‘Titans’: Why Robin Leaves Batman Behind Revealed

Titans‘ version of Dick Grayson/Robin (Brenton Thwaites) has a bone to pick with his crime-fighting mentor, and now we have a better idea as to why.

ComicBook.com got a chance to talk to Thwaites during the world premiere event for Titans at New York Comic Con. When asked about Robin’s animosity towards Batman – which was summed up pretty well in first trailer’s F-Bomb – Thwaites put things in some very particular terms.

“You know what, man? I think Batman just stole my sneakers.” Thwaites joked in the interview, which you can check out above. “That was it.”

All kidding aside, Thwaites provided a bit of an insight as to why Dick Grayson parts ways with Bruce, something that stems from the pair’s different approaches to fighting crime.

“Dick Grayson is trying to leave that way of fighting crime.” Thwaites continued. “He doesn’t believe in… He learns and evolves in a way that Batman hasn’t, mentally. And he kind of breaks away from fighting crime the way Batman does, because he doesn’t believe it is right. And that’s basically what we see in the first episode, is Dick Grayson trying to support himself and fight crime in a way that he believes is right, without Batman. And so those words, that line that we see, kinda gives us an idea of the tone that we’re going for with the show.”

Those involved in the behind-the-scenes bits of the show have expressed a similar sort of sentiment in the past, arguing that the “F Batman” line embodies a bit of the comic essence of the character.

“That’s actually part of the story of Titans,” co-creator Geoff Johns said in a recent interview. “When we meet Dick Grayson in Titans, it’s very much the canon of what Marv [Wolfman] and George [Perez] did. This is after he’s obviously split from Batman, if that wasn’t clear enough, and why he did and what happened.”

“There’s a story to be told in the series. Dick Grayson is really trying to find a new place in the world — a new spot, a new life, just like all the other Titans are. They’re all lost, and they find one another to form this surrogate family.” Johns continued. “[Teen Titans] was, for its time, very controversial. It pushed the envelope really, really hard. We wanted to do a show that did the same thing. But I will say, the trailer, I think some people think ‘Oh, it’s all this, or it’s all that.’ The show is a bunch of different tones. But that’s a part of the show, that’s definitely part of the show.”

Even without Batman, Dick will have a lot on his plate when Titans debuts, as he will be crossing paths with Raven (Tegan Croft), Starfire (Anna Diop), and Beast Boy (Ryan Potter), when the group is drawn together by a dark force.

Titans will premiere on October 12th on DC Universe.