In Defense of Robin

Grab your tinfoil bat-cowls, it is time for some discussion that was inspired by rumors that are partially based on casting news that has barely been finalized. A (somewhat questionable) source is reporting that Christopher Nolan has been scouting locations for a secret hideout for one of the characters in The Dark Knight Rises. The surprising tidbit is that the hideout is not for Batman—but rather his sidekick Robin. This revelation has been, seemingly, bolstered by the recent addition of Joseph Gordon-Levitt to the movie's cast. Of course, to anyone that has followed the franchise, the introduction of Robin would be a pretty big surprise. In fact, Nolan himself said long ago that his Bat-franchise would never have a Robin. It should also be kept in mind that in The Dark Knight the Bat-cave was unfinished, so this location scouting could just be for Batman's completed personal hideout. Regardless of its validity, the rumors and speculation have inspired significant debate over the potential inclusion of Robin in the Nolan-verse.

Few members of the superhero pantheon are as reviled as Batman's sidekick, Robin. As famous characters go, perhaps only Aquaman receives more scorn. Afters spending years observing the comic book industry, I am certain that most of the disdain for Robin comes from outside observers. There is a significant disparity in how comic readers and the general public view Batman's sidekick. To a fan of bat-cinema, Robin is a green short-short wearing herald of the end. While there is some truth to this standpoint (the inclusion of Chris O’Donnell's Robin in Batman Forever certainly coincided with the faltering of the 1990s Batman franchise) there are some other issues at play.

To the sidekick skeptics, the very mention of Robin conjures images of pixie boots, Fredric Wertham's homophobia and the supposed antithesis of realism. When it comes to discussions of the sidekick in the Nolan movies, the devotion to supposed realism is the most important issue at play. In any discussion of the two most recent Batman movies, you will invariably hear someone laud how “realistic” they are. While I do not entirely agree with that, I won't argue with that particular assertion here. In the spectrum of realism, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are significantly more believable than, say, Fantastic Four or Superman Returns. Following that same scale of realism, Robin is still a far more “realistic” character than Wolverine, Spider-man, Green Lantern, etc. Like Batman, Robin has no special powers. He is a highly trained, regular person.

If you think about the arc of the two movies, a significant portion of the first movie revolved around Bruce Wayne's training and preparation to become Batman. A large part of this training involved a mentor/student dynamic between the hero and his future nemesis, Ra's Al Ghul. There is no reason that this same relationship could not be applied to Bruce and a student. The martial arts weigh heavily in Batman's arsenal of specialties, so why not delve into a teacher/pupil type story? I know that Robin has been a source of ridicule and humor over the years, but, think about it, are you going to make fun of someone that was trained by the gosh-darn BATMAN? I do not think so.

One of the problems that some people have with Robin is that he represents a side of Batman that people do not like. Many viewers just want to see Batman as a lone wolf, kicking butt and taking names—infallible and driven only by revenge. Robin opens new directions that, on the surface, do not really mesh with the driven Dark Knight. To me, Robin represents a depth of character in the Batman mythos. Robin is a student, a confidant, a potential triumph or failure. If done correctly, Robin could add an entirely new source of tension and drama unlike any we have yet seen in a superhero movie.

There are certainly parts of the Robin mythos that are more believable than others, but they are all details that Nolan could sidestep. First, the Robins of the comic book world have all begun their crime-fighting careers fairly young. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Damien Wayne were all somewhere between 13 and 15 when Batman took them under his wing. In a Nolan style movie, Robin would need to be older to make sense.

Another potentially problematic aspect of Robin is his origin. While I still like the first Robin's circus-accident beginnings, they may not really fit with the Nolan aesthetic. Thankfully, there are three other Robin origin stories to choose from. Jason Todd is a street urchin that Batman found trying to steal the wheels off the Batmobile. Tim Drake is a deductive prodigy who discovered that Batman was Bruce Wayne. Damien Wayne is the illegitimate son of Bruce and Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, Talia al Ghul. Take your pick, any of these would work in the Nolan-verse.

The final big problem I see with Robin's migration into this most recent Bat-franchise is one of costume. When most people think of Robin they picture green boy-shorts, but in the comics, Robin has not run around barelegged since the Reagan administration. The early 90s Robin costume worn by Tim Drake was a huge improvement, but the real strides were made in the mid2000s when Tim dawned a more dynamic mostly red and black costume. If the red was darkened, Robin could “realistically” stalk the night skies unseen at Batman's side.

In the end, this discussion may be purely academic. Obviously, all of this is based on rampant speculation. No one but Nolan and his associates knows what is going to take place in the third installment of his Bat-franchise. However, if Nolan and his writing partners turned their lens on the Boy Wonder, I have no doubt that they could find a way to make him appear as fascinating and as cool as every other character they have borrowed from the comic books.