If memory serves, one of the reasons Dick Grayson chose Robin as his superhero handle was in honor of the legendary tales of Robin Hood. I wonder then, why he wasn't given a bow and arrow to use? Green Arrow would not be created for another year at least, so it would have still been a novel idea. Maybe they just didn't want kids to emulate the young hero by trying out the weapons themselves? Batarangs were harder to come by I suppose.
Robin previously met Toro as part of the Young Allies in STF #197, and a very early Lost Brave and the Bold cover...
Robin could use a slingshot back then.
ReplyDeletePlus, even today, "hood" (derived from "hoodlum") still has connotations of petty criminality.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note; if Sauron drained the life force of the Absorbing Man, while the latter was holding the Star of Capistan, would that turn the former into...Red Rodan?
ReplyDeletePoetry not initially intended.
My understanding (which may be incorrect) is that Dick called himself Robin denoting his red tunic (the red-breasted robin being the most familiar type of that bird, at least at the time), his bright colors being basically a dare for criminals to shoot at him. I've sometimes imagined that he had an "undiscovered superpower" that made him harder to hit.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, has Batman ever teamed up with the Golden Age Human Torch in these pages?
@Cary: Several years ago I saw a documentary about attempts to track down the "real" Robin Hood, comparing the legends to historical documents. They found seven candidates during the general time period of Kings Richard I and John, of which four were called Robin Hood because they robbed ("robbin'") and wore hoods, and three were outlaws who were literally named Robin Hood. The leading candidate, who was opposed by a Sheriff of Nottingham named Eustace of Lowdham, was one of the latter.
As to your "lighter" remark, were you referring to Marvel's Sauron, or the LotR Big Bad? Either way, it's another "namesake match-up" that would be interesting to see, though I have no idea what would lead them to cross paths.
Bob, Batman met Jim Hammond on a B&B cover - August 31, 2010
ReplyDelete@Bob G: I was referring to the Karl Lykos version, of course.
ReplyDeleteWas the "Robin Hood" explanation there all along, or was it something that they came up with after the fact? (I'm honestly not sure.)
ReplyDeleteThough, of course, it may not be a coincidence that one of Robin's creators was Jerry Robinson. (Which, if so... good for him, really, given that the other creators were Bob Kane and Bill Finger, and Kane's attempts to "erase" Finger's contributions are well-known. If Jerry found a way to get his name in the comics despite Bob Kane, I'm not gonna fault him, he certainly deserved at least that much.)
Robin - son! I never made that connection but it makes sense!
ReplyDelete@GL: I think you put your Finger on the right spot.
ReplyDeleteI never realized they were both circus folks. Am thinking Toro and Robin could have been the founders of the Roustabouts. Loved that group idea.
ReplyDeleteJerry Robinson said that Kane and Finger considered naming Batman's sidekick "Mercury," until "I came up with Robin because the Adventures of Robin Hood were boyhood favorites of mine. I had been given a Robin Hood book illustrated by N. C. Wyeth — I think it was a 10th or 12th birthday present... I had a vision of Robin Hood just as Wyeth drew him in his costume, and that’s what I quickly sketched out... And if you look at it, it’s Wyeth’s costume, from my memory, because I didn’t have the book to look at."
ReplyDelete@Cav: It'd be great if we could have the Roustabouts vs the Joker's Wild. Given how much work that'd be for Ross, though, I'm not going to hold my breath.
ReplyDeleteBob, I have plans for both Joker's Wild and The Roustabouts to return. As for two of my teams together on a cover, I have an Idea for that too.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what would be more likely if Deadman tried to occupy the Joker? The Joker instantly acting sane? Or Deadman going eternally crazy?
ReplyDeleteWe know the Joker would NEVER get into the spirit of things. And Boston going nuts? Only if there was a sports game involved.
ReplyDeleteWW2 adventures on the home front. Nice!
ReplyDelete@H.H. Feathers: You mean, his favorite minor-league baseball team; the Boston High Collars?
ReplyDelete