Robin in other media

This article is about the comic book superhero Robin as he appears in other media, such as films, television and radio. Dick Grayson, the first Robin, is generally the version of Robin chosen to be portrayed.

For decades, Robin rarely appeared without Batman. The only exceptions have been animated stories featuring Robin as a member of the Teen Titans. Furthermore, from the 1940s to 1980s, Grayson was generally portrayed as being a teenager or adult.

Radio

The Batman Mystery Club

Batman's radio series with Robin, The Batman Mystery Club, in which Batman told ghost stories, never aired. One episode was made: "The Monster of Dumphrey's Hall".

Adventures of Superman

During radio broadcasts of The Adventures of Superman radio drama Batman and Robin were paired with Superman over the years from September 15, 1945 to 1949. The pairing was pure novelty. The Batman and Robin appearances provided time off for Bud Collyer, the voice of Superman on radio. These episodes called for Superman to be occupied elsewhere and the crime fighting would be handled by Batman and Robin. On that series the voice of Robin was played by Ronald Liss.

Film

Serials

Batman

In director Lambert Hillyer's 1943 film serial Batman, Robin was played by Douglas Croft. Croft was the only actor to portray Robin at the actual age of fourteen/fifteen; subsequent live-action actors have either been in their early to late 20's.

Batman and Robin

Robin was played by 26 year old Johnny Duncan in Columbia Pictures' Batman and Robin (1949), directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet.

Full length feature film

Robin did not appear in the Tim Burton movies Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). This was an unusual move as the two 1940s serials as well as the 1966 movie and attendant TV show had presented the 'Dynamic Duo' as an inseparable pair, with the general public unaware that the comic-book incarnation of Batman often worked alone. The special edition version of the DVD features an animated storyboard sequence of when his parents are killed by the Joker. Jason Hillhouse provides the voice of Dick Grayson, while Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprise their respective roles (from the DC animated universe) as Batman and the Joker in the storyboard sequence. Burton planned to cast actor Ricky Addison Reed as Robin, but later felt it was unimportant to the story and cut Robin out altogether. In an earlier script of Batman Returns, he was portrayed as a technologically savvy street kid who would help Batman following his narrow escape when The Penguin tried to kill him. He would later play a crucial role in Batman's final confrontation with The Penguin. In that script, he was simply called Robin, has no known real name, and was to be played by Marlon Wayans.^[1]

Batman Forever

Chris O'Donnell played Robin in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever, alongside Val Kilmer in the title role. Dick Grayson's parents and older brother were murdered by Two-Face during a hostage situation at the annual Gotham Circus after the family helps get rid of a bomb rigged to explode. Bruce Wayne takes him in as his ward out of guilt for being unable to save Dick's family. Dick soon finds out that Bruce is Batman and becomes a costumed hero in his late teens. O'Donnell reprised the role in the 1997 film Batman & Robin, this time opposite George Clooney as Batman. Tension between Batman and Robin is present in the film due to Robin growing tired of playing second fiddle to Batman and desiring to break free from Batman's shadow. In Batman Forever, his costume closely resembles the Robin uniform worn by Tim Drake. However Dick Grayson's classic costume appears as Robin's circus uniform, sans "R" symbol and face mask.

Batman & Robin

Chris O'Donnell reprising his role of Robin in Batman & Robin.

In the latter film, Robin's costume resembles Dick Grayson's third "Nightwing" costume, but with rubber nipples, utility belt, a cape and red/crimson coloring instead of blue.

Nolan series

In a June 2005 interview, Christopher Nolan, the director of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, said that as long as he is directing the franchise, Robin will not be appearing. Since Christian Bale is portraying Batman as a young man at the time of "Year One", Dick Grayson is still a little kid at this point.^[2] Bale has also given the same opinion regarding Robin, even though his favorite Batman story, Batman: Dark Victory, focuses on Robin's origin.^[3]

Short film

Spider-Plant Man

In the 2005 Comic Relief spoof Spider-Plant Man, it was shown that Robin had abandoned Batman and he was only helping Batman for the money he got from the producers of the films. He later comes to help Batman, the main antagonist of the film, but when Spider-Plant Man bribes him, he changes side and defeats the villain - the dark knight.

