THE JSA FACT FILE
Robin
Richard Grayson
Residence: Gotham City
Occupation: Lawyer, Diplomat
First Appearance (Golden
Age): Detective Comics #38 (April 1940)
First Appearance (Silver Age):Justice League of America #55 (July 1967)
Character History
Richard Grayson was born in 1927, the son of circus performers John and Mary Grayson. The three formed the trapeze act, the Flying Graysons, as part of the Haly Circus. In 1938, the circus was under pressure from a local racketeer, "Boss" Zucco, to pay "protection" money. When the circus owners refused, Zucco arranged for the murder of the senior Graysons, leaving Dick an orphan. Millionare playboy Bruce Wayne (Batman) was in attendence that evening. Grayson raged in grief against Zucco and criminals in general, reminding Wayne of his own tragic youth after the murder of his own parents. When Grayson decided to contact the police, Batman intercepted him and took him into his home. He convinced the lad that contacting the police would simply alert Zucco to his knowledge and he would have been quickly dispensed with. Instead, Batman revealed his true identity to Grayson and trained the boy in a variety of detective and martial skills, finally giving him the costumed identity of Robin, the Boy Wonder (Detective Comics #38).
Robin became the millionaire's constant companion. Wayne saw that Grayson got the best in formal education as well as private tutelage in detective work, criminology, and martial arts. Robin became a skilled mystery-man in his own right, joining Batman in pursuit of dangerous criminals like the Joker (Batman #1) and in becoming a member of the All-Star Squadron, a loosely organized team of mystery-men during World War II (All-Star Squadron #3). Later in the war years, as he approached adulthood, Robin began to work more independently, working his own cases and defeating several professional criminals such as No-Face (Star-Spangled Comics #66), The Clock (Star-Spangled Comics #70) and The Fence (Star-Spangled Comics #76). When the war was over, Robin attended college but remained active as Batman's partner.
Unlike many of the other mystery-men of the 1940s, Robin
remained active into the 1950s due to his relationship with Batman and the
Gotham City Police Department. During this time, he grew to maturity and entered
law school where he obtained his juris doctor degree. He later became a partner
in the law firm of Cranston and Grayson, which became Cranston, Grayson, and
Wayne when Helena Wayne, daughter of Bruce Wayne, joined the firm. When Batman
entered semi-retirement in the 1960s, Robin became one of Gotham City's leading
crime-fighters and took Batman's place in the roster of the Justice Society of
America (Justice League of America #55). During the Carter Administration,
Grayson was granted a diplomatic appointment in South Africa, which ended in
1981 (first seen in All-Star Comics #58).
After this, he returned to Gotham to resume his partnership in Cranston, Grayson, and Wayne. During the 1980s, Robin's activity decreased, focusing more on his legal career and allowing Batman's daughter, Helena (The Huntress), to take his place. Following Batman's death (Adventure Comics #462), Robin considered taking up the role of his mentor, but he and Helena decided to let Batman's legend end with him. Robin did briefly wear the Batman costume to stop the aging Joker, who escaped from Arkham after Batman's death to determine if the Dark Knight was truly dead (Wonder Woman vol.1 #281-283).
During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Robin and the Huntress
joined the struggle. At the close of Crisis, one version of Robin and the Huntress were abandoned and died in the final battle with the Anti-Monitor (Crisis on Infinite Earth #11-12) but these were not the original Earth-Two versions (revealed in Justice Society of America Annual #1). The activities of the Robin of Earth-Two since Crisis have been largely undocumented and his current status is unknown.
Power and Abilities
Robin
trained under Batman and adopted many of the same methods. After Batman's
death, Robin and the Huntress inherited much of Batman's equipment.
Weakness and Limitations
Robin, like many of his comrades, was limited to his weaponry. Without it, he was as defenseless as any other human of his age and condition.
