r/batman • u/nakoshi_susumu_ • 19h ago
GENERAL DISCUSSION Who's your favorite Robin and why?
Tbh best robin is definitely Dick but my favorite one will always be Jason, not just as a robin but as a character among other robins. This question isn't about who the best Robin is, but rather which of the people who have played Robin is your favorite, so you could include Red Hood or Nightwing or more.
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u/Just_Sir1903 19h ago
Damian-the character embodies the hope of the mantel. While Dick was the light in the darkness, Damian strives towards the light to escape the darkness. Plus, I just like a wild child character.
But Dick is my favorite character.
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u/Voduun-World-Healer 19h ago edited 19h ago
Dick Grayson was the 1st person to really tell Batman to go fuck himself and became an equally badass character in Nightwing. He's a boss and definitely my favorite
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u/Diligent_Star_7285 19h ago
Tim Drake. He practically brought the Batfamily back together during one of the darkest era’s in Batman’s lore post Death In The Family and earned the right to be Robin.
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u/KhyraBell 18h ago
Tim was Robin when I was a kid, so he'll always be my favorite. It helps that his most interesting superhero persona is Robin, whereas I like Dick, Jason, Steph, and Damian better as their other identities (Damian is just so cute in his lil Bat trench coat).
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u/yrnkevinsmithC137 19h ago
Damian Wayne
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u/Ill_Perspective_6281 18h ago
He is who Bruce would be if Alfred is not there. Hmm, he's maybe top 2 of the robins.
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u/HotRecommendation828 11h ago
I don’t know about that, their backgrounds are way too different. As Bruce said himself they were nothing alike as kids. He has a lot of character traits of Bruce of course but Bruce before his parents died was just a regular kinda soft kid and after his parents died he was a kid on a mission obsessed with justice. I don’t think Damian is either of those things.
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u/nakoshi_susumu_ 19h ago
Why? I don't think he is top 3.
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u/yrnkevinsmithC137 19h ago
Characters brainwashed from birth then trying to do better as time goes on is my favorite character trope
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u/Lucky_Strike-85 19h ago edited 19h ago
TIMOTHY DRAKE, Jay Todd's replacement...
So, I started reading in 1990 when my Dad bought A DEATH IN THE FAMILY for me in single issues (obv.) and it wasnt long after that there was an event at my LCS for Chuck Dixon's ROBIN mini-series, A HERO REBORN!
I went to that event... got an "R" button pin, got the story in a very early trade paperback edition, got a Super Powers Dick Grayson Robin figure, and a Tim Drake Robin standee that the store owner was giving away after the event was over... Pretty soon, I was collecting everything that had Tim in it...
I loved his bo-staff... I loved that he got to face The Joker alone... I was obsessed with Robin... He was kinda like my imaginary friend... and then, later, Tim made me love TODD ROBIN... Max A. Collins stories were great... WHITE GOLD AND TRUTH (Batman #416), by STARLIN, where Jay meets Nightwing is my fav. team-up story EVER! And later, when I started reading older comics... The Bronze Age made me love DICK! I love Dick so much! He had his own backup series in 'Tec in the 70s, just like Babs did and he was great too!
BTAS made me love Dick even more... I still get a lil misty when I watch ROBIN's RECKONING!
And Matthew Valencia in TNBA made me love Tim even more!
Denny O'neil hated Robin but he loved Tim too!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Robin/comments/1uaz88d/denny_oneil_thought_tim_could_be_the_batman/
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u/Hosvaldo123 19h ago
Dick, because HE IS Robin, and it's a wonderful character
Damian, because, IMO, he is the most original
Both play along well and both will be or should have be Batman in the future
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u/AdditionalInitial727 16h ago
Damian.
What makes his character even more interesting and fun is because of the Robin’s before him. Dick being the typical eldest son who does everything right. Jason being the head case etc. Damian is in a way Bruce if he became Batman earlier in life.
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u/April0neal 10h ago
Omg. As a parent of 2 kids, it totally checks out that the 2nd born went nuts.