Live-action television

Batman

In the campy 1960s Batman television series and its 1966 movie offshoot, Robin (Dick Grayson) was played by Burt Ward. Burt's version of Robin was known for the catch phrase: "Holy [relevant pun], Batman."

The Graysons

On October 1, 2008, it was announced that The CW network was preparing a new live-action pilot called The Graysons which would follow the life of a pre-Batman Dick Grayson.^[4] Plans for the pilot were subsequently canceled.^[5]

Animation

Super Friends

In DC Comics related cartoon series, produced by Filmation and Hanna-Barbera throughout the 1970s and 1980s, such as the Super Friends, Robin (Dick Grayson) was voiced by Casey Kasem or Burt Ward. Both the live-action and animated versions wore the standard Robin costume, much like the film serial versions of the 1940s.

DC Animated Universe

Dick Grayson (Loren Lester) as Robin from Batman: The Animated Series.

Tim Drake (Mathew Valencia) as Robin in The New Batman Adventures.

Dick Grayson made his first appearance during the first season of Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995). He was voiced by Loren Lester, while the ten-years old version of the character was by Joey Simmrin on two-parter episodes Robin's Reckoning, and only made occasional appearances due to Bruce Timm's insistence that Batman worked best as a solo hero as already proven in the first two Burton films. The second season of The Animated Series was known as The Adventures of Batman and Robin, as per orders of the Warner Bros. executives who wished for more frequent appearances of Robin to be made throughout the season.

In The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999), Grayson becomes Nightwing, and his place as Robin was taken by Tim Drake, voiced by Mathew Valencia. The animated series continuity does not include Jason Todd by name, but the cartoons describe Drake as a combination of all three Robins. Versions of the Carrie Kelly (Anndi McAfee) and 1950s (Brianne Siddall) Robins, both in the original costume, also make short appearances on the show in a dream sequence from the episode "Legends of the Dark Knight".

Valencia is later replaced by Eli Marienthal on a Static Shock crossover episode "The Big Leagues" and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman. Shane Sweet replaced Marienthal on another Static Shock crossover on episode "Future Shock".

Teen Titans

The Cartoon Network series Teen Titans appears to be an adaptation of the New Teen Titans comic book series. One similarity is that both series have the character Robin, who also acts as the team's leader. Robin joins Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven when Jump City is threatened first by Starfire and then by the aliens who had captured her (episode "Go!"). Robin is generally respected by the others as the team's best leader, but on the inside he is driven by an unhealthy obsession to win, which sometimes alienates him from his teammates ("Divide And Conquer", "Masks", "Winner Take All", "The Quest").

In the comic book series (as noted above), Dick Grayson is Robin. In the animated series, the style of his costume is still closely modeled on Tim Drake's, as in the 1990s; however, the colors are those of Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. Robin, voiced by Scott Menville, has not been directly referred to by any full name. This non-identity is intentional, according to both Sam Register and Glen Murakami. However, several clues (and confirmation of his identity in Teen Titans Go#47) have indicated that this Robin is Dick Grayson.

Robin from the Teen Titans animated series.

A time-travel themed episode of the animated series showed a future where Robin has taken on the role of Nightwing (a role taken up by Dick Grayson). In a later episode, an alternate universe Robin with exactly the same DNA shows up named "Nosyarg Kcid", which is "Dick Grayson" spelled backwards. This latter clue was confirmed by the creators at a panel at the 2005 San Diego Comic Con.^[6]

In many instances, Robin's relationship to Batman is heavily referenced. In the Season 5 episode "Go", just before Robin attacks a thief, bats fly at him. After a while the thief says, "Aren't you supposed to be with..." only to be interrupted by Robin who says, "Just moved here. I work alone now", and throughout the episode, he says he doesn't want to be in a team again so soon. In another episode, "Haunted", Raven uses her powers to enter Robin's mind; one of the images she sees is Robin's shadow in a cave area swearing an oath to someone, and part of a circus ring. When Robin rejects Slade in "Apprentice: Part 2", he mentions "I already have a father", and then the screen shows a shot of a dark sky with bats flying through it, also referring to Batman. In that same episode, a battle ensues on top of a building that says "WAYNE ENTERPRISES". In episode 41 (episode 2 of season 4) Robin says that he was trained by the best and this is believed to be a reference to the Batman.

