This week I’m going to delve into an origin that is probably no longer in continuity, but that’s never stopped me before! The story may seem familiar, a young boy’s parents are brutally murdered, and the boy devotes himself to avenging their deaths. Yes that boy is Bruce Wayne, but this article isn’t necessarily the origin of Batman. Today I’ll show you the little known origin of the first Robin!

Such Intensity! D'you think he'll become a dark avenger of the night?

As you may know, Bruce’s story starts with the above scene. What you may not know is what happens immediately after. A young woman named Leslie Thompkins happened upon the scene and did her best to comfort Bruce. Later on, she become one of the Batman’s greatest confidants, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Anyway, there is the inevitable funeral, and afterward, Bruce goes to live with his Uncle Phillip. In later retellings, it’s shown that Bruce is savvy enough to get “lost” in the system, having no living relatives. That doesn’t make much sense to me and prefer the irony of this version. The irony is that Uncle Philip travels a lot and Bruce is placed in the care of one Mrs. Chilton. She teaches the lad about honesty and integrity, and comes to think of her as a second mother. It turns out she does this out of guilt, as her son, Joe Chill, is the one who murdered Bruce’s parents in the first place!

Anyway, you may think Bruce may actually live a well-adjusted life and never devote his life to avenging his parents’ murder. You would be wrong. Bruce tried to be at peace, but the fire of his avenging spirit would not be snuffed out until one day he visits a fateful graveside.

Dynamic Rain Effect Copyright DC Comics.

So as anyone who is familiar with Bruce Wayne knows the next part. Bruce trains and studies, studies and trains to become the peak of human physical and mental perfection. There is, of course, more to it than that. Knowing that being a manhunter will require fine detective skills, Bruce decides he wants to study under Harvey Harris, one of the greatest of them all! Young Mr. Wayne is perceptive enough to realize that if he just goes to Harris as Bruce, Harvey will try his best to discourage him, therefore Bruce makes a rather fateful decision.

I shall become... a gaudily dressed eyesore!

That’s right folks, Bruce Wayne, not Dick Grayson is the first Robin. Deal with it. Anyway, the costumed boy goes on to shadow Harris and then ask for his guidance. What he doesn’t bargain for is one of Harris’ enemies about to get the drop on him. Luckily, Bruce was skulking on the rooftops and gets the drop on the thug before he can take out Harris, thanks to one of Silver Age Gotham City’s many, many giant props.

Saved by the bell!

After that, introductions are made, and Bruce makes it known he wants to learn the ways of the detective. Harris, just having his life saved agrees, and then give the ambitious lad his name!

And leggy dames. Lots and lots of dames.

And so there you have it, the Secret Origin of the first Robin! That’s it, the end, finito. Oh, fine. I guess I’ll continue from here, but everyone knows this part. Bruce trains and trains some more, and reaches college age. By this point, the young man is Olympic material if he wanted, but he knows he can’t deviate from the path he’s started, so he majors in criminology. In his studies he learns as much as he can to the point of obsession. Everything is going fine, Bruce believes he’ll be a normal, run of the mill detective until one day he attends a law class. This scene actually stuck with me ever since I first read it, and so I am happy to share it with you. This, in a nutshell, is why I like superheroes. They can do things normal law enforcement can’t, and this is why.

F minus minus, Wayne!

Because of this incident, Bruce knows he can never be a police officer, because he refuses to deal with red tape. Good man! He goes ahead and graduates, but is unsure of his path, brooding about what to do. Then we get the iconic panels of the bat flying through the window, like an omen. Of course this is where Batman is born. I would leave it there, but if we go one page further, we’re treated to an awesome John Byrne/Jim Aparo splash page, so that’s what I’ll end this origin on. Until next week, friends!

I just LOVE decking the Joker!