Happy Birthday OAP Wonder

Robin's first appearance in Detective Comics issue 38

Last year Batman celebrated his 70th year in publication, this year Batman's first partner in crime Dick Grayson (aka Robin, Nightwing and now Batman) celebrates his 70th year in publication, not too shabby for a former Boy Wonder or should I say OAP Wonder.

In April 1940 just eleven months after the emergence of Batman, creators Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson gave the caped crusader a moral compass in the guise of Dick Grayson aka Robin. In an origin that somewhat mirrored Batman’s own, the young Dick Grayson witnessed his acrobatic parents death at the hand of crime boss Tony Zucco who arranged for the trapeze wires his parents were using to snap. Batman as Bruce Wayne also witnesses the Grayson’s death and takes Dick in as both ward and sidekick eventually bringing Zucco to justice.

Batman and Robin shared many adventures in the comics and even on TV most notably the live action television series where Robin was portrayed by actor Burt Ward who often exclaimed 'Holy [insert word] Batman' like “Holy haberdashery, Batman!”there is a full archive of Burt Ward's sayings here. he was a prominent character in the Batman comic up until the late sixties when the current writer Denny O’Neil felt Batman had to be a much darker character which meant the light hearted Robin was written out of Batman’s life and sent to college though features in a backup feature in Detective comics.

It was also during the sixties where Robin met fellow sidekicks Aqualad (Aquaman’s sidekick) and Kid Flash (Flash’s sidekick) they teamed up to battle a villain called Mr Twister before adding Green Arrow’s sidekick Speedy and Wonder Woman’s sidekick Wonder Girl to the ranks becoming the Teen Titans. Robin became the defacto leader of the team which soon expanded its ranks including Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven and Dick’s on and off girlfriend the alien Starfire. Dick’s leadership skills have also seen him lead a substitute Justice League of America when the main team was incapacitated and also the Outsiders.

Robin's progression into Nightwing

Depending on what version you read, Robin’s graduation into the costumed identity either came out of being weary of being Batman’s young sidekick or he was fired from being Robin after a nasty encounter with Two Face. Though despite the conflicting origins (one being pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths and the other was post-Crisis on Infinite Earths) the inspiration for the name Nightwing came from a story Superman told him about a hero from the Kryptonian city of Kandor.

Distancing himself from Batman, Grayson moved to Gotham’s neighbouring city Blüdhaven a corrupt city where the cops were as bad as the villains that operated in it. Dick joined the police force there in an attempt to help the city in the day as well as the night. During the Knightfall saga Dick was called in by the third Robin (Tim Drake) after Batman had his back broken by Bane and had asked the unstable Jean Paul Valley (Azrael) to take over the mantle of the bat, though Robin brought Nightwing in to help out after Jean Paul shunned the current boy wonder’s help. After Jean Paul was brought down by a recovered Bruce Wayne, Bruce asked Dick to take over the mantle of the bat until he had fully recovered Dick reluctantly agrees but asks why he didn’t ask in the first place which Bruce states he thought Dick wouldn’t want to do it as he was his own person now though Dick reveals he would have done it if asked.

The rift between Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne mended over time as Grayson helped out during Gotham’s period of being classed as a No Man’s Land after a giant earthquake wrecked through it as well as helping out during a gangland war instigated by Batman’s fourth Robin Stephanie Brown. During Infinite Crisis Batman told Nightwing that he did something Batman never could, keeping up relationships within the superhero community while Batman neglected them.

Dick becomes Batman

After the Crisis and healing from a near fatal wound from Alexander Luthor (which at the time was going to be fatal as DC at the time had planned to kill Nightwing off) Dick Grayson found himself in New York trying to rebuild his life after Blüdhaven was destroyed. however this didn’t last very long as Batman was thought killed by the evil New God Darkseid (In reality Batman was time displaced) at first Dick was hesitant to allow the Batman legacy to continue however when a recently returned Jason Todd (the second Robin who was killed by The Joker) took up the mantle of Batman and began using aggressive tactics which went against Bruce’s no guns and no killing policy, Dick fought Jason and beat him, before picking up the mantle of Batman Dick chose the illegitimate love child of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, Damian to be his new Robin so that he could keep an eye on him. In the process he angered Tim Drake who was already feeling sidelined by the emergence of Damian after only just being adopted as Bruce Wayne’s son. Dick explained that Tim would always been an equal to him, never a sidekick.

Batman Vs Robin

And so the new Dynamic Duo set out fighting foes such as Professor Pyg, The Flamingo and Jason Todd in his identity as The Red Hood (an identity he had held before) as well as fighting against one another (though it was revealled that the villain Deathstroke was controlling Damian). Dick also faced off against Two Face once again, this time as Batman and managed to convince Two Face that he was fighting the actual Batman. 

The new dynamic duo is different from previous incarnations as there is now a Batman who is more light hearted while the new Robin is much like his father, however Damian has since grown to respect Dick as Batman as they search for clues to bring the time displaced Batman back while facing The Joker and Dr Hurt who may be Bruce Wayne’s father. But with Bruce Wayne returning in the autumn where does that leave the former Boy Wonder? Only time will tell.