Two variant covers for Batman '89 provide a first look at the BurtonVerse's Robin.
The team variant by Ken Taylor and Taurin Clarke features the Boy Wonder in the background sporting a green hood and a yellow mask. The 1:25 variant cover by Joe Quinones provides a better look at Robin's full costume. Both covers also include Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman and Billy Dee Williams' Harvey Dent. The Taylor and Clarke cover will be available in participating comic shops, while Quinones' will be on shelves across the country.
Written by Sam Hamm and illustrated by Quinones, Batman '89 is a digital-first comic series that continues the events of director Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). The series will see the return of Pfeiffer's Selina Kyle / Catwoman and Billy Dee Williams' Harvey Dent / Two-Face. Quinones teased Robin's debut with a sketch of the "R" logo in late June.
Originally, Robin was present in one of the early scripts for Batman Returns. Marlon Wayans was cast in the role and even attended a wardrobe fitting. However, due to the large amount of characters in Batman Returns, the Dark Knight's trusty sidekick was cut from the film. However, Wayans was still signed on to play the character in a potential sequel.
Those plans were scrapped when Joel Schumacher replaced Tim Burton as the director of Batman Forever. The role of Robin went to Chris O'Donnell in the sequel/soft reboot, which also saw Val Kilmer replace Keaton as Batman and Tommy Lee Jones replace Williams as Harvey Dent.
Robin won't be the only Batman character making his way to Burton's version of Gotham. CGPD Detective Harvey Bullock will also make an appearance after being cut from the script of Batman Returns.
The first six chapters of Batman '89 will debut digitally on July 27, with six additional chapters arriving weekly after that. After all 12 chapters have been released, they will be collected into six physical comics books that will debut in August, September and October. The hardcover collected edition will be available in October.
DC Comics is also releasing a similar series based on Richard Donner and Christopher Reeves' Superman (1978), aptly titled Superman '78. That comic, which also releases six chapters on July 27, will be written by Robert Venditti and illustrated by Wilfredo Torres.