Warning: this article contains a preview of Punchline: The Gotham Game #2!Comic fans have long debated who made the best Robin, with some arguing for Tim Drake, others supporting Damian Wayne, and still more championing Dick Grayson, the current Nightwing. Robin has become one of DC's most valuable legacy heroes, standing as a symbol of light and hope, contrasting and aleviating Batman's darkness. While heroes like Nightwing and Red Hood prefer to distance themselves from the role in adulthood, it's continually interesting to compare the differences between each version of the Boy Wonder.
Dick Grayson is widely considered to be the best Robin by fans. After all, it's difficult to argue against the Robin that established the role and set precedent for teen superheroes in comics. Even as a young teen, Grayson was already a role model to many heroes, acting as more than just a sidekick. Superman himself favors Dick over the other Robins. However, the true authority on Robins - other than the Robins themselves - is Batman. Surprisingly, by his metric Nightwing isn't considered the best.
In a preview for Punchline: The Gotham Game #2, by Tini Howard, Blake M. Howard and Gleb Melnikov, Batman and Nightwing are reviewing footage of Punchline, the current menace of Gotham. The footage reveals Punchline claiming to only be "guilty" of "falling in love with the Joker." Nightwing comments on the similarity to Harley Quinn's past obsession with the Joker, wondering if Punchline has suffered the same manipulation. Batman rightly points out that Punchline is an entirely different situation. Punchline exists not as a new Joker, but as a pure expression of his creed. Batman argues that both he and Joker have tried to raise their followers are refinements of themselves, not copies.
Nightwing Is His Own Hero, Not a Refined Batman
Batman is unquestionably proud of Nightwing, considering him his greatest accomplishment, but he's a totally different kind of hero. Where the Dark Knight leverages criminals' superstitious nature to protect Gotham through fear, spreading the idea of an omnipresent, semi-demonic force of justice, Nightwing seeks to lift others into the light, inspiring them to protect themselves and each other by being seen to do the same. Nightwing may be an amazing hero, but if Batman's qualification for his sidekicks is that they refine his own tactics, there's only one candidate for the best Robin - Damian Wayne.
Damian is, by far, the most independent Boy Wonder to date. Like Batman, he strives to be the best in every arena and to inspire intense fear in his enemies. Indeed, fans have seen the future where Damian becomes Batman, and while Gotham is a dark, almost ruined city, he has indeed refined his father's methods, even placing explosives around Gotham to always have a secret weapon when going up against his villains. While many may question Batman's aim of refining his own methods and ideals in his sidekicks, the qualification the Dark Knight lays down means that for all his flaws, Damian Wayne is the protégé he was always trying to create, coming out ahead of Nightwing as the perfect Robin.
Punchline: The Gotham Game #2 is available now from DC Comics.