Why Batman Always Needs A Robin

7. It Stops Batman From Losing Himself

Robin Suit Batcave
DC Comics

Bruce Wayne is famed for being a hard-ass, determined soul who is unrelenting in his mission to protect Gotham City and beyond. But more often that not, Bruce Wayne's worst enemy is Bruce Wayne.

If Bruce had his way, he'd spend 25 hours a day fighting the good fight and putting down any and all criminals. The thing is, there aren't 25 hours in a day, and even if there were, even the goddamn Batman needs to rest and recuperate at times.

Where having a Robin helps in all of this, is that Robin can help Batman from losing himself in his work, in his mission, and in his own stubbornness. A Robin is there to pull Batman back from the edge, to stop him teetering over that edge, and to save him from himself.

The perfect example of this can be seen in the fallout from Jason Todd's death. With this second incarnation of the Boy Wonder killed by The Joker, this pushes Batman down a dark path. The World's Greatest Detective's nights patrolling Gotham City become more aggressive and more brutal following Jason's death, and that in turn makes Batman become reckless and prone to mistakes.

It's only the arrival of Tim Drake as the new Robin that finally manages to bring Batman back from the brink.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.