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When all of Batman’s Robins gathered together, Dick Grayson reminded all of them about why they’re essential to the Dark Knight’s war on crime.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Robins #2, available now from DC Comics.
The idea of Batman having sidekicks like Robin is a contested topic as it raises the question about the ethics of Batman bringing in young heroes into his war on crime. One argument is that, far from just being backup and a helping hand in keeping Gotham safe, the Robin role also stops Batman from crossing lines he would not normally cross, or from completely self-destructing, as has happened on occasion when Batman has found himself as a lone guardian of Gotham.
Nightwing makes this claim in Robins # 2 by Tim Seeley and Baldemar Rivas, and it is a long-held belief of the original Robin in the importance of Batman having someone by his side. Let’s take a look at how this belief has led to Dick influencing Bruce’s decisions to allow others to take up the mantle of Robin.
The reasoning comes up when the Robins have just been told by Batman not to investigate the mysterious villain who is targeting all of them. Dick pins this down to Bruce being afraid of something- due to how angry he was getting. He then tells the rest of the Robins that Batman needs Robin to stop him from falling into the darkness, even if he doesn’t know it. Despite having a difficult relationship with his mentor at times, Dick believes that Bruce requires a Robin to help keep him grounded.
This can be seen in the Pre-Crisis origin of Jason Todd, which involves Dick much more than later origin stories for the second Robin. Here, Jason was part of an acrobatic family known as the ‘Flying Todds’ who help Dick as Robin investigate the crimes of new Gotham mob boss, Killer Croc- who was extorting their circus. Unfortunately, Jason’s parent’s involvement in the investigation gets them murdered by the gangster. While Batman and Robin end up defeating Croc, Jason is left an orphan. Much like he did with Dick, Bruce adopts Jason to take him on as a young protege. After he helps Batman defeat the Joker, Jason is officially given permission to carry the Robin role after Dick gifts him his old costume, telling both Jason and Bruce that he is giving up his old sidekick identity while he leads the Titans in Batman #368 by Doug Moench and Don Newton.
Even though Dick knows that he has outgrown the role, this shows that he knows how important the role of Robin is to Batman. Jason’s origins would be changed in the Post-Crisis continuity, but the sentiment shared by Dick and future Robin, Tim Drake would be the leading catalyst for Drake’s origin as Robin in A Lonely Place of Dying by Marv Wolfman, George Perez, and Jim Aparo.
Set shortly after Jason Todd’s death at the hands of the Joker, Bruce’s crime-fighting has become more reckless and dangerous- leading both Nightwing and Alfred to become concerned. Tim Drake, then just as a fan of the Dynamic Duo who had deduced their identities, comes to the conclusion that Batman needs a Robin to keep him stable. The young Tim eventually tracks Dick down and shows him pictures of Bruce’s current recklessness. Tim pleads with Dick to take up the mantle of Robin again. Dick agrees that Batman does need a Robin, but it won’t be him under the mask- it will be Tim. Nightwing helps bring Tim to Bruce’s attention as the three manage to foil a plot by Two-Face. There, Tim makes a convincing case to be trained by Bruce as his new Robin and a new Dynamic Duo is born.
Even though Dick outgrew the role of Robin to pursue his own path as Nightwing, the original Robin knows the importance the role has in keeping his mentor grounded and in control. A lone Batman without sidekicks or Batfamily members to have his back or keep him focused, could easily cross a line he never meant to cross or even die a premature death due to becoming more reckless without a sidekick to anchor him- and no one is more aware of this than the original Robin himself, Dick Grayson.
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