Thanks 23,000 and growing !

A few weeks back I notched up 23000 visitors to my site, but as I had included all the Robin's I did not want to reveal my Damion Robin until I had covered him in my story of the Boy Wonders.

So here is all the different Robin's From 1940 up to This Year....

From the original Boy Wonder Dick Grayson, to The Teen Wonder Dick, To Jason Todd the first replacement and through to Damion via Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown.

HOLY COSTUME CHANGES BATMAN !

ENJOY and Thanks for supporting My Little Blog !

THANKS

ANOTHER NEW ROBIN, MEET DAMION WAYNE...... Robin in the Hood !

Damion Wayne had many issues with his life. His parents were far from being conventional by any ones measure. His Mother Talia  was the daughter of a villain and herself a leader of a group of international assassins. His Father Bruce was a Millionaire who in his private would fight crime as a Vigilante.

His actual existence was more a case of a science project than love. Being initially brought up by his Mother to be the best assassin ever was how the young Damion spent his early years. The love most youngsters would normally received was replaced by extreme training, and physical combat and schooling in the art of death and murder.  No love appeared to have been shown to Damion, his only pleasure seems to have been from remaining alive though out his training regime.

When Damion was finally allowed to meet his Father as a young pre teenager, he had little respect for anyone, especially dear old Dad. However, he was intrigued with his Fathers work as the Batman, and very soon wanted to be part of his Dad's life. OK Damion did think that Batman was not as hard as he could be with his enemies. Batman did not kill, and Damion believed that if Batman really wanted to rid the Streets of such villains as the Joker, Two Face and The Penguin  etc, a bullet to the head would be a better result than imprisonment.

Bruce. Batman knew that Damion had the prudential to be a good crime fighter, but before he could endorse his son as his partner, Damion would need to learn some important lessons. Killing was BAD, Pointless Maiming was BAD and a Cavalier approach to Rules and breaking them was Bad and unacceptable .

Damion tried to undermine his "Brother" Tim as much as possible. He thought Tim was a weak person, and not right in his mind to be ROBIN. Batman disagreed, Tim was ideal as Robin. Dick Grayson  was physically better, and had made the blue print of how a  Robin should be,   Jason Todd, had had some good qualities but overall he was damaged by his upbringing and past, leading to him dying as a result of breaking rules.  Stephanie Brown had only been a temporary replacement for Tim, so in her case was not really considered a Robin.   For now Bruce was content with Tim being his Robin, and if Damion wanted to one day take on that role he needed to make some improvements and adjustments to his attitude and overall behaviour.

However, after Bruce's apparent death, and after a lot of fighting between members of the Batman Family, Dick Grayson became the new holder of the Title BATMAN.

His first act as the New Caped Crusader was to appoint Damion as his "New" Boy Wonder. This usurping of him from the role he loved was a shock to Tim Drake. Tim had idolised Dick from a young boy, and he would have done anything to be Robin to Dick's BATMAN. However, after Dick explained to Tim that he felt that Tim was now ready to evolve into his own hero, he was more than the AND ROBIN, he could make a name for himself. Damion on the other hand needed the chance to become Robin, just to prove that he had the potential as he was after all the real Son of The Batman. Bruce had left various instruction regarding what to do in the event of his death, and one was for Dick to continue training Damion, and Dick believed that what better way to do this would be to have the youngster serve his apprenticeship along side him as "HIS" Robin.

Taking a view that Damion would be a "new" Robin, would reflect in how he would be dressed. Dick had slightly updated the Bat Suit he would wear, but as far as everyone was concerned the man behind the Bat Cowl and Cape remained the same.

Dick Grayson  was now Batman, but that was a secret. 

With Damion it was a different matter,  he was much younger than the now young adult Tim, a smaller frame, so people would know he was not the same Robin. BUT as most people knew that The Original Robin had gone onto becoming Nightwing, a change in Robin would be acceptable. The colours were darker, and the design was in part left to young Damion, but over all it was a modern twist on the Classic look.

Damion was now ROBIN in the Hood.

Tim would take on the title Red Robin, a role that had been briefly adopted by the now resurrected Jason Todd aka Red Hood. 

Good Bye Robin....... Enter RED ROBIN 

As Red Robin Tim found that Dick was right to force him to evolve into his own hero, this had worked for Dick when he became Nightwing. Red Robin continued to lead the newest version of the Teen Titans. Stephanie Brown would also play a part in his life again. In another one of Bruce's dying wishes, he had requested that Cassandra Cain pass her Batgirl role onto The Spoiler and former Robin Stephanie. And under the control and leadership of Oracle aka Barbara Gordon, The "New" Batgirl complement the "NEW" Red Robin as the next generation of the Batman Family.

