Titans Makes Robin a KILLER in New Origin Story

Warning: SPOILERS for Titans Episode 6

Batman fans who took issue with TITANS for making its version of Bruce Wayne a murderer aren't going to be happy... because the DC show just made Robin a killer in his new origin story, too.

It will come as a surprise to those who felt that Brenton Thwaites' performance, and the show's treatment of Dick Grayson was particularly faithful to the spirit of the comic book character (Robin's brutal violence aside). That includes Dick's decision to leave Gotham City, determined to prevent himself from killing criminals like Batman had. But as the latest episode of Titans has revealed, Dick's origin story is only mostly the same as the version told in comics. When the TV version of Dick Grayson finally tracked down the man who killed his parents... he chose to kill him.

This Page: The Non-Murderous Robin Origin Story
Page 2: Titans Makes Robin a Killer in His New Origin

How Robin Got Revenge in The Comics

The specifics and larger motivations behind the murder of Dick Grayson parents has changed a little over the years, but the canonical version of the tragedy, and Dick's subsequent adoption by Bruce Wayne have remained the same. And so has the gangster responsible for their murders: the Gotham criminal Tony Zucco. Whether working as an underling of the Maroni crime family or in competition to it, Zucco's efforts to strong-arm the owners of Haly's Circus were met with resistance. So to demonstrate the cost of refusing him, Tony Zucco made sure the trapeze of The Flying Graysons would snap - killing more than one of the acrobats. The plan worked, taking multiple lives... and creating the orphan who would make Zucco pay for the crime.

Not directly, of course. When Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson finally discover that Tony Zucco is to blame for the tragedy, both are personally invested in seeing him brought to justice. In the very first and oldest version of Zucco's story, the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder capture the gangster, and see him tried and sentenced to death via electric chair. No matter how the story changed, Dick's decision to not give in to revenge was--or seemed to be the core narrative theme.

When Robin chased down his parents' killer in Batman: The Animated Series, he briefly considered letting Zucco fall to his death, before arresting him instead. In The Batman series of the early 2000s, the same scene played out with Robin stopping himself before crossing a line from which he could not return. In fact, the closest Zucco got to being killed by Robin was in Batman: Year Three, dying from a heart attack brought on by fleeing the Boy Wonder (hardly manslaughter).

Which makes the version of this origin story told in Titans a unique one, as flashback sequences show Robin tracked down Tony Zucco for revenge... and then got it in a barrage of bullets.

Page 2 of 2: Titans Makes Robin a Killer in His New Origin

Robin is a Killer in His Titans Origin Story

The version of Dick Grayson finally getting "justice" for his family, as told in the Titans universe, unfortunately does involve Tony Zucco being gunned down on a Gotham street. And even if Dick Grayson wasn't the one who put the bullets into Zucco's body, viewers will have a hard time claiming that he wasn't responsible for the gangster's death (and even Dick takes the responsibility). Especially when you consider how angry fans got when Zack Snyder's Batman used excessive force when it could be justified. In Robin's case, we doubt a court would let him off without a punishment.

For those who haven't yet seen the Titans episode in which the case of the Graysons' murder is solved - permanently - much of the story plays out in parallel to the version kept to in the comics. That's the version of the story in which Robin finds Zucco, is tempted to avenge his family, but relents, instead finding closure in taking Zucco down as opposed to ending his life. The Titans flashback distinguishes the main difference: in this version, Tony Zucco was brought down for the Graysons' murder and countless other crimes... but the Feds cared more about his testimony against the Maroni family than Dick's family. So to make sure Zucco doesn't get away with his crime, but is forced to truly pay for ruining Dick's life. Which is where Robin steps in to do the job himself, sidelining Zucco's prison transfer to give him a brutal beating.

Robin Lets Tony Zucco Be Murdered

Some could argue that Robin was definitively planning on killing Zucco, based solely on the fact that he let's the gangster know his civilian identity (a secret he couldn't exactly let slide). But when the time comes for Dick to actually exact revenge and either kill Zucco or let him leave, his good side wins out. Until a carload of Maroni gunmen arrive to kill murder Zucco before he can testify against them and their crime bosses. And as Zucco begs for Dick to help him from being gunned down now that he has incapacitated the police escort... Dick turns away to allow exactly that.

Tony Zucco is murdered as Dick remains silent nearby, getting the outcome that his more vengeful instincts craved, but which his own morals prevented him from taking firsthand. For many fans of the Batman comics, and Robin's own moral code as compared to his mentor's, Dick's decision to abandon Zucco to his murder is an even worse outcome. Emotion driving Dick to avenge his parents? That could be understood. But the makers of Titans wanted to show their Robin standing by and watching as a man he hated was slaughtered.

We'll have to wait and see how this new origin contributes to Dick Grayson's larger story, but for now, Batman fans will have plenty to debate.

Titans releases new episodes every Friday exclusively on DC Universe.