Robin: The Teen Wonder

Legends of the Dark Knight (1989) #100

by Dennis O'Neil, Tony S. Daniel (Illustrator), James Robinson

Robin, Batman's partner in crimefighting, takes center stage in this new collection that echoes events in the recent " R.I.P." storyline.

All three of the teenagers who have served as Robin -- Dick Grayson, better known today as Nightwing, Jason Todd, and the current Robin, Tim Drake -- appear in this title that features stories by James Robinson, Bill Willingham, Geoff Johns and others. Naturally, this title also features numerous appearances by Batman, as well as The Joker, The Teen Titans and more.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Batman, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2009

About the author

Dennis "Denny" O'Neil was a comic book writer and editor best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retirement.

His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trade paperback formatted graphic novel filled with the stories that created the Robin mythos. From the very beginning when Batman offered to become Dick Grayson's legal guardian, through the other teenage sidekicks who have donned the iconic costume, the stories have been selected to form a compendium of the key moments of an unheralded teen hero’s life. The art for most of the stories is good, the storytelling is dead-on, and the collection itself is a special sort of treasure for all Batman fans. Dennis O'Neil is a long-time Batman editor and writer, who compiled the TPB, so the reader can trust that the man knows what he's doing. Overall, I enjoyed the graphic novel, despite the weakness to some of the storytelling. Nothing can be done about that because some of the weaker stories were written by some sequential art giants.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

There have been five Robins: flippy Robin (Dick Grayson), dead Robin (Jason Todd), smart Robin (Tim Drake), bubbly Robin (Stephanie Brown), and stabby Robin (Damian Wayne). This volume collects stories centered around the first four, mostly about how they started out and how they came to leave the role. Again, I picked this up off the sales shelf. I mainly bought it for backstory, so I wasn't too bothered that nothing in between was given. That said, I'm very very glad that I didn't pay full price for it. Between this and Marvel's Black Widow: The Sting of the Widow I'm thinking that you're better off reading a series that has a lot of a character in it rather than picking up a character compilation.

I liked the good/bad format I used for my first comic review, so I'm going to stand by it.

The Good

1. Steph is iconic. She thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her, so she sulks for three days and then breaks into the Batcave. I will definitely be picking up some more stuff with her in eventually. Rebirth: Detective Comics was on my list anyway.

2. When Batman narrates Jason's death, he puts a lot of emphasis on how Jason was rebellious and supposed to wait for him before dealing with the Joker issue. The way he tells it, it's a tragedy that comes about because Jason thought with his heart and went in recklessly. But Batman is clearly an unreliable narrator here. Jason died because he tried to save his mother. He died because he was a hero. And isn't that what he was trained to be?

3. I've finally worked out what I like about Dick Grayson - I relate to how done he always seems to be with Batman.

4. Speaking of Dick and Jason, I'm tickled that after Batman fires Dick he literally picks up the first kid he sees off the streets. Jason, on the other hand, he's unwilling to replace. That would be wrong.

5. Batman: (to Dick) "If you stay, you'll be in constant danger. You'll have no real friends, no social life, nothing resembling a normal human existence."
Dick: *Proceeds to befriend most of the heroes in the DCU and start the Teen Titans.*

6. Alfred called out the original Robin costume. I feel vindicated.

The Bad

1. I was massively underwhelmed by the issue where Bruce fired Dick. I really got the feeling that the writers had decided that they wanted to take the characters in new directions, but couldn't work out how to break them up in a way that people would actually believe was permanent.

2. Did we really need two different stories about Jason's death? Especially when Tim and Steph both could have done with more page space. We're told that Tim quit for a bit and that Steph died, but the details are skimmed over.

3. The formatting left a lot to be desired to the point where I docked a star for it. More often than not it was only possible to tell you'd started a new issue because the art style had changed. A good example is the last couple of issues. One second we're in Bludhaven (which is apparently where all Gotham vigilantes run off to when they're having issues with Batman), and the next we're in San Francisco with the Teen Titans. Its jarring. Unnecessarily so.

