Batman ’89 Robin Designs Revealed

Michael Keaton’s Batman is finally getting a Robin. Before Tim Burton decided to leave the Batman franchise and Warner Bros. chose to take the series in a lighter direction with Joel Schumacher, plans were in place to give Keaton a Robin. Marlon Wayans was in discussions to play the role, with some talk of him appearing in Batman Returns before ultimately being saved for the third movie that never happened. DC Comics has chosen to return to the Batman ’89 universe with today’s Batman ’89 #1, which sees the original Batman film writer Sam Hamm teaming with artist Joe Quinones to continue the story from where it left off in Batman Returns. The issue includes the first appearance of this universe’s Robin.

As a nod to the casting of Marlon Wayans, Batman ’89 #1 keeps Robin — real name Richard Grayson — Black. Quinones revealed the character’s design to The Washington Post. You can see it below.

“My hope is that Robin in this series is going to be a strong enough character that people are going to see the logic of [him] in this story,” Hamm told the Post of Robin’s introduction. “It’s not so much a story about Batman and Robin as it is a story about Robin and Batman.”

“[Hamm] just has such an entangled sense of all these characters. He’s doing stuff with this story that I think is so poignant, that just make so much sense as the next steps of the movie we didn’t get after Batman Returns,” Quinones says of working with the writer who helped build Burton’s version of Gotham City. “Which for me as a fan, just if I was reading this, I would be so excited. It’s such a privilege to be able to draw it.”

What do you think of the new Robin? Let us know in the comments. Batman ’89 #1 is on sale now.

• Batman ’89 #1
• Written by Sam Hamm
• Art by Joe Quinones
• Step back into the Gotham of Tim Burton’s seminal classic Batman movies! Batman ’89 brings in screenwriter Sam Hamm (Batman, Batman Returns) and artist Joe Quinones (Dial H for Hero) to pull on a number of threads left dangling by the prolific director. Gotham becomes torn in two as citizens dressed as Batman and The Joker duke it out in the streets. As D.A. Harvey Dent tries to keep the city together, he targets the one problem tearing it apart: BATMAN! And he’ll get Bruce Wayne’s help in taking down the Dark Knight!