You know who I don't talk about enough? Robin! Robin, Robin, Robin! My favorite character/mantle in all of comic book history. A character with a rich history and long-lasting legacy. Everyone has their favorite Robin nowadays, but over the course of seventy years the opinions of the DC fanbase have swayed left and right on how these characters are received. So today we're going to be talking about why people like some Robins, but hate others!
The reason I wanted to do a post like this is because I have a friend named Adam who isn't super comic-savvy, but has been enjoying DC's recent animated movies, especially the character of Damian Wayne. Which is surprising because the majority of comic book readers loath Damian Wayne. Kind of like people used to loath Jason Todd. Hmm. Maybe there's something to think about here. In case you're unfamiliar here is a quick rundown of the Robins. The first Robin was Dick Grayson who was created in 1940. Grayson was the forefather of comic book sidekicks and inspired characters like Bucky Barnes, Kid Flash, and Speedy. He was a founding member and leader of two Teen Titans rosters and would go on to become Nightwing, as well as Batman and Agent 37 of Spyril. Grayson is iconic for his circus acrobat background, his charming wit, and his relationships with Barbara Gordon, Starfire, and most of the superhero community. In 1983, DC Comics welcomed a new Robin named Jason Todd. Jason was a street orphan with an issue with authority. In an attempt to age Dick Grayson and create a new, young Robin to help Batman, Jason was created and subsequently killed off via a fan vote in "Death in The Family". His death was one of the most important in comic book history and his return as the villain Red Hood piled on more personal distraught for The Dark Knight. In 1989 we got Tim Drake, a new mastermind Robin. Tim had a different costume, he wasn't an orphan, he actually volunteered to be Robin, and he learned Batman's identity years prior to him becoming Robin. Tim Drake was Robin for twenty-five publication years, was the first Robin to get his own solo series, the second Robin to lead The Teen Titans, and would become Red Robin after the deaths of Batman, his father, and Superboy. He's also regarded by Batman as the next World's Greatest Detective and seen by fans as the true successor to the Batman mantle. Finally we have Damian Wayne who was created in 2009, he is the current Robin and the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul. Damian was raised as an assassin and slowly began changing his ways when he was Robin for Dick Grayson/Batman and then later Bruce Wayne/Batman. Through the years, Damian has improved as a person and offered a new angle on the iconic sidekick mantle.
Phew! You have no idea how hard it is not to ramble. Or maybe you do. Anyway, as you can tell each Robin is distinctly different from one another. And each of them have such long careers and character evolutions it's easy to see that writers enjoyed developing these characters. So then why did people hate on Jason and Damian, but not the others? Well, there's a lot to compare so let's go about this step-by-step.
First of all, both Jason and Damian were introduced when their predecessors were at their peak. Jason was introduced while Dick was leading The Teen Titans and while nobody really batted an eye when Dick became Nightwing, people still felt offended that the Robin role was passed to a new character they weren't comfortable with yet. With Damian, he showed up after Tim's twenty-five year long career as Robin. That's almost three generations of comic book fans who grew up with Tim Drake. In the 90's no less! The most nostalgic era ever! And to see a character they've been reading for twenty-five years be replaced with some brat? That's enough to whine about.
Second, both characters are assholes. I know it's a blunt way of putting it, but Dick Grayson and Tim Drake are likable, charming, cool-headed young men. Jason disobeyed Batman, his jokes came off as insults, and he was pretty much ignored by the superhero community. I mean, hell, Jason was so unlikable DC did a story where The Joker killed him and based the ending on what the readers wanted. As if the voting processes wasn't enough proof Jason was hated, the fact that DC would even consider a story like that shows signs of dislike. Damian is cocky, he's spoiled, he's broody like his father and violent like his mother. There's always the moral struggle of killing or not killing, but applying that struggle to a kid who's character is basically, "Hah-hah, I'm Robin! I'm a little kid who can kill you if I want and you can't beat me" kind of distracts from the core message.
And third, their deaths and revivals kind of ruin them. I'll admit Jason becoming The Red Hood was an awesome story, but his death meant so much for Batman. And while reviving him doesn't erase the fatherly guilt Batman had, that costume hanging in the cave becomes kind of pointless. Especially now that Jason is buddy-buddy with the Batman Family again. Red Hood was a good occasional villain, but like before he just overstayed his welcome. Damian was killed off in 2012 and his death was an impact for the Batman Family, more than Jason's was. Some of my favorite issues of "Batman" and "Batman & Robin" were written in response to Damian's death. Then he came back to life. With superpowers. It was awkward. And we all knew he'd come back to life, but the superpowers just happened and went away and now it's like nothing ever happened. Death is a strong event for a comic book character, but it can be an event easily ruined by writers without foresight.
