Gotham Knights: The Three Robins Explained

Gotham Knights will take place after the death of Bruce Wayne, when Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin are left to fight Gotham's supervillains and the mysterious Court of Owls. Three of the game's player characters were once different versions of Robin, the "Boy Wonder" and Batman's trusty sidekick.

Many different characters have taken on the role of Robin across different Batman runs, so here's what fans need to know about who will appear in Gotham Knights as Robin such as their origins, and their stories so far.

In most Batman continuities Dick Grayson is the original Robin, who premiered all the way back in 1940 as part of a wildly successful ploy to attract young readers to the Batman comics. Richard "Dick" Grayson's fictional biography begins at Haly's Circus, where he grew up with his parents John and Mary.

Together, the three composed an acrobatic troupe known as the Flying Graysons, that travelled the country as the circus' greatest attraction. The details of what happens next depends on the exact DC continuity. In the New Earth continuity Haly's Circus arrived in Gotham for a performance when it attracted the unfortunate attention of a local mobster.

Anthony "Fats" Zucco and his associate Edward Skeevers saw the circus trucks arriving in the city, and decided that they would be the perfect cover for an expansion of their drug trafficking operation. They attempted to pressure the circus' owner to no avail. Out for revenge, they sabotaged the wires used by the Flying Graysons in order to rob the circus of its most valuable act. This, they hoped, would force the circus' owner to cooperate with their scheme.

Bruce Wayne was in the audience when John and Mary Grayson fell to their deaths in front of a live audience, leaving their son an orphan. Having lost his parents to Gotham's criminals as well, Bruce decided to adopt Dick Grayson as his ward. In the original Detective Comics, Dick was just 8 years old at this time.

Dick would be the first Robin and later an original member of the Teen Titans. At the age of 19 Dick was shot by the Joker. He survived, but this caused Batman to rethink Robin's role. Dick adopted a new superhero moniker, Nightwing, which will appear in Gotham Knights. In some future stories he would return to help Batman, but developed into his own formidable and independent crimefighter.

Jason Todd was the second Robin. Described by Alfred Pennyworth as having a "mean streak" that Dick Grayson lacked, Jason was orphaned in the New Earth continuity when his mother supposedly died of an overdose and his father was murdered by his boss, Two-Face. Jason first met Batman when the Caped Crusader caught him stealing the wheels off the Batmobile.

Batman originally dropped Jason Todd off at a "School for Boys" in the north of Gotham. Jason, however, quickly discovered that the school was a criminal front. He escaped and helped Batman bring down the school's owner and her criminal gang. Seeing his potential, Bruce took Jason in and began training him when he was 12 years old.