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Robins #2 reveals what incident made Batman decide against one notable former sidekick, and it paints him as a complete hypocrite.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Robins #2, available now from DC Comics.
The role of Robin is one of the most important in Gotham City, with numerous heroes filling the mantle over the years. The five primary former Robins have been reunited in Robins to deal with a mysterious case surrounding a potentially unheard-of predecessor in the role — and along the way, a truth about one of the former Robins is revealed.
Robins #2 (by Tim Seeley, Baldemar Rivas, Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Steve Wands) reveals exactly why Batman decided Spoiler wasn’t fit to serve as Robin, while revealing the leniencies he was willing to afford some of the other previous Robins.
Robins #2 is largely focused on the hunt for the mysterious “first Robin,” who’s killed a man and left him to be found by the other heroes who’ve formerly gone by that name. Along the way, the issue reveals “the Gauntlet,” which served as the ultimate final test for each Robin. In brief flashbacks, Dick, Jason and Tim are revealed to have each completed the Gauntlet despite their defiance of Batman’s strict codes and mission parameters. Even Jason — who Bruce notes in his assessment at the time could become a problem — was determined to have passed the gauntlet. However, Stephanie Brown is the one Robin who was given a clear failing grade.
After having demanded Batman train her as a Robin, she worked alongside him against the villainous Scarab. During the ensuing fight, Steph broke protocol and ignored Batman’s orders — saving his life in the process. Batman notes that she disobeyed orders “gleefully” in a way that the other young Robins hadn’t. This apparently clued in Batman to the fact that she wanted to be Robin not because of some innate drive to make the world better or to get revenge on a city that had taken away her parents. Instead, Stephanie Brown wanted to be a Robin so she could get revenge on her father, Cluemaster. It appears that it was really this quietly selfish motivation that led Bruce Wayne to decide against having her carry on as Robin. She eventually became Batgirl instead and reaffirmed her place in the Bat-Family.
From a certain perspective, it makes sense for Batman to be wary of the former Spoiler’s motivations as Robin. If she’s mostly in this for herself and the emotions she’s still working through regarding her father, then it makes it more likely she could have those emotions manipulated. She could end up transferring those feelings into unhealthy directions, and end up making a mistake down the line that couldn’t be repaired. Still, that doesn’t take away the fact that it’s inherently frustrating that Steph couldn’t receive the kind of training and attention that Bruce used to try and hone other Robins. In particular, Jason and Damian are both suggested to have a body count during their analysis, and yet Batman didn’t invalidate them as potential partners.
While Bruce doesn’t make a decision regarding Damian either way due to his (at the time) brief experience with the young man, Batman allows Jason Todd to pass the Gauntlet despite potentially breaking the core tenant of Batman’s war against crime. Jason’s gauntlet directly references Batman #424 by Jim Starlin and Mark Bright, a Post-Crisis storyline that occurred shortly before the “Death in the Family” storyline where readers would vote for his death at the hands of the Joker. The story focuses on Felipe Garzonas, the son of an ambasador from the nation of Bogatago. This afforded Felipe diplomatic immunity and allows him to get away with assaulting a woman despite being caught by Batman and Robin.
After it’s revealed that Felipe could escape custody and his threats to the woman prompted her to commit suicide, Jason went to confront Felipe and potentially threw him off the high-rise building. Although Jason claims that Felipe accidentally fell while Jason was confronting him, Bruce has his doubts, suggesting that Jason may have become a murderer during his tenure as Robin. Even just having that suspicion should have been a red flag for Batman, but he still gave the young man a pass despite potentially breaking Batman’s most important rule.
And yet, Spoiler was not given a pass simply because her motivations aren’t as pure as the others. It had nothing to do with her actions, but rather Bruce’s analysis of her past. It’s not something that seems lost on Steph, either. She even notes with some bitterness during her present-day mission alongside the other Robins that Nightwing can make a mistake and everyone is fine with it — but if she makes a single error, it calls into question her abilities as a hero. It doesn’t exactly paint Batman in the best possible light in terms of choosing his partners — and reveals the allowances he’d afford other heroes but not Spoiler.
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