Superhero of the day: how many Robins?

The weirdest creation in all of comic books is the kid sidekick.  It is the source of much controversy.  It is the height of careless and irresponsible parenting and yet the ultimate story of togetherness between a parent figure and their ward/son/daughter.

The ultimate sidekick is also the first.  Robin, sidekick to Batman, is not just a carbon copy of his mentor.  This may explain the longevity of the character.  Being a separate and whole being, independent from its parent figure, Robin had the ability to spinoff and have his own adventures, his own opinions,and his own relationships to other characters in the DCU.

Every new Robin has been more controversial than the last and that's a good thing.  Fans get emotionally involved with their Robins.  I like them all for different reasons, and I do have a favorite but im not gonna tell you about my admiration and respect for Tim Drake, that wouldn't be fair.

Today we list the relevant Robins, the ones that count without exploring in too much detail alternate timelines and obscure futures.

Robin, The Boy Wonder

The character was first introduced in Detective Comics #38 (1940) by Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Robin's debut was an effort to get younger readers to enjoy Batman. The name "Robin, The Boy Wonder" and the medieval look of the original costume are inspired by the legendary hero Robin Hood, as well as the red-breasted American Robin, which parallels the "winged" motif of Batman. He was born on the first day of spring, son of John Grayson and Mary Grayson, a young aerialist couple.

In his first appearance, Dick Grayson is a circus acrobat, and, with his parents, one of the "Flying Graysons". While preparing for a performance, Dick overhears two gangsters attempting to extort protection money from the circus owner. The owner refuses, so the gangsters sabotage the trapeze wires with acid. During the next performance, the trapeze from which Dick's parents are swinging snaps, sending them to their deaths. Before he can go to the police, Batman appears to him and warns him that the two gangsters work for Tony Zucco, a very powerful crime boss, and that revealing his knowledge could lead to his death. When Batman recounts the murder of his own parents, Dick asks to become his aide. After extensive training, Dick becomes Robin. They start by disrupting Zucco's gambling and extortion rackets. They then successfully bait the riled Zucco into visiting a construction site, where they capture him.

Robin's origin has a thematic connection to Batman's in that both see their parents killed by criminals, creating an urge to battle the criminal element. Bruce sees a chance to direct the anger and rage that Dick feels in a way that he himself cannot, thus creating a father/son bond and understanding between the two. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, DC Comics portrayed Batman and Robin as a team, deeming them the "Dynamic Duo", rarely publishing a Batman story without his sidekick; stories entirely devoted to Robin appeared in Star-Spangled Comics from 1947 through 1952.

Nightwing

In pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity, the maturing Dick Grayson grows weary of his role as Batman's young sidekick. He renames himself Nightwing, recalling his adventure in the Kryptonian city of Kandor, where he and Batman meet the local hero of the same name. He maintains this identity during his role in the Teen Titans, and occasionally returns to assist Batman and his successors as Robin in the form of Jason Todd and Tim Drake, Tim in particular becoming a younger brother figure to him.

Grayson

The Nightwing title concluded in April 2014 at issue 30, and was replaced with a new title, Grayson, which depicts Dick having given up his life as Nightwing and going undercover as an agent of the Spyral organization where the former Batwoman Kathy Kane works. Written by Tim Seeley and former CIA counter-terrorism officer Tom King, the career change for Dick Grayson comes from the urging of Batman himself, who convinces him to remain dead to the world. Seeley stated that the series will be "leaning into" Grayson's sex symbol status. The character's look also is resigned with no mask but a blue-and-black outfit calling back to his pre-New 52 Nightwing days with an addition of a "G" on his chest, said to be reminiscent of the Robin "R".

Robin (Earth-Two)

Robin's origin and history begins the same as the classic version except the timeframe occurs when Detective Comics#38 was originally printed in 1940. Most of the events surrounding his formative years are the same, only earlier. After his parents are murdered in what appears to be a freak circus accident, Grayson confides in Batman. The hero advises him not to go to the police concerning what he overheard Anthony Zucco's men planning. Batman feels a kinship to the boy, a period of training ensues, and the young Dick Grayson becomes Robin. His first printed story is "Robin the Boy Wonder."^[4] Robin participates in the war-time only All-Star Squadron. His distant cousin is Charles Grayson, the scientific assistant of Robotman.

Silver Age History

Eventually, Robin assumes Batman's position as Gotham City's premier crime fighter. Unlike his Earth-One counterpart, who distances himself from his mentor's shadow when he adopts his Nightwing persona, this version adopts a costume which mimics several elements of Batman's own uniform (including an insignia with an encircled "R" surrounded by two bat wings).^[5] While his younger doppelganger attends and then leaves college prematurely, Grayson pursues further education to attain his law degree. Eventually, he becomes a practicing attorney in the law firm that eventually becomes Cranston, Grayson and Wayne.

Jason Todd 

is a fictional-antihero, and sometimes a supervillain, that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Jason first appeared in Batman #357 (March 1983)^[2] and became the second character to take up the Robin Identity, sidekick to the superhero Batman when Dick Grayson went on to star in The New Teen Titans.

Though initially popular, following a revamping of his origin by Max Allan Collins, the character as written by Jim Starlin was not well received by fans. For 1988's "Batman: A Death in the Family" storyline, DC Comics held a telephone poll to determine whether or not the character would die at the hands of the Joker, Batman's nemesis. He was killed off by a margin of 72 votes (5,343 for, 5,271 against). Subsequent Batman stories dealt with Batman's guilt over not having been able to prevent Jason Todd's death.

In 2005's "Under the Hood" story arc, the character was resurrected, eventually becoming the second character to take up the Red Hood alias and assuming a new role as an antihero who resembles Batman in many ways, except with a willingness to use lethal force and weapons.^[3] In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Todd as #23 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics".^[4]

Timothy Jackson "Tim" Drake (also known as Tim Wayne) 

is a fictional superhero appearing  in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The character was created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick, and first appeared in Batman #436 (Aug. 1989). From 1989 to 2009, he was known as the third character to take on the Robin identity.

Following the events in Batman: Battle for the Cowl, he has taken up the identity of Red Robin.

Stephanie Brown 

is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Detective Comics#647 (August 1992) and was created by Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle.

The daughter of the criminal Cluemaster, the character originated as the amateur crime-fighter Spoiler.

She later served briefly as the fourth Robin and the third Batgirl. From 2009 to 2011, she was the star of her own ongoing Batgirl

Damian Wayne 

is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul,^[ and thus the grandson of Batman villain Ra's al Ghul. The character originally appeared as an unnamed infant in the 1987 story Batman: Son of the Demon, which was at that time not considered canon. Following this, various alternate universe stories dealt with the character's life, giving him various names. In 2006, the character was reinterpreted as Damian Wayne by Grant Morrison, and introduced into the main continuity in Batman #655, the first issue of the "Batman and Son" story arc.