Robin in B:TAS

[Edd Grayson]

I have to say, before I saw Robin in B:TAS, I thought he was a dull sidekick only there to have someone for Batman to talk to while fighting. Well, Robin's Reckoning turned him into one of my favorite characters, hence my username. 

[Paul (ral)]

I just watched Robin's Reckoning (both parts) this morning with the kid!

I love Batman's last lines.

[Catwoman]

i haven't seen that episode in like 15 years or more i wish someone would put it on youtube lol

[batman60s]

Literally apart from the "Robins Reckoning" episodes, they should have just left Robin out of it. He just pops up in random different episodes bringing literally no value to the episode.

[The Laughing Fish]

I liked Robin in this show. He served as a good friend to Batman and saved him from being a completely brooding bore e.g. how he and Bruce had a bit of an adopted father-son relationship and goofed around during training in Robin's Reckoning, encouraging Bruce to lighten up during Christmas With The Joker as they watch It's a Wonderful Life at the end of the episode, telling him to snap out of his depression in I Am The Night etc. I loved his cheesy and innocent 1950s sounding voice. 

It's too bad that Robin had a falling out with Batman in TNBA, though I guess you can't really blame him. Compared to the original series, Batman in TNBA became noticeably cold and aloof, to the point that he even abandoned his ditsy disguise as Bruce Wayne. In fact, his controlling personality as Batman blended in his personality as a businessman, and his ever growing obsession in crime fighting got to the point that it rubbed Robin the wrong way and he had enough of it.

[thecolorsblend]

Robin was used well in the BTAS-era. When the writers felt like doing a story with Robin, they did one. If they didn't, they skipped him. What's not to like?

[The Laughing Fish]

I found this interview with Loren Lester, the voice of Dick Grayson of the DCAU, talking about his career in voice acting, and how he got to play his most famous role.

While on the subject of talking about recasting actors for characters, he mentioned Tim Curry was initially cast for the Joker, before he got replaced by Mark Hamill. I didn't know that.

[The Dark Knight]

Robin was used well in the BTAS-era. When the writers felt like doing a story with Robin, they did one. If they didn't, they skipped him. What's not to like?

It's a really good compromise and one that makes sense in a more grounded world.

Burt Ward's Robin studied and such, but for the purpose of the show, Robin was essentially his full time job. He was in the suit very regularly to the point his personality was more Robin than Dick Grayson. He tried very hard to suppress his excitable way of talking when in public as a regular citizen, meaning 'Robin' is who he is, just as much as Batman is who Bruce Wayne really is. That's pure comic book and I love it. It was also a necessity given the setup of the show itself with Ward having a full time contract to star on the show.

We all know Peter Parker juggles his life, but just how 'realistic' is that? Robin is unique in that he's a PARTNER to Batman. Robin is the supporting act and has the luxury of being absent if he's too busy. The context is that Batman existed before Robin. Having Robin suit up every now and then gives each character greater independence. Dick can balance his two lives much more effectively, train himself for combat in the spare time, and swat up on his education.

[Slash Man]

It was a happy accident that we ended up with a college-aged Robin due to concerns over child endangerment. There's more to explore when it comes to this age; as a child, Dick's whole life revolved around being Robin, but now he's got to worry about becoming his own man. This all comes full circle with Nightwing a few years later.

[thecolorsblend]

It was a happy accident that we ended up with a college-aged Robin due to concerns over child endangerment. There's more to explore when it comes to this age; as a child, Dick's whole life revolved around being Robin, but now he's got to worry about becoming his own man. This all comes full circle with Nightwing a few years later.

That was no accident, bro. Fox Kids was notoriously skittish about certain things. Child endangerment was one of them.

The showrunners say they wanted Dick to be a "bratty young Spider-Man". Something like Tim was in TNBA. But Fox didn't want anything to do with that so the showrunners reimagined Dick as a college student and wrote him out of most episodes. It's no accident that Batman never intentionally put young Dick Grayson in harm's way in the Robin's Reckoning episodes.

But when the show moved to WB, those censors were a lot more chill about certain things. So the TNBA crew were able to write Tim more or less the same way they originally wanted to write Dick Grayson. They were also able to do other stuff like use Firefly.