Theoretical Robin in Nolan's Batman Universe

Would he be a kid, teenager or young adult? I would say a teenager at the very least.
Would he use full armor WITH a cowl to protect his noggin? I see him using a modified version of the Begins outfit with a modified cowl, not just a mask to cover his eyes.
Would Bruce take him under his wing willingly or unwillingly? Depending on the origin, possibly willingly but would be very tough on him.
Who could play the part? Haven't a clue.

Discuss...

 

My take on it would be that he some how gets discovered by BW. Bruce sees potential in his little protege and hooks him up with some techno gear. Robin then puts his own personal touch on his new toys and 'outfit'.

I would like to see Robins beginnings as some sort of early 20's street urchin. And his armor/costume somehow reflect this without being all ghetto-Krunkin. Some sort of military graffiti.

 

Anything is possible. Seems most likely he could start out as a misguided vigilante that Wayne comes across and when looking into the kid's past sees a similarity with himself, but also sees a darkness in the kid by how he deals with the criminals he face that if unchecked could eventually turn him into a very dangerous character that Batman will eventually have to hunt down in the future.

There's an edge there that can be explored that never seemed to really matter in other movies. Robin could both be an ally to Batman with the proper guidance or a danger if left to fend for himself in the harsh criminal circles.

 

Too much garlic I really like that idea for an origins story.thumbsup:thumbsup

 

I thought he could work in a role like the one they gave Barbara Gordon in the comics. He could sit at a computer and work remotely, looking things up and referencing things and communicating with Bruce via satellite. "Robin" would just be his handle on the air. Kid fighting alongside Bruce is just too hard to swallow in Nolan's films.

 

It was mentioned sorta like that in the extra features on the '89 Batman DVD, so not really mine. I just haven't ever seen it portrayed like that in the comics I've read or the films I've seen.

I think this could be the best use of a Robin character in these films. The eyes and ears behind the scene.

 

Gives new meaning to "A little bird told me."

 

You guys seem to be describing the Jason Todd Robin- late 80s. Batman discovers him trying to steal the wheels off the Batmobile.

He was cocky, insurbordinate, reckless etc. Readers couldn't stand him as a replacement for Dick Grayson. He was killed off in the "A Death in the Family" 4 part comic. Readers had the option to allow Jason to live or die by calling a 900 number with a 50 cent charge. They voted for him to die.

Joker beat him nearly to death with a crowbar and then left him in a warehouse with a timebomb.


Personally I don't think you could really have a sidekick Robin character in the Nolanverse. The computer hacker kid is the most plausible though.


Kevin

 

First of all, Robin is from Robin Hood, not the birdie. The guy who invented Robin said so. He came out of the Errol Flynn Robin Hood movie and thought of the character. So get it back there.

Somehow it has been changed to the bird, which is strange. I mean, he's got Robin Hood shoes, Robin Hood tights, Robin Hood vest, Robin Hood colors, and his name is Robin! Duh!

So have them watch the movie and base it on that.

 

As long as it's not a yippeee-screaming obnoxious kid, I could see Bats needing some kind of backup, watch his back and pull him out if he is incapacitated. But Robin would get too involved and join the fight, so that Bats reluctantly starts to train him properly.

 

Ok. If I was going to include Robin in the Nolan universe, it would be a she, not a he. Preferably Stephanie. Carrie Kelly would be cool. She's got that Daria look I just can't resist.

 

Huge surprise there. Nolan has already stated that he would not add Robin. I always thought of the Terry McGinis character from Batman Beyond as mo of the Robin type character.

I would be shocked if we do not see some take on Robin in a rebooted Batman film.

 

Robin always fit in with the other 1930's and 1940's sidekicks like Red Ryder and Little Beaver etc. However, I think modern audiences have been tainted and look at such things less innocently. I believe modern audiences would find there to be a very creepy, Jerry Sandusky-like element to a single wealthy man taking in a poor orphan to live with him as his "ward"...in real life, this would raise a lot of eyebrows--especially if he asked the "ward" to wear only a shirt, cape, mask, and green underwear and "role play" crime fighters...

