Haly's Circus is the circus that Dick Grayson and his family the Flying Graysons toured with up until the Grayson parents' deaths.
History[]
Golden Age (Earth Two)[]
Haly's Circus travelled to Gotham City for a performance but were met by Gotham's then kingpin of crime, Boss Tony "Fats" Zucco. The circus owners refused to pay protection-money to Zucco and as a result, Zucco had his men cut the ropes of the Flying Grayson's no-net trapeze-act.
John and May Grayson fell to their deaths as their son Dick was forced to watch. Dick witnessed Zucco's men intimidating the circus owners and wished to testify against him but Batman quickly intervened as he knew Zucco had so much power that if Dick opened his mouth, he'd be killed by the mob.
Batman proceeded to take Dick under his wing and they teamed up to condemn Tony Zucco, sending him to prison where he apparently was executed via cyanide-chamber. After this, Batman officially took Dick in as his ward and apprentice, Robin.
Silver Age (Earth One)[]
The Silver Age version of the circus shares most if-not all of its history with its Golden Age counterpart. We do learn that Bruce Wayne made several donations to the circus to keep it running.
Post-Crisis (New Earth)[]
In the New Earth continuity, the circus came to Gotham shortly after the events of Batman: The Long Halloween in-which Gotham's don Carmine Falcone was murdered by Two-Face resulting in a struggle for power between the Gotham mafia and the, "super-villains".
To try and grab at power, two Gotham mobsters named Tony "Fats" Zucco and Edward Skeevers attempted to take control of the circus only for the circus owners to rebuke their offers. Zucco and Skeevers proceeded to rig the ropes used by the Flying Graysons to drop them to their deaths. Following this, Bruce Wayne (who was in the audience) adopted Dick Grayson as he too watched his parents die at the hands of Gotham's criminals.
Batman and the newly dubbed, "Robin" (a nickname Dick was called by his parents) proceeded to reveal Zucco's complicity in the Grayson murder but he was killed by the mob quickly thereafter with them faking it as a heart-attack. Skeevers on the other-hand was not condemned but was killed by Mister Freeze in Gotham's Columbus Day Massacre.
New 52 (Prime Earth)[]
As of the New 52, it was revealed that Haly's Circus was an operation run by the Court of Owls. The purpose of the circus was truly to train the circus' youth into being skilled Talon assassins for the court.
Dick comes from a long line of this Talons which can be traced back to William Cobb, the chief assassin from when Batman first uncovered the Court. William himself was a juggler-turned-knife-thrower within Haly's circus who left his own son to be raised their after leaving to become Talon. Had it not been for Batman adopting Dick, he would have likely been groomed into being William's successor.
Residents[]
- C.C. Haly:
- John Grayson (deceased):
- Mary Grayson (deceased):
- Dick Grayson (formerly):
- William Cobb (formerly):
- Nathaniel Haly (formerly):
- Calvin Rose (formerly):
- Raymond McCreary (deceased):
- Raya Vestri (deceased):
- Zane (formerly):
- Waldo Flynn:
- Bryan Haly:
Appearances in Other Media[]
Television[]
Batman: The Animated Series[]
Haly's Circus is seen in the episode Robin's Reckoning: Part 1 in a flashback to Dick Grayson's childhood.
In the tie-in comics, we learn that Boston Brand was a performer in the circus before dying and becoming Deadman.
Teen Titans[]
The circus is seen in a flashback to the death of the Flying Graysons.
The Batman[]
The circus appears in the episode A Matter of Family which serves as the origin to Robin with Tony Zucco here being a member of the circus himself.
Young Justice[]
In the episode Performance of Young Justice, Dick and several other members of his team go undercover to the circus to investigate a weapons thief. Mr. Haly recognizes Dick through his disguise and they spend some time reminiscing.
Gotham[]
Titans[]
Video-Games[]
Batman: Arkham City[]
Outdated posters for the circus can be found in Amusement Mile.