4. Dick's fashion sense continues to be the true crime committed in these comics.

Dragging Batman is honestly a joy and I'm about to do it so, if you like him, look away now. It depends on how he's written, obviously, but something that quite often rubs me the wrong way about Bruce Wayne is how he treats his allies. Someone finally put it into words over on Tumblr: "Bruce collects broken people and lets them believe they have a family and then threatens [...] to take it away." Jarringly, he often gets away with it. It's not that I think Batman is a bad person - his intentions are often good - but he has a thing about control and I don't like it. (I don't think my image of Batman will ever recover from that time he beat Nightwing - who was in a terrible place emotionally - into the ground until he agreed to pretend he was still dead and infiltrate Spyral. I can't remember the issue number. I didn't manage to find it on Goodreads.)

Whilst we definitely see this in Dick's section, I think it's most blatant with Stephanie. Steph is already a vigilante in her own right so she has something none of the other Robins had, experience, but it's heavily implied that Batman only takes her on to manipulate Tim, her boyfriend, into coming back. He spends the one issue she gets in this collection telling her that she hits like a girl and she's not as good as Tim. Next thing you know, we're at her funeral. The worst part is that it works. Tim's back as Robin. He might not be willing to work with Batman anymore at that point, but that's not going to last, is it? There are no lasting repercussions here.

Then there's the last issue in the collection, in which Jason implies that Batman knew about Tim all along. Tim became Robin after he worked out the identities of Batman and both former Robins. He also stalked them. A lot. Now it could just be Jason's jealousy talking, but the fact remains that it would be very out of character for Batman not to notice a stalker. That said, Tim's a child rather than a supervillain so it's possible he flew under the radar because he wouldn't be perceived as a threat. Either way, once Jason's planted the seed it is hard not to squint and wonder how much he was manipulating the situation from the beginning.

This compilation gives limited coverage of the first four Robins backstories, although be aware that it doesn't give a lot of context (especially when it comes to Tim and Steph).

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robin: The Teen Wonder is a trade paperback that collects seven issues from various titles: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #100, Nightwing #101, Batman #428 and 442, Robin #126 and 132, and Teen Titans #29 and collects seven issues that covers the Robin legacy.

Robin: The Teen Wonder gives a rather cursory history of the Robin mantle, covering some of the highlights of those who claimed the mantle: the origin story of Dick Grayson as Robin (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #100); Dick Grayson being fired from being Robin (Nightwing #101); Jason Todd as Robin dying at the hands of the Joker (Batman #428); Tim Drake's first appearance as Robin (Robin #442); and Stephanie Brown's first appearance as Robin (Robin #126).

The last two issues have Tim Drake as Robin in action: "Too Many Ghosts" (Robin #132) has Tim Drake as Robin teaming up with Cassandra Cain as Batgirl to take on Shrike, which is an old foe of Dick Grayson – his predecessor. "Life and Death" (Teen Titans #29) has Tim Drake as Robin taking on a newly resurrected Jason Todd in his old Robin suit as the two battles for the mantle.

Bill Willingham (Robin #126 and #132), Dennis O'Neil (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #100), Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon (Nightwing #101), Jim Starlin (Batman #428), Marv Wolfam and George Pérez (Batman #442), and Geoff Johns (Teen Titans #29) penned the trade paperback. For the most part, it is written rather well.

However, as a Robin tribute it is rather lacking. While this trade paperback gives a cursory hist0ry of the mantle of Robin – it is too cursory. It misses Jason Todd's first appearance as Robin; Tim Drake's retirement from being a vigilante; Stephanie Brown being fired from being Robin; and Tim Drake's re-installment to the mantle. Furthermore and slightly frustrating, most of these issues are either the first or last part of a multi-issue storyline, which gives an overall feeling of the stories being incomplete or wanting.

Jim Aparo (Batman #428 and #442), Damion Scott (Robin #126 and #132), Dave Taylor (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #100), Scott McDaniel (Nightwing #101), and Tony S. Daniel (Teen Titans #29) penciled the trade paperback.

