Warning: SPOILERS for Tim Drake: Robin #2 and Batman vs. Robin #2Superhero comics are rife with genre-defining tropes, and few are as iconic as the "Evil Robins in stories both within the Bat-Family and across the DC multiverse. "Evil Superman" stories are from a past, Cold War-anxious age; these new "Evil Robin" stories reveal DC's priorities in the publisher's current era.
"Evil Robin" figure has taken Superman's place.
A number of stories from the last decade have explored different versions of a dark and twisted Robin, Batman's iconic child partner. From Death Metal's Robin King to the first Robin from the recent Robins miniseries, DC is increasingly interested in storylines where Robin—whether one of the original five or a newly invented character—breaks bad. Most recently, readers can find "evil" versions of the original Robins in Batman vs. Robin #2 by Mark Waid, Mahmud Asrar, Jordie Bellaire, and Steve Wands and Tim Drake: Robin #2 by Meghan Fitzmartin, Riley Rossmo, Lee Loughridge and Rob Leigh. Batman vs. Robin sees a dark presence take over Damian Wayne and his fellow Robins, while Tim Drake: Robin sees Tim confronted by ghostly specters of Robins past.
These "Evil" Robins Reveal DC's Current Thematic Concerns
The recurrence of this relatively new "evil Robin" trope across these many stories reveals a narrative anxiety not only about the role of legacy at DC—Robin, after all, is the first legacy character in superhero comics—but also the pure child-like wonder that Robin represents as the archetypical kid sidekick. The "evil-ing" of Robin, then, reveals a preoccupation with the supposed "childishness" of superhero comics and the industry's previous response to that preoccupation—which usually involved going grittier, going darker. But like in the fascist Superman tales, the goal of these "Evil Robin" stories is almost always to either defeat the evil Robin or to restore Robin's true and kind nature. In the end, like in all classic superhero tales, Robin's goodness—and therefore the character's essential child-like qualities—prevails. By defeating the "bad" versions of Robin, these stories aim to preserve the wonder and joy as represented by the original "Boy Wonder," who, after all, was invented as a way to get children more interested in Batman.
Though it may seem counterintuitive, like "evil Superman" before it, the now-popular "evil Robin" trope demonstrates just how much DC Comics values Robin, legacy, and that child-like wonder in its current era. The more Robin and the larger DCU is challenged by these dark echoes of their brightest character, the more the real Robin will triumph—proving kindness and joy still reign in superhero comics.
Check out Tim Drake: Robin #2 and Batman vs. Robin #2, available now from DC Comics!
