Tim Drake. While he's not the most popular choice, Tim Drake was Robin during the '90s when I first started reading Batman comics so he'll always be my favorite. Of course Dick Grayson, the original Robin, is great but he's been Nightwing (and now Batman) for so long that he's firmly established himself outside of his long-running stint as the short shorts and cape-wearing sidekick/ward to Bruce Wayne. Tim Drake, on the other hand, will always be Robin to me. (I'll have none of this Red Robin stuff, or whatever he's called these days.)
I'm not a huge fan of the Jason Todd Robin (fun fact: Batman readers voted to have him killed off in 1988 via a 1-900 number. Of course, he's alive now) or the Damien "Bruce Wayne Jr." Robin. The Tim Drake Robin had an awesome costume (and pants, finally), and became an interesting character during his 20-year run. It's no coincidence that every other Robin (including Dick Grayson in the amazing Batman: the Animated Series from the '90s) has basically worn the same costume.
As for Batman, it's Bruce Wayne all the way for me. I mean, come on. Bruce Wayne is basically the greatest comic book character of all time. Dick Grayson is proving to be a decent Batman, but there's no topping the original. For the non-nerds, Dick recently took over the Batman mantle while Bruce Wayne was dead/traveling through time, but he's back now so there are basically two Batmans (Batmen?) running around Gotham. Comic books! Am I right, folks?
Movie-wise, Michael Keaton will always be my favorite Batman. Christian Bale is good, but Keaton was perfect. I like how his Bruce Wayne is kind of crazy. Because, let's face it, Bruce Wayne is basically as nutty as the villains he constantly punches in the face.
What about you guys? Who is your favorite Batman and/or Robin? Is it George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell? I won't judge! Much. And on a related topic, how about the Human Torch dying in Fantastic Four? Do you care? How long before he comes back? (I'm guess a year at the most.)
I'm not a huge fan of the Jason Todd Robin (fun fact: Batman readers voted to have him killed off in 1988 via a 1-900 number. Of course, he's alive now) or the Damien "Bruce Wayne Jr." Robin. The Tim Drake Robin had an awesome costume (and pants, finally), and became an interesting character during his 20-year run. It's no coincidence that every other Robin (including Dick Grayson in the amazing Batman: the Animated Series from the '90s) has basically worn the same costume.
As for Batman, it's Bruce Wayne all the way for me. I mean, come on. Bruce Wayne is basically the greatest comic book character of all time. Dick Grayson is proving to be a decent Batman, but there's no topping the original. For the non-nerds, Dick recently took over the Batman mantle while Bruce Wayne was dead/traveling through time, but he's back now so there are basically two Batmans (Batmen?) running around Gotham. Comic books! Am I right, folks?
Movie-wise, Michael Keaton will always be my favorite Batman. Christian Bale is good, but Keaton was perfect. I like how his Bruce Wayne is kind of crazy. Because, let's face it, Bruce Wayne is basically as nutty as the villains he constantly punches in the face.
What about you guys? Who is your favorite Batman and/or Robin? Is it George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell? I won't judge! Much. And on a related topic, how about the Human Torch dying in Fantastic Four? Do you care? How long before he comes back? (I'm guess a year at the most.)
The 90s animated series was pretty much my introduction to most things Batman. (I might have seen the movies before then, but I'm not sure. I can't even remember if I ever saw "Batman Returns" in theaters or not.) So to me, Dick Grayson is Robin. I think the fact that he eventually left the Batcave and became a hero in his own right makes himeven more appealing to me. Main characters are so seldom allowed to develop like that in comics. I've met and liked other Robin's since, but when I think "Robin" without any context, I'm thinking Dick Grayson.
I haven't been reading the current comics and while I think it's a fun idea, no one has ever really replaced Bruce Wayne as the Batman. Anyone else who puts on the cape and cowl is just borrowing it for a bit, or following in Bruce's footsteps. At best, they're sequels. Bruce is the original.
I like Michael Keaton as far as live-action Bats go. I think Christian Bale is the bes live-action Bruce Wayne ever to grace the screen, though it all falls apart once he gets into the Batsuit. And I have a big old soft spot for Adam West, who is great at what he does, even if what he does is generally very silly. But again, I go back to the fact that the 90s animated series was my introduction to Batman and still what I regard as the perfect version of Batman. So my Batman is and always will be Kevin Conroy. As with Robin, there have been great Batman before and since, but he's gold standard.
Agree about B:TAS. Though it's interesting how the Robin in that is kind of half Dick Grayson, half Tim Drake. He wears Drake's costume and goes to high school (we never really saw Dick in high school), but has Dick's origin and general attitude.
Bale is good, but Keaton did a great job of hinting to Wayne's craziness. He always seemed to be putting on the act of a dashing playboy, as opposed to Bale's Wayne who is actually a dashing playboy. Keaton's Bruce addresses that central Batman question: Which one is the facade-- Batman or Bruce Wayne? Maybe Bruce is just a mask Batman wears.
At the same time, Bale's BM is younger than Keaton's. Bale is still going through the process of accepting his role in the movies we've seen- he's gone as far as to consider giving up! Keaton's BM has been established for long enough that, in a way, he's given up on a normal, playboy life and understands the dark, dual role he has to play...
That ridiculous growl of a voice Bale sported throughout the entirety of The Dark Knight, on the other hand, was rather grating...
What really drives me nuts is that Bale has it down through the rest of the movie and as soon as he put on the Batsuit, it just all goes away. When I watched that scene in "The Dark Knight" where Bale takes apart a shotgun as if he were tying his shoes, I thought "That's perfect. That's Batman."But when he actually is Batman, he never manages to seem that coool and in control. Instead, we get a six-year-old's guess at what Batman should sound like.
