Senior Member
Having rewatched all of B:TAS recently, I especially noticed how Robin was always in Batman's shadow.
Batman was always like, "Wait here, Robin." or "Stay with them, Robin, I'll go after the Joker."
Likewise in many episodes Robin gets captured with Batman having to rescue him (by Scarecrow, Poison Ivy's plant creatures, Rupert Thorn, etc) and it bothers me.
Is it just me, or was Robin never done justice in B:TAS? We totally didn't get to see a Robin in animation be the true hero until the Teen Titans cartoon.
Hulk not good with words.
That's hardly unique to BTAS. Robin is the sidekick. It's what sidekicks do. Unless Batman is appearing in Robin's star vehicle (Robin comic book, Teen Titans TV show), Robin'll always be the back half of "Batman &..."
You might as well ask why Jimmy Olsen is always playing second fiddle to Superman.
Toddman
Senior Member
But he could have still done more. Tim Drake did a hell of a lot more in TNBA than Robin did in B:TAS.
Are we honestly expected to believe Robin can't "save the day" unless he's part of the Teen Titans and not with Batman for once?
Hulk not good with words.
Examples?Originally Posted by CyberCubed
Toddman
Banned
He's probably thinking of that Clayface episode.
Hulk not good with words.
I suppose. But Tim Drake definitely didn't "save the day" in that episode, and still had to have his own ass saved by Batman.
Toddman
Banned
Yup. And didn't that also apply to the Superman disguised as Batman episode?
Member
I chalk it up to the writers never being used to writing Robin until they got the new episode for the WB. Becuase the Robin they were writing at the time was really kind of the Marv Wolfman version who's old enough to lead the New Teen Titans. But the Titans didn't exist in the show, so they sort of portrayed him younger than he really was.
But the portrayal of Batman and Robin was much better when it
You guys are gonna LOSE YOUR [bleep] - Bruce Timm on Jeremy Sisto as Batman
Because who would you rather be saved by? Batman or the boy wonder. Not exactly a hard decision. Besides he was always like that in the old comics anyway so like someone mentioned it wasn't exclusive to this show. And Tim never outshined Dick, I don't recall seeing Tim saving Batman like Dick did in Robin's Reckoning.
Destined for greatness
Um, well. The show isn't called Robin:The Animated Series. I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but I would just assume that the question kind of answers itself.
Bizarre Hybrid
Senior Member
I'm also willing to go as far as saying that Batgirl in TNBA seemed to do more than Robin. Sure, she was in the background too, but she was right there alongside Batman.
And we cannot forget that ep Batgirl/Supergirl teamed up against Livewire.
Well Robin was pretty young so he probably wasn't gonna be out every night so he could train. Batgirl already had experience.
Total Drama Llama
I can't recall where I read it, but I remember reading that the creators of BTAS didn't really want Robin in there in the first place, but Executive Meddling forced the issue. Since they didn't really want him there, they shoved him into the background/off camera as much as they could without the Fox Execs meddling further.
And yeah, there's still the sidekick thing.
Senior Member
Wasn't Robin 19?
I don't really recall reading that they were forced to. They might have got suggestions about him. Based on the commentary back in BTAS vol 2 Eric seemed to be the most against using Robin but thought they ended up doing a good job with him. But I don't think they intentionally put Robin in a corner just because of "network interference" and that they didn't want him there.
Senior Member
What about in that episode when Batman lost his fear of killing? Tim took initiative and a leadership role.
Banned
It depends on which Robin you mean. Remember that there were 2.
Robin (Dick Grayson), was in college in Batman:TAS, so presumably, he was around 18 or 19, but Dick quit being Bruce's sidekick and assumed the role of Nightwing by the time of The New Batman Adventures. Tim Drake became the new Robin in TNBA. Therfore, it's comes as no surprise that Tim didn't get as much to do as Barbera did, as Babs was obviously older and had more experience.
Senior Member
Yet Robin was only like 14 or 15 in Teen Titans, and he's allowed to be the hero there. Which brings me back to my point, why is Robin only allowed to save the day when he has his own team and isn't with Batman?
Bizarre Hybrid
Once more, you've just answered your own question. Robin wasn't saving the day on Batman's show because the show was called Batman: The Animated Series, not Robin: The Animated Series. On Batman's show Robin is a mere sidekick, and on Teen Titans the kids are the stars, and therefore the heroes. Robin can be the big hero when Bats isn't around, but in Bruce's presence, Robin is just the kid, the sidekick, Scottie Pippen to Batman's Michael Jordan. That's the natural order of things. That's like expecting Tonto to be the big hero while the Lone Ranger's around.
Again, I thought that was obvious.
Last edited by Silverstar; 02-14-2009 at 08:48 AM.
Visit Twinsanity, the Star Brothers' blog, for commentary, opinions and reviews on animation, pop-culture and what-not. New entries posted as they happen.
Posting Permissions
| toonzone quick jump |
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks