Posted By Dan Greenfield on Mar 2, 2025 | 12 comments

ROBIN WEEK: An 85-year retrospective of the most compelling Boys and Girls Wonder…

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Welcome to ROBIN WEEK! One of the greatest heroes in comics history debuted 85 years ago, on March 6, 1940 — and we’re celebrating with a series of features saluting the Boys, Girls and Teens Wonder. For the complete index of features, click here.

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By JIM BEARD

If I love the character of Batman, if he’s my most favorite superhero of all, then I must be very, very fond of Robin, right?

In a nutshell, yes. I dig Robin, yeah, I say, Robin.

Articles like these are cool because it allows me a moment to ask myself why I like what I’m writing about. In the case of Robin, being something I’ve liked all my life, it gets a little challenging, but for you, today, I’m going to give it a try.

First and foremost, I love the look. If Batman is the supposed “creature of the night,” then Robin is the colorful counterpoint to his somber sartorial self. Red and green always look great together, and while yellow isn’t exactly my favorite color, I can admit that it works nicely with the other two. I love how Robin’s explosion of color goes hand in hand with the character’s burst of energy and excitement.

Secondly, I love that Robin’s part of Batman’s universe. I’ll be honest; I’ve never bought into that whole thing of “Robin is the stand-in for the kid reading the stories.” I’m not against it and would never scoff at anyone who has felt that in these past 85 years, but that ain’t me. I wanted to be Batman, if anything—and if I was, honestly, I’d want a Robin by my side. Robin’s super-cool.

Beyond that, Robin is now a legacy character, and I’ve always been drawn to that. Interestingly, Batman is not a legacy guy, not necessarily, but his partner has spawned many, many successors, and that’s so cool, too.

I guess my interest in Robin stems originally from two sources: the original Mego action figure and, of course, Burt Ward’s performance on Batman. Today, I look back at those two things, add then-new 1970s stories paired with decades of reprints, and it’s no surprise to me that I became a Robin Rooter. There’s just no way I couldn’t have become a fan.

Right now, I want to talk about 13 different Robins. The following list isn’t comprehensive (but it is chronological!) and you may dispute some of my choices, but these are the versions of the characters I want to express a few thoughts on, whether or not I like them. Not every one of these is a favorite, but there’s no denying their impact on me—and hopefully you, too.

As you read along, listen to the Sensational Guitars of Dan & Dale, and we’ll paint Gotham City Robin red together…

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Dick Grayson (Detective Comics #38, 1940). It’s a good thing Dick came first because even if he didn’t I’d still have to start off with him. I think one of the most incredible things about him is that he’s one of the rarest of rare birds in comics: a character that was allowed to grow up and evolve. You can’t say that about many. Dick also kicked off the entire superhero sidekick movement, which alone qualifies him for the Hall of Fame. Here’s to Robin No. 1 — long may he fly, up, up to the sky.

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Bruce Wayne (Detective Comics #226, 1955). Robin had been around for 15 years before it was decided that Dick Grayson wasn’t exactly the first—that little honor fell upon his mentor, Bruce himself. It’s kind of a fascinating story, one that explained the Robin look and persona didn’t just come out of nowhere when Dick was brought in. It was revealed to be another stepping stone of Bruce’s on the way to him becoming Batman. I love that tale.

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Bruce Wayne Jr. (Batman #131, 1960). Anybody remember these tales of Batman II and Robin II, created by amateur fiction writer Alfred? I came upon them as a kid reading 100-Page Super-Spectaculars and was always drawn to them. I remember how odd it was to see a blonde/redhead Robin (it doesn’t really work, does it?), but really digging the fact that, at least in Alfred’s imagination, Batman married Batwoman.

(Dan adds: These are some of my favorite Batman stories of all time.)

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Dick Grayson (Batman TV Show, 1966-68). Yes, I’m only four in and already cheating. You can take it up with me somewhere else, but for now I can’t do this list without acknowledging the only actor to-date who has ever perfectly personified the comic book Robin in live action. Burt Ward is Robin to me—Holy Hole-in-One, Batman!

(Dan adds: See Why BURT WARD Is the Greatest of All Robins.)

