It's 2005, and innovative British film director Christopher Nolan has succeeded in the task many despairing comic book fans thought nigh-on impossible; resurrecting the Batman franchise after Joel Schumacher had all but blown it to smithereens.
Now seeing as I feel that Schumacher's infamous 1997 Batman and Robin is nothing more than worthless, embarrassing tripe, I will swiftly wave it by and talk about the trilogy that made the 'Modern Batman' the icon he now is. Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins began 2005 as a surprising rank-outsider in the world of film, partly down to Schumacher's monstrosity of a film leaving Mr. Wayne's legacy in tatters, and partly down to Star Wars: Episode III and Darth Vader soaking up the limelight. Thankfully, the faith of the audience prevailed and Begins brought in a worldwide box office total of $370 million. This obviously kick-started a brand new franchise for the Caped Crusader and allowed the billionaire orphan a new, much needed lease of life. There is one major factor in Nolan's critically-acclaimed trilogy that many cinema-goers believed was key to it's success; the exclusion of Robin.
The character of Robin, to people who have not indulged in Batman comic books, is one with a somewhat tainted background. Non-comic readers' only lasting images and knowledge of Robin (the first Robin, Dick Grayson) is that of Burt Ward's infamously camp "holy cow" portrayal, and of Chris O'Donnell's equally camp Bat-nipple wielding sidekick. Although it has never officially been stated, this unfortunate reputation is most likely the main reason why Nolan opted not to include young Grayson in his trilogy, as it may have damaged his aim of creating a new "gritty, realistic" take on the story of Bruce Wayne. With the upcoming Justice League film though (whenever it arrives), DC films have been granted a welcome blank canvas on which to begin weaving it's fresh new universe. This of course means the inevitable reboot of the now-coveted Batman franchise, and I say it's a perfect time to give Robin a much-needed movie reboot of his own.
Now, firstly I am a reader of the Batman comics, and have seen the real take on Robin, and I am happy to proclaim myself a big fan of each of the character's aliases. With Dick Grayson being the most well-known and, more importantly, first Robin in the Bat-timeline, I feel he simply must be introduced into the new DC Cinematic Universe straight away. Also, without the 'realistic' restraint holding the new franchise back, the next director is free to bring the full, complete Batman comic book universe to the big screen. You could argue that Bruce Wayne's partner in crime-fighting did make an appearance in the Nolan trilogy, as Joseph Gordon-Levitt revealed his legal name to be 'Robin' in the closing scenes of The Dark Knight Rises. This however, does not count I'm afraid. It simply served as a way of allowing the audience to predict "what could happen next". Whoever takes on the new Bat-franchise needs to understand that Robin is definitely NOT 'some kid in pixie boots and tights', and more a modern-day ninja in his early twenties, who is exceptionally talented at detective skills and agile combat. Agility is key here; adding Robin into the mix also provides interesting and potentially more entertaining fight scenes. Where Batman attacks his foes with a clear and distinct brutal fighting-style, Dick Grayson utilises his acrobatic past with his deceased family's circus act Haly's Circus, and launches himself at criminals with devastating speed and dexterity. Viewers of the aforementioned The Dark Knight Rises caught a glimpse of what could be, when Batman and Selina Kyle engaged themselves in a brawl with a mass of highly-trained killers while atop a Gotham City apartment building. The stark contrast between the physicality of Mr Wayne's fighting-style to the slinky, flexible, striking motions of Miss Kyle, was such a refreshing moment for the trilogy, and I believed it to be one the best moments of the film; succeeding in showing us two sides of the same, damaged coin, joining forces when they are forced to.
Now comes the, issue shall we say, of Robin's colours, his bright drapes. Well firstly I would like to point you towards the recent Zack Snyder film Man of Steel. Superman has often been known as 'The Big Blue Boy Scout', and recently movie-goers don't seem to be too keen on bright colours. I fail to see a problem here, Zack Snyder has clearly shown in Man of Steel that bright blues and reds can be toned down slightly to provide a touch more '21st century' to the film industry. The same principle can be applied to Robin with his famous red and green attire. All that needs to be done, if anything, is to deepen the red and green and there you have your 'modern' Dick Grayson. Colours are not all that you can alter though, although alter is not the right word to use as changing too much of a character's costume can be a killer. Other incarnations of the Robins have had him wield blades and a staff, as well as sport a rather fetching hood (a potential winner with today's uninformed audience).
So, we've discussed the general look and background of The Boy Wonder, finally now, we come to the potential storylines and spinoffs the character can kick-start (that means more money if you happen to be reading, Warner Brothers). Another aspect of the many lives and stories of the Robins is that of Dick Grayson, and his rise to independent stardom as the other Batman prodigy Nightwing. Now Nightwing will be very unknown to non-comic book readers, this is a crying shame, as I believe that the film industry is missing out on one of the most entertaining and genuinely likeable characters to ever grace DC Comics. As Robin, Grayson was always witty and relatable alongside the brooding Dark Knight, but as Nightwing, as his own man, all grown up and matured, he is a super-vigilante in his own right. Of course this can only really happen if Robin is finally immortalised and given an impressive and well-received performance in the Batman reboot. If you ask me, the possibilities a well-done Robin creates, are almost limitless.
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