Warning: Spoilers for Batman & Robin: Year One #3!When you take into account all the changes that have been made over the years, Robin's origin is almost as complicated as Batman's, and a new development that almost changes who killed Nightwing parents proves exactly that. It's a clever moment that doesn't actually change Dick Grayson's origin much, but it demonstrates how big Batman and Robin's war on crime really is.
Batman and Robin: Year One #3 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, Mat Lopes, and Clayton Cowles adds a new twist to Robin's origin story, suggesting that Two-Face let Dick's parents' murders happen. Harvey is being interrogated by the Falcone crime family, saying: “Who do you think let the Zuccos through last month… so they could kill that circus couple?“
Luckily for Harvey, Dick Grayson is listening, and young Robin is so angered by the idea that Two-Face might have had something to do with his parents' deaths that he stops the interrogation and gives Two-Face time to escape. .
Two-Face Claims He Greenlit Robin's Parents' Death
But it's not that simple
What Harvey is referring to is of course the death of the Flying Graysons Dick Grayson's acrobat parents, who were killed by mobster Tony Zucco after his circus refused to pay protection money. The creators love to tinker with Grayson's deaths, whether it's revealing that Dick himself was supposed to die that night or linking the circus to the Court of Owls. It's a growing series of smaller retcons and retellings, second only to Batman's own origin and, at first glance, Batman and Robin: Year One #3 looks like it's doing the same thing again.
However, this moment isn't as big a potential reveal as it might first seem. Robin confronts Two-Face, who happily admits he was just bluffing. He needed to look big in front of the Falcones, so he said the first thing that came to mind. The problem is, he now knows that Robin cares about the Flying Graysons. It wouldn't be too difficult for Two-Face to figure out who Robin is from there. This series is, in fact, set in DC's past, so it may not impact Dick Grayson too much in the present, but it's still a fascinating potential wrinkle.
Two-Face Is Lying, But There's Still a Lesson to Be Learned for Robin
It's not about revenge and never has been
Even though Two-Face was bluffing, it's still a good reminder that there are forces at work bigger than any individual criminal. Two-Face may not have let Tony Zucco kill Robin's parents, but Zucco was operating within a crime family structure that views individuals as disposable. It's as if Batman's war wasn't against Joe Chill, but against crime itself. It doesn't matter if the person responsible for the original crime is taken down; It is necessary to end the system that facilitated this crime. It's a lesson that robin have to learn before becoming Nightwing.
Batman and Robin: Year One #3 is now available from DC Comics.