I seem to remember a certain real world single, secretive, wealthy man who liked to bring underprivileged youths to his home and did not escape public scrutiny....in the uber-realistic Nolan-verse, I would expect the same thing to happen to Bruce Wayne if he tried to have a "ward".

 

Then he came back as a psychopathic vigilante who was more interesting than Batman in the comics for a while :lol

 

SHE'S actually my favorite Robin.

 

I'm actually extremely thankful that Nolan has sworn Robin off in these films. While I don't mind the idea of an apprentice at some point as Bruce Wayne ages I've NEVER liked the idea of Robin. A kid...in that ridiculous looking costume. I know I'll probably get raked over the coals for saying that but I've always hated the character and the costume. But that's just me.

 

Agreed

 

Thirded.

 

You take that back man! You take it back RIGHT NOW! :cry :cry :cry


Kevin

 

I think it would be neat (and more "modern audience" appropriate) to just skip the Robin stuff and go straight to Nightwing. Now I don't read the comics or anything, so I'm far from being knowledgeable on these sorts of things, but Nightwing seems to be a little more suitable for the Nolan movies. Less of a side kick, more of just another hero on the same beat.

 

Agreed, I am not a fan of the costume.

And there is just something creepy about that man hanging out with that boy and asking him to "role play" in that very female looking outfit...

 

Iv'e been reading an article in which Nolan keeps on hinting that Batman as met his equal in Bane,

Quote If I had to express it thematically, I think what we’re saying is that for Batman and Commissioner Gordon, there’s a big sacrifice, a big compromise, at the end of the The Dark Knight and for that to mean something, that sacrifice has to work and Gotham has to get better in a sense. They have to achieve something for the ending of that film — and the feeling at the end of that film — to have validity. Their sacrifice has to have meaning and it takes time to establish that and to show that, and that’s the primary reason we did that.”


i honestly see a comparison to the new Movie to that of Batman Knightfall in which Bane paralyse's Batman who in turn has to train a new Batman ............. so there is definately room for a Robin type character if indeed we are to witness an end to Nolan's Batman, also couple this with the fact the timeline of the Dark Knight Rises happens 8 years after the last movie so the Robin type character in theory could already be in the new movie

i think the new movie is going to be remembered for a long time to come, for all the right reason's

 

I personally stayed far away from Bats as a kid until I saw him alone and with no "side kick" but like others I like the female Robin skit,it fits.

But if you want a real Robin read on,I have an idea.....


As you know the big difference in the Nolan Batman is it's not just Alfred but Mr.Fox and even Algoul (or however it's spelled,I'm lazy tonight) who know so let's say Bruce has a run in with a young,about twenty-twenty three,bounty hunter with a bit of a wild streak but perfectly legal and his name is Richard Grayson.

So Bruce goes "hmmm~I could use a hand out there" so he goes as Batman and tells the kid he can open a whole new world to him if he wants he just has to go through a little training and see if he's trustworthy to team up with him that's when the kid lets Bats know he's not alone and he gets a lot of help from his "partner" and girlfriend-whose nickname is Robin but if Mr.Superhero can trust two people maybe they could all be pals and make a dent in the criminal underworld.

So he trains,Robin is the brains at the computer at the batcave and the guy gets a snazzy suit to wear with some kind of headgear,maybe a helmet.

As to the name....lets say Bats is overheard shouting "Robin" but they don't know he's talking to a girl back at the batcave so the people think "that's the guys name who's with him" And Gorden ask about it,would go something like this:

G:you're name is Robin? what? like Robin Hood?
R:MY NAME AIN'T ROBIN DAMMIT!
G:So...what is it? what do I call you?
R:.........call me Nightwing.

I think it could work,maybe.

