Robin the Boy Wonder is the eager, youthful sidekick of Batman, the Caped Crusader, the vigilante crime-fighting alias of millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. Introduced in 1940 as orphaned acrobat Dick Grayson in the DC comic book series Batman, Robin was played by Burt Ward in the 1966 television series on ABC. As played by Burt Ward, Robin has a cute, boyish face, clean-cut, brown hair, and a compact, athletic physique which fits perfectly with his character's acrobatic background. His colorful outfit, with his dark green mask, gloves, and booties, his bright, red shirt, his shiny, yellow cape, his tight, green panties, and his form-fitting, flesh-color leggings, certainly catches the audience's attention.
Due to his youth, inexperience, and smaller size, the Boy Wonder is clearly the weak link in the Dynamic Duo, which their opponents often seek to exploit. Robin is also cocky, enthusiastic, and overly eager to prove his independent crime-fighting abilities, especially to Batman. He is often in trouble and in need of rescue.
This week's villain is the Siren.
Favorite shots:
Siren enchants Bruce Wayne with her singing, leading him to sign over his fortune to her. Robin teams up with Batgirl to rescue the millionaire playboy, whom Siren orders to jump off the roof. The Boy Wonder displays some remarkable and surprising competence and ability in this episode, feigning submission by pretending to leave, planting a bug in the room to discover the Siren's next move, defeating Bruce Wayne in a fight, and forcing the Siren to release her enchantment. He even exhibits a dark side, violating the Fourth Amendment by planting the bug without a warrant and blackmailing the Siren into releasing her enchantment of Bruce Wayne by threatening to allow her to fall to her death.
Unfortunately, the faceoff between Robin and Bruce Wayne was somewhat disappointing. The scene in which the colorful, athletically compact Boy Wonder fights against his older, larger, more mature mentor was full of possibilities. Alas, the image of millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne in his gray business suit besting the famed crimefighter Robin in his colorful, eye-catching costume and carrying the unconscious Boy Wonder around like a trophy for the Siren is destined to be unrealized outside of my imagination.
Nevertheless, this is one of my favorite third season episodes because it features a healthy amount of Robin time without Batman. The Boy Wonder even has a good opportunity to bond alone with Batgirl, who is impressed by Robin's violation of the Fourth Amendment.
This blog is intended to promote the appreciation of Burt Ward's portrayal of Robin in the 1966 television series "Batman". You may purchase both episodes at the following link:
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