Robin | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Justice League of America #55 (August 1967) Detective Comics #38 (April 1940, retroactive) |
Created by | Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky based on the original Robin by Bob Kane and Bill Finger |
In-story information | |
Full name | Richard "Dick" Grayson |
Species | Human |
Team affiliations | Batman Family Justice Society of America All-Star Squadron |
Partnerships | Batman |
Notable aliases | Batman |
Abilities | Genius-level intelligence, master detective, peak human physical condition, martial arts master, escapologist, expert ventriloquist, access to high tech equipment |
Robin of Earth-Two is an alternate version of the superhero Robin, who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was introduced after DC Comics created Earth-Two, a parallel world that was retroactively established as the home of characters which had been published in the Golden Age of comic books. This allowed creators to publish comic books taking place in current continuity while being able to disregard Golden Age stories featuring Robin, solving an incongruity, as Robin had been published as a single ongoing incarnation since inception. Unlike his main counterpart, Robin is the only alter ego of Dick Grayson , who uses the title into adulthood, rather than taking on later codenames such as Nightwing or Batman. In addition, the name "Robin" is not taken on by later characters.
The character history of the Earth-Two Robin accordingly adopts all of the earliest stories featuring the character from the 1940s and 1950s, while the adventures of the mainstream Robin (who lived on "Earth-One") begin later in time and with certain elements of his origin retold. Both were depicted as separate, though parallel, individuals living in their respective universes, with the "older" Earth-Two character eventually reaching his retirement and death. After the events of DC's continuity-altering Flashpoint , Earth 2's Dick Grayson never adopted the role of Robin, which was instead originated by Helena Wayne , daughter of Earth-2's Batman and Catwoman, who later took the name Huntress. Dick instead married Barbara Gordon and lived an ordinary life until Darkseid's second invasion forced him to learn survival skills from Ted Grant.
At the dawn of the Silver Age of comics, DC Comics decided to reimagine several of their greatest superheroes. The Flash and Green Lantern were reimagined as Barry Allen [1] and Hal Jordan. [2] Superman and Batman were different and remained untouched. It was later revealed that the current heroes live on a parallel world to the Golden Age heroes. When Barry Allen met Jay Garrick, [3] it meant there were two Flashes, two Green Lanterns, two Supermen, and two Batmen. Since Batman and Superman were the same, the divergence between the characters was their age.
Robin's origin and history begins the same as the classic version except the timeframe occurs when Detective Comics #38 was originally printed in 1940. Most of the events surrounding his formative years are the same, only earlier. After his parents are murdered in what appears to be a freak circus accident, Grayson confides in Batman. The hero advises him not to go to the police concerning what he overheard Anthony Zucco's men planning. Batman feels a kinship to the boy, a period of training ensues, and the young Dick Grayson becomes Robin. His first printed story is "Robin the Boy Wonder." [4] Robin participates in the war-time only All-Star Squadron. His distant cousin is Charles Grayson, the scientific assistant of Robotman.
Eventually, Robin assumes Batman's position as Gotham City's premier crime fighter. Unlike his Earth-One counterpart, who distances himself from his mentor's shadow when he adopts his Nightwing persona, this version adopts a costume which mimics several elements of Batman's own uniform (including an insignia with an encircled "R" surrounded by two bat wings). [5] While his younger doppelganger attends and then leaves college prematurely, Grayson pursues further education to attain his law degree. Eventually, he becomes a practicing attorney in the law firm that eventually becomes Cranston, Grayson and Wayne. [6]
Robin was initiated into the Justice Society of America, assuming the membership vacated by Batman's retirement. [7] [8] During his tenure, he developed friendships with several members, most notably Johnny Thunder, while developing some animosity towards Hawkman who expressed reluctance towards his membership. Years later, Robin, along with his heroic colleagues, perished at the hands of the Justice League due to the involvement of Earth-Prime resident turned supervillain Cary Bates, however he was soon restored to life. [9] After this experience he reverted to a variation of his traditional uniform's style and colors.
