Annual #2 (1989) (http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=45618), but no Robin costume this time.

-- Ed/Ace

[TimTwoFace]

I think the initial question was asking why he decided to dress up in a "Robin" suit to begin with. I know why the Bob Kane chose it (the Robin Hood thing, and the fact they were trying to lighten the mood), but really, I haven't seen any explanation why the word "Robin" even popped up in the comics - it just came out of the blue. Come to think of it, the only place I can recall that gave it any explanation (a little hackneyed, but it worked) was in BATMAN FOREVER. There, wearing the Robin suit was an homage to his murdered family, and it went well with the whole "swooped in like a Robin" line.

I don't even recall this being covered in the ROBIN: YEAR ONE storyline. L'il help?

-Tim

[titanic_sux]

I think it was in one of Batman adventures comics, where The Flying Graysons were wearing yellow, red and green costumes?

[D.Shaffer]

I prefer to think that Batman keeps Robin around to draw fire away from him. Why else would the boy wonder's costume be so garishly colored, while the Bat blends in with the dark? :evil:But I still needed one more thing. Someone to share my thrills and accomplishments. Someone I can lean on in the tough times ahead. Someone to wear a bright costume and draw all the bullets. Are you with me, Decoy the pig hostage?

...I probably butchered that quote, but it's worth mentioning. :D