So really, Jason and Damian aren't bad characters all around. Jason was a rebellious kid with the means to hurt people. His time as a villain and a recovering superhero got him in a better place and now he's a redeemed member of the family. Damian is a recovering assassin who is making strides in improving himself as a hero. Neither are completely awful characters, they just both have the misfortune of following well-established, well-liked, and widely experienced characters more related to the role of Robin.
Makes me wonder how Duke Thomas will fare. Who is Duke Thomas? Well in 2011, Scott Snyder (the good Snyder) created Duke Thomas as a Batman supporting character. He's been featured in the Batman comics as well as a mini-series called "We Are Robin" where Duke led a street gang called "Robin". Duke-for the past six years-has clearly been being bred to be the next Robin. Problem is we still got Damian around. Will Damian die again? Will Damian become a different hero? Will Duke just use a name other than Robin? Or will DC go the Marvel route and just have two heroes using the same mantle? There's a lot of questions and only time will tell where Duke goes. But one thing is for sure, if history has shown us anything it's that Duke will be better received than Damian. Duke will be the next "true Robin" for a few generations of readers. And whoever replaces Duke as Robin in like twenty years? People will hate the shit out of them.
Thanks for reading!
Phew! You have no idea how hard it is not to ramble. Or maybe you do. Anyway, as you can tell each Robin is distinctly different from one another. And each of them have such long careers and character evolutions it's easy to see that writers enjoyed developing these characters. So then why did people hate on Jason and Damian, but not the others? Well, there's a lot to compare so let's go about this step-by-step.
First of all, both Jason and Damian were introduced when their predecessors were at their peak. Jason was introduced while Dick was leading The Teen Titans and while nobody really batted an eye when Dick became Nightwing, people still felt offended that the Robin role was passed to a new character they weren't comfortable with yet. With Damian, he showed up after Tim's twenty-five year long career as Robin. That's almost three generations of comic book fans who grew up with Tim Drake. In the 90's no less! The most nostalgic era ever! And to see a character they've been reading for twenty-five years be replaced with some brat? That's enough to whine about.
Second, both characters are assholes. I know it's a blunt way of putting it, but Dick Grayson and Tim Drake are likable, charming, cool-headed young men. Jason disobeyed Batman, his jokes came off as insults, and he was pretty much ignored by the superhero community. I mean, hell, Jason was so unlikable DC did a story where The Joker killed him and based the ending on what the readers wanted. As if the voting processes wasn't enough proof Jason was hated, the fact that DC would even consider a story like that shows signs of dislike. Damian is cocky, he's spoiled, he's broody like his father and violent like his mother. There's always the moral struggle of killing or not killing, but applying that struggle to a kid who's character is basically, "Hah-hah, I'm Robin! I'm a little kid who can kill you if I want and you can't beat me" kind of distracts from the core message.
And third, their deaths and revivals kind of ruin them. I'll admit Jason becoming The Red Hood was an awesome story, but his death meant so much for Batman. And while reviving him doesn't erase the fatherly guilt Batman had, that costume hanging in the cave becomes kind of pointless. Especially now that Jason is buddy-buddy with the Batman Family again. Red Hood was a good occasional villain, but like before he just overstayed his welcome. Damian was killed off in 2012 and his death was an impact for the Batman Family, more than Jason's was. Some of my favorite issues of "Batman" and "Batman & Robin" were written in response to Damian's death. Then he came back to life. With superpowers. It was awkward. And we all knew he'd come back to life, but the superpowers just happened and went away and now it's like nothing ever happened. Death is a strong event for a comic book character, but it can be an event easily ruined by writers without foresight.
So really, Jason and Damian aren't bad characters all around. Jason was a rebellious kid with the means to hurt people. His time as a villain and a recovering superhero got him in a better place and now he's a redeemed member of the family. Damian is a recovering assassin who is making strides in improving himself as a hero. Neither are completely awful characters, they just both have the misfortune of following well-established, well-liked, and widely experienced characters more related to the role of Robin.
Makes me wonder how Duke Thomas will fare. Who is Duke Thomas? Well in 2011, Scott Snyder (the good Snyder) created Duke Thomas as a Batman supporting character. He's been featured in the Batman comics as well as a mini-series called "We Are Robin" where Duke led a street gang called "Robin". Duke-for the past six years-has clearly been being bred to be the next Robin. Problem is we still got Damian around. Will Damian die again? Will Damian become a different hero? Will Duke just use a name other than Robin? Or will DC go the Marvel route and just have two heroes using the same mantle? There's a lot of questions and only time will tell where Duke goes. But one thing is for sure, if history has shown us anything it's that Duke will be better received than Damian. Duke will be the next "true Robin" for a few generations of readers. And whoever replaces Duke as Robin in like twenty years? People will hate the shit out of them.
Thanks for reading!
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