During his post-Gotham City career, Grayson left Gotham to become the United States Ambassador to South Africa during the mid-1970s while continuing his crime fighting career for a brief period in that country. [10] His inclusion in the new Justice Society series, according to writer Gerry Conway, "was a nod to the present". [11] After his involvement with the Justice Society of America when the villains Brainwave and Per Degaton attempt to destroy the world at several key points including China, South Africa and Seattle in the United States, he returns to Gotham City. [12]
He joined Batman for one final adventure side-by-side, assisting the Justice Society, the Justice League, and the Squadron of Justice in defeating several criminals including the Joker, during King Kull's plan to destroy humanity on Earth-One, Earth-Two, and Earth-S. [13]
Shortly thereafter, then-Police Commissioner Bruce Wayne, while under the influence of the Psycho-Pirate, manipulates Robin and other formerly retired members of the Justice Society to attack the then-active members. [14]
He next became active assisting the Justice Society and Bruce's daughter Huntress (Helena Wayne) in dealing with Bill Jensen, a white-collar criminal apprehended by Wayne having attained mystical abilities. Robin and Huntress watched as Jensen threatened Gotham's twin trade towers and finally consumed himself along with Batman, eventually tracking down Frederick Vaux who provided Jensen with his abilities for unspecified reasons. [15]
Grayson left Gotham after this incident, returning years later when the Joker came out of retirement to attack several prominent Gothamites including Police Commissioner O'Hara. Assuming the garb and identity of Batman, his presence mesmerized the Joker long enough to be apprehended by the Huntress. He proceeded to track the criminal mastermind behind Gotham's organized crime. At this point, he developed unexpressed feelings towards the Huntress, but left Gotham once more before pursuing them further. [16]
During the "America vs. The Justice Society" miniseries, Grayson was later forced to prosecute a case against the Justice Society involving a diary written by Wayne, insinuating that the premier superhero team was a bunch of World War II Nazi collaborators. Grayson discovered that hidden within the passages was evidence pointing to Per Degaton's scheme, which was subsequently thwarted. He discovered from Helena that her father was influenced by his terminal cancer during his writing of the journal. [17]
In the limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths , the multiverse is destroyed. Among the lost worlds is Earth-Two. Following this crisis Earth Two "never existed" and retroactively removed Earth-Two Robin from history, blending elements of his past with Earth-One, effectively creating a new modern continuity. Robin, along with the Huntress died while protecting innocents at the hands of shadow demons from the Anti-Matter Universe. [18] [19]
Throughout his documented history, this version of Dick Grayson showed an unwavering allegiance towards Batman, even going so far as to take his mentor's vacated membership in the Justice Society of America. [20] He adopted a costume similar to his mentor and used several retrofitted vehicles and devices derived from Batman's original versions rather than using the sort of unique equipment utilized by the Earth-One Grayson. He illustrated his complete faith in Batman by standing by his mentor when Commissioner Wayne was under the influence of the Psycho-Pirate and agreeing to prosecute the Justice Society when Wayne's alleged diary surfaced.
Robin developed resentment towards the Earth-One Batman during their first meeting after the original's death, which turned to grudging respect and finally acceptance. [21] Previously, Robin showed a type of mentorship towards his younger counterpart, providing him a costume with elements he himself would eventually adopt. [22]
In the final issue of 52 , a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-2." As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-Two, including Robin among other Justice Society of America characters. [23]
Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-2. [24] However, in the Justice Society of America Annual #1, published in the summer of 2008, Silver Scarab explains that the events of the Crisis are remembered by the people of this Earth-2, and from their perspective, Earth-2 seemed to be the only Earth to have survived the Crisis, raising theories as to whether or not Earth-2 was really destroyed, or was perhaps replaced by a new Earth-2. Certainly Robin, Huntress, and their fellow Justice Society members are all alive.
However, it was confirmed in Justice Society Annual 1 (2008) that Post Crisis Earth-2 was completely separate from the Pre-Crisis Earth-Two. Here, Alan Scott was dead, Wonder Woman was retired and Queen of the Amazons, Jay Garrick was a young man (unconfirmed if the same man or his son) and most directly to this Grayson, Bruce Wayne was killed by the Joker. This was stated by both post-Crisis Earth-2 Helena and a dying aged Joker who knew the secret identities of the Earth-2 Batman, Robin and Huntress. In this same Annual, it was revealed that post-Crisis Earth-2 Dick Grayson was in love with Helena Wayne, and vice versa. They had not told one another of their feelings. This is a complete reversal from the original Pre Crisis Earth-Two versions who considered themselves to be brother and sister.
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Earth 2 (adjusted from Earth-Two) is re-established into a wholly different alternate universe. In this continuity, Dick Grayson never became the partner of Earth-2's Batman. This Batman's only Robin was Helena, his daughter with Catwoman, and was trained by her parents as her father's partner. Following Batman's death at the end of an invasion from Apokolips, Earth-2's Supergirl and Robin were swept across alternate universes by an interdimensional vortex to DC's Prime Earth and have adopted new identities as the Power Girl and Huntress respectively.