Tim and Stephanie together again but as new heroes 

Next time the end of Damion.

Until then ENJOY ! 

ANOTHER NEW ROBIN, BUT WITH A NEW BATMAN THIS TIME PART ONE Son of the Devil

When Batman aka Bruce Wayne was believed killed by Darkseid  the role of the Dark Night went to Dick Grayson, former Robin and now the Hero known as NIGHTWING.

The first thing he did was to upset things in the Bat Cave. Instead of allowing Tim Drake to serve as Robin to his new Batman, he took the Title and identity away from Tim and gave it to Damon Wayne, Bruce Wayne's SON.

Tim hurt by this decision would go on to take the name Red Robin, which had originally been used by the recently returned DEAD Jason Todd. BUT more about that later.

But who was Damian, and what was his connection to Bruce Wayne ?

Damion the True Heir to the BAT-MAN dynasty !

Damian's existence was not know about by Bruce Wayne for many years. Damian was Bruce's son by Talia, Daughter of Batman's enemy RA AL GHUL.  However, the child was not the result of a "Normal" romantic encounter between Bruce & Talia, the child was the result of a scientific experiment to breed the ultimate warrior and assassin.

By the time Damion came into Bruce's life he was a pre teenager, who was a formidable warrior and skilled in many forms of armed and unarmed combat.  Talia gave custody of "their" Son to Bruce manly to cause Bruce problems in his personal life as Bruce Wayne, and in his Private life as The BATMAN. Damion is a spoilt brat, who has little regard for anyone but himself. However, he believes in Batman and his fathers work, and decides he can do no better than to help his father in his war on crime.

Damion took an immediate dislike to Tim Drake, not only was Tim now officially Bruce's adopted son, he was also his Crime Fighting partner Robin, both rolls that Damion believed should be his by Birthright. Bruce treated Tim like his son, but originally found bonding with Damion was difficult, mainly due to Damion's  bad behaviour towards any authority. Precocious, spoilt, and violent..... were a good description of Damion

Bruce knew that Damion wanted to join him in his crusade to rid Gotham of Crime, but he felt that Damion's attitude and use of extreme violence made him very unsuitable as Robin. Plus anyway, Tim was Robin, and both Bruce and Tim worked well together as BATMAN & ROBIN, Why change a winning combination.

However, after Batman was believed killed by Darkseid,  live in the BAT CAVE changed.

Next Time a New Robin for a New Batman.

Until Then ENJOY !

BRING ON THE BATGIRLS 1961 to 2011

I realised that with all this talk about Robin's I had forgotten to mention all of the Ladies that have been Batgirl over the years.

Although I have covered Betty Kane and Barbara Gordon in details, my last piece on Stephanie Brown aka Spoiler aka Robin Mk 4 did mention that she had gone on to be a Batgirl too.

As there are many BATGIRL fans out there I thought I would add the two missing Batgirls from the old DC Universe.  So here are all of the BAT-GIRLS from the early 1960's up until the end of the old "New" DC Universe

Next Time its back to ROBIN'S


Until Then ENJOY !

YET ANOTHER NEW ROBIN FOR BATMAN....... ENTER THE GIRL WONDER !

The next person to become Robin was as different as those of who had come before.

This Robin would only serve for a very short period, more of a fill in for Tim Drake, rather than a real replacement. This Robin would not be called The Boy Wonder, as this Robin was a GIRL!

Stephanie Brown was the daughter of Arthur Brown aka The Cluemaster, who was himself a 2nd rate Criminal in Gotham City. As her father was not a very successful criminal, he spent most of her early life in prison, or on the run from the law. So Stephanie grew up with some Daddy issues and with a feeling of abandonment. However, in her early teens, Stephanie's Dad told her that he was giving up crime, and on his release from Jail told his family he was now rehabilitated.

The CLUEMASTER, a 2nd Rate Villain with a 3rd Rate costume

However, it was not long before Arthur returned to his life as The Cluemaster. A villain who operated in a similar way to The Riddler, by leaving Clues to the crimes he had committed. However unlike Edward Nigma aka The Riddler, the Clues that The Cluemaster left usually lend him to being  arrested.

When Stephanie found out that dear old Dad was committing crimes again she decided to take matters in hand herself.

But this time Arthur had changed is way of operating. Instead of now leaving Clues to his Crimes, he decides that he would not. Thus making him not accountable for his crimes. Stephanie unhappy that her Father is committing Crimes follows him, and leaves Clues so that he will be eventually court and therefore punished for his crimes.

