Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (Discussion)

[Aahz]

I guess the idea was that every writter writes a story from his era with the character, but I find it wired that for both Dick and Tim you don't really get a story that's set more early in their career.

Wolfman's story for Dick, is more an new version of his transition to Nightwing (in this case Dick leaving on his own and not being fired by Bruce), then a real Robin story.

And Bleechms story is also set in an era shortly before Tim became Red Robin.

Btw. the Tim Damian Part of Tynion story feels really out of character for me.

[Tzigone]

Wolfman's story for Dick, is more an new version of his transition to Nightwing (in this case Dick leaving on his own and not being fired by Bruce), then a real Robin story.

Haven't read it - is it closer to the original (in which Dick was not fired but didn't want to continue being the back half of "Batman and") or just totally new and different?

[Chubistian]

Haven't read it - is it closer to the original (in which Dick was not fired but didn't want to continue being the back half of "Batman and") or just totally new and different?

It's closer to the original. I perceived it as a prologue to Marv Wolfman and George Perez's New Teen Titans #39. It's the conversation Bruce and Dick maintained when the latter told him he didn't want to keep on as Robin, that as far as I know, is something that wasn't show in the 80s

[Zaresh]

I loved it, though Jason's Robin story seemed kind of odd to me.

Why? I'm curious. I think it was pretty good. Subtle, with a few layers with the watch metaphor, and simple enough to work for as sort as it was, without unnecessary complexity.

[millernumber1]

This is easily my very favorite of these anniversary specials. Only two of the stories were below average for me, and most of them were way, way above average. Seeing Seeley and King with Janin and Cox on Grayson was so well done - perfectly structured, with great emotional payoff. Wolfman and Dixon did really nice emotional beats at the endings, with really solid classic art teams. Jason's story was a bit narratively weak, but emotionally and artistically very strong, and while Tim's stories were a bit weaker, they were appropriately celebratory. While I would have preferred a different direction for both of the Damian stories (an actual adventure for Damian with Jon, instead of the essay device, and maybe Chris Burnham on art and preferably writing for the other tale of Dick and Damian rather than the current status quo), it was very nice to see him drawn by Jimenez again.

The jewel of the story, of course, was Steph's story. Of course I'm biased towards her, but I thought it was really nicely constructed, with thematic threads setup and paid off perfectly, and the really cute subversion of the "damsel in distress on a railway track". Steph even gets a Virginia Woolf-style "changing room of her own" at the end, and it's simply dripping with her inimitiable spirit and personality all the way through. Seeing Damion Scott update his art style, while still keeping his classic Steph shock of blazing hair, was also delightful, especially when colored by Brad Anderson, who really layers the effects well without being distracting, quite an impressive feat.

A 9/10 collection!

From what I can tell, none of those stories have any particular reason not to be considered canon. Except for maybe Steph's. I'm still not 100% sure where she stands continuity-wise. Hell, Damian's second story is a lead-in to a future Titans issue.

The story will fit in Steph's canon. Whether or not War Games is canon is another question, but "Fitting In" fits in (lol) perfectly at the end of Robin #126.

[Aahz]

Btw. have the writter of Steph's story and the writter of Damians second story written anything Batman related before?

[Digifiend]

Robbie Thompson just took over Teen Titans from Adam Glass (with a slight overlap - they're both credited on the current arc). Prior to TT, he was a Marvel writer.

Amy Wolfram is also a Teen Titans writer - on the cartoon. Which means she's written Robin before, but it was Dick, not Steph.

[SixSpeedSamurai]

Why? I'm curious. I think it was pretty good. Subtle, with a few layers with the watch metaphor, and simple enough to work for as sort as it was, without unnecessary complexity.

It just seemed out of character of Jason as Robin, but I'm not that familiar with Jason's pre-crisis Robin too much even though I own all the issues.

[Zaresh]

It just seemed out of character of Jason as Robin, but I'm not that familiar with Jason's pre-crisis Robin too much even though I own all the issues.

It isn't out of character. Al all.
Not for pre-crisis. Neither for post-crisis.
He has a very strong character in both incarnations. He was just a bit softer in the edges and naive in pre-crisis (more easy going too, maybe). But he was in both sweet, fun and a hard worker. He loved Bruce a lot, even when he had struggles with him (again, both pre and post crisis). And he was stubborn, which is something you see here too.

It wasn't that much different from Dick's Robin as far as I know. Not until very, very late in his tenure. And he still was pretty supportive to Bruce. He just had some hard issues he had to deal with.

