The MANY DEATHS of MANY ROBINS

So at one point in their lives, each of the Robins have been considered dead. Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian have all been "dead". I like Batman a lot but damn, he is not a great father! A good person, yes, but not a great father! Anyway, death means pretty much nothing in comics! In fact, it use to be a common phrase that "no one stays dead except Bucky, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben". Nobody tends to say that anymore... and you can probably guess why! Thankfully, (although not for Spidey) Uncle Ben is still dead!

JASON TODD

Anyway, first to die was the second Robin, Jason Todd! Also, the longest to stay dead! This death was decided by the infamous phone in poll. You could vote for Jason's survival or you could vote for his death and death won the day! Jason was brutally beaten with a crowbar by the Joker And then left in a building which then blew up. Batman was too slow to save him.

He died at the hands of the Joker in Batman #427, in 1988 but returned in #635ish, in 2005. I say #635ish because it was a mystery as to who the identity of the mysterious Red Hood was. However, enough time has passed now, so I think it's fair to now reveal that it was Jason. Originally he was resurrected through some nonsense about the original Superboy punching reality? Or something like that? But more recently it was retconned so that he was resurrected in the Lazarus pit by Talia Al Ghul. Since his resurrection and then his reveal in "Under the Red Hood" he has had several ongoing series starring him and his buddies. Nowadays, he is a lot more fast and loose with Batman's "no killing" rule, after all he resents Batman for never avenging his death. In the animated adaption, there's a powerful line from when Jason finally confronts Batman about this:  "[to Batman] Ignoring what he's done in the past. Blindly, stupidly disregarding the entire graveyards he's filled, the thousands who have suffered, the friends he's crippled. You know, I thought... I thought I'd be the last person you'd ever let him hurt. If it had been you that he beat to a bloody pulp, if he had taken you from this world, I would've done nothing but search the planet for this pathetic pile of evil, death-worshiping garbage and then send him off to hell!"

Damn, that movie is good! If you get a chance check it out: Batman: Under the Red Hood. You can also catch Jason in the current series, Red Hood and the Outlaws!

DAMIAN WAYNE

Next to bite the bullet was Damian Wayne- and by bite the bullet I mean get impaled by a sword. This is probably the wildest story in here. Damian's death occurred in Batman Incorporated #8, which was released in 2013. He was killed by a fully grown but slightly wonky clone of himself, whom had been sent to kill him by Talia Al Ghul, his own mother. He put up a good fight but in the end he was defeated. Damian was a prick- but he was becoming a more and more loveable one, so this death was a great shock to the comics community.

Damian's death is probably the one that hit Batman the hardest. His one true heir, died and he wasn't able to stop it... He didn't take this one lying down though. He spent several issues searching for ways to bring him back! He dealt with Frankenstein, he dealt with a Lazarus pit and eventually, he went all the way to hell and back in Batman & Robin #38 to retrieve (and resurrect) Damian’s body from Darkseid! This resurrection occurred in 2014, so about one year after originally dying.

DICK GRAYSON

Dick Grayson, the first Robin, died while working as Nightwing in Forever Evil #7 back in 2014. Forever Evil saw an evil version of the Justice League, known as the crime syndicate travel to this universe to wreak havoc. It was at the climax of the event, that Nightwing was put in a position where his heartbeat was connected to a bomb. In order to stop the bomb, Nightwing's heart had to stop. Dick's identity had also just been revealed to the world! Surprisingly, it was Lex Luthor who was able to save him. Lex stopped his heart and let the world believe that he was dead...

However, little did the world know that once the bomb was dealt with, Lex and Batman were able to kick-start his heart again with a shot of adrenaline. After that, Nightwing had to go undercover. Considering that his secret identity had been exposed he couldn't go back to being Nightwing... At least not yet! Batman tasked him with the mission to infiltrate a spy agency know as "Spyral". Nobody knew that he had survived, not even Alfred!

A few years later and he's finally back in the spotlight and he gets to wear the Nightwing costume again! Things are finally back to normal for the character, or at least as normal as things can be for a vigilante crime fighter! You can catch him in the current ongoing Nightwing series.

TIM DRAKE

Ahh Tim. Sweet, innocent Tim Drake. He was doing so well! All of the boys were alive and well again.. until Red Robin took his last stand in Detective Comics #940. In this current run, Batman and Batwoman are leading a new team in the crusade against crime. Essentially they are preparing the next generation of heroes for when they are no longer around. Tim was a major part of that team until this fateful incident.

It was an epic feat of heroism when Tim rerouted a swarm of drones that were primed to target Gotham civilians to instead exclusively target him. After he said his emotional goodbyes over the intercom system, the rest of the team, including his girlfriend, could only watch as Tim was taken down in a hail of bullets. It was an honourable death and a heartbreaking one. I know I'm not the only reader who was almost in tears! Tim was ready to quit the team too and settle down! His application to university had gone through and was ready to tell Batman and the others when duty called. Little did he know that it would be for the last time...

Except...

Tim isn't dead. We didn't even have to wait long to see his return! It is within that same issue that it is revealed that Tim is being kept somewhere by a mysterious and powerful figure. This is the most recent Robin "death" (occurring last September) and so we still haven't got to the bottom of what is going on- but we do know that the mysterious figure is the same person who was holding Mr Mxyzptlk and several other characters. The last time we saw Tim was in a recent issue of Superman where he was excited that Mxyzptlk was able to escape! I cannot wait to see Tim finally be free and to see him reunited with the team.

Nobody knows that he is still alive so, tragically, nobody is even looking for him. However, his presence is still felt in Detective Comics, as the characters are still mourning his passing.

and that is how each of the Robins have died. Damn, comics can be dark and depressing!