Robin writer Joshua Williamson explains why Connor Hawke's return to the DC Universe gives Robin the perfect foil.
As Damian Wayne prepares to battle his way through the Lazarus Tournament to try and prove he's the ultimate Robin, Connor Hawke will be making his return to the comics after a long absence. And for Robin writer Joshua William, there's a very good reason for that.
"When we first started talking about doing the book, and we started talking about the tournament and what Damian was going to be going through -- because of Connor Hawke and his own past and his own history and being this amazing hand-to-hand fighter -- I was like, 'Oh, I have to have Connor Hawke,'" Williamson said in an exclusive interview with CBR. "Connor Hawke hasn't been seen in the DC Universe in like ten years, and I always liked that character. I was always bummed that [Connor] got shoved to the side. And so I started just asking, I was already asking about Ravager and other ones, but I really felt like I needed Connor. I was piecing all these things together with him and Damian, and at the same time, I was thinking about who were the people who would have these kinds of competitions.
When looking for inspiration for Damian's newest set of challenges, Williamson turned to the acclaimed Court of Owls run that pitted Batman and his allies against their natural predators. And as luck would have it, robins have their own real-world adversaries that fit perfectly with Williamson's plan.
"When you look at something like Court of Owls, part of the logic of Court of Owls was that the owl is a natural predator for bats," Williamson said. "So it works with those characters. So I was like, 'Okay, well, I'll take that logic and apply it to Robin. What are robins' natural predators?' And I looked it up and it was hawks. I just felt like all this was coming together. I went to DC and was like, 'Hey, listen, here are all my thoughts on how I want to do it.' And at first, I was like, 'Well, [Connor's] only going to be a side thing. He'll be part of the book, we'll slowly introduce him.' But then once I started writing the book and I started realizing, it never clicked in my brain until I was actually writing it how much Damian and Connor have in common."
Connor will be more than just another antagonist, though, as the character will share a deep connection with Damian as the series continues. "I was able to really bring him more and more in the book, and he took on a larger role," Williamson continued. "Once I started really outlining what the whole first part was going to be, the emotional story for Damian became tied in with Connor Hawke and what Connor Hawke is going through. It jelled really, really well. Issue #3 has a big scene with the two of them that's one of my favorite things I've done in a long time. It's one of my favorite scenes in the book, the two of them having, essentially, a bonding moment where they're talking about what their lives have been like and how much they have in common. I feel like I ran into some chemistry with the two of them, with Ravager, couple of other characters that we show. Something clicked when I was working on it."
Robin #1, by Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melkinov and Troy Peteri, goes on sale April 27 from DC.