To hide her identity she dons a costume and take the name SPOILER, as she wants to SPOIL her Fathers Crimes.  She would spend months playing Cat & Mouse with her Father, who did not suspect his own daughter was both following him, and trying her up most to have him arrested.

The SPOILER

The Spoiler's actions eventually come to the attention of Bat-man (Bruce Wayne) and therefore Robin (Tim Drake), and together WITH  The Spoiler, they capture The Cluemaster.....BUT after her father has been Jailed again, Stephanie decides that she has enjoyed  being The Spoiler and goes on to build a secret life for herself as a costumed vigilante. This would bring her in to contact with both Batman & Robin, with her working with the Boy Wonder on an unofficial standing.

As both Batman & Robin knew Stephanie's identity and relationship with The Cluemaster, this would make contacting her easy. However, as she did not know the identities of the Dynamic Duo, she had no idea who Robin really was. BUT this did not stop her from falling In love with him.

Eventually Stephanie would learn Tim's identity and they would be romantically linked. When Tim's father discovers that his son is Robin he forbids him from continuing this dangerous life style, and for a time Tim is forced to hang up his cape.

YOUNG LOVE, TIM & STEPHANIE 

Stephanie uses this as an excuse to offer her services as Tim's replacement, and after a lot of training she takes over the role as ROBIN, now The Girl Wonder.

ROBIN, THE "GIRL" WONDER 

However, on a mission Robin aka Stephanie is captured and killed.

This would turn out to be a ruse, although Tim is convinced that his beloved Stephanie is dead and after the Death of his own father, would return to being Robin again. Unlike the other fallen Robin, Jason Todd, Batman refuses to have a copy of Stephanie's Robin suit put on display in the Batcave. He tells Tim that she died as a result of her not following orders, and therefore he will not her a memorial of her as a result. Tim is unhappy with this, but Bat-man will not be moved on his decision.

Batman suspected that Stephanie was not truly deceased, and many months later when The Spoiler returns to fighting crime on the streets of Gotham, he and Tim unmask her as being Stephanie. She had faked her own death in order to protect Bat-man and Robin's identities from other villains. Bat-man had suspected this, therefore he had not placed a memorial in the BATCAVE.

Later he would add Stephanie costume to those on display in the Batcave, as a tribute to her, as he had done with Dick Grayson's early Nightwing costumes.

Stephanie would later be asked by Barbara Gordon to become Bat-Girl, with her working under the guidance of Barbara as Oracle.

From Robin to Bat-Girl

Next Time, another New Robin, and a New BATMAN !


Until then Enjoy !

TIM DRAKE, THE NEW BOY WONDER part Five..... The Ultimate Robin

Tim Drake was now the latest in the line of Robins to partner BATMAN.

Tim Drake the all New Look ROBIN

Unlike Dick Grayson, Tim was not a skilled athlete or acrobat, but like Dick, Tim was good at his job. Like Jason Todd, Tim was young and keen but unlike the late Jason, Tim knew how to take orders and guidance from his mentor, Bruce Wayne aka BAT-MAN. Following orders was not Jason's strong point.

The later refined version of the New Robin look

Tim's father would recover from the illness caused by the same poisoning  that had taken the life of his wife and Mother of Tim. The secret of Tim's double like remained a secret for a long time, but as Tim's Dad began to show jealousy of his son's involvement with Bruce Wayne, Tim found himself in a difficult situation. Either give up his own Father, or give up his life as Robin. When Tim's Father did learn that Tim was Robin he tried his up most to make him stop.

As time moved on the situation of having "Two" Father figures would play itself out and after the Death of his real Father, by the hands of villains targeting families and people connected with the super hero community, Tim found himself living at Wayne Manor and officially adopted by Bruce Wayne.

Tim, would soon find love in the form of  Stephanie  Brown, who like Tim was a masked Vigilante. But more about Miss Brown later.

From time to time Tim would find himself taking on missions on his own following his own leads. this allowed him to grow as a person and as a Hero. Soon he would help form his own Super Hero Team, calling themselves Young Justice after the Justice League. They were similar to the old original Teen Titans, but they had a mentor to guild them in the form of the android hero Red Tornado.  As The original Teen Titans, who had now mostly grown up,   still  continued on and off as a team calling themselves , The Titans the new kids on the block could bot very well use the name. Young Justice,  gave the latest side kicks of Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow and The Flash a chance to fill the gap left by the now grown up former Teen Titans., and like the original T T's,  Young Justice would tend to help those people who's plight or problems would never be important enough for the "Big Guns" of the Justice League to worry about.

