Every Robin’s Introduction, Ranked

Robin has been an essential part of the Batman mythos for decades, almost since the beginning of it all. Where the Dark Knight debuted in Detective Comics #27, Robin made his first appearance just eleven issues later in Detective Comics #38, even before Batman had his own book. Over the years, the mantle has passed down to different heroes in their own right, each striving to make the name their own and stand as a different kind of partner to Batman. Of course, while all of these characters are great, they do say that first impressions are important. So today, we’re going to be looking at the five official Robins from the main universe and rank them based solely on how good their introductions to comics was. 

5) Jason Todd

While he has a very dedicated fanbase today, back in the day opinions on Jason were much more split, as evidenced by the fact that they had a fan vote to decide whether he lived or died. Some say that vote was rigged, but the fact that there was a vote at all says all it needs to about Jason’s reputation back then. And it’s hard to blame people who didn’t like Jason at first, given all that he had working against him. He was the first to make Robin a legacy mantle, and Dick was a beloved character, so to many it must have seemed like he stole Dick’s identity. People tend to be very resistant to change, especially when they like the status quo. 

It was made even worse by the fact that Jason’s origin was a carbon copy of Dick’s. He was a circus boy whose parents were murdered by a villain he later helped Batman take down, only in this case it was Killer Croc instead of Tony Zucco. Jason’s first appearance was Batman #357, but he didn’t become an orphan until Detective Comics #526 a few months later. Jason’s origin is fine on its own, but like everything about his time as Robin, he was constantly compared to Dick, whose origin was better if only because it was original. The idea of Batman adopting two circus orphans who had near identical personalities (at first) was a little too far of a stretch even for Batman fans to find plausible. His updated origin of trying to steal the tires off the Batmobile is much better, and fans like it a heck of a lot more because it fits Jason’s unique character. Our first introduction to him, meanwhile, left a lot to be desired.

4) Dick Grayson

Okay, I understand that this probably sounds sacrilegious to rank Dick so low, but hear me out. We are judging these characters based solely on the introduction themselves, and based on just how he is brought into the fold as the Boy Wonder, Dick’s origin is just fine. It’s far from bad, and modern retellings of it are incredible, but the way it’s presented is very dated. Dick debuts in Detective Comics #38, and within the first two pages of this comic we met him, saw his parents die, watched him get recruited by Batman, complete his training, and burst onto the scene as Robin. The comic was far less interested in “How did Robin get here?” and far more interested in “What can we do once we have Robin?” which is fine, and was the standard practice for the Golden Age. Just look at Action Comics #1, where Superman’s origin was explained in six panels. The Golden Age style of storytelling was very action based and in the moment, which makes for great adventures, but isn’t the best format for forming emotional connections to new characters.

Again, this is not to say that Dick’s first appearance is bad. It’s very good, and the story that follows this rapid depiction of his origin is good, showing the advantages of the young ward by having him go undercover to get dirt on Tony Zucco as a newsboy. There’s also something commendable about giving such a fantastic origin story in such a short time. While I would argue that hurts it, others would say that the short nature helps it, and that’s a perfectly valid opinion. Dick’s introduction is easily one of the most important in all of comic books, but I don’t believe that it is as entertaining as the others through a modern reading lens.

3) Stephanie Brown

Stephanie is a very interesting character on this list, because she is the only one who was not introduced with the intention of making her Robin. When Stephanie first debuted in Detective Comics #647. She was intended to be a completely original character, and was for a very long time, being the vigilante known as Spoiler. Our first look at Stephanie comes alongside the release of her father, Cluemaster, onto the streets, where he immediately goes about recruiting a new gang to be the muscle for him to commit crimes. Cluemaster has stopped leaving clues at the scene of his crimes, but in his stead, Stephanie has taken up the Spoiler identity to ruin his plans. She left clues and riddles all over Gotham City, catching the eyes of the Dynamic Duo and giving them all the pieces they needed to eventually track down and put a stop to Cluemaster’s plans to rob Gotham blind.

Stephanie didn’t appear again in comics for two years after her introduction, so it seems likely that this one story was meant to be her only appearance. In that sense, it focused hard on giving as much of her character as possible. We learned her entire backstory, and frankly, her personality was really fun. She was deeply competent at what she did, and while she was driven by rage, she bounced perfectly off of the straight-laced Batman. She also did Tim Drake in the jaw with a brick, which is just an awesome and hilarious panel. Stephanie’s introduction was top notch, and definitely set up a great character that evolved into Robin later on, which makes her short tenure as the Girl Wonder such a shame.

2) Damian Wayne

Damian Wayne first debuted in Batman #655, introduced as the son of Batmann and Talia al Ghul, whom she raised in secret. This story was based on the events of Batman: Son of the Demon, an Elseworlds tale released in 1987 that saw Batman marry Talia and take over the League of Assassins, teaching them to be nonlethal. However, Talia’s pregnancy made Batman prioritize protecting Talia and avoid risk to a detrimental degree. In the end, she faked a miscarriage and their marriage was annulled. In the main continuity, Batman and Talia’s relationship was reworked as her drugging him, but this was later retconned to be more in line with the original story. Either way, Damian was brought into continuity and left with Batman when he was ten years old, Talia telling Bruce to complete the boy’s training. 

From the jump, it was clear that Damian was an assassin, and that we were meant to hate him. He was an annoying brat who constantly challenged everyone and demanded to be treated like a king. In the short time he initially stayed with his father, he proceeded to almost kill Tim Drake to usurp his position as Robin and decapitate a crime boss to give Batman as a trophy. Beyond that, though, Damian was very clearly a sad young boy who only wanted the love of both his parents, and for them to be proud of him. His debut was a masterclass in how to make an audience despise a character while feeling just a little bad for him, which was exactly the intention. It’s a fantastic break from the normal Robin attitude, and a great way to bring in someone new.

1) Tim Drake

Tim Drake made his very first appearance in Batman #436, though only as an unnamed audience member in a flashback of Dick’s final day at Haly’s Circus. He made his actual character debut in Batman #440, where we see him tracking down Dick Grayson to tell him that Batman needs him to become Robin again. It was quickly revealed that Tim discovered Bruce and Dick’s identities when he was still a young kid, recognizing the acrobatic stuns Robin performed as the same kind Dick did in the circus. Having become Nightwing, Dick obviously refused to return to the Robin role, although the two did return to Gotham to try and pull Batman from the dark, overly-risky mood he’s been in since the death of Jason Todd. Later, Batman and Nightwing were captured by Two-Face, leading to Tim donning the Robin costume to rescue them. He said that he never planned to become Robin himself, but Batman needed a Robin, and if nobody else could do it, he would be the best Boy Wonder he could.

From the jump, it was clear that Tim was very different from other Robins. He was designed to be the relatable one, with living parents and nothing special about him but an inquisitive mind and love for Batman. The readers were supposed to see themselves in his smart, Batman-loving shoes. Beyond that relatability, Tim immediately established himself as a distinct Robin, showing incredible detective skills from the beginning and designing a brand new costume that is easily one of Robin’s best looks. Tim Drake’s introduction wanted to be the ultimate introduction for Robin, and I’d say that it succeeded at both letting us know who this young man is, but why he needed to take the Robin mantle. It was a fantastic pitch that tied Tim to Batman while also feeling completely unique.

So there we have the five introductions of the heroes who called themselves Robin. Obviously, anyone is more than free to rank them differently, and with so many of these origins being so close in quality, it’s hard to argue with any ranking of them. Each one is special and great in its own right, so at the end of the day this mostly comes down to personal preference. How would you rank the introductions to these characters? Let us know in the comments below!

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