Robin

Several young people have taken the mantle of Robin, Batman's partner in the battle against crime. The very first was Dick Grayson. Currently, the mantle is held by Tim Drake. Edit

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Dick Grayson

Dick is the youngest son of two circus acrobats and was part of the family act called “the flying Grayson’s”.  One night while touring in , Dick over heard the owner of the circus and a mob boss called Antony Zucco arguing, Zucco threatened to harm the performers unless the owner pays extortion money. The owner refused and that night Dick watched his parent’s high wire’s snap and plummet to their death. Dick feels responsible their deaths because he did not warn them in time.

Robin is born

Dick was placed in uncaring juvenile but is taken out by the billion Bruce Wayne. Frustrated by the lack of attention from his new guardian and the mystery still surrounding his parents death, a naïve Dick snuck out of Wayne Manor to solve the murder of his parents, armed with only his bravery and amazing acrobatics. While out Dick runs into Batman who is investigating the murder of Dick’s parents. Dick and Batman find Zucco but he dies of a heart attack [it is latter revealed that Zucco is still alive but had been confined to a ventilator]. Seeing a reflection of himself in Dick, Bruce reveals his secret identity to him and also training Dick in many forms of combat and how to be a brilliant detective also improving on his all ready amazing acrobatic skills to make the best acrobat in the world and Batman’s young protégé and making him one of the worlds best fighter and the worlds greatest acrobat.

EARLY YEARS

After months of gruelling training Dick was ready to take Batman’s final test “the Gauntlet”. Dick had to elude the Dark Knight on the streets of for one night from sundown to sun up, without any outside help. Dick succeeded, simultaneously brining gangster Joe Minette to justice. Dick took to the streets as Batman’s full-fledged partner crime-fighter, Robin the Boy wonder.

 Dick enjoyed his first year as Robin describing it as an adventure; he fought villains such as Penguin, Joker, Mr. Freeze andScarecrow. His so-called adventure would turn into a hellish nightmare when Two-face kidnapped the new District Attorney and Batman, each suspended from a hangman’s noose in a double gallows death trap. Batman told Robin to save the D.A, Robin obeys Batman and throws a batarang that cuts the rope holding the D.A, it works, but Robin dose not take into account Dents obsession with killing the D.A, it was a two-fold trap and the floor gives way before Robin can get to him, Robin jumps into the water after the D.A but is pulled out by Two-face. Robin is surprised by this and received a very savage beating from Two-face as a restrained Batman watch’s in horror. Batman eventually is able to free himself and stop Two-face. However this event haunts Dick to this day [ Dick would go on to badly beat Two-face many  times as Robin and Nightwing], this would also scare Batman so much that he suspended Dick for a time.

Dick would come back to crime fighting much stronger and smarter than before. Dick would go touniversity but would drop out after one term due to his responsibilities as Robin.

TEEN TITANS

Robin would team up with some fellow sidekicks,Kid Flash and Aqualad to fight the villain Mr Twister. It was the first time they teamed up. Their second meeting was more eventful Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad, now joined by fellow sidekicks Speedy and Wonder Girl to fight their mentors, who had been possessed by the evil Antithesis. At this second meeting the youngsters decided to become a team they would call themselves the Teen Titans. Robin naturally became the leader. The sidekick’s continued to operate with their mentors, as well as spending time with each other as the Teen Titians but through the years there was some changes that did not go down well and the team spilt up.

THE NEW TEEN TITIANS

Robin continued his adventures with Batman and started going on solo missions and discovered he was a very good crime fighter in his own right. Robin moved out of the Dark Knight’s shadow more and more through out his mid-teens, the two still had a father and son bound but started to drift apart. Robin became more independent, he no longer relied on Batman, in fact he and the Dark Knight disagreed on crime fighting methodology and when the Titans re-united Robin spent little time in . Batman did not like this and told Dick that if he did not want to be his partner he has to give up being Robin. Furious, confused, hurt and resigned Dick left Wayne Manor after a strong verbal with Bruce. Helping him through this difficult time was is fellow Titans during in this time Dick and his fellow Titan Starfire, a beautiful alien princess, had fallen in Love.

Unsure of what to do, Robin asked Superman for advice, Superman told Dick an old Krypton tale of hero called Nightwing. Dick tuck this to heart and made his new crime fighting identity as Nightwing. Dick’s Nightwing costumes are in honour of both Batman and Superman.  

