The Guide to Every Robin in Order, From DC’s First Wonder to Its Forgotten Heir

Dick Grayson’s many paths

After Dick Grayson’s parents were murdered, Bruce Wayne took him in and trained him as a crime-fighting partner. Dick later left the Robin identity to become Nightwing, establishing himself as a hero apart from Batman.

His later roles included super spy, police officer, and Titans leader. He also served as Batman while Bruce was believed dead, with Damian Wayne as his Robin. Across decades of stories, Dick remains the most iconic bearer of the name.

Bruce Wayne as Robin

Detective Comics #226 presented Bruce Wayne as the original Robin, a detail later removed from Post-Crisis continuity. In that account, detective Harvey Harris trained Bruce in detective work while he used the Robin identity.

Harris also supplied the nickname after noticing Bruce’s costume and skills. The story linked the name and familiar outfit to Bruce before Dick Grayson took on the role.

Lance Bruner’s brief legacy

Lance Bruner was an orphan entrusted to Bruce after his parents died. He competed with Dick through deceit and manipulation, then discovered that Bruce and Dick were Batman and Robin and tried to sell them out to Gotham gangsters.

Lance later believed Dick had died and put on the Robin costume. He took a bullet meant for Batman and died, briefly becoming a second Robin before his legacy was forgotten.

Jason Todd and Carrie Kelley

Jason Todd took over as Robin after Dick left. During A Death in the Family, DC held a fan poll on Jason’s fate; most voters chose death, and the Joker killed him. Jason later returned through unknown forces, trained with the League of Assassins after a dip in a Lazarus pool, and adopted the Red Hood identity. Carrie Kelley was chronologically the third character to use the Robin mantle, but she belongs to Frank Miller’s alternate universe in The Dark Knight Returns rather than mainstream continuity.