I don't think I would have minded the growly voice so much if the movie had gone with the idea that Bruce is still inexperienced and is putting on what he thinks is a tough, scary voice to try to increase the criminal element's dear of him. It's so over the top because Bruce still doesn't quite know what he's doing and it would be ridiculous even to the thugs he's fighting were in not combined with Bruce's expertise at putting the hurt on bad guys.
Yeah, the Bale growl is kind of annoying. I get that he has to disguise his voice--and I appreciate Christopher Nolan's realistic approach--but I still think he could speak in a gruff, menacing voice when he's Batman without sounding like he constantly needs a Halls. After all, we all know that Christian Bale's normal shouting voice is pretty intense...
I think TAS Dick Grayson was actually in college, which explained why he wasn't around that much.
Oh, right, he is in college. But he always seemed like a mix of Dick Grayson and Tim Drake on the show.
agree with the Michael Keaton thing, he was always my favorite and even though I would drink George Clooney's bathwater he doesn't compare!
Whoot! Didn't see that this had been answered.
Tim Drake's my favorite too, though I actually like Red Robin. There was a line he said to one of the Batgirls....... something like, "CAll yourself whatever you want, you're still part of the family."
What I actually meant by who's your favorite Bat was which member of the batlcan is your favorite, but I get the sneaking suspicion you might answer Batman anyway....
As for live action, I've never liked them quite as much as the animated versions. There's just so much more you can do with animation in a superhero world, and some of the earlier ones are just so cheesy. I've tried to watch them, but right now my attention span seems tuned to all things animated.
Thanks for the answer. ^_^
Can you explain Red Robin to me? I haven't been following the recent Robin comics. I assume Tim Drake took the name once Damien took over as Robin? Wasn't there a Red Robin in the "Kingdom Come" series? Is he supposed to be the same character?
As for the rest of the Bat-clan, I really like the new Batwoman. (For the non-DC Comics nerds, she has a great costume, is a lesbian, and is awesome. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/files/2010/06/batwoman1.jpg)
The Batwoman issues of Detective Comics were great, and I'm really looking forward to her new series.
I'm also a big fan of Commissioner Gordon and all the Gotham PD characters. "Gotham Central," the series that was basically "Law & Order in Gotham City," is one of my favorite comics of all time.
And thanks for the question! Clearly I could talk about Batman all day....
Actually, I don't know too much about Red Robin, because apparently (though I just found out about it) the book version is out of print, and the only things available are one-shots. (Urgh.....I can read those in like, 15 minutes. Or less. Probably less.) But yes, it's Tim Drake. I only got a small snapshot, cuz I caved and got one of the booklets, but yeah, he probably didn't want to get in the way of Dick Batman and Damien Robin, since a) he's older now (I'm guessing) and b) well.....he doesn't like Damien. At all.
Bruce: So how are things with you and the kid?
Tim: Dick's done a great job with him.
Bruce: But how are things between /you/ and the kid?
Tim: Did I mention Dick's done a great job with him?
As for the REd Robin in Kingdom Come, I don't know. I think Jason Todd had a stint as REd Robin, and then Tim took it over. I actually think it's really cool. And y'know, one of the great things about Tim is that he never believed Bruce was never coming back. Everyone else gave up on him. Oh, and he's faking an injury for some reason I forget. And he's in love with a maybe cop from China who goes by Lynx or something.
What's the name of the current Batgirl? I got a 404 error on the link.
http://multimediaculture.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/red-robin-%e2%80%93-inheritor-of-batman%e2%80%99s-paranoid-legacy/
This says it better.
And I meant Batwoman.
Sorry, my computer messes up, and I didn't see my first comment.
I meant Batwoman. And this guy says things much better than I could (mostly cuz he knows more.)
http://multimediaculture.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/red-robin-%e2%80%93-inheritor-of-batman%e2%80%99s-paranoid-legacy/
Kathy Kane is the new Batwoman. Here's a good link with art:
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/04/14/its-official-batwoman-ongoing-series/
There's a collection out of her issues of Detective Comics. They are great, and go into her origin.
http://www.amazon.com/Batwoman-Elegy-Greg-Rucka/dp/1401226922/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296717740&sr=1-1
There's also an ongoing Batwoman series coming later this year.
Red Robin sounds interesting. I'll have to check out the recent series. I do like Tim Drake. And, yeah, from what I've read in Batman comics recently, he doesn't like Damien. (I kind of agree. The "Batman and Son" storyline was good, but don't know how I feel about Batman having a son.)
I love Tim Drake. He was the best combination of Grayson's intelligence, acrobats, and cunning, but also the intense physical skill level of Jason Todd. As Red Robin, he is really coming into his own and it is one of my favorite reads this past year. Tim was the only one to believe Bruce was still alive, and he fought tooth and nail until he had proof to show the rest of the bat family. Now, with his crazed chain-reaction plan in taking down every level of villain (and a back up plan to take down the other heros) he is just plain bad ass.
I will always have a soft spot for Dick Grayson. It is VERY hard to beat the original, especially one that developed through so many years of comic history. I think he is the better hero, even if he isn't the best Robin.
Jason Todd is basically Grayson's own personal joker at this point, and no one really liked him as a Robin. He still has contributed a great deal to the comics though, even if the most substantial thing he did was die. The idea of the "evil" Robin is also a great plot device. Still, he is way bottom of the list in terms of "Who makes a good robin?"
Stephanie Brown..........
Should have stayed dead.
I never realized the batman comic was so convoluted... My dial sits more on the side of dork than geek and now brain hurts a little bit
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