The Batman

The Batman with Robin as he appears in The Batman.

In The Batman, Robin is voiced by Evan Sabara. Dick Grayson was an energetic, gifted acrobat and one of the main attractions of Hayley's Circus, along with his Mother (Mary) and Father (John) as part of the amazing Flying Grayson's act. His life was changed forever when Tony Zucco and his brothers tried to threaten circus manager John into taking a "protection" policy. When John Grayson refused, an altercation resulted in the police and the Batman being called. The Zuccos were easily defeated for the moment one of Tony's brothers was even captured.

An angered Zucco altered the rigs on the Flying Graysons trapeze act, causing John and Mary to fall to their deaths right in front of Dick during a performance. Young Grayson, with no surviving family members was taken in by Bruce Wayne, who saw shades of himself in Dick after his own parent's murder. After Dick discovered that Wayne was Batman, the two worked together to capture Tony Zucco. Dick chose the codename "Robin" because that is what his mother had called him.

Grayson sports a costume much like comic book's Tim Drake first wore, although an early promotional photo showed a suit with a bit more originality. His costume and equipment are also influenced heavily by his "Teen Titans" counterpart, however, their personalities differ massively; whereas the "Teen Titans" Robin is a serious, focused and occasionally obsessive leader, this version of Robin is far less serious and genuinely enjoys his work as a vigilante, constantly spouting one-liners and generally acting in the mould of a typical teenager and his Golden Age comic counterpart. Some tension arose when Robin and the character of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) met. Batgirl, having been active as a vigilante and wanna-be partner of the Batman some time before Robin appeared, was quite jealous of Batman's new "official partner". This was changed when Batman took the liberty of revealing his and Robin's identities to her and fully accepted her into the fold. Afterward, Robin and Batgirl developed a more friendly, almost sibling-like working relationship. Robin even likes calling Batgirl "Babs" when they aren't in costumes, which she does not fond of the nickname.

As depicted in a possible future during the episode "Artifacts", Dick Grayson gives up the "Robin" name and costume to become Nightwing. Barbara and Batman still persist in calling him by his original codename. Batman did this more out of habit, and Barbara did it as a flirting sort of way to annoy Dick. Interestingly, the Police department who discover the Batcave in the beginning of the episode call Robin "The Red Robin", a reference to Kingdom Come, and they theorize that Bruce Wayne was the Red Robin (with his father, Thomas, as Batman).

Krypto the Superdog

In the Krypto the Superdog episode, "Bathound and the Robin", a literal robin called "Robbie" is saved by Ace the Bathound and wants to be Ace's sidekick, much to the dismay of Ace. Robbie's costume resembled the classic outfit of Dick Grayson.

