The not-so-dynamic duo.
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00:00There's no denying that Batman and Robin are the most iconic duo that comics have ever produced.
00:03However, there is a downside to this team-up.
00:06The pair are defined by their friendship, sure, but as with most friendships, they fight, hurt, and disagree every so often.
00:12In fact, it's proven to be a constant source of drama in the comics, so much so that writers find themselves revisiting this well, time and time again.
00:19So with that in mind, I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com, and these are the 10 worst things Batman has done to Robin.
00:24Number 10, he made Damien a zombie, pretty much anywhere.
00:27Initially, it's difficult to see how Batman saving his son is anything but a classic example of superhero bad-assery.
00:33However, while bringing Damien back to life is a heroic move, and fighting Darkseid to be able to do so is uniquely compelling,
00:39there's something undeniably spooky about the process.
00:42In trying to bring his son back, Batman basically risks the lives of the whole of Earth by angering Darkseid,
00:47who is one of the most powerful villains in the DC Universe.
00:50More importantly, he clearly doesn't know how the Chaos Shard used to bring Damien back actually works,
00:55and has no idea about its side effects, meaning that there was a decent chance the whole plan could've failed,
01:00or even done awful things to his zombie son.
01:02Batman also lies to, experiments on, and actually betrays the Justice League in order to carry out said plan,
01:07and luckily this is somehow completely forgiven, as otherwise Damien could've found himself brought back to life just to be the Justice League's enemy number one.
01:15When Frankenstein himself tells you not to bring someone back, it might be time to just move on.
01:19Number 9, not telling them that he was getting married.
01:22Batman and Catwoman's announced wedding in 2016 was the subject of much excitement between fans and in-universe characters alike.
01:28However, between these celebrations there is one panel in particular that stands out,
01:32namely the one where we find out that Bruce actually didn't tell any of his collective wards that he was even considering marrying the ex-villain.
01:39Sure, nobody wants to hear about their dad's love life, especially when it involves him repeatedly arresting said love interest,
01:44but giving them a heads up seems like the very least that the Caped Crusader could do.
01:48The best part of all this though is that Alfred is the one to let the team know that their father-slash-mentor is getting hitched,
01:54which means that Bruce somehow didn't think anyone else needed the memo.
01:57Keeping up the secretive nature of Batman is one thing, but when there is a very real chance that a Robin or ex-Robin could have incarcerated their new stepmother,
02:04you'd probably think that at the very least, Batman could've texted them or something.
02:08Number 8, not telling them anything.
02:11Practically every Batman comic contains the hero keeping something hidden from one of his sidekicks.
02:15Admittedly, sometimes these things need to be kept secret, because keeping secrets, well, is the only reason that Bruce even gets to be Batman.
02:22That said, there are also times where Batman keeps vital information to himself just for the sole motive of being able to continue to brood over keeping secrets.
02:29Regardless of which Robin it is, every single one has thrown themselves blindly into danger through this,
02:33either to find out what's being hidden, or because they have no idea what dangers haven't been explained to them by the one guy they are supposed to trust to keep them safe.
02:41Although Batman's dark nature means that he is naturally secretive as I've mentioned,
02:45there is a huge line between him not revealing things unless he absolutely has to, and him actively keeping secrets that result in various Robins almost dying.
02:53Number 7, being a terrible father.
02:55Balancing being a businessman and also secretly being Batman is a lot of work, especially when you have to take care of the kids on the side.
03:01But given Bruce's motivation to adopt all of those Robins is to help them allegedly, then his often unstable behavior around them isn't really excusable.
03:08Although everyone wants to learn sweet ninja moves from Batman, he is also supposed to be helping them with their issues, which often go ignored.
03:15Admittedly, this ranges between writers, as some have Batman in the role of total team dad,
03:20whereas others have him be as much of a threat to his sidekicks as the villains themselves.
03:24Usually we see that Bruce genuinely cares about his wards, but for all this we see little of him actually taking care of them.
03:30Maybe because this would be considered less interesting than watching him beat people up, but still, a little variety never hurts.
03:36Batman isn't the worst dad in the DC Universe by a country mile, I mean he even kind of beats Superman in most continuities,
03:42but it has to be said that every Robin has at some point needed him to be a father figure, and he often fails at living up to that.
03:48Number 6, making Dick beat Batman.
03:50Being Batman is kind of a thankless job. You get cool powers, phew, and some solid cardio in,
03:55but it's also kind of the worst job of all time and leads without fail to an untimely death.
03:59That said, the fact that Batman so often insists that Robin number one, Dick Grayson, take his place should he go missing or die,
04:05is actually kind of a Dick move, as it's more or less a death sentence for his eldest child.
04:09The whole reason Dick left Gotham and his mentor in the first place was to attempt to gain some independence away from Batman,
04:15and so making him come back to take the role takes a steel crowbar to any freedom that he did gain while away.
04:20Now yeah, it's clear that Gotham needs a protector, but given that Dick has been protecting it since he was in green boy shorts,
04:25it probably seems only fair that someone else takes one for the team, or at the very least, that he at least gets to choose to,
04:30instead of Batman volunteering him for the pointy-eared death sentence.
04:34Number five, basically everything with Jason Todd.
