Which character in "The Batman" could turn out to be the hero's stalwart sidekick, Robin?
Is he hiding in plain sight? Keep watching for the fan theories that say just that.
Batman and his major villains, supporting cast, gadgets, and methods are a known
quantity for moviegoers by now. But it seems like bringing Batman's famous sidekick to the screen
is more of a challenge for many filmmakers. Despite the fact that Robin is an immediately
identifiable pop culture icon, his time on the big screen has been relatively scarce.
Christopher Nolan's trilogy of Batman films, for example, only included Robin in the form of Joseph
Gordon-Levitt's character, whose real name is revealed at the end of "The Dark Knight Rises."
"Try my legal name."
"You should use your full name. I like that name. Robin."
Director Joel Schumacher included the character in "Batman Forever," and "Batman and Robin,"
but since then, the most we've seen of this brightly-garbed, orphaned circus acrobat
has been a monument to his off-screen death in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."
This exclusion of Robin continues in "The Batman."
It's arguably the grimmest and most serious big screen take on Batman yet, and it can be a little
hard to imagine a swashbuckling Robin in it. But with future sequels almost certainly on the way,
fans are already speculating about how Matt Reeves might find a way to link Robin
up to this brooding version of Batman, particularly given the dark new twists
already given to characters like Riddler and the Penguin. Some say he's already been introduced.
If you've seen "The Batman," you remember Gotham Mayor Mitchell, the Riddler's first victim,
and his grieving son. Bruce Wayne obviously feels a connection to the boy's grief,
as it mirrors his own following the traumatic death of his parents. That alone doesn't make
the younger Mitchell a prospective Robin, but as one fan on Reddit points out,
there are other potential clues pointing to the kid's possible future as a caped crimefighter:
"I mean, they showed him multiple times throughout the movie.
Bruce felt connected with him for being an orphan. The kid was wearing a RED ninja suit
and wielded a katana at the beginning... I mean come on. Just a little resemblance?"
While the classic Dick Grayson version of Robin isn't known to fight with a katana,
the Damian Wayne version does. The stronger clue, though, is the kid wearing red.
Others see the character as merely a reflection of Bruce Wayne, in keeping with the story's
theme of Batman on an unbreakable cycle of violence and grief. One user wrote:
"I really just took it as that kid is a reflection of what happened to Bruce Wayne.
The cycle is repeating itself – [B]atman wasn't stopping it in his current form."
If Mitchell's son isn't Robin, maybe someone else is. There's a new recruit
to the gang seen early in the film who seems visibly uncomfortable with the actions of the
others, and even hesitates to beat up an innocent victim.
He ends up running away from Batman rather than fighting. Notably, he wears a red hood,
and the movie focuses on him just enough to make him stick out in the memory of viewers.
The character is played by actor Jay Lycurgo, who is, probably by coincidence,
now playing Tim Drake, the third Robin, on HBO Max's "Titans." Since
"Titans" definitely doesn't fit into the same continuity as "The Batman,"
it would seem unlikely that both franchises would have the same actor playing Robin.
If the younger Mitchell doesn't end up accepting the mantle of Robin,
nor the unnamed gang member, it wouldn't be the first time that Batman fans would
be disappointed by what they thought was a clue about future characters.
Remember the character of Coleman Reese in "The Dark Knight"? He's the Wayne Industries
employee who attempts to blackmail the billionaire playboy with information
about his secret identity. At the time, there was lots of fan speculation that, because "Mr.
Reese" sounds a lot like "mysteries," he would be the Riddler in a future film. He wasn't.
"They're tryin' to kill me."
"Well, maybe Batman can save you."
On the other hand, all those theories about
Barry Keoghan's role in "The Batman" were proven true, so you never know.
Young Mitchell's red Halloween costume and personal tragedy could be a red herring,
or maybe he will be Robin. Either way, for now, it's fun to speculate on whether
or not such small details of "The Batman" could be hints about developments later on.
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