Justice League: The New Frontier

Robin (apparently Dick Grayson) was featured in the DC DTV movie Justice League: New Frontier, where he was adopted, as a teenager (not a child, as in most interpretations), during the events of the movie. Batman did so because he realized that he was frightening those he was trying to protect. The circumstances of his adoption are not explained. He was voiced by Shane Haboucha.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Grayson was featured in Batman: The Brave and the Bold in the episode "The Color of Revenge!" He is depicted as the protector of Blüdhaven - the city where he fights crime in the comics as Nightwing - but he is seen in the episode still as Robin. The rift between him and Batman has already taken place, and he is seen to still be angry at Batman for still treating him as a sidekick rather than a superhero in his own right. It is only after cooperating with Batman to defeat Crazy Quilt that Robin earns Batman's respect. After Crazy Quilt is defeated, Robin joins Batman when Killer Moth hijacks the Gotham Bank Money Train, but he rides in the side cart of Batman's motorcycle (something he stated he never wanted to do again). Robin was voiced by Crawford Wilson, and the teaser episode has several references to the 1960s Batman television series. Subsequently, he is seen in "Sidekicks Assemble!" where he leads fellow sidekicks Speedy and Aqualad in a battle against Ra's al Ghul. At the end of the episode, he decides to step out of the shadow of his mentor and take the costume and identity of Nightwing. He is seen as Robin once again in the teaser for "Emperor Joker!", which shows a flashback to an earlier battle between the Dynamic Duo and Firefly. In "The Criss Cross Conspiracy!", Nightwing returns and a flashback shows him as Robin. Dick eventually becomes the new Batman in the alternate future story, "The Knights of Tomorrow!", with Damian Wayne acting as the new Robin. The episode ends with Damian succeeding Dick as the new Batman after the former retires, and Damian's unnamed son (voiced by Sebastian Bader) becomes the new Robin. The adult Dick Grayson was voiced by Lex Lang, and Damian was voiced by both Patrick Cavanaugh (as a child) and by Diedrich Bader (as an adult). In addition, a statue of Batman holding Jason Todd's lifeless body is seen in Bat-Mite's museum in "Emperor Joker!". Later, in the opening for "Triumvirate of Terror" Robin was seen in the team of the Justice League International playing baseball against the Legion of Doom.

Batman: Under the Red Hood

In the DC Universe Animated Original Movie, Batman: Under the Red Hood, an adaption of the bestselling Batman storyline "Under the Hood" from Batman #635-650 and Batman Annual #25, Neil Patrick Harris voices Dick Grayson/Nightwing while Jensen Ackles portrays Jason Todd/Red Hood. Vincent Martella and his younger brother Alexander Martella each provide the voice of the young Jason Todd in different ages as Robin in a flashback in the beginning of the film.

Young Justice

Robin (Dick Grayson) is one of the main cast members in the animated adaptation of Young Justice.^[7] The character is voiced by actor Jesse McCartney.^[8] Along with Aqualad, Kid Flash and Superboy, Robin is one of the founding members of Young Justice. However, when not on team missions, he still lives and performs his duties in Gotham City. As the most experienced member of the team, he assumed that he would automatically be the leader, but this would prove to not be the case. When in combat with Batman, their relationship is so defined that they do not need to communicate and Robin therefore assumed he could disappear and that others would immediately know what to do. Robin nominates Aqualad who accepts, saying that Robin will one day take over as he was born to lead the team. Throughout missions, Robin is shown to be the hacker of the group, making use of the computer interface on his wrist. As the youngest member of the team, he is still a bit immature and can often be heard laughing in combat as to either toy with or intimidate his opponents.

Fan films

Robin is depicted as the principal character in the 2004 fan film Grayson, a trailer for a fictional film in which Grayson investigates the apparent death of Batman.

Toys

Lego produced a Lego Batman line of licensed sets in 2006. The 7783-The Batcave: The Penguin and Mr. Freeze's Invasion set features Robin in the classic costume with a mini speedboat. 7785-Arkham Asylum includes Nightwing and his motorcycle as well.

Video games

Robin has been featured in various games. He is a playable character in both the Teen Titans video game for Game Boy Advance and the console Teen Titans game, as well as videogame adaptations of The Adventures of Batman and Robin and the films Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. He also features in Lego Batman: The Videogame in which he obtains various gadgets to use. The Tim Drake version of Robin is playable in several challenge maps in Batman: Arkham City, while Dick Grayson appears as Nightwing.^[9]

Poetry

The British poet Simon Armitage wrote the poem Kid about Robin. The poem portrays Robin having been dismissed by Batman and found a new lifestyle.^[10]

References

External links

• Robin's description on the animated series
• Batman On Film's "Robin" biography