It's an interesting time to be a fan of Robin, the (mostly) Boy Wonder.
As more details for the upcoming live-action Titans series have been released, we've learned that the series may exist in a world where at least two of Batman's proteges will exist. Dick Grayson, the Robin who will become Nightwing, is a lead on the show, and his follow up Jason Todd was recently rumored to be a part of the series as well. If the rumors are true, Jason will arrive on the show about halfway through its debut season, though it's unclear in what capacity and which costumed identity he will have.
RELATED: Live-Action Titans May Be Casting Bruce Wayne, Young Robin
Warner Bros. has not yet released a definitive statement on the matter, but the possibility of Titans including Jason in any capacity is certainly interesting. It would be the first time that troubled kid would be in a live action Batman adaption--in previous instances, he's either been teased as having previously existed, or just been skipped outright to go straight ahead for his successor, Tim Drake. But if Jason is now considered "safe" to bring onto television thanks to the rising popularity of his adult persona the Red Hood, it means that anything can happen in regards to Batman-related media.
So with that in mind we ask, why not craft a show focused on the Robins? No Batman, no Joker, just the Robins -- which is to say, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Batman's actual son, Damian Wayne trying their hand at being a team of their own.
By now, audiences effectively have a solid idea of who each of the four Boy Wonders are and the ways in which they differentiate from each other thanks to media outside of the comics. Recent DC events such as "Batman & Robin Eternal" and "Robin War" have showcased the fun dynamic the four Boy Wonders share, with the most popular pairings between them being Dick and Damian, and Tim and Jason.
RELATED: Are Batman and Robin Still DC’s Dynamic Duo?
By now, all four of the Robins have made an effort, each in their own way, to step out of the rather large shadow Batman casts. Dick moved to a new city and took on the Nightwing mantle, Tim founded Young Justice and actually made plans to retire so he could go to college, Jason... well, he died. And Damian founded both the current incarnation of the Teen Titans and struck up a partnership with his best friend, Superboy.
Between the four of them, there's enough material there to carry a show where they work through their respective identity crises, particularly with Damian. The best moments where Damian has been allowed to be himself, as in a young child that also happens to be the son of a great superhero and great assassin, have been primarily with one of his older siblings, and they understand him in ways that other costumed heroes really don't, not even his father.
The only thing that's really standing in a way of a show oriented around the Robins is the fact that there currently isn't a place for them right now, network-wise. The CW shows likely won't ever solidly touch anything remotely related to the Dark Knight, and putting all four of them in whatever world that Titans will inhabit when it comes to DC's streaming service would be way too soon. Fortunately, there is one universe where the four boys would fit in relatively well, and that would be the universe of Fox's Gotham.
Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='How%20the%20Heck%20Can%20the%20Robins%20Exist%20on%20Gotham%3F']
Over the life of Gotham, one thing has been made abundantly clear: The folks running the wacky Batman prequel stopped taking comic book canon into account some time ago. To them, DC's canon is more of an extremely loose guideline than it is strict guidelines. A teenage Bruce Wayne can get away with murdering Ra's al Ghul while Jim Gordon literally punches the face off of the Not Joker. Gotham could easily justify the hypothetical boys wonder's existence through some flimsy logic. Perhaps four young boys find themselves inspired by Bruce's actions on the show, and that would be enough for fans to draw their own conclusions about which boy is which particular Boy Wonder.
RELATED: Do Robin & Beast Boy Really Deserve to Be Part of DC’s Justice League?
As a show, Gotham doesn't exactly light the world on fire in the same way that the Arrowverse or the world of The Gifted have, but it certainly has built a world that's as compelling as it is completely ridiculous. That would be more than enough for a Robins-oriented arc to work with.
The show has gotten a lot of mileage in seeing how the various villains of Gotham City interact with one another without an actual Batman to be the source of their hatred toward one another, and that same mileage can be applied to the Robins. How closely would the four Robins resemble the characters as we know them in the comics if they came together of their own accord and not under the guidance of the rich orphan who took them in? Would Dick and Damian have the relationship they do in the comics, or would the oldest Robin gravitate more towards Jason or Tim?
These are questions that a Robins story, or even a spinoff series set in the universe of Gotham could provide. The show has gained a following that loves just how gonzo that it absolutely is, and there's nothing holding it back from bringing in the Robins but the show's creators' self-control. What's the point of a Batman-oriented show where anything can happen if it won't even bring along the extended members of his family along for the ride?