Put your stones away! As much as I love, LOVE, the current Batman movies from Christopher Nolan, as a hardcore Batman fan for 19 years now, Robin deserves another chance on the big screen. Yes, I know Batman Forever was tolerable and Batman and Robin led to the apparent death of the superhero genre of movies (until Blade, of all characters, came in to save the motherfuckin' day!), but as Tim Drake (Robin III) says, "Batman needs a Robin." I will never forgive the bullshit, atrocious job that Joel Shumacher (as I like to call him the real He who should not be named) did with the franchise and killed it till 2005, but at least he had the balls enough to incorporate Robin into the movie mythology. And that's the last time I will ever give that piece of shit a compliment, I still want my money back for Phone Booth. What makes those movies so horrible is that Forever somehow fucked up one of the best origin stories with Dick Grayson. I mean they made him like, what, 18 or 19 in the movie? Why the hell would Bruce Wayne make him his ward? Seriously? Also Dick didn't have a brother, I'm still trying to understand why that was put in. Stupid. Then Batman and Robin comes along and turns Dick Grayson into whiny spoiled brat, which is beyond ridiculous. Then gives him a new symbol and darker costume that looks like his Nightwing costume with a cape. One of many epic fails with that movie.
I know after reading all that you're probably wondering, "How is this guy going to convince anyone that putting a sidekick into a movie can work after mentioning all that?" Hold on Tonto! I'm not finished yet. The new Batman movies, or as some have called the "Nolanverse", is conveyed extremely realistically. Well, as realistic you can make a world with guy fighting crime as a giant bat can be. Other than The Killing Joke, the current Batman movies have been following (loosely mind you) two seminal Batman books, Year One and The Long Halloween. Year One was mainly only used in Begins, but in Dark Knight, however, resembled a lot of Long Halloween. It doesn't have the fantastic year long murder mystery, but the gangster element being shifted to the freaks taking over Gotham part of the story is definitely there. Even the ending was somewhat similar to The Long Halloween. At the end of the story (spoiler alert!) Harvey Dent officially becomes Two-Face and kills Maroni and destroying everything that he's stood for. Batman and Gordon arrest Two-Face and Batman decides that the loss of Harvey would never have happened if he had just went about his war on crime alone. In Dark Knight, Harvey became Two-Face after manipulation from the Joker. Harvey dies as Batman knocks him off a construction site, saving Gordon's son, which leads to Harvey falling to his death. Batman decides no one can know what Harvey did and tells Gordon that Batman committed all those crimes so the city wouldn't lose hope. The movie ends with Batman riding into the night as a newly labeled fugitive and killer. He's now more alone than ever, except for Alfred of course.
So, my point in all this, with all that comparison to the comics, one can assume that they would continue following the comics and perhaps loosely adapt the sequel to The Long Halloween, Dark Victory. Dark Victory is a reimagining of Dick Grayson's origin, but also how integral a role Two-Face had in the mob leaving Gotham and the ushering in of the type of villains we know of the Batman Mythology. The gist of this story is showing why Bruce needed Dick Grayson as his partner in fighting crime and why Robin was so important for bringing a light to Batman's ever growing darkness. In Dark Knight, Bruce is alone. He's lost an ally in Harvey and the woman he loves in Rachel. He's in a dark place, plus he can't continue his mission without being hunted by the cops. I don't know what type of story The Dark Knight Rises will be, but this just strikes me to be the perfect moment to introduce Robin in the finale of the trilogy. Make Dick Grayson 15, 16 or 17 in the movie. Also handle Robin like they're handling Bucky in Captain America, which is don't make him feel like a sidekick, make him feel like an equal. This is a brilliant chance to forever wipe away the 60's Tv show version of Robin. Dick Grayson is one of the most storied characters in comics. He's the first sidekick! He's been around as long as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Captain America! Treat the character with respect and stay true to the character. He's an amazing acrobat with fighting skills on par with Batman. He's a detective and natural born leader. Plus he cracks jokes and talks shit to his enemies, which is all used in the team dynamics that Batman and Robin use while in battle. Also, there's a perfect actor who has utilized all of Dick Grayson's character traits on way or another in his movies. Logan Lerman, from Gamer and Meet Bill, would be perfect for Dick Grayson. He has the wit and swagger that Grayson has and would be phenomenal as Robin. Since it's The Dark Knight Rises, you know that sequel to one of the highest grossing movies ever, he would sign on in a heartbeat. If he doesn't, well........ he's just dumb then. Think about it. It's time Warner Bros. introduces Robin back to mainstream society and finally make a movie that shows why this character has been loved for almost 70 years and why he's completely bad ass. Yeah I said bad ass. Don't believe me the read Dark Victory and any New Teen Titans books. If you like those then check out his Nightwing books. Also, if Dick Grayson wasn't awesome do you really think DC Comics would allow a writer to make him Batman while Bruce was away and then when he came back let him still be Batman and star in 3 Batman Books?
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