8 Times Robin Outsmarted Batman

1. Dick Grayson Strings Batman Along - The Dark Knight Strikes Again

Jason Todd
DC Comics

Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Strikes Again was never going to live up to Miller's iconic The Dark Knight Returns, yet this 2001 sequel offering did at least provide a, err, unique spin on Dick Grayson.

With The Joker having died during The Dark Knight Returns, one of the central plot points of The Dark Knight Strikes Again is the reemergence of The Clown Prince of Crime. As the elderly Bruce Wayne and his team are stumped by the murderous crime spree of this resurrected Joker, it soon becomes clear that this maybe isn't quite The Joker that Batman had spent so many decades battling.

By the time this follow-up tale gallops towards its climax, the big reveal of The Dark Knight Strikes Again is that this Joker is in fact Dick Grayson - the longtime sidekick of Batman.

Not only does this original Robin spend the majority of The Dark Knight Strikes Again leading the Caped Crusader on a merry dance, his impact is so sinister and clinical that he manages to kill off The Martian Manhunter, Creeper, and The Guardian.

This may be the skewed alt-world view of Frank Miller, but this is still one super smart, super evil incarnation of Dick Grayson who outsmarted Batman at every turn until his ultimate demise.

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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.