 

All i will say to that is, im glad your not the director or writer of this movie :thumbsup

 

Kevin....I can FEEEEEL your angerrrrr!!! :lol

I've never had a problem with Bruce gaining a sidekick at some point I just wish they had worked up a realistic sidekick from the start. I mean, a kid dressed as Peter Pan??? If Batman's suit is black to look intimidating and to blend in with the night what sense does it make to drag along a kid dressed in a costume that would make any criminal fall down in hysterical laughter and also so brightly colored that it stands out like a sort thumb??? And bare legged??? And it doesn't even matter how you attempt to "man it up" by giving him long pants or sleeves or darkening the red on the vest...it still looks ridiculous. But I know I seem to be in the minority so...have at me, I can take thy barbs. :cool

 

The whole Robin schtick was dreamed up by some moron executives who believed kids would identify with a kid fighting with Bats. Jeez... when I was a kid, I wanted to be THE MAN. Not part of the entourage.

Miller's Robin *IS* by far the best. She's tough as nails yet somehow let's Bruce show a nurturing father-type side without it getting all creepy. I can't imagine Bruce holding a tearful Dick Grayson in his arms and consoling him in his gruff and limited way: "Good soldier." *pat pat pat* " Good soldier."

 

She has a good back story too. She's a gymnast and poor white trash and a wild child. Batman rescues her from some goons and she has the Hero Worship/Father Figure/Excitement thing going.
She's not avenging anyone, but looking for a more interesting life.

 

My idea on Robin: I think that he should start off actually be the opposite of what Bruce is, even though they bought fight for the same cause. Though Bruce primarily fights for Gotham as a whole, Dick Grayson (or Jason Todd if you want to use him) fights for his borough when Bruce comes across him. Since we know that Bruce Wayne is a man that grew up with money, Dick/Jason (when we see him) should be someone who should be of limited means when he starts (he doesn't have a fancy costume or armor like Bruce does, just a pair of blue jeans, a leather jacket and a red motorcycle helmet). Bruce Wayne grew up outside the city in a mansion, Dick/Jason should grow up in the streets and is more of a hardcore street brawler who is good at utilizing his environment as a tactical advantage (meaning that for Bruce, when he looks around, he doesn't see much for stuff that could be used for fighting, while Dick/Jason can look at the same area and see what could be used as a weapon or a tactical advantage). At first, Dick/Jason and Bruce can't get along due to the fact that they're practically opposites of the same coin, that coin being that both are fighters for what they believe in, which happens to be for a greater good. And it is through joining forces to defeat a common enemy that leads to their partnership and Dick/Jason eventually becoming Robin.

 

There was a short lived debate within the WB on if Gordon's Son would act as a sort of "Robin" - not so much putting on a costume and running side by side with Batman but helping the Dark Knight clear his name in the upcoming Dark Knight Rises. This whole notion was being tossed around before Nolan committed on finishing out the trilogy. I you notice, at the end of The Dark Knight after Batman makes the decision to be hunted for Harvey Dent's crimes - Gordon's Son calls after Batman and repeatedly makes the point that it isn't fair - this was to lead to him in trying to help. When Nolan signed on proper all of that went out the window -- I think.

 

Not to knock Robin fans but when I read that, I just gotta say I agree. The character of Batman as I've always seen him as a dark, brooding, loner-type would never fit with the "let's dress a kid up in bright colors and put him in dangerous situations" type - regardless of the circumstances.

In that scenario IMHO, Robin wouldn't be a protege - he'd be bait.

Maybe there's a way to make it work in other versions of the Batman universe where Batman is a kinder, gentler soul (which strikes me as not the version of Batman that I think "works" best) but I don't see it ever working well in Nolan's.

 

Feel the same. If they were to force it into a film, I would want him to get killed off in that same film.

 

If the character of Robin were to work in a more "realistic" and "grittier" Batman-world like Nolan's, I would only buy it if it were at the end of Batman's career.

Batman just does not need a partner in his prime. It is a liability and would not serve any purpose. But an injured Batman, or one who is planning to retire, might be persuaded to train a protégé and a later replacement - and even in that case, Robin would be more of a Nightwing, not a 12 year old boy.