For the most part, the pencilers are too diverse to complement well, which makes the artistic flow rather off putting. Individually, these pencilers have their own strengths and weakness, but they do not complement each other that well, which makes sense as there is a large range of time from the earliest to the most recent issues.

All in all, Robin: The Teen Wonder is an overall mediocre tribute or celebration to Robin, The Teen Wonder and the teenagers that put on the suit.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book includes a nice combination of the turning-points in the life of four of the five Robins: How Dick Grayson became the first Robin, how Batman found and lost Jason Todd, some turning points for Tim Drake and even some brief pages on Stephanie Brown.
Still, as you can guess, a lot is missing.
If you have not read the other comics some things are fairly vague.
I'd have trouble understanding, for example, Jason Todds story and how Batman got Robin No. 3 if I had not read "A death in the family" and "A lonely place of dying".
It's even worse with Stephanie and her short time at Batman's site. It is mentioned that she died and that her death was part of Tim coming back as Robin but not what exactly happened.

It's quite a nice overview about the history of the Boy Wonder (and the Girl Wonder for that matter) but it is too short to understand everything about the characters. Even for a collection of bits and pieces too much is missing. Maybe a few explainations instead of a at times incoherent selection of pages from different books would have been better.

Still, it was a good read with an interesting change of artwork from old to new. If you are new to the Bat-verse or just want to catch up on Robin in gernal you're in for an enjoyable read.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty decent collection--not the best I've read highlighting the Boy *ahem*Teen* Wonder, but there were a handful of comics in here that I hadn't come across and that offered some intriguing insight into the Robin character--specifically with Jason Todd and Tim Drake. Most of the stories in this volume I'd already read. It's easy to forget sometimes how much of a jerk Batman can be, but that trait kind of took center stage in some of these stories. Granted, these were also times of emotional turmoil for the Dark Knight, but especially in the second issue with Dick.... Come on, dude. But that's part of the interesting dichotomy of Bruce Wayne's character: a good man who truly doesn't believe himself to be good. And as such, he, more often than not, wallows in darkness and anger. That was especially true in the issue that focused on Tim mourning Stephanie Brown, as we see that Tim is starting down a similar path. In the comic, he refuses to let himself become Bruce... but will he succeed? (From what I've read written later on, no, he doesn't, but it's an interesting question posed by that issue.) My favorite Batman stories are the ones where the reader--and Bruce, too (if he lets himself)--can see that Bruce Wayne can be a positive father figure and role model. Those stories DO exist, but Batman, sadly, tends to overtake Bruce: the darkness swallows the light.... until Robin forces the darkness back. It's a never-ending struggle (dark v. light) within Bruce, and each Robin in his own way is the light's champion. Damian (who wasn't featured in this collection) is the most interesting champion, as he can be just as dark as his father in many ways, but, as Batman's son, he brings with him the light that comes with children, with a new generation, with seeing a family's legacy live on. And since that's his special source of light, it's little wonder that Batman and Robin as father and son often conflict--that relationship is the source of light in Batman's darkness--and Batman can't always handle the light. Hence, the aforementioned struggle. It's a constant cycle that each Robin tackles in his own way, and it's an interesting one that, honestly, I'd like to explore more (especially with Damian). But I've completely digressed.... My favorite issues in this collection were the ones that focused on Jason (but not "Death in the Family"). The one where we got Jason's perspective on his first day as Robin--his raw happiness--told right beside Batman futilely trying to rescue him... that was a powerful juxtaposition. The final story, where Jason confronts Tim, was both infuriating and sad: Infuriating because this is obviously the period in Jason's character development when he was JUST angry, when he was trying to make sense of who he was, when he was still more villain than anti-hero. But ultimately... the fact that this guy feels forgotten despite the fact that he GAVE everything... that loneliness is what shines through. And that's pretty powerful considering that he's doing some pretty deplorable things. This story is an interesting stop on Jason's journey, and I'd really like to read more of this time in Jason's life before he came to terms with what was and what is, and what could have been and what actually happened--before he realized exactly who he is. And while I think that's a question he'll never fully answer, at the point I am at in the New 52, it seems as though he's well on his way to better understanding himself and coming to peace with quite a lot. And again... digression. Back to this book: It was a nice way to read some stories that I hadn't come across elsewhere. It would have been better if there was more separation between stories (like the covers of each comic), and maybe short introductions to tie everything together--especially if you're newer to comics. But, as someone who has a pretty decent knowledge-base, it was still a solid read.

