Round 2: Comic Writer Jeph Loeb Defends Robin’s Place In Chris Nolan’s Batman Trilogy. Agree?
Yesterday, I posted onChristian Bale’sreported dismissalofRobin—both the character and his place inChristopher Nolan’sBatmanfranchise—and the comments continue to unfold with incredibly lengthy diatribes widely in favor of Bale’s sentiments. Twenty-three words can unleash hundreds of thousands, and now highly respected comic writerJeph Loeb, whose credits include bothThe Long HalloweenandDark Victory, has come out in defense of Robin/Dick Grayson’s place in aBatman 3. What’s worth noting is that both of the connected books mentioned above have long been considered by geeks to be fair game for a sequel(s) toThe Dark Knight…if we’re so lucky. Here’s what Loeb toldMTVregarding his vision for “the next step” in these high water mark superhero films..
Right now, Robin is considered to be a hex for the series due to Joel Schumacher’s legendary wack-job with the character/costumes. Combined with Robin’s oft-pubescent, effete depiction, he automatically seems like a flamboyant anomaly to Nolan’s world of hardboiled crime staked in realistic technology and sophistication. Of course, Nolan’s take on Robin would certainly not resemble anything like the admittedly biased image above, but Robin would still prove a creative challenge to adapt unlike any other character in his mythology. Oddly enough, Bale statedback in 2005that one of his favorite Batman comics wasDark Victory, in which Robin plays a considerable role…
“But the two [Batman stories] that I liked particularly wereDark VictoryandThe Long Halloween. They just had some really fantastic imagery in there of the severity of Batman and everything and I would kind of imitate those positions.”
There’s speculation thatThe Daily Mailfalsely attributed the Robin diss to Bale; however, it’s equally as likely that Bale simply browsed through various graphic novels sent to him by DC (as he informed fans in the link above) with casual interest. As it stands, Bale hates Robin. Haha. If the third film is indeed the last, might it seem strange to have entirely overlooked such a well recognized part of canon? While /Film doesn’t wish to see Robin appear in any form, Loeb does make a nice and knowing effort to illustrate how it could be done tastefully…
“I wouldn’t let him become Robin until the third act, if that. I think that’s the other problem when you tell that story is that there’s this rush to put him in a costume by the end of the first 20 minutes and in that case I think it’s a disaster…”
Discuss: Do Loeb’s comments change your stance on the appropriateness/inclusion of Robin in a sequel toThe Dark Knight? Is it worth the risk and if so, how old would Robin need to be for it to work? What do you make of Bale’s compliments toDark Victorybut dislike for Robin?
Bonus Disuss:Is Chris O’Donnell’s Robin the lamest, worst outfitted superhero ever put to film? Has anyone offered a picture of Robin to O’Donnell for an autograph circa 2008? Do tell.
