Is the animated "Teen Titans" Robin Dick Grayson?

Cafe Society
1

This website says “Robin appears in the Cartoon Network adaptation of the comic book series. but he has not been referred to by given name, and it is unclear whether he is meant to be Dick Grayson or Tim Drake. Writers have admitted to designing him with aspects of both Robins.”

So I guess Jason Todd is right out.

Me, I’m thinking it’s leaning more towards Dick Grayson. When Slade offers to be his new father figure, Robin says “I already have a father,” and the scene pans up to bats in flight. IIRC, Tim Drake’s parents are still alive. Additionally, in the second season premier I haven’t seen, Robin apparently is shown as Nightwing in a possible future timeline. Plus, I always just liked Dick Grayson better.

What say ye?

2

He’s too young to be Dick. I think he’s Tim. Although in the time-travel episode, he is shown as Nightwing in the future, which either means he’s Dick or that Dick has become the Batman and Tim becomes Nightwing.

He’s also really independent of Batman, which argues more for Tim than Dick.

3

Link to the information for “How Long is Forever” – the second-season premiere, and the episode we’re both referring to.

http://wf.toonzone.net/WF/teentitans/episodes/howlongisforever/

4

…
…
…
…
…

It’s Stephanie. After Batman gave her the"probationary release" pink slip, she offed Tim Drake, cut and dyed her hair, strapped down her, uh, well defined pectorals and took over as the leader of the Teen Titans.

Why are you looking at me like that?

5

The Teen Titans are, as far as I know, in-continuity with the rest of the DCU cartoons, which means it pretty much has to be Tim (Dick has long since become Nightwing, and was never, in the animated universe, Robin when he was as young as Tim or the TT version (if we assume Tim and TT Robin are different people).)

Also, Robin has the same VA doing the Tim Drake Robin in the new Batman video game Rise of Sin Tsu (Scott Menville) - although a different VA than the one who originally played him. (But Dick still has the same VA as he always had in Rise of Sin Tsu (Loren Lester).)

6

One of the odd things about the TT comic in the 80’s was that only one member (Changeling/Beast Boy) was actually a teen. Robin there was actually Dick Grayson, and he ahd the realtionship with the big-haired, orphan-Anne-eyed StarFire, whcih they seem to be more than hinting at in the series.

This TT is incongruent with the DC universe, much in the same way many of the X-men’s ages are reverted to being much younger in X-men: Evolution. I’m convinced this a young Dick Grayson.

7

Except that makes it a universe all its own, unrelated to the rest of the DC cartoons - which make the reference to it in the Justice League/Static Shock crossover strange, at best.

You’re arguing at cross-purposes here, actually. First you mention (rightly) that the cartoon is out of continuity for the comics. Then you mention (correctly) that in the comics, it was Dick that had a romance with Starfire.

However, as you’ve already stated, the TT cartoon doesn’t follow the comics, so there’s no reason the Robin/Starfire romance couldn’t be used without reverting Robin to Dick.

Yes, the TT cartoon is incongruous to the comics - all the cartoons are.

Some Batman related examples (I know Superman had some, but I can’t think of them, ATM, and even beginning to list how Justice League diverges from comic canon would take way too long.):

Batman skipped the Jason Todd Robin, going straight from Dick to Tim.

Dick was never Robin when he was in his early teens. (He appears to be about 18 when he first appears.)

Barbara Gordon was still Batgirl last we saw her in the present, and, based on Beyond, is not going to be crippled in the future of the animated DCU.

Some major, non-debatable, diversions in TT:

The Teen Titans didn’t start as a group of sidekicks.

Speedy and Aqualad weren’t original members. (I don’t think Kid Flash even exists in the animated universe. If they do introduce him, no doubt it’ll be Bart, since the JL flash seems to be Wally.)

And a general one:

Static Shock and the Justice League both exist in the same universe.

OK, so…the various cartoons are out of comics canon. You’ll have to find some good indicators that the TT cartoon is out of the animated continuity for it to be Dick, since the current Robin in the animated universe (the one Batman mentioned had joined the Titans in the JL/SS x-over) is Tim.

8

Update–

On the new episode over the weekend, some unknown was revealed to have stolen Robin’s Red X suit. On a chart drawn by Beast Boy speculating as to who the new Red X might be, there was a crudely drawn picture of the old Robin suit, and a name next to it…Jason Todd.

So, if Jason Todd has been Robin by this point, it does indeed pretty much have to be Tim.

9

well, i think i have an answer. sorta.

in one of the last episodes of the prior season, when that weird little Robin-wannabe from an alternate universe popped in and helped mess things up in his attempts to help, there seemed to be a very revealing sequence. when they were finding a name for him, he was telling them what his name in his home universe was. it was a weird string of syllables, and even wierder, a bunch of letters started circling around him at the same time. if you watched it closely, you’d see that it was spelling out Robin’s ‘secret identify’ name–backwards. and damn my crappy memory, but i’m only 75% sure that what it spelled out was “Dick Grayson”.

10

Your memory is correct, lachesis.

And it pains me to say that, as I am now tacitly admitting that I watch this cartoon, even though its animation style irritates me to death.

11

i know how you feel, JThunder. the ultra-anime inserts can get a bit cringe-worthy. but we sigh, and take what we can get.

12

Jason having been Robin does two things in my mind.

  1. It, as you say, confirms that Robin has to be Tim.

  2. It, unfortunately, sets TT in its own universe, unconnected to the other CDU 'toons, where Jason Todd never existed - Batman jumping straight from College-boy Dick to Teenybopper Tim…

13

Bit of a hijack, but I’ve always wondered if the ability to enjoy Teen Titans is inversely proportional to how much you enjoy anime as a whole. Most of my friends who are hard-core anime geeks despise TT. Most of my friends who are indifferent or only mildly interested in anime (including myself) love it.

I’m kinda glad that TT is in its own continuity, though, because I have a hard time believing that the Batman seen in the other DC cartoons would just be sitting around on his hands while Slade half-kills his sidekick and takes over a major US city.

14

First off, I love the animation style. It’s really perfect for the feel of the show. Incidentally, Miller, I’m only mildly interested in anime - I’ll watch it if it’s on, but I’m not going to go out of my way - just for your informal study.

I think it’s Dick Grayson. It’s always felt that way for me. First off, in the comics, it was Dick in TT, not Tim. Of course, I’ve never actually read the comics - all of these characters are new to me except Robin. Second, he became Nightwing in the time travel episode.

Of course, it could be like the Simpson’s home state. Deliberately leaving it vague and tossing red herrings in there for the lunatic fringe of fandom to find, but not meant to have an answer.

15

Yeah, I thought the same thing after I posted. Sometimes I think they know it’s become a topic of internet speculation and they’re screwing with us now.

Yeah, ditto. I’m fairly ambivalent to most anime.

16

I like anime a lot, but I also like Teen Titans - although the anime-ish elements they incorporate occasionally make me cringe (or sometimes I like them. Depends what they do.).

Miller…I have a Slade Is Batman theory, based upon his first season appearances. (The fact that they made such an effort to hide his face suggests he’s not Slade Wilson in this version, and Batman’s the best fit for the evidence that’s there.)

17

If you have ever seen the episode where robins double larry comes out. there is a scene when larry is admiring robin and then the name dick grayson wraps around larry.

18

Wow. Nine years late to the party, J-Buck. Welcome to the Dope. You’ll fit in well with the zombie horde in the back.

19

And with information that was posted originally to boot :p. (Which, incidentally, was what I was going to post when I saw the thread title).

20

I believe the question was “Which Robin is the one in Teen Titans”? I hope this video helps answer that question.