What Happened To Everyone Who Became Robin?
Heard the one about the Robin who changed his name to Ric and became a taxi driver?
No sidekick in the history of comic books has proved to be as popular as the famed Boy Wonder, Robin.
First appearing back in 1940, Robin has regularly stood alongside Batman in the decades since. Of course, it’s not always been the same person taking on the Robin mantle, but for as long as there’s a Batman patrolling the streets of Gotham City, there will be a Robin at the Caped Crusader’s side.
The very notion of Robin may be a tad questionable – a kid being tasked with fighting sinister villains with killer intentions – yet one of the greatest elements of the Robin moniker over the years has been seeing the various Robins grow up to take on their own unique personas. Then again, not all of the Robins have had the opportunity to do that, for the price of being the sidekick of the Dark Knight hasn’t always ended well for those involved.
Here, we’re going to explore just how things have played out for those fortunate enough to be taken under the wing of Batman and to be handed the iconic role of Robin in mainstream DC continuity.
5. Dick Grayson
When people think of the Dynamic Duo combo of Batman and Robin, the majority will instantly think of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. Famously, Dick was the first person to take on the mantle of the Caped Crusader’s sidekick back in 1940’s Detective Comics #38.
To this day, Dick Grayson is rightly viewed as one of outright greatest characters in comics. And so much of that is down to Grayson’s time as Robin and his eventual progression to stepping out of Batman’s shadow to become a hero of his own. That hero, of course, would be Nightwing.
In addition to moving to Bludhaven in order to branch out on his under his new Nightwing moniker, Grayson is also one of the few people to have donned the cape ‘n’ cowl as Batman. Following the “death” – as in a totally non-permanent arrangement – of Bruce Wayne during 2008’s Final Crisis, it was Dick who became Batman and took on Damian Wayne as his own Robin.
The subsequent years and DC restarts for Dick Grayson have seen the character became an undercover agent of the Spyral group, and more recently Grayson lost all of his memories and became a taxi driver named Ric.