Batman’s Father Has a Robin That’s Even More Violent Than Jason Todd

DC is revisiting its Flashpoint Universe in a new miniseries, and it’s already introduced a terrifying new Robin sidekick. Flashpoint was a 2011 event series that totally reset the DC Universe, resulting in the debut of the New 52. Barry Allen’s multiversal adventure teamed him up with Thomas Wayne, who became Batman instead of his son, Bruce Wayne. Thomas Wayne’s Dark Knight has traveled to the main DCU, but Flashpoint Beyond takes readers back to his doomed world to tell all-new tales. Fans have already seen a different version of The Joker, and now they are greeted by a Robin that’s not only related to a classic Batman villain, but also has violent tendencies akin to Jason Todd.

Flashpoint Beyond #4 by Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan Jeremy Adams, Xermáncio, Mikel Janín, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Jordie Bellaire, and Rob Leigh introduces Robin: The Boy Terror. Dexter Dent is the son of Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, and Gilda. Dexter was taken in by Thomas Wayne after Harvey was killed and Gilda was sent off to Arkham Asylum, but he has his sights on breaking into Arkham to save his mother. This scheme involves sneaking into the Batcave to steal some of Thomas’ gear, which results in Dexter creating his own Robin costume.

Aside from being the son of Two-Face, some of Dexter’s violent tendencies can be traced back to his time being tended to by The Penguin. Dexter is able to find Gilda in Arkham, where she confesses that Martha Wayne/Flashpoint Universe’s Joker is the Clockwork Killer. Jason Todd is infamously known as the Robin that was killed by The Joker in the controversial “A Death in the Family.” After being resurrected, Jason Todd became the Red Hood and delivered his own form of vigilantism, most notably with guns. He’s since ditched the firearms, so perhaps Dexter Dent can claim the “violent Robin” mantle.

“There’s a great panel in Flashpoint Beyond #2 where Thomas catches a glimpse of Dexter looking out the window, and the moonlight is hitting his face,” Sheridan teased to CBR. “At the same time, Dexter’s shadow is hitting the face of a young Bruce Wayne in a nearby portrait. I think that is where we begin in terms of how Thomas sees Dexter. He sees a kid that, in many ways, reminds him a lot of Bruce, but he doesn’t quite understand his relationship with this kid yet. He’s still got a lot of things that he’s dealing with, but this definitely pushes some buttons for Thomas.”

He added, “Young Dexter has his own story and agenda. We’ve all seen the long, great history between Batman and other lost young men. I don’t want to give away too much, but I think you can see the ideas that we’re playing with and how they tie into the history of Batman’s legacy. Let’s just leave it at that for now.”

Make sure to let us know what you think of Dexter Dent and Flashpoint Beyond in the comments!