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Robin was the sidekick and partner of Batman. Helping him fight crime some time in his career, he lost his life at the hands of the Joker and Harley Quinn,[1][2] who vandalized his costume with glowing spray paint. The vandalized Robin costume was hung up in the Batcave to remind Batman of the stakes in his war on crime and justify his more brutal approach to crime fighting.[1]

Behind the Scenes[]

Robin-Batman-v-Superman

Robin's memorial display in the Batcave

Drawing inspiration from Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight, it was decided that Robin would have died prior to the film and that his costume would be hung in a Batcave memorial. In most continuities, the character, usually Jason Todd, lost their life to a criminal, usually the Joker. The memorial is used to remind Batman of the stakes of his war on crime. Some stories, such as The Dark Knight Returns, also had Bruce Wayne give up his activities as Batman due to Robin's death.

In interviews shared with various publications, Snyder revealed that the costume belonged to Dick Grayson, who'd traditionally survived his time as Robin and become Nightwing.[3] A gravestone baring the name "Richard Grayson" can also be seen in several production photos. Snyder has denied planning to include any of the other characters to use the Robin identity, instead saying that Carrie Kelley was the only one he was going to adapt into his universe. He also claimed that he wanted to explore Grayson's death in future Justice League films, though these were postponed due to negative reactions and commercial underperformance of the films.[4][5]

However, Jason Todd was mentioned in to have become Robin in promotional material for Suicide Squad. Some press material, including a prop showcase for Batman v Superman, referred to it being his Robin costume rather than Dick Grayson's.[6] Killer Croc is also mentioned to have been responsible for the murder of Jason's parents and the reason why he became Robin in leaked photos of his and other Suicide Squad members' files. Suicide Squad director David Ayer later commented that this was an error due to lack of communication with Snyder and his belief that, similar to the comics, the dead Robin was intended to be Jason Todd. It's also speculated this was also changed so that Grayson could star in a later cancelled Nightwing film.

Notes[]

  • It's been speculated that Batman had started killing criminals after Robin's death. However, he is shown capturing both Deadshot and Harley Quinn in flashbacks shown in Suicide Squad; both of which are set years after the event and the latter character is established to have been involved in the murder. Ayer also mentioned in an interview that Batman had simply brutalized Joker for Robin's murder rather than killing him.[6]

References[]

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