With “All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Surprise,” author Frank Miller and artists Jim Lee and Scott Williams advised an alternate origin story for Dick Grayson that was, effectively, twisted. Actually, Miller’s complete “All Star” sequence has grow to be notorious for being one of the vital weird comedian ebook runs of all time. When you’re but to learn it and have an interest as to why it is seen on this means, simply contemplate the instance of “All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Surprise” #4, by which the Darkish Knight locks his younger protégé within the Batcave and forces him to hunt and kill his personal meals.
With the newly-established DC Universe, James Gunn could finally take Batman where no filmmaker has taken him before. Will he? That is still to be seen. To date, Gunn has delivered a slate of movies and sequence which are all characteristically foolish and heartfelt. However with the R-rated, Mike Flanagan-penned body horror movie “Clayface” arriving in 2026, the DCU may quickly begin to look much more various by way of tone.
That units the stage completely for a darkish, horror-tinged tackle Batman, which, opposite to what you may need heard about going “gentle” with the DCU’s Caped Crusader, could be a really refreshing approach to current the character. For now, Batman is ready to make his DCU debut in the long-awaited “Brave and the Bold” film, which is able to give us a correct cinematic Darkish Knight/Boy Surprise team-up however has but to obtain an official launch date. Sadly, the chance that the person who gave us the “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy will actually go darkish with Batman stays unlikely. Nonetheless, which will spare us from having to witness one of many weirdest elements of DC’s comics being tailored for the large display.
The Batman of All-Star Batman & Robin tortured the Boy Surprise
There have been loads of disturbing moments in Batman comedian ebook historical past. “Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City,” went dark with a wild horror twist, as an illustration, whereas a few of the best DC Black Label comics have given us actually grim visions of Gotham. However there was one thing notably nasty about the best way by which Batman was depicted in “All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Surprise” #4 — to the extent all of it received a bit foolish.
“All Star Batman and Robin” was a sequence printed between 2005 and 2008, working for 10 points earlier than it was placed on hiatus. It noticed Frank Miller reinterpret Dick Grayson’s origin story in a self-contained timeline that grew to become notorious for that includes a sadistic model of Batman who loved his violent methods somewhat an excessive amount of. In contrast to the Darkish Knight most followers know, this model of the character killed indiscriminately and was additionally abusive in direction of Grayson.
After taking in a bereaved Dick, Batman instantly takes offense to the teen asking “Who the hell are you, anyway?” He berates his younger cost and proclaims himself to be “the goddamn Batman” — a phrase he makes use of all through the remainder of the run and which grew to become emblematic of the sequence’ extra. However yelling at a boy who’s simply misplaced his dad and mom was nothing in comparison with what Batman did subsequent.
After bringing Dick to the Batcave, Batman leaves him to fend for himself within the chilly catacombs beneath Wayne Manor. “Meals will current itself,” says the Darkish Knight as he leaves Dick amid the bats and rats, who hiss on the terrified teen. Think about that in a film from the person who gave us the charming crowd-pleaser that was 2025’s “Superman.”
All Star Batman & Robin went previous darkish to grow to be downright foolish
Usually, the best Batman comics are the darkest, which is unsurprising given how the character is inseparable from darkness itself. The Batman story “Night Cries,” for example, tapped into real-world horrors and stays a criminally neglected entry within the Darkish Knight oeuvre. However “All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Surprise” was so ridiculously over-the-top it went previous darkish and looped again round to mad.
The Batman of this sequence was a petty, overly-sensitive psychopath, which made studying the problems concurrently a whole lot of enjoyable and simply type of unhappy. Leaving Robin within the Batcave to fend for himself was truly the least of it, and when you think about that Frank Miller claimed the “All-Star” comics belonged to the identical timeline as his seminal classics “Batman: Yr One” and “The Darkish Knight Returns,” this odd little run truly manages to make higher tales look worse.
As such, it is a good factor we’ll in all probability by no means see Dick being abused by this model of Batman on the large display. If this Batcave scene ever does get translated to the DCU, it could probably be through a nightmare sequence, which is perhaps a cool approach to acknowledge this weird chapter in Batman historical past. Both that, or we may see another characters taking part in out this similar situation. In any other case, that is a kind of occasions it is truly type of reassuring that James Gunn is a zany man who nearly actually needs a extra light-hearted Batman.
