Batman #15 - Story 2

December 11, 1942

"The Boy Who Wanted to be Robin"

So, here's the story of a homeless boy who wants to be Robin, but as the opening text states, it will not be the way he imagines it. All well and good, but my eyes were immediately to the lower corner of the page and the image of the man smoking a cigarette. His stare is intense and the shading of the image is gorgeous. It's so funny what stands out sometimes to a person and what moves them artistically.

This is just gorgeous and I want a print of this framed on a wall.

I really love this!

This figure with the icy stare is watching Batman and Robin take down his gang of boys. His name is Knuckles Conger. He sees that ordinary muscle will be able to help him deal with the two. He knows he can get himself in shape to take on Batman alone, but there's Robin to contend with and that's when he comes upon the idea of training his own "Robin" to help in his crimes.

Knuckles finds his kid in the form of Bobby Deen, a homeless shoeshine boy. He sees Bobby is a fan of Batman and Robin. He tells Bobby he's a crimefighter like Batman who is looking for his Robin. Bobby agrees to join him and the two begin training in the style of the Dynamic Duo.

He has Bobby convinced they will be fighting crime even as they pull their first caper and he tells Bobby that the guard of a jewelry store is a crook and the jewelry bought hot jewels. When the police respond to the silent alarm they trip, Knuckles tells Bobby they need to escape as they are like when Batman first started and they will not understand the two are trying to help. Nice touch, actually. They get away on gliders.

As time goes on, Bobby starts to question Knuckles methods, especially in that they never seem to capture any of the criminals Knuckles points out to him and they always seem to be carrying away the evidence. It's explained that as a lonely boy in the world, Bobby is vulnerable and susceptible to suggestion.

One night, Batman and Robin chase the two in the Batmobile. Knuckles crashes the car as he and Bobby leap from the car and hang from a street lamp. Knuckles convinces Bobby that the Dynamic Duo are on a case out west and that these two are gangsters in disguise. They jump Batman and Robin and are able to overpower them. Robin is shot by Knuckles. It is then Bobby realizes Robin is the real deal and he turns on Knuckles.

Knuckles clubs Bobby with his gun, but then Batman gets back into the fight that includes scaling a tall building and duking it out on a ledge. Batman captures Knuckles after the man almost falls off and is saved. Bobby is cleared once Knuckles confesses he tricked him. Batman helps Bobby get into a first class boarding school where he excels.

It's a good, little story, but I found it interesting that they never show Robin getting treated or perhaps wearing a sling after as he was winged in the arm. Where do we go from here? Stay tuned, Citizens!