Warning: Spoilers for Batman & Robin: Year One #1Batmanadmits a shocking reason why he recruited one of his greatest allies,Nightwing, into a war against crime, and it makes perfect sense for his character.Batman & Robin: Year Oneby Mark Waid and Chris Samnee retells the early days of the Dynamic Duo, shortly after Dick Grayson begins his career as Robin. Batman narrates the issue, and his opening inner monologue reveals that Bruce Wayne had a particular reason for bringing Dick Grayson into this life.
InBatman & Robin: Year One#1 by Waid, Samnee, Mat Lopes, and Clayton Cowles, Batman’s narration starts with noting the ways Dick Grayson’s life has changed, as well as noting the similarities between the pair. Bruce talks about howboth he and Dick share a kind of trauma that demands that they change themselves.
Bruce concludes his narration by saying “But I know better than anyone that, despite your trauma, you have to keep a grip, protect whoever it is you still are inside… or Gotham City will turn you into something worse." In saying this, Bruce reveals thatone of the reasons he recruited Dick Grayson was to prevent Gotham from corrupting him.
Batman Turned Dick Grayson into Robin to Protect Him
There’s No Telling Who Dick Would Be without Batman
That one line of dialogue recontextualizes so much ofBatman’s early relationship with Robin, perfectly establishingwhy he made the choice to bring Dick into this aspect of his life. The trauma Bruce Wayne discusses is one he knows all too well, one where he finds himself being changed by the loss of his parents. Unlike Dick, though, Bruce’s traumas changed him, turning him into Batman and, due to that transformation, into a much darker human being than he otherwise would have become.
Dick Grayson’s future as Nightwing proves that he was able to protect himself better than Bruce ever could.
Therefore, the choice to induct Dick into his war on crime is Batman’s attempt at creating a center for him. In doing so,Batman is hoping that Dick will be able to hold onto who he is deep downin order to keep himself from being corrupted by Gotham City. And while both men share many character traits,Dick Grayson’s future as Nightwingproves that he was able to protect himself better than Bruce ever could, becoming a hero but without becoming a darker human being.
Batman’s Fears Will Come to Pass for His Other Friends and Allies
Both in the Present and the Future
While Bruce ultimately does set Dick Grayson on the right path, his fears of Gotham corrupting people and turning them into something worse have already come true. In this issue, Batman and Robin do battle against Two-Face, himself a former friend and ally to Batman. His presence as a fixture of not only Batman’s rogues gallery, but also as a key player in Dick Grayson’s earliest days as Robin, proves thatBruce’s fears are far from unreasonable, as he’s seen one of his oldest friends, Harvey Dent, be turned into a villain by Gotham.
Worse yet, Batman will see these fears realized in a closer way than anyone could have predicted. The second Robin, Jason Todd, will be killed by the Joker long after the events ofBatman & Robin: Year One. While Jason does ultimately return to the living, he does so as the Red Hood, a homicidal vigilante.Bruce’s fears about Gotham corrupting people and making them worse will unfortunately be realized in his second son, which makes Bruce’s narration all the more tragic knowing this result.
Nightwing Beat Joker So Easily, Batman Should Retire from Fighting Him
The Joker has consistently been one of Batman’s most dangerous and unpredictable foes, but Nightwing Dick Grayson beat him as Robin with ease.
Ultimately, Batman reveals that he recruited Nightwing to prevent Gotham from turning him into a villain. This truth casts not only a new light on both of these characters, but it also speaks to the nature of Gotham as a corrupting influence on hurting and vulnerable people. While Gotham’s influence is still powerful, Dick’s future asNightwingproves thatBatmanwas ultimately able to help Dick stay true to himself.
Batman & Robin: Year One#1is available now from DC Comics.
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
Nightwing
Nightwing is the superhero moniker taken up by Dick Grayson, upon his aging out of the Robin role and becoming a superhero of his own. Inspired by the original Kryptonian hero of the same name, Grayson has risen to comic book immortality with the identity, earning respect as one of the greatest leaders in the DC Universe.
