Wait, Is James Gunn’s DC Universe Batman Movie Finally Delivering Justice For Robin?!

The Batman franchise will be rebooted yet again in The Brave and the Bold, a film set in James Gunn’s DC Universe that could finally be a proper Batman and Robin movie. Robin has been an indispensable part of the Batman mythos, debuting less than a year after Batman himself. While the original Robin, Dick Grayson, is the first and most famous of Batman’s sidekicks, he has had many successors over the decades, including Bruce Wayne’s biological son, Damian Wayne. Damian will be the Robin of Gunn’s The Brave and the Bold, making it the first Batman film in over two decades to include Robin as a co-star.

In the mainstream Batman comic mythos, Bruce Wayne’s adopted son, Dick Grayson, first used the Robin mantle, followed by Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damian Wayne, with Carrie Kelley being Grayson and Todd’s only successor in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. While Batman is popularly and erroneously perceived as a loner, one of his definitive characteristics in his decades of comics is his leadership and mentorship of the various Robins. Robin, as both a mantle and an individual, is as essential to a proper Batman adaptation as Alfred Pennyworth or Commissioner Gordon.

Related: Why Is It So Difficult For Batman Movies To Get Robin Right?

The Brave & The Bold Could Finally Be Fixing Robin In Movies

Robin has been featured in several Batman films, including 1966’s Batman: The Movie, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin, yet James Gunn promises the best use of the character yet in The Brave and the Bold. Gunn intends to adapt Grant Morrison’s various Batman comic runs, implying that, like his comic counterpart, the DCU’s Damian Wayne will be far from the first Robin. This means The Brave and the Bold will not only give Robin a well-deserved co-starring role, but it also implies that it will be the first movie to truly delve into the “Bat Family,” making acknowledgments or even appearances of former Robins, like Nightwing or Spoiler, possible.

Why Batman Movies Have Never Got Robin Right

Most Batman films struggle to get Robin right, in large part due to them omitting him entirely and incorrectly depicting Batman as a loner. Joel Schumacher’s duology came close to an authentic portrayal, but they oddly chose an adult actor to play Dick Grayson, making it difficult to see him as Bruce Wayne’s adopted son. Burt Ward’s Robin was every bit as competent as Batman, but the 1966 film’s intentional camp made it overall too irreverent. The original DCEU came close to including an authentic depiction of Robin, however.

Dick Grayson was dead by the events of Batman v Superman, having been killed by the Joker. Grayson’s death continued to haunt Ben Affleck’s Batman, contributing to him nearly becoming a villain, and Snyder intended to eventually introduce Carrie Kelley as Grayson’s successor. This plan never came to pass, but considering how important the late Grayson continued to be, Snyder’s iteration of Kelley would likely have been the first authentic and comic-accurate version of Robin on film. With the DC Universe set to undergo a partial reboot, however, The Brave and the Bold will likely end up being the Batman film to finally get Robin right.