[Batman Collected Editions · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased Robin: The Teen Wonder primarily for Legends of the Dark Knight 100 (“LOTDK”), which had never been collected before. LOTDK 100 is a modern retelling of Dick Grayson’s origin story as Robin. Since it was the first story in the book, I expected the rest of the collection to focus on Dick Grayson’s time as Robin—especially since he is featured prominently on the cover, illustrated by the legendary Alex Ross. However, this book instead collects stories featuring various characters who have taken on the mantle of Robin.

Nightwing 101—part of the Nightwing: Year One story arc, which I love—is the issue where Bruce fires Dick Grayson as Robin. Batman 428 is the fifth issue of the A Death in the Family story arc, in which Batman discovers the dead body of Jason Todd, the second Robin. Batman 442 is the final issue of the A Lonely Place of Dying story arc, where Tim Drake, the third Robin, wears the Robin costume for the first time because Batman needs a Robin. Robin 126 marks the first appearance of Stephanie Brown as Robin, the Girl Wonder. Robin 132 is the first issue of the Fresh Blood story arc, wherein Tim Drake mourns the passing of Stephanie Brown. Finally, in Teen Titans 29, the newly resurrected Jason Todd reveals himself to Tim Drake to tell him that he is not worthy of wearing the Robin mantle.

Overall, this book collects a diverse selection of Robin stories that introduce the different people who have taken up the mantle of Robin. However, you won’t get the complete story arcs, as it only collects one issue from each. Nevertheless, it serves as a great primer for readers who want an overview of the various characters who have assumed the role of Robin. My only complaint is—where is Damian Wayne?

Collects Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (1989) 100, Nightwing (1996) 101, Batman (1940) 428 and 442, Robin (1993) 126 and 132 and Teen Titans (2003) 29.

My Batman Collected Editions Instagram page

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from the title of the collection (no one is ever really going to think of Robin as the "Teen" Wonder rather than "Boy" Wonder, which above all else just sounds better), this is a great way to witness some key turning points in the legacy of the character, ones culled from the stories as they were developing and a few that revisit transitions (Dick Grayson's origin and then how he ultimately stopped being Robin). For some readers it might be confusing to see Jason Todd alive again later, since his death is still sort of the most famous thing that ever happened to him (he has in fact been running around as Red Hood for fifteen years at this point, though; it's high time DC acknowledged the Red Hood: Lost Days miniseries as essential to the canon), or even to see Stephanie Brown as Robin, since her time in the role was so brief and little-publicized (she was also the second Robin to die temporarily). Some sort of essay explaining some of this, let alone a better table of contents, might have helped.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have found these DC collections about particular characters to be rather uneven in quality -- trying to capture the overall arc they are presenting might not allow for them to include the best individual stories. Add to that my overall wariness of a Robin anthology, I read this book with pretty low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised, and would recommend it to someone that is look for a quick, fun comic.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[A'ledyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEST comic book I have ever read. I LOVE Robin. <3

[Brannigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of one shot stories taken from pre-published comics telling key moments from each of the Robin's personal stories.

[Kamal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming collection of Robin's exploits, old and new. Nothing new here, but it was nice to reacquaint myself with the foundational stories of this character.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quality varies, but it collects most of the game-changing events, and filled in some gaps for me.

[John Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compilation
of seminal stories from
the history of ROBIN
in the many
people to fill that role