Robin (character)

Robin
Various incarnations of the character Robin, art by Yasmine Putri (Clockwise from top left: Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Carrie Kelley, Damian Wayne, and Stephanie Brown)
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceDetective Comics #38 (April 1940)
Created byBill Finger
Bob Kane
Jerry Robinson
Characters
Robin
Cover of Robin (vol. 2) #1 (November 1993)
featuring the Tim Drake version of the character,
art by Tom Grummett and Scott Hanna
Series publication information
PublisherDC Comics
Schedule
List
  • (vol. 1, Robin II: The Joker's Wild!, vols. 2–3): Monthly
    (Robin III: Cry of the Huntress): Bi-weekly
Format
List
Genre
Publication date
List
  • (vol. 1)
    January 1991 – May 1991
    (Robin II: The Joker's Wild!)
    October 1991 – December 1991
    (Robin III: Cry of the Huntress)
    December 1992 – March 1993
    (vol. 4)
    November 1993 – April 2009
    (vol. 5)
    April 2021 – present
Number of issues
List
  • (vol. 1): 5
    (Robin II: The Joker's Wild!): 4
    (Robin III: Cry of the Huntress): 6
    (vol. 4): 185 (including issues #0 and 1,000,000), plus 7 Annuals
    (vol. 5): 17
Main character(s)
List
  • (vol. 1, Robin II: The Joker's Wild!)
    Tim Drake
    (Robin III: Cry of the Huntress)
    Tim Drake, the Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)
    (vol. 4)
    Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown
    (vol. 5)
    Damian Wayne
Creative team
Writer(s)
List
Penciller(s)
List
Inker(s)
List
  • (vol. 1, Robin II: The Joker's Wild!, Robin III: Cry of the Huntress)
    Bob Smith
    (vol. 4)
    Scott Hanna
    Stan Woch
    Bob Smith
Colorist(s)
List
  • (vol. 1, Robin II: The Joker's Wild!, Robin III: Cry of the Huntress)
    Adrienne Roy
    (vol. 4)
    Adrienne Roy
    Guy Major

Robin is the alias of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson to serve as a junior counterpart and the sidekick to the superhero Batman. As a team, Batman and Robin have commonly been referred to as the Caped Crusaders and the Dynamic Duo.[1] The character's first incarnation, Dick Grayson, debuted in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940). Conceived as a way to attract young readership, Robin garnered overwhelmingly positive critical reception, doubling the sales of the Batman titles.[2] Robin's early adventures included Star Spangled Comics #65–130 (1947–1952), the character's first solo feature. He made regular appearances in Batman-related comic books and other DC Comics publications from 1940 through the early 1980s, until the character set aside the Robin identity and became the independent superhero Nightwing.

The character's second incarnation, Jason Todd, first appeared in Batman #357 (1983). He made regular appearances in Batman-related comic books until 1988, when he was murdered by the Joker in the storyline "A Death in the Family". Jason later found himself alive after a reality-changing incident, eventually becoming the Red Hood. The premiere Robin limited series was published in 1991, featuring the character's third incarnation, Tim Drake, training to earn the role of Batman's vigilante partner. After two successful sequels, the monthly Robin series began in 1993 and ended in early 2009, which also helped his transition from sidekick to a superhero in his own right. In 2004 storylines, established DC Comics character Stephanie Brown became the fourth Robin for a short time before the role reverted to Tim Drake. Damian Wayne succeeds Drake as Robin in the 2009 story arc "Battle for the Cowl."

The current and former Robins always feature prominently in Batman's cast of supporting heroes; Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian all regard him as a father. In current continuity as of 2021, Dick Grayson serves as Nightwing, Jason Todd is the Red Hood, Stephanie Brown is Batgirl, and Tim Drake has picked up the mantle of Robin again after a stint as Red Robin. Damian has left behind the title Robin, but remains the title character of the Robin comic book. In recent years, Batman has also adopted new sidekicks in the form of Bluebird, whose name references Robin, and The Signal.

  1. ^ Fleisher, Michael L. (1976). The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume 1: Batman. Macmillan Publishing Co. pp. 317–332. ISBN 0-02-538700-6. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  2. ^ Daniels, Les (2004). Batman: The Complete History. Chronicle Books. p. 37. ISBN 0-8118-4232-0.