04:37While many, many comics pay tribute to the fact that Jason Todd's death was a large event in Batman's life that he gave many, many monologues over,
04:44it's also worth noting that when Jason did come back to life, it was Batman's duty both as his mentor and his legal guardian to help fix his broken mental state.
04:52And yeah, again, attempts are made, but Batman basically gives up with the excuse that Jason has always had an untamable dark side.
04:58This would be fine from any other hero, but given that this is from the same man who manages to deal with not only his own inner darkness,
05:04but also the murderous instincts of his son, it is a poor excuse.
05:08This isn't to say that Batman is totally in the wrong, I mean, a large part of Jason Todd's anger could only be fixed by killing the Joker,
05:14which would of course go against the principles that made Bruce Batman.
05:16However, since Red Hood became a hero again, the two have repeatedly saved and clearly cared for each other,
05:21meaning the bad blood between them could have been patched up if the Dark Knight devoted but a second of the time that he puts into literally anything else.
05:284. Beating Him Up
05:29Almost every other comic with Batman and a Robin includes a scene where the dynamic duo turn on each other.
05:34From a plot perspective, it's a great way to get fans invested, as nobody wants to see either of the heroes lose, especially at the hands of their former ally.
05:41From a logical point, however, some of these fights are sketchy as hell, as Batman has more than once hurt his wards, who are children, over some minor things, such as enjoying punk music.
05:50Though his questionable behavior was more of a problem in the gold and silver ages of comics,
05:54when apparently beating your children up was only a morally grey area, I guess, it's still apparent in a lot of modern comics too,
06:00meaning that we can't completely peg this weirdness on older comics as crazy shenanigans.
06:04Between fights where Robin is just trying to calm Batman down before he hurts somebody,
06:07see Batman White Knight and Superman Slash Batman as two prime examples,
06:10to Bruce basically disowning him for not supporting his paranoia in the ironically named World's Finest No. 153,
06:16all examples serve to show us that even Batman's closest allies aren't safe from his wrath.
06:213. Torturing Him
06:22There has been genuine speculation by fans that Frank Miller's all-star Batman & Robin was actually a parody comic.
06:28Although it seems unlikely to be true, there is something about watching Batman kidnap Dick Grayson,
06:32immediately put him into a life or death car chase, and then trap him in the Batcave,
06:36making him eat rats to survive, that makes you hope that, yeah, maybe that's true.
06:40As it stands, it's not, sadly, and so the treatment of Robin in the series is possibly the worst thing within it.
06:45Which is impressive when you remember that this is the comic where one of Joker's minions has literal swastikas tattooed on her literal breasts.
06:52Oh my lord, what a sentence. Comics are weird.
06:55Worse yet, Robin is still 10 in this series, and so every awful thing done to him is being done to a boy
07:00who is just old enough to learn to tie his shoelaces.
07:03All this in mind, it makes complete sense that in this comic, the Justice League are actually after Batman,
07:08and we can only hope child protective services are as well.
07:112. Blowing Him Up
07:12Batman Odyssey is one of the weirder Batman comics to date.
07:15Containing a man who can turn into bees, several domesticated dinosaurs,
07:19and a wizard who speaks in 1940s slang, to name but a few parts of the wild read.
07:24Let me put it this way, if you've ever wanted to see Batman unironically use the phrase Jazz Magician,
07:28then now is your time to shine.
07:30It's entirely possible that this comic was written by just picking words out of a hat and making them into a story,
07:35which is the only logical way that the writers would have Batman knowingly kill Robin in an explosion,
07:40and then feel literally zero remorse for it afterwards.
07:43Honestly, the whole interaction is absolutely hilarious,
07:46as the speed with which Batman goes for the detonation button makes you wonder
07:49if he'd just been looking for any excuse to get rid of his ward up until now.
07:53Robin appearing in the next issue doesn't even excuse this, by the way,
07:56as he literally states that he wasn't sure if Batman would blow the place up before he could escape,
08:00showing us that the fact that he isn't dead is more down to lucky timing than anything else.
08:041. Making the Role of Robin
08:07Although the physical and psychological damage carried out on various Robins over the years
08:11has at points been downright abusive,
08:13the worst thing Batman has ever done to any of them has been the one thing that he can't prevent,
08:16namely, from taking the role of Robin.
08:18While many storylines have shown that practically every Robin would continue to fight crime
08:22without the Caped Crusader's consent,
08:23even this is his fault for creating the role in the first place.
08:26Now yeah, Batman does want them, but it's in a sort of classic brooding manner
08:29that actually makes the whole thing look a lot cooler than it did in the first place.
08:33Every Robin does a good job in their role, but at the end of the day,
08:35they're still kids and teenagers who are essentially becoming child soldiers,
08:39and Batman, despite the fact that he knows they'll get hurt, doesn't stop them.
08:43Essentially, Batman has convinced a series of children to fight convicted serial killers,
08:47and while yeah, they may be good at it,
08:48you can't help but think that people who aren't old enough to drive
08:51maybe shouldn't be placed in intensely dangerous situations,
08:54all because a man with parent issues and a cool cape has decided that they're ready.
08:58So that's our list. I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
09:00Are there any other crazy Batman and Robin moments I missed off here?
09:03And while you're down there, could you please give us a like, share, subscribe,
09:05and head over to WhatCulture Comics for more lists like this on the regular.
09:08Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you soon.