When it comes to action figures, there are certain characters toy companies just can’t seem to make enough of. Look at Deadpool. No matter how many times Hasbro releases the same figure, it sells through immediately. Now, I don’t think it’s because Deadpool fans are hoarding them or anything — Wade isn’t really an army builder, and just finding one is already hard enough. Like it or not, Deadpool has a near-universal appeal: kids dig him, collectors love him and retail can’t get enough of him. But where Deadpool’s popularity is a relatively new phenomena, DC Comics’ Robin has had that level of clout for decades now. Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Jason Todd — it doesn’t matter who’s behind the domino mask, as long as they’re wearing that little “R” they mean big $. So what’s so great about Robin?
Robin the Boy Wonder first appeared in Detective Comics #38. His arrival signaled the end of an era for Batman: gone were the days of the gun-toting vigilante, replaced by a buoyant, grinning father figure. Instead of shooting vampires and lynching mutants from the Batplane, our hero began jumping around on giant typewriters and solving riddles with a ten-year-old. While purists might argue the concept of a kid partner dilutes the concept of Batman, it was a genius move on the part of the comic’s creators. Though popular, Batman wasn’t exactly relatable: I mean, there weren’t many childhood playboy billionaires at the end of the nineteen-thirties. Robin provided kids someone they could identify with: with just a domino mask and a yellow cape it could be you swinging alongside your favorite hero through the Gotham night.
The addition of Robin changed the way Batman was written for years to come. It wasn’t until the 1970s when Robin spread his wings to fly solo that Batman returned to his original grim and brooding persona. But their decades-long affiliation had cemented the idea of a Dynamic Duo in the eyes of the public. It didn’t matter that Robin had grown up and moved on in the comics: when Batman showed up on Saturday-morning cartoons or television shows, people expected Robin to be with him. And while this may have been frustrating for creators who wanted to tell more adult-oriented stories, it translated into a killer one-two punch at retail.
While a plastic mask and costume allowed Hasbro’s Action Boy to “become” the Boy Wonder in 1966’s Captain Action line, it wasn’t until 1972 that Robin received his own figure. Part of Mego Corps. first The World’s Greatest Superheroes assortment, Robin shipped along with partner Batman, as well as fellow “super friends” Superman and Aquaman. The toys were an unexpected success, and the Dynamic Duo (along with Marvel’s Spider-Man) remained the most popular figures in the line until its demise in the early 1980s. That’s no mean feat considering the WGSH featured some of Marvel and DC’s biggest characters.
Having grown up with Megos myself, I’ll readily admit to needing both Batman and Robin in my collections. Yeah, his stupid smirk and little green booties were goofy, but who was I to argue with 40 years of success? No matter how I felt about the character personally, the mere existence of a Robin figure made owning one an imperative: even when acting as shark-bait, the Boy Wonder was essential to any Bat-adventure. That said, Mego figures weren’t built to last, and I went through multiple Robins in the course of my childhood. It wasn’t that I considered Robin expendable, he just seemed to volunteer for the most dangerous missions!
By the early 1980s I was more interested in comics than toys, but I wasn’t completely out of the game. Kenner’s Super Powers Collection brought the DC heroes back to retail and Robin lead the charge, appearing alongside his pointy-eared partner in the first series. The Robin figure was based on a more modern representation of the now-Teen Wonder, and it looked so sharp I couldn’t resist picking one up. The sculpt was great and the mandatory action feature was unobtrusively hidden on the figure’s back. While many versions of Robin have been produced in the years since, the Super Powers version remains a high water mark.
The success of 1989’s Batman film saw a flood of merchandising, but Robin was conspicuously absent. There was some initial outcry from the fans and the general public, but the films staggering success nullified any naysayers. This modern Batman seemingly had no need for a wisecracking boy partner and Robin was relegated to the BIF! BANG! POW! past of Saturday morning cartoons. Robin was rumored to appear in Batman Returns, but that didn’t happen. He did show up in the tie-in toy line, and is notable for being the first appearance of Tim Drake in action figure form. It wouldn’t be the last.
1992’s Batman: The Animated Series saw the beginning of a run on Robin action figures that we still see today. In spite of its smaller size the figure sold just as well as Batman and was highly sought-after by kids and collectors alike. The Robin Dragster proved an especially hard piece to find, and remains one of the most valuable item from the original B:TAS line, The Robin figure was popular enough to be released multiple times, emulating his mentors choice in wearing increasing bold colors. Who still has their Neon Night Ninja Robin? While these odd-model versions were less popular, there was never a time when the Boy Wonder clogged the pegs. Even in more modern lines like DC Universe Classics it is Robin who sells through first. Series 16 Robin was so popular in my neck of the woods I had to buy mine at a toy show at a painful markup.
So what’s so great about Robin? In spite of changing trends in pop culture and near-continuous re-interpretation of the character in the monthly comics, Robin’s popularity remains undiminished. He’s what they call an “evergreen.” Association with Batman has pushed the character to the forefront of public perception and it’s unlikely he’s going anywhere soon. Be it the hyper-animated ‘toon of TEEN TITANS GO! or the gritty urban warrior of Arkham Knight, Robin is here to stay.
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