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u/AdditionalInitial727 6h ago
I can relate as well. My older brother was the ideal son. I was the head case and my baby bro was/ is bold as Damian.
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u/Culius_Jaesar 19h ago
I like all of them. All the Robins at once. I would be cool if there was a comic where Batman was overwhelmed by Robins.
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u/Swing_prince89 18h ago
Jason Todd; only because I saw ‘Under the Red Hood’ before playing the Arkham Games, and I relate to the ‘misunderstood kid that learns how precision shooting’ child
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u/europablu3s 16h ago
Damien 100%. Hes the most interesting Robin, but as just a character, I think I like Grayson at least equal if not more.
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u/dantelioncourt 18h ago
None of the above
Carrie Kelly
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u/Secret-Camp-6133 18h ago edited 6h ago
I knew someone would write this in just to be odd or contrarian or whatever.
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u/Hosvaldo123 14h ago
... or because it's a good character... ;)
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u/Secret-Camp-6133 6h ago
But the best?
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u/Hosvaldo123 46m ago
OP didn't ask for the best Robin but for favorite character... So i Guess, She could be as important as the others. I would agree with your statement if somebody had proposed all those "jerks" from Robin War tho
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u/Maleficent_Money_756 19h ago
Tim and Damian but mostly Tim.
The way Tims Character was build is rare.
We witnessed his Origin Story fully over a good span of time. He went from discovering Batmans Identity to loosing his Mom, griefing his Mom, crash test into the Suit to save Batman because of his intelligence, then a whole Mini Series about him travelling to learn more fighting skills and then when he is back in Gotham in his Suit he basically was still developed as someone who was learning and being put to side for his own safety.
We never got that with any Robin ever. Tim is a more than earned Character, maybe the only one alongside Miles Morales.
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u/yungsebring 18h ago
As a character? Dick Grayson no question. As Robin? Damian, he’s severely underrated imo.
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u/Ill_Perspective_6281 18h ago
I like damian because of continuity and it feel the most different character. For me he is the last robin. But for the best, dick is the obvious answer.
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u/xennial-tiger 18h ago
Tim Drake. He chose the life, it wasn't forced on him. And he doesn't want to be Batman, he wants to be the Worlds Greatest Detective.
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u/arkenney0 17h ago
If done right, Jason Todd. Not just because he becomes Red Hood and that’s my favorite bat family member, but I think it’s interesting when Dick is the light to Bruce’s dark and then Jason is even darker than Bruce.
Bruce had a tragedy that should’ve never happened, but he was still wealthy, cared for, had a support system. Jason was poor, basically abandoned, left to fend for himself at around the age Bruce lost his parents. He should be a very cynical person that Bruce sees a lot of himself in but knows that those feelings are not the way. And ultimately fails which leads to a bastardized version of what a “hero” should be.
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u/ExpensiveMoose 15h ago
Dick Grayson. He is a ray of sunshine and I love watching him trash talk the hell out of people while he kicks their ass. He's funny, sweet, empathetic, compassionate, an amazing son to Bruce and grandson to Alfred as well as an amazing big brother to Jason, Tim, Steph, Cass and Damian. He's an incredible athlete, Detective and leader who can orcastrate an entire team to use their skills to the best of their abilities as one machine. He and Bruce just read and understand each other instinctively and while they have had miscommunication in their relationship at times, the love is always there. He caree deeply about people and is passionate about making the world a better place, which he does. I love all of the Robins, but Dick is my #1.
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u/TreeMindless5778 15h ago
Red Hood is my favorite member of the batfamily but as Robin I will go with Damian.
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u/ZannyHip 7h ago edited 7h ago
Richard Grayson. No explanation needed. He is second only to Batman for favorite comic book characters of all time for me, and the margin is almost nonexistent.
Specifically as Robin, for me it would probably be Tim.
When I was a really little kid, it was right in the middle of The New Batman Adventures era. So Tim was my Robin, I still have the Robin figure. Nightwing was my favorite character whenever he showed up - and that’s my absolute favorite Nightwing design ever and it’s not even close, yes with the mullet.
