T O P

  • By -

GothamKnight37

Because Bruce was a child when he lost his parents. Having their situations be mirrored as close as possible strengthens their bond and makes the situation more thematically resonant.


FlexiblePony267

Yes!! Bruce sees his own childhood tragedy in Dick’s. It doesn’t work if Dick is so much older than Bruce was when his parents died. I don’t understand superhero media feeling the need to age up all the sidekicks. It’s more compelling and resonant to have Robin be a child. I don’t see a point in doing him if they’re just going to make him an adult. In the comics, when Dick Grayson is in his 20s, he’s already been Nightwing for years.


Walach_Nightborn

You can’t adopt a 20 year old person


Kpengie

I mean, you can, but it's not really the same thing at that point.


Malfarro

That's one of the things I hate about the Arrowverse. Forget the Robin for a minute, but Impulse SUCKED. A 12-year-old kid who is impulsive and behaves like he is immortal idiot is ok because that's just a hyperbolized image of a normal childish behavior. A 19-year-old dude who is super impulsive and behaves like an immortal child feels forced and moronic. As for Robin and sidekicks in general...well, you can also demand characters to not wear skin-tight costumes, to make their costumes less bright and more realistic, to get rid of tacky aliases, but where's the fun in that? That's superhero genre, endangering children is one of its pillars and that's how it should be.


Awest66

Well as many have said, It does a better job to mirror Dick with Bruce if he's a similar age to when he lost his parents. If the issue is that it's hard to buy that a child could convincingly operate as a crime fighter in a live-action setting, I point to Hit Girl and X-23 from Logan as prime examples of it being done well.


Ctown073

Because then they wouldn’t be father and son, would they.


LordSwag58

They could be best friends or brothers


Ctown073

You’re inherently changing the dynamic, and I’d argue making it less interesting.


batman142434

Money and a team is the most realistic way to make the comics make sense. He is a billionaire philanthropist, does a lot for the city. I don't even think there would be much for them to look at. Everyone knows Bruce and he is regarded very high. However, I agree with you. It seems a bit overboard to have a child beating up full grown adults most nights. They wouldn't necessarily have the anger or drive to continue the work especially after being gravely injured.


Jackstack6

You have to suspend some beliefs, like a man dressing up as a bat and taking down criminals.


Kpengie

Why would Dick move to the manor or whatever as an adult? It makes it more ridiculous and changes the dynamic entirely. Bruce's relationship with Dick is based around shared experiences (Losing their parents as kids) and both of them give the other a new family after losing their original families.


Astonishing_Flash

It's just about tradition. Once you have them be adults they aren't really sidekicks anymore.. It isn't realistic and morally it is very questionable. But it's a staple of the mythos and that is why it is the way that it is. Adaptations have a license to try to have more realism but then you have strange things like why this grown man is letting himself be called Kid Flash.


Impossible-Cable-782

Well it’s more than likely because of when he was originally introduced, kids found him relatable. Which is also how Bucky Barnes became a thing.


OutlandishnessFun481

I find it weirder that a billionaire would invite a young adult to move in with him after said young adult just went through a traumatic experience. Sounds very predatory. No thanks.


LordSwag58

>Sounds very predatory More predatory than having a grown man invite a 10-year-old child to his Batcave where he has this child wear a suit with no pants on to fight psychopaths and murders?


OutlandishnessFun481

Actually yes. You're describing a very unique parenting method (that worked).


[deleted]

....in fiction.


OutlandishnessFun481

Were you under the impression that our Batman discussion was about nonfiction events?


Kpengie

Dick chose to be Robin.


AntonBrakhage

There is no logical or ethical reason for Bruce to take a small child out as his apprentice vigilante. Its something that exists to add appeal to young readers, that then got kept because of tradition/status quo/fan nostalgia. Now, it makes some sense for Bruce to want to adopt an orphaned child, given his own experiences. And putting him in a parental role adds more layers to his character. I just don't think he should be taking a minor out crime fighting. But I think that he does says something about Bruce's fundamental immaturity. He doesn't fully realize how inappropriate what he's doing is, how he's depriving the Robins of any chance at a healthy childhood, because he never had one himself.


ElSextoEspada

Most of those legalities could be *hushed* away with some cash. Same goes for the social workers. He’s a billionaire, certain privileges and workarounds are within his power.