Jason Todd

SECOND ROBIN

Jason grow up in crime-ridden . After his father left him and his mother, Catherine Todd became very ill. Jason took care of Catherine until she died, Jason remained in the same run down apartment, living of his knowledge of the streets and one night in crime ally, Jason tried to steel the wheel’s of the Batmobile but his caught by Batman, the Dark Knight found this amusing but not beyond reprimand. Batman had Jason put in a school for troubled boys, the headmaster, Ma Gunn trained the boys to be criminals, Batman brought the school to justice with the help of Jason.

Batman became aware of the massive void Dick left in his live.  Bruce was impressed with Jason, so he offered Jason the role of Robin, Jason eagerly accepted. After 6 months of training Jason became the second Robin, Batman realizes that Jason will never have the fighting or acrobatic skills of Dick but he could become a good crime fighter if he can learn to channel his rage.

Unlike Grayson, Jason is impulsive, reckless, and full of rage. Even on missions in which Batman orders him to conduct surveillance, Jason attacks, ruining months of planning. Jason also uses excessive force to subdue criminals. In one story, asked to "hold off" villains, Jason instantly takes to firing at them with a gun, despite Batman's abhorrence for firearms. For the murder of his father, Jason attempts to chokeTwo-Face to death. On his second encounter with Two-Face, Jason encourages Batman to abandon Harvey Dent in a lethal situation. In the Dumpster Killings story arc, Jason implies that he believes lethal force to be acceptable when dealing with criminals. Another story implies that Jason actually allows (or causes) the death of a rapist who evades criminal charges due to his father's status as a diplomat. What really happened is never revealed, although Jason later denies any wrongdoing, claiming that the man fell of the balcony.

Although an effective hero, Jason became increasingly moody, reckless and even more violent, after consulting with Alfred, Bruce decided to pull Jason of active duty. While kicking around his old stomping grounds, Jason found out that Catharine Todd was not his real mother. He searched his true heritage and found that his real mother was a woman called Sheila Haywood.

Using the technology in the Batcave Jason tracked his mother to , where she works as a aid worker. While overjoyed to be reunited with is mother, he soon discovers that his mother is being blackmailed by the Joker, who is using her to get medical supplies. Sheila herself has been embezzling from the aid agency and as part of the cover up she hand her own son, who arrived as Robin over to the Joker. Jason was not probably trained to deal with someone like the Joker. Joker savagely beat Jason close to death with a crowbar. The Joker left Jason and his mother bound tougher in side the warehouse full of explosive. Although Jason tried to disarm the bomb and Batman was on his way the bomb went off, by the time Batman got there the warehouse was destroyed, Batman finds Jason’s body in the rubble, Batman takes Jason’s lifeless body and cradles it in his arms, Jason is buried in Gotham cemetery with his mother and father. Jason would later return as the Red Hood and that Red Robin [ for more info on Jason’s life after his resurrected see Jason Todd].

Tim Drake

Origin

Tim Drake has followed Batman and Robin’s careers ever since he saw the murder of the Flying Graysons. Tim had excellent instinct and deductive skills which would later show. One day he saw Batman and Robin battle the Penguin on the television. Time noticed that Robin performed the quadruple somersault, Tim remembers seeing Dick do that exact move before his parents died and quickly made the connection that Robin and Dick Grayson were one. Tim continued to follow the dynamic duo’s career for years.

After the apparent death of Jason Todd, Batman has grown more violent and reckless. Tim notices that this is not how Batman’s character is and seeks out the help of Dick Grayson. At this time Dick had been going by the code-name Nightwing, so Tim tried to convince Dick to retake the mantle of Robin because it was the only way to keep him sane. Dick agreed but will only help Batman as Nightwing. Tim did not like Dick’s decision and continued to argue that Batman needs Robin. Eventually he was able to attain the help of Alfred to take the Robin costume so he can go help Batman. Alfred and Dick accepted Tim to be the Robin so he can keep Batman sane. However, Batman did not want a new partner and would continue to say no but also adds “the boy has potential.” Eventually Batman skeptically accepted Tim as Robin but under one condition, Tim had to endure physical and mental training from Bruce before he can become Robin so he does not suffer the same fate as Jason Todd.