Dick Grayson was married to Barbara Gordon and they have a son named John. [25] When Darkseid did another invasion of Earth, Dick and Barbara had to take shelter. Due to the low morale, Dick and Ted Grant were deputized to deal with it. Following the death of Barbara, Dick hands his son over to Jonni Thunder for safekeeping as he goes to Chicago. After avenging his wife's murder, Dick is trained by Ted Grant in survival. [26]
When Dick and Ted arrive at Atom's Haven, they are attacked by Obsidian until Jonni Thunder intervenes. Jonni reveals that their minds are being controlled by Brainwave. Before Dick and Ted can shoot Brainwave, Thomas Wayne as Batman and Huntress show up and knock out Brainwave before he can use a shuttle to leave Earth. [27]
During the fight against Darkseid, Dick assisted Batman in rescuing the inhabitants before Apokolips engulfs Earth. [28]
During the "Convergence" storyline, Dick and Batman land the ship of survivors on the planet Telos were its self-titled entity states that a war of the worlds will begin. [29] Batman and Dick go to the Gotham in the dome that they are placed in as Batman works to keep Dick from either getting himself killed or ruining Alan Scott's plans. They encounter the New Earth version of Batman, Alfred Pennyworth, and Barbara Gordon. New Earth Batman lends his Batplane for Dick and Batman to use. [30] When the enemies of New Earth's Batman closes in on them, Dick is kept away from the conflict as Batman uses a bomb hidden on him to stop the villains. New Earth Joker shoots Robin in the spine only for Telos to kill New Earth Joker as he asks Dick where his allies are. [31] Seeing that Dick is fighting to survive, Telos gives Dick the opportunity to save himself by offering to heal his broken spine with his molding metal while stating that he will have to take part in the Convergence. Dick accepts the offer. [32]
Following the "Convergence" storyline, Dick has become the new Batman and was pursuing Terry Sloane. He then flashbacked to when the metallic mold faded rendering him paralytic upon Telos' departure as the survivors settled on a new world. After the flashback, Terry Sloane escaped with the help of Johnny Sorrow. [33] After regaining conscious from crashing into a searchlight, Batman is greeted by Flash and Huntress as (Doctor Impossible) shows up. Batman finally catches up to Terry Sloane who has gained access to a terraformer from the (Source Vault) which he plans to turn the new world into a replica of Earth 2. [34]
Dick's abilities and equipment are the same as his Earth-One counterpart.
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book Detective Comics on March 30, 1939. In the DC Universe continuity, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. Batman's origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents Thomas and Martha as a child, a vendetta tempered with the ideal of justice. He trains himself physically and intellectually, crafts a bat-inspired persona, and monitors the Gotham streets at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with supporting characters, including his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl; allies Alfred Pennyworth, James Gordon, and Catwoman; and foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy, the Joker.
Robin is the alias of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson, to serve as a junior counterpart and the sidekick to the superhero Batman. As a team, Batman and Robin have commonly been referred to as the Caped Crusaders and the Dynamic Duo. The character's first incarnation, Dick Grayson, debuted in Detective Comics #38. Conceived as a way to attract young readership, Robin garnered overwhelmingly positive critical reception, doubling the sales of the Batman titles. Robin's early adventures included Star Spangled Comics #65–130 (1947–1952), the character's first solo feature. He made regular appearances in Batman-related comic books and other DC Comics publications from 1940 through the early 1980s, until the character set aside the Robin identity and became the independent superhero Nightwing.
Nightwing is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent is Dick Grayson, who takes the name when he leaves his role as Batman's partner and sidekick Robin in his adulthood.
DickGrayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman, Teen Titans and Justice League. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940 as the original and most popular incarnation of Robin, Batman's crime-fighting partner. In Tales of the Teen Titans #44, the character, after becoming a young adult, retires his role as Robin and assumes the superhero persona of Nightwing. Grayson has donned the cape and cowl to replace Bruce Wayne as Batman. His most notable spell as Batman follows Bruce Wayne's supposed death in Final Crisis, and sees Grayson adopt Damian Wayne as his Robin.
Timothy Jackson "Tim" Drake is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick, he first appeared in Batman #436 as the third character to assume the role of Batman's crime-fighting partner and sidekick Robin. Following the events of Batman: Battle for the Cowl in 2009, Drake adopted the identity of Red Robin. In 2019, Tim returned to his original Robin persona and briefly used the mononym "Drake".
Jason Peter Todd is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in Batman #357 in March 1983, he was created to succeed Dick Grayson as Robin, Batman's partner and sidekick. Initially sharing a similar origin to Grayson, his character's origin was rewritten after the Crisis on Infinite Earths event. His origin, which has since been the standard for most iterations of the character, re-imagined Todd as an orphaned pre-teen living alone in Gotham City who came from an abusive family and was forced to partake in crime from an early age to survive before being taken in by Batman as his adopted son and protégé.
Earth-Two is a setting for stories appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in The Flash #123 (1961), Earth-Two was created to explain differences between the original Golden Age and then-current Silver Age versions of characters such as the Flash, and how the current (Earth-One) versions could appear in stories alongside earlier versions of the same character concepts. Earth-Two includes DC Golden Age heroes, including the Justice Society of America, whose careers began at the dawn of World War II, concurrently with their first appearances in comics. Earth-Two, along with the four other surviving Earths of the DC Multiverse, were merged into one in the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. However, following the events of Infinite Crisis, the Multiverse was reborn, although the subsequent Earth-Two was not the same as its pre-Crisis equivalent.