Soon young Justice would evolve into a new version of the Teen Titans, But again that is another story for another time.... but along the way, Tim updated his Robin uniform to combine  elements of his and BAT-MAN's look.

A more grown up Robin look for Tim

Tim would continue as Robin during a difficult time, Bruce Wayne was injured and forced to give up the Batman Roll to another, and Tim would continue as Robin to the "New" Dark Knight. However, this relationship was difficult, as already detailed, The New Bat-man had many issues, and would eventually end up Battling a recovered Bruce Wayne for the Title of The BAT-MAN.

The continuing changes to the BAT-MAN and ROBIN line up during Tim's time in the BAT CAVE

The biggest shock came in Tim's life was when BAT-MAN aka Bruce Wayne died,  (or the World believed he had died ) and Bruce's mantle passed onto Nightwing aka Dick Grayson. Tim still idolised Dick, but was shocked when he was asked to give up his Robin identity for another person. More about this new Robin soon.

Tim would go onto to become a NEW hero with a borrowed name....... Red Robin

The names ROBIN, RED ROBIN !

Although Tim Drake may NOT have been the first Robin, or will be the last, but to fans he is now considered to be the BEST.

Next time Robin the "GIRL" Wonder....... sorry for the SPOILER Alert !

Until then ENJOY.

TIM DRAKE, The New boy Wonder Part Four

Tim Drake was now permitted to train to become the next partner of BATMAN. However before he would be allowed to join Batman in his quest to rid the streets of Gotham of crime, Tim would need to prove to him that he was right for the roll.

Bruce Wayne still felt guilt over the death of Jason Todd, who he had realised  far too late that his attitude and constant rule breaking had played a big part in his downfall. Bruce would not risk loosing anyone else. Tim Drake needed to be perfect in Attitude, Mind and Body, AND until Tim could prove this he would never be allowed to wear the Robin costume..... or become a crime fighter.

Tim's training was going well, Both Dick Grayson, Alfred and Barbara Gordon (in the guise of Oracle had all helped in the molding of the young would be Robin. Bruce was pleased with the results, but kept his pleasure in Tim's positive progress Tim to himself.  BUT deep down inside Bruce knew he had found himself a NEW Boy Wonder.

Tim at this time was still living with his parents, and spending his spare time training in secret as Robin. However when Tim's parents were kidnapped whilst on Holiday in the Caribbean, Tim requested that Batman helped save them. Tim's parents Janet & Jack Drake were saved but after they had been poisoned. This resulted in Tim's Mother died and his Father left in a comatose state.

Bruce used this as a opportunity to have Tim move into Wayne Manor where he could keep an eye on his, whilst Jack Drake was Left to recover in Hospital.  Tim angry that he was not able to save his Mum or cure his father began to let his frustration effect his training. Bruce saw signs similar to what had or should have warned Bruce of Jason Todd's unsuitability to become the second Robin.

On the verge of deciding that Tim should not continue his training Batman's former girlfriend news reporter Viki Vale, was threaten by the Villain called The Scarecrow, and with Tim's help Vicki was saved from certain death at the mad mans hands. Bruce-Batman realised that Tim had been affected by what had happened to his parents, but unlike Jason, Tim was still  motivated and driven by this anger  BUT in a much more  positive manner. Tim showed that given a choice he would always do the right thing, and not be driven to let his personal feelings play a part in his crime fighting. Tim wanted  Justice not Revenge.

THE SCARECROW

Batman informed Tim that he could become his partner, but he wanted Tim to be his own Boy Wonder. Not a copy of Dick, or a not a copy of Jason. Tim would have the Title Robin, but this would be Tim's chance to become his own hero, under  the guidance of Batman also.

As a result Tim was given a new look costume, one that mixed elements of the Dick's original look, with that of a more modern feel. The new look would not be just a fashion statement, this costume had been designed to give the wearer much more protection. With reinforced fabric and a fire proof cape, this would now give Tim better protection. Tim's utility belt would be on par with Batman's own containing not just scientific aides, but weapons of defence and offencive nature.

As Bruce had done with Jason, he asked Dick Grayson's approval that Tim could take up the name roll and name ROBIN as a mark of respect to his one time partner. Dick aka Nightwing was more than happy to allow this to happen.

Tim was now ready to take to the streets of Gotham as Robin The Boy Wonder.

Tim Drake becomes the NEW Robin

Next time we will wrap up the story of Tim Drake and his roll as the Boy Wonder





Until then    ENJOY !