Forget Dick Grayson: Batman’s Three Female Robins
Last year, rumors about Jena Malone portraying a female Robin in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice flooded the Internet. With IMDb currently reporting that the actress is rumored to be playing Barbara Gordon, she’s likely to be playing Oracle or Batgirl. A little change in the canon is all it would take, though, to put her on the short list of female Robins. Over the years, a select few women have taken on this well-known sidekick position.
Stephanie Brown
The daughter of super-villain Cluemaster, Stephanie Brown began her career as the street vigilante Spoiler. While fighting her way to a clean conscience, Brown occasionally worked with the third Robin, Tim Drake. Following Drake’s retirement from crime fighting, Stephanie fabricated her own Robin costume and snuck into the BatCave, where she demanded Batman train her. Unfortunately, Brown was relieved of duty for disobeying Batman’s orders after accidentally inciting a massive gang war (hey, she meant well). During this period of urban violence, Stephanie was captured and tortured by Black Mask, ultimately dying in a hospital bed with Batman at her side.
Carrie Kelly
A thirteen-year-old Girl Scout rescued by a Batman who had just come out of retirement, Carrie Kelly’s Robin arms herself with a slingshot and firecrackers in Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. When Kelly saves Batman from a deadly attack by the Mutant Leader, the Caped Crusader adopts her as his sidekick. The fiery teenager plays a vital role in helping Batman mount his comeback and regain control of a Gotham that’s mired in bloodshed and chaos. Several years later, Kelly operates under the guise of Catgirl, encountering a Joker-like villain who would have killed her if not for Batman’s help. While Batman is rescuing her, Catgirl tells Wayne she loves him and he returns the sentiment. Frank Miller has since clarified that this love between Batman and Catgirl is not romantic, but similar to a father-daughter relationship.
Helena Wayne
The subject of regular debate among comic book aficionados, Helena Wayne is a character in DC’s Earth-Two series about a parallel world initially created to explain how Silver Age and Golden Age heroes fought together. The child of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, Helena was raised in Wayne Manor, growing up alongside Dick Grayson under the careful guidance of Alfred Pennyworth. In this storyline, Helena serves as Batman’s only Robin, and only for a very brief period of time. Helena most notably operates under the alias of Huntress, a name she gives herself after killing her mother’s murderer, Silky Cernak.
Bonus video!
Does Batman need Robin, anyway? Our friends at Geek and Sundry discuss whether or not the caped crusader’s sidekick is essential in the latest episode of Omnibus. Watch below.
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Image Credit: Amanda Connor/(DCComics.com), DC Comics, Warner Home Video, DC Comics
