Robin's Execution of Black Mask Broke Batman's Number One Rule

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Teen Titans Special #1 by Adam Glass, Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Sunny Gho and Rob Leigh, on sale now.

When it comes to sidekicks, the one with the highest profile in the DC Universe (if not the entire superhero world) would have to be Robin, the Boy Wonder. Of course, Dick Grayson was the first Robin and most popular of the group. Following Dick was Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown, with Bruce Wayne's son, Damian Wayne, currently filling the role.

Even though Jason was a pretty controversial Robin (fans actually paid to call in and vote for DC to kill him in 1988), Damian had his share of naysayers when he was introduced in 2006. Oftentimes portrayed as brash and arrogant, Damian definitely rubbed some fans the wrong way, but he eventually started to win them over as his character grew to become a trusted member of the Batman family. Much of his success can be credited to working alongside Dick when he took up cape and cowl as Batman, while also teaming with his father as Bruce taught Damian his crimefighting principles.

Batman's number one rule when it comes to fighting crime is he will never, under any circumstances, take a life. There have been many examples where Batman would be forgiven for killing someone in his rogues gallery (we're looking at you, Joker), but the Dark Knight stays firm to his beliefs and resists the temptation to stoop to his enemies' level, and he expects his partners to do the same.

Though Damian was born and bred within the League of Assassins, he has adopted Batman's methods, even going on to lead the Teen Titans during DC's Rebirth era. But the recent events of the weekly Justice League: No Justice miniseries have had a big impact on Robin, causing him to make changes to the way he operates and leading to the formation of a new version of the Teen Titans, an incarnation consisting of both familiar and new faces.

Teen Titans Special #1 is a one-shot that focuses on the individual members of the team that fans will recognize from various DC titles -- Robin, Red Arrow and Kid Flash -- and is meant to transition from the previous iteration of the Teen Titans to the one Robin creates after No Justice. The three stories play out in the same manner, with the exception of how Robin's tale ends, which we'll get to shortly.

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No More Mr. Nice Guy

Instead of stalking across rooftops in the shadows, Damian begins the issue by visiting his favorite local Lebanese restaurant, Tarbooshes. However, the family-owned establishment has fallen prey to a protection racket while Damian was off in the far reaches of outer space. Robin attempts to help the family, but his efforts result in an explosion to the restaurant and the head of the family's death.

Enraged, Robin interrogates one of the suspects into giving up the man responsible for the hit job: the mobster Black Mask. It's during this scene where readers get their first clue that Robin is tired of playing nice with criminals. "Because this strategy isn't working anymore," he says to himself after admitting something has snapped inside of him. Blame it on Tarbooshes' ability to make an ox blood soup that reminds him of the kind he used to eat growing up, or the trauma of seeing an entire planet destroyed, but Robin's mean streak is back. But he wouldn't step over the line and do something he may regret... right?

I'm Not Batman

Instead of Robin and Black Mask's confrontation taking place in a back alley or in the darkest regions of Gotham's underworld, Robin finds the crime boss relaxing in a sauna. Of course, Roman Sionis isn't intimidated in the least and makes a joke regarding Batman sending the "junior squad" to do his dirty work for him.

Robin isn't in the mood for jokes, however, and lets Black Mask know that not only did he take out his guards, but he also swiped a pistol from the villain's gym bag. When Black Mask tries to remind Robin that "Batman doesn't use guns," Damian reveals how far he's taking his change in attitude with the response, "I'm not Batman" as he points the pistol directly at Black Mask's skull. The camera quickly cuts to a view right outside the sauna door, where we see a flash of light from the gun's discharge, along with a loud BANG.

Obviously, Robin's execution of Black Mask (if he really went through with it) will have major ramifications for his relationship with Batman. Excluding the Red Hood, guns are off-limits for members of the Bat family, with Jason Todd's status as the resident black sheep the only reason he's allowed to slide on that rule.

Bruce's hatred for guns goes back to the loss of his parents to a firearm and swearing to never stoop so low as to ever use it against another person in that manner. That isn't to say there haven't been depictions of Batman brandishing a gun in the comics or other media, but many of those stories either took place in the early days of DC's publishing, or in alternate reality storylines. Most recently, Ben Affleck's depiction of the Dark Knight in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice garnered attention for his use of excessive force and piloting a vehicle that used machine guns.

Red Arrow and Kid Flash's stories in Teen Titans Special #1 continue the thread of young superheroes becoming frustrated with their older role models, which leads us to believe Robin's new team will be a lot more proactive (and possibly violent) in its upcoming missions, especially with Lobo's daughter, Crush, as a member. The real fun will come when we finally see Batman's reaction to Robin's attitude adjustment.