Owlman is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. A supervillainous alternate-universe counterpart of Bruce Wayne / Batman, he is depicted as the adult version of Wayne's deceased older brother, who in most iterations dies as a child, before Bruce is born. In The New 52, the primary continuity Owlman, originally depicted as the asylum-bound Boomerang Killer, is retroactively revealed to be still alive, stolen from his parents as a child, and working in the service of the Court of Owls under the name Lincoln March.
Thomas Alan Wayne, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the father of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and husband of Martha Wayne as well as the paternal grandfather of Damian Wayne. Wayne was introduced in Detective Comics #33, the first exposition of Batman's origin story. A gifted surgeon and philanthropist to Gotham City, Wayne inherited the Wayne family fortune after Patrick Wayne. When Wayne and his wife are murdered in a street mugging, Bruce is inspired to fight crime in Gotham as the vigilante Batman.
Red Robin is a name that has been used by several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The identity was first used in the future timeline of the 1996 miniseries Kingdom Come, where a middle-aged Dick Grayson reclaims the Robin mantle and becomes Red Robin. His uniform is closer to Batman's in design than any previous Robin uniform. Red Robin then reappeared in promotional material for the DC Countdown miniseries; eventually, it was revealed that this Red Robin was not Dick Grayson, but rather Jason Todd, who appeared under the cape and cowl. This was the first time the identity had been used in the main DC Universe reality. During the "Scattered Pieces" tie-in to the "Batman R.I.P." storyline, Ulysses Armstrong briefly appears as Red Robin. In 2009, a new ongoing series was introduced titled Red Robin starring Tim Drake in the role. Drake was the third Robin before assuming the Red Robin persona.
The Huntress is an antiheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is the third DC character to bear the name Huntress. Originally introduced as a new interpretation of Helena Wayne, no longer depicted as the future daughter of Batman and Catwoman as part of DC's post-Crisis on Infinite Earths relaunch, she was later established to be the modern-day equivalent, namesake and predecessor of Helena Wayne.
The Huntress, also known as Helena Wayne, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is the daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of an alternate universe established in the early 1960s and referred to as "Earth-Two", where the Golden Age stories took place. A modern-day predecessor of Helena Wayne as Huntress with no blood-relation to Batman or Catwoman, Helena Bertinelli, was additionally co-created by the character's co-creator Joe Staton in 1989, originally intended as a reinvention of the character following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, before being retconned as different characters.
The Batman of Earth-Two is an alternate version of the superhero Batman, who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was introduced after DC Comics created Earth-Two, a parallel world that was retroactively established as the home of characters whose adventures had been published in the Golden Age of comic books. This provided justification within the fictional world of Batman stories for DC Comics publishing Batman comic books that disregarded the character's Golden Age stories, as Batman had been presented as a single ongoing incarnation of the character since his earliest stories were published.
In addition to DC Comics books, the superhero Robin also appears in other media, such as films, television and radio. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damian Wayne are examples of the characters who use the name Robin.
Originally created in 1967, the fictional comic book character Barbara Gordon has been adapted into various other forms of media. The character has appeared in both live action and animated television series and films, as well as in video games in her alter-egos as both Batgirl and Oracle!.
This article is about the publication history of the DC Comics fictional character Dick Grayson, who has been portrayed in comic books alternatively as Robin, Nightwing, and Batman.
Dr. Simon Hurt, commonly known simply as Doctor Hurt, is a fictional character from the DC Comics universe. First appearing as an unnamed character in Batman #156, the character was retroactively revived in 2008 by writer Grant Morrison and established as Thomas Wayne, a distant relative of Bruce Wayne and his father Thomas Wayne.
The Huntress is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. The two best-known women to bear the Huntress name are Helena Bertinelli and Helena Wayne, the latter being from an alternate universe. Although Helena Wayne and Helena Bertinelli are both superheroes, the Huntress of the Golden Age was a supervillain.
Batman is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Geoff Johns (writer) and Andy Kubert (artist), he made his first appearance in Flashpoint #1. He is a hardened murderous version of Thomas Wayne seen in the alternate timeline comic Flashpoint (2011) whose son was killed instead of Martha Wayne and himself, eventually helping Barry Allen/The Flash defeat Eobard Thawne. His character returned to the main DC Universe in DC Rebirth as a revived amalgamation of his original self that was killed by Joe Chill and the Flashpoint version of Batman that was killed in "The Button", a storyline revolving around the "Smiley-face" button from Watchmen.