The eternal upheaval affecting Warner Bros Picture’s DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is often called a crisis — referencing the comic publisher’s frequent on-page events. But it’s not a joke to many fans or studio watchers.
Shakes ups and changes to the DC roster have left the future and past of the DCEU wide open, so it’s understandable that fans have started speculating we may get answers to questions that go back as far as 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. One such loose thread is the unsolved mystery of what happened to Robin and what’s the deal with other Robins in that universe?
A multiverse of Batmen
Fans might stop short of wishing for Darkseid to invade and take over the franchise’s reins with extreme prejudice. But they’ve had an anxious few months as Gotham took a pounding like seldom before.
The DCEU has visibly been hit by the consequences of WarnerMedia and, in turn, DC’s sale, to Discovery. Even the epic release of the long-trailed Black Adam isn’t enough to settle things down.
Warner Bros’s acquisition has dramatically affected original orders for HBO Max, with one high-profile casualty being the already-in-the-can Batgirl. Revolving release dates had already put a weird spin on the much-publicized return of Michael Keaton to the DC universe.
With Batgirl scrapped and The Flash pushed back, Jason Momoa confirmed something that seemed impossible a year ago — Ben Affleck suiting up again to play Batman in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Who would have thought Gotham was full of so many swings and roundabouts?
As difficult as it is to keep up with these hectic changes, fans are quick to see some advantages. After all, Zack Snyder’s intricate plans set the heroes of the DC Universe on a particular journey, especially the older and grizzled Batman. As unexpected as it was, Zack Snyder’s Justice League was a conclusion to that incarnation of the DCEU, but as Batfleck isn’t one to give up, how can fans? Users of the /r/DC_Cinematic subreddit are ready for answers and they have one particular question in mind.
What is the Robin question?
The DCEU’s original Joker and Batman made a post-apocalyptic return in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. While it added a coda to the original storyline and a reprieve for the pair, notably Jared Leto’s less than well-received Harlequin of Hate, it didn’t answer the big and tragic Easter Egg in the Batcave — what happened to Robin?
The costume unmistakably scrawled with Joker’s writing set tongues wagging at the time. It referenced Joker’s infamous killing of Jason Todd, the second Robin, in the comic book arc A Death in the Family. However, the effect on Batfleck’s Bruce Wayne and the fact he’s not operating with an avian-inspired partner suggested it was his ward, the first Robin Dick Grayson who died.
It’s a savage Elseworlds What If..? place to kick off a franchise, but it happened. Now that Ben Affleck is set to reprise his role in not one but two flagpole movies, some Reddit users can see Dick Grayson not only alive and well, but catapulting from rooftops in the universe.
Leaving the mystery without a resolution for so long has some advantages if the DCEU wants to take them up.
Of course, being the DCEU, talking about the franchise’s future has to reference the past.
While Dick Grayson has stolen the headline slot on the small screen’s Titans (and we can’t forget the near-perfect Teen Titans Go!), the Nightwing movie has suffered a familiar fate.
It’s still listed on IMDB with director Chris McKay and screenwriter Bill Dubuque attached, but we’re yet to hear anything else about the film.
Nightwing is unlikely to fit easily in the Batfleck’s universe unless there’s some significant Multiversal tampering. Dick Grayson, though, is a DC A-lister, and the comics have thought up several identities and roles for him over the years. Having served as a secret agent, Grayson is richer than Bruce Wayne in the current continuity.
As some have suggested, introducing a Batman with so much baggage and huge events off-screen as well as in the past has significantly influenced how the DCEU Batman was perceived.
Chances are that despite the future of Grayson’s on-off love interest Batgirl biting the dust, the Bat Family will fly into the DCEU one day.