[bat39]

I loved it on the whole. The character pieces were a lot better than the more action-oriented stories.

In a way, it was nice that Dick, as the original Robin, got the most coverage - though ironically, most of his stories are from his post-Robin career (and the Robin one was right at the end). But as much as the stories varied in style, there was a consistent theme between all of them - the idea that Dick is his own man and wants to be a hero who's a compassionate protector first and foremost, rather than a grim avenger. Robin being a contrast to Batman was baked into the character from Day 1, in a sense, and we get to see all the manifestations of that simple idea in each of Dick's stories.

I must say I loved the 'twist' at the end of the first Dick story. It seems like we're getting the infamous 'Batjerk' version of Bruce, but actually we're getting a kinder Bruce with a heart of gold!

The Jason story was touching. Yes, its a little surprising to see the way young Jason is portrayed - he's usually shown to be this rebellious teen who always had a violent streak, not Bruce's loving adopted son. But it did drive home an aspect which has been a fundamental part of Jason's character lately - that he is a 'son' of Batman and will always be a part of Bruce's family, regardless of how far they've grown apart in a lot of other aspects.

Incidentially, did anyone else find it jarring just how young Jason looked in the flashbacks? He couldn't have been more than 8 or 9, and he's definitely at least 21 in the present-day parts. A hint towards 5G and the more expanded timeline?

The Tim stories were good too, especially the second one. I LOVED how Damien summed up where Tim currently falls in the pantheon of Robins. Its pretty much the same argument that's been made on this forum time and time again. And again, as with the Dick stories, it really sums up what makes Tim stand out - the fact that he actively chose to be Robin, more so than any of the others did.

Don't have much of an opinion about the Steph story. I actually think its the first time I've read Steph as Robin!

Didn't care much for the Super Sons story honestly. It seemed more like a Jon Kent story than a Damien one, and it was pretty sappy. The second Damien story was pretty cool though and reflected the dichotomy between father and son, both in terms of how alike they are and how different. Though I'm not a fan of stories in commemorative issues like this being part of a larger ongoing arc. But Damien's reflections on the 'revolving door' of Gotham's villains ties back to his earliest appearances and does reflect the spirit of the character.

Was there anything I'd liked to have seen done differently? A lot. The Titans story was easily dispensable IMO as was the Jon Kent story. Instead, we could have done with a story of Dick as Robin during the heyday of the original Dynamic Duo. A story actually set during Jason's time as Robin. A Carrie Kelly story would not have been amiss either.

But, again, on the whole this was a great celebration of the Boy (and Girl) Wonder!

[Restingvoice]

Incidentially, did anyone else find it jarring just how young Jason looked in the flashbacks? He couldn't have been more than 8 or 9, and he's definitely at least 21 in the present-day parts. A hint towards 5G and the more expanded timeline?

No, that's just Dustin Nguyen ^^ check out how he draws Tim in the Scarebeast arc and Batman and Robin Eternal. He's TINY!

[Zaresh]

No, that's just Dustin Nguyen ^^ check out how he draws Tim in the Scarebeast arc and Batman and Robin Eternal. He's TINY!

Besides, I'm guessing that it was pot-Crisis, pre-Flashpoint continuity of any sorts, where he started as Robin with 12 or so years, unlike what we had working in the new 52 timeline.

[Aahz]

It just seemed out of character of Jason as Robin, but I'm not that familiar with Jason's pre-crisis Robin too much even though I own all the issues.

Have you seen the Under the Red Hood movie (which was also wirtten by Winick), the Jason you see in this story is basically the tiny Jason from the flashbacks in that movie.

[SixSpeedSamurai]

Have you seen the Under the Red Hood movie (which was also wirtten by Winick), the Jason you see in this story is basically the tiny Jason from the flashbacks in that movie.

I have it, great movie. That does make sense.

[Fergus]

I guess the idea was that every writter writes a story from his era with the character, but I find it wired that for both Dick and Tim you don't really get a story that's set more early in their career.

Wolfman's story for Dick, is more an new version of his transition to Nightwing (in this case Dick leaving on his own and not being fired by Bruce), then a real Robin story.

And Bleechms story is also set in an era shortly before Tim became Red Robin.

Btw. the Tim Damian Part of Tynion story feels really out of character for me.

Tim and Damian's was out of character. Tynion was just using the others to tell us how great Tim is which isn't surprising. Tynion was the only story I didn't enjoy. It was too wordy and what could have been a great story about reflection and moving on turning into a circle jerk.

The Jason story
The Damian TT story
and Dick's Wolfman story had the most emotional punch.