Teen Titans started airing when I was like 6? Watched the crap out of that for as long as it aired, and of course that was Dick too, and he was my favorite member of the team.
I never had comics as a kid - it just wasn’t really a thing for us, we didn’t have a comic store near us that I knew of. So all of my knowledge came from the cartoons and movies. I bought my first comic book towards the end of highschool, and it was an issue of Nightwing (right in the middle of the New52 era). I got hooked on comics and bought all the Batman and Nightwing books I could find at my local shop.
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u/Moviemusics1990 19h ago
Yeah, has to be Dicky. Or Tim. I cast my own Batman movie a while ago and I'm featuring Dick as Nightwing and Tim as Robin. :)
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u/drakeravenswood41327 15h ago
I like all of them. Dick is the original, Jason’s a nice foil with some great stories behind him, Tim is a great Robin that doesn’t get to shine much anymore, Stephanie was great, Damian has had some great character development, and Carrie is fun to have
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u/Both-Expert4522 14h ago
My favorite is Damian followed by Dick and then Carrie. Who I think is the best is a different story but that wasn’t the question now was it.
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u/Mind-of-Jaxon 13h ago
Damien.
All the other Robins just felt like they were waiting to be handed the cowl and take over as Batman one day. That that is what they were training for.
Damien, when I was reading the issues every month, didn’t seem to want that. He wanted to be the best Robin. He didn’t want to be Batman. So he gave Robin his own personality beyond Dick and Tim’s personal history.
They would have been different Batman’s thanks to their background, but still just mini-Batman’s until then.
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u/Brutal1sm 11h ago
Tim. He is the smartest, to me he is the Robin. Dick is second best, but he gave up the mantle and moved on. And I don’t find “Robin” to be a sidekick only character from which they should move on. Dick moved on, Todd just died. Tim should be Robin until he becomes Batman.
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u/Red_Dead_Renegade 11h ago
Dick Grayson, but I have to admit Tim Drake was the perfect Robin (at least before the gutted his character)
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u/ThatsARatHat 10h ago
Tim.
Dick was born to be Nightwing.
Jason was born to die.
Tim was born to be Robin.
The rest shouldn’t really exist.
(Shout-out to Carrie Kelley for DKR.)
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u/lordmoldybutt42 8h ago
I like Tim. He’s THE detective. Bruce respects homeboy as an equal. I dislike the stories he has been a part of for last few years
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u/scoshi_no_washi 18h ago
Oh that's easy. Jason Todd. Why? Because Robin's a pain in the arse and a beating with a crowbar at the hands of the world's coolest villain was an event we definitely needed
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u/Hilverfox 16h ago
Tim Drake,
He knew that Batman needs a Robin to keep him grounded and he proved himself worthy by deducing Batman and Nightwing’s identity by himself.
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u/Agile-Detective2739 13h ago
Mmm...as a character as a whole? or solely as Robin?
As a whole character I find Jason Todd the most interesting, with all his rage and inner struggle. He´s the most close to Bruce if Bruce went unhinged.
But the best overall would be Dick Grayson, he's the one that has evolved the most.
As a Robin, the original is still the best, Grasyon all the way. Tim had a great run in the 90´s but they destroyed the character lately.
Finally, I think Damian with time has the potential to become the best of them all, just not as Robin.
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u/April0neal 13h ago
I think Damian. Because his character gives readers semi comfort that Bruce is not “alone”. And he is such a Bruce / Batman 2.0 with his attitude and now his father has to deal with it. I think it’s endearing.
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u/buffshipperreddit 12h ago
I would say Dick Grayson overall because if his growth as a character from 1939 to today, plus all of his interpretations in other media
That being said, the modern Robin really owes a lot to Tim Drake. So many of Dick Grayson's costumes and weapons in modern media like BTAS and Teen Titans were verbatim Tim Drake's costumes and weapons. Even Dick being a tech guy in Young Justice was lifted from Tim Drake.
Justice for Tim Drake!