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Dick Grayson of Earth-Two (Justice League of America #55, 1967). I know that the adult Richard Grayson of Earth-Two is something of a fan favorite among those of my generation, but I break off from the main crowd with my love for not only his debut story, but the fact that his first costume is his best. I love everything about it, most especially that it was the poster costume for 1960s Batmania. I revel in the fact that though Dick grew up, he’d forever be an extension of Bruce.

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Jason Todd (Batman #368, 1984). This was pre-Crisis Jason, but everyone remembers the second version — the damn kid who stole the wheels off the Batmobile. He was one of the biggest pains in the belfry ever. I didn’t like him then and I still don’t like him now, but I have to acknowledge his ability to survive and thrive after so much adversity.

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Carrie Kelley (The Dark Knight Returns #2, 1986). Back in ’86, Carrie was kind of a radical departure from the tried-and-true. I remember being a bit nonplussed by the idea of a female Robin, but I had a good, good friend who loved her and helped me to embrace it. I think the “good soldier” panel of Carrie and Bruce has become iconic, even if Miller pretty much tore down anything he’d achieved with the first series by adding on unneeded (and inferior) sequels.

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Tim Drake (Batman #442, 1989). Tim stands out to me as the very first new Robin in then-continuity that I actually liked. I appreciated that they took a little time with him before he adopted the mantle and I absolutely was a full fan of Neal Adams’ costume redesign (which you can see illustrated by Norm Breyfogle up in the intro). Sadly, I think Tim’s a pale shadow of his former glory these days, due to just too many other members of the Bat-Family currently running around.

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Richard Grayson of Earth-22 (Kingdom Come #2, 1996). I like him; your argument is invalid. You can say what you want about this guy, but I was thrilled to see him and I absolutely, 100% loved that he was wearing a uniform that looked more like the Golden Age Doctor Mid-Nite’s than either Batman’s or the original Robin’s. That alone scores this guy all the points ever with me.

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Stephanie Brown (Robin #126, 2004). Spoiler Alert! Steph’s unique in that she’s only the second female Robin (first in continuity) but also had her own superhero identity previously and took about 12 years to make up her mind to don the Robin mantle. She didn’t stay in the role long, but I kind of admire her for her spunk. And that she’s up to at least three hero names now.

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Damian Wayne (Batman #657, 2006). Shut it. I will brook no dissent on this one. Little dude’s my second favorite Robin and always will be. Can’t wait to see him in the movies.

(Dan adds: I’m with Jim. Damian as conceived is a fantastic character and also my second fave, behind Dick.)

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Helena Wayne (World’s Finest #0, 2012). Wait, what? This one flew right by me (pun very much intended) and I only discovered it while researching this article. Pretty cool. Before she was the Huntress she was Robin, and her parents were, of course, Batman and Catwoman. Pretty funny that her mom’s spirit animal was totally a predator for her own. Nice costume redesign. I dig the cut-outs where Robin’s tunic ties are normally.

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Duke Thomas (We are Robin #1, 2015). Duke’s pretty much the Forgotten Robin, isn’t he? I feel for him—it took a while to get him to the formal hero scene and now he’s saddled with a wonky code name (the Signal) and not-so-exciting uniform. Still, I like him and hope that one day he’ll be in the spotlight more than he has been. And get a better superhero persona. I wonder if anyone’s using Hornblower these days?

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MORE

— The Complete ROBIN WEEK Index of Features. Click here.

— SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN: What We All Love About ROBIN. Click here.

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JIM BEARD has pounded out adventure fiction since he sold a story to DC Comics in 2002. He’s gone on to write official Star Wars and Ghostbusters comics stories and contributed articles and essays to several volumes of comic book history. His prose work includes his own creations, but also licensed properties such as Planet of the Apes, X-Files, Spider-Man, Kolchak the Night Stalker and Captain Action. In addition, Jim provided regular content for Marvel.com, the official Marvel Comics website, for 17 years.

Check out the trio of Batman ’66 books of essays he’s edited: Zlonk! Zok! Zowie! The Subterranean Blue Grotto Essays on Batman ’66 – Season One, Biff! Bam! Ee-Yow! The Subterranean Blue Grotto Essays on Batman ’66 – Season Two and Oooff! Boff! Splatt! The Subterranean Blue Grotto Guide to Batman ’66 – Season Three.