While Tim was still training, his parents Jack and Janet Drake were kidnapped by a mysterious stranger. Tim continued to focus on his work by foiling a plan of a hacker thief. Meanwhile, Batman went out to rescue Tim’s parents. Batman arrived too late though, and his parents were both poisoned, his mother died but his father fell into a deep coma. With the tragedy Tim and his parents went through, Batman became wary that Tim may go down the road of vengeance and it would cloud his judgment. However Tim would prove Batman wrong when he saved Batman and Vicki Vale from the Scarecrow. Afterwards Batman allowed Tim to take the mantle of the Boy Wonder and gave him a newer version of the costume.

Training

Tim was an excellent detective, however he was missing an important skill, martial arts [Tim would become a brillient fighter on par with Nightwing and Batman] . Right after Batman gave Tim the Robin mantle, he sent him to Paris to learn fighting skills from a master martial artist, Rahul Lama. He would learn healing techniques from the old master while learning martial arts from his grandson. Tim noticed an organized crime lead by King Snake, so he decides to try and stop them. However, Lady Shiva had been pursuing King Snake also, she discovers the potential that Tim had in martial arts. Lady Shiva takes Tim in and decides to train him herself. She also offered to teach him how to use only 1 weapon of his choice. Tim chose the bo staff because it was the least deadliest weapon. Nearing the end of his training, Lady Shiva and Tim had a sparing match in which Tim defeats her with the bo staff. Shiva then presents Tim with a gift, it is a retractable bo staff that he could conceal. The King Snake was planning to release a plague but was stopped by Tim and Lady Shiva. While King Snake was hanging onto the building helplessly, Shiva orders Tim to kill him in order to “graduate.” Tim refused to kill King Snake.

Back in Gotham

Tim returns to Gotham City and officially becomes Batman’s partner. Tim also began going on many solo missions which included him fighting the murderer of the previous Robin, the Joker. He also teamed up with Huntress to battle the King Snake again. Meanwhile, Tim still could not fully adjust to having an alter-ego. His father also comes out of the coma around the same time, and their relationship has not been the same.

When Tim’s dad came out of the coma, he was paralyzed from the waist down. He realizes his wife had died and that he was in a coma for a long time. Jack wants to reconnect with his son, but Tim’s duties as Robin and his relationship with Bruce caused a little controversy between the father and son. Jack would eventually be able to regain the use of his legs with the help of a therapist Dana Winters. Jack and Dana began a romantic relationship and she begins to fix the Drakes’ problems. She helped rid Jack of his anger towards his son and helped Tim reconnect with his father. Dana and Jack would eventually marry.

Tim began a romantic relationship as Robin with the daughter of a criminal named Cluemaster, Stephanie Brown. Batman would not allow Robin to reveal his identity to Stephanie. Later she reveals to Tim that she is pregnant from a previous relationship. Tim helps her through childbirth but eventually the child was given up for adoption.

Teaming up

Tim began teaming up with other young heroes around his age, but also teamed up with heroes like Superman and the Flash. Robin and Superboy would eventually team up and realize that they worked so well together. As a result, the two of them created Young Justice. Robin was the leader of the group for a period of time before he had to take a temporary leave to assist in the Imperix War. When Tim had to rescue the Young Justice from Apokolips, he discovers that more then half the team has lost trust in Tim due to the actions of Batman. Many of the heroes discovered that Batman had been keeping tabs on everyone and had a plan that would defeat anyone if they crossed the line.

When Tim returns to the Young Justice, the whole team decided to vote for a leader instead of letting Tim retake leadership. Wonder Girl wins the election, but Tim worked closely with Wonder Girl, helping her with leadership, and the team still looked to Tim for tactical advice. The Young Justice eventually disbanded after the death of Donna Troy. Robin, Superboy, and Wonder Girl would go on to join the new Teen Titans and fight alongside Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy. Even though Robin was one of the younger member and was not the leader of the Titans (Cyborg was the leader), Tim often took leadership amongst the young members.

Before the War Games story arc, Jack Drake discovers Tim’s alter-ego Robin. Angered at his son’s decision to fight crime, he threatened to expose the identities of all those connected to Batman. Tim stuck a deal with his dad that he would keep the secret if Tim gives up the Robin mantle. Stephanie Brown took over the Robin mantle during War Games. Eventually Tim realizes he cannot neglect his duties as the boy wonder and starts going out as Robin again behind his father’s back. Jack would eventually realize how important Robin was to Gotham City and would slowly accept Tim’s role.

During Identity Crisis, Batman and Robin were investigating the crimes related to the problem in the JLA. Oracle sends them a message saying the Tim’s father needs to spe