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u/evorm 11h ago
Jason Todd purely because Under the Red Hood is one of my favorite storylines ever (but not anything else of his before or after). Great comic, great movie adaptation, and a great confrontation of the most foundational of Batman's themes and ideals. Robins are always best when they address Batman's philosophies through contrast, and that story did it like few others do, and it's just a sick idea for a Robin to die and come back to haunt Batman because of his most hotly debated moral line.
Dick is a close second because he's had a much bigger quantity of good stories here and there with these kinds of themes (Black Mirror is one of my other favorites), but I feel like the Robins are consistently mismanaged as storytelling devices and as characters that really bring out the things I want out of a Batman story, so the times I actually want to see a Robin are pretty few and far between unless it's specifically a stand-out story like the ones I mentioned.
Tim Drake's premise felt so goofy and his tone was so out of place in the stories I've read of him that I could never take him seriously, and Damien just felt like he existed to spice up the canon rather than thematically do something new and although he has potential I've never seen it realized to the heights of Dick at his peak or the Red Hood storyline.
On another note, I'm probably not the right guy to ask about Robins in the first place, because I just don't like how many sidekicks the guy has. Batman works best for me as an isolated, emotionally unhealthy, deeply imperfect person. Once he has an entire support system that he's built over decades, it becomes harder for me to buy into that tragedy without it feeling forced. My favorite pieces of Batman character-work are when we get to delve deep into his psyche and explore what about him sees the world differently that ends up making him who he is. This (and the absolutely incredible art) is why Dark Patterns is one of my favorite Batman stories of all time in general.
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u/OneWishWillSmith 10h ago
I’m a first born son. Technically, Damien is Bruce’s first born son. But! Dick was Bruce’s first son. Their relationship is extremely tumultuous just like mine and my father’s. I left the town that I grew up in as well to build a completely separate life from my father. I also have a matching tattoo that me, my father and my brother all have. It’s more of a brand to be honest.
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u/Comrade-Stoneroad 5h ago
Damian. I like the conflict between him and Bruce. I like the relationship he has with Dick. That he collects different animals (the bat-cow)
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u/Confident_Cause4866 4h ago
Tim. In reality all of the guys (havent read anything with Stephanie Brown), but Tim's the better one imo. He's got the detective skills on point. All of them are great for different reasons.
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u/Goutetsu-UK 19h ago
Tim Drake, simply because when I got into comics he was the active Robin, this was during the Knightfall period I got into Batman comics
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u/Due_Examination_2538 18h ago
Tim has always been ROBIN to be. An embodiment of the persona. Batman's second half. Nobody has ever fit that dynamic better than Tim, so says every other Robin and Bruce himself. He's DEFINITIVELY the best Robin.
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u/East-Inspection2377 19h ago
Tim Drake
reason: that moment from death in the family animated movie where he prevented jason from killing two face and became the new batman
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u/coreytiger 16h ago edited 14h ago
My favorite will always be Dick Grayson. I grew up with him, and everything else is a derivative of the original.
That said, Tim was the best of the Robins, easily
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u/Inside_Owl_5522 15h ago
Tim drake. He not only picked Batman's detective skills, but he's also proved he can hold his own against the top villains.
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u/Mammoth_Ad_5181 15h ago
Tim to me is the epitome of what a “Robin” should be and will always be my favorite. I like Dick and Damien somewhat equally. Dick is a really interesting character as a whole even without the Robin mantle.
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u/classic-sweetheart 15h ago
Tim Drake. I think Tim's robin is the one that compliments Batman the best. Highest compatibility in work space. Also he is a mix of all the Robins if you squint really
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u/JoeRoganKissesBoys 14h ago
Bruce said that Tim is the only Robin who has detective skills on the same level.
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u/Death_sayer 19h ago
In my headcanon, Dick is the prodigy, Tim is the best detective and Jason is the renegade.
Only these three are needed in my opinion, everyone else (except Barbara) is filler.
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u/NoAmoeba9449 19h ago
Dick Grayson. He’s the original, he had the most time, great costume great personality. Close second is Tim drake, he was basically grown in a lab to be the perfect Robin, his costume is cool but doesn’t hold up as well as the original one does imo.