History
A family outing to the cinema ended in tragedy for young Bruce Wayne. Walking homeward, Bruce, his father, Thomas, and mother, Martha, accidentally ventured into Gotham City’s notorious “Crime Alley” and were accosted by a mugger. Not content merely to rob the wealthy family, the hoodlum – whose identity was “never determined” – shot Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne dead before fleeing into the darkness. As he knelt beside his parent’s bodies, Bruce swore to avenge them. After the police arrived, Bruce was comforted by Dr. Leslie THompkins. Dr. Thompkins and Alfred Pennyworth helped arrange matters so that Gotham’s Social Services would not take Bruce into care. In this way, both Dr. Thompkins and Alfred enabled Bruce to realize his dream of becoming a crusader against crime.

Batman became an urban legend, a cautionary tale that sent shivers through the city’s underworld. This Caped Crusader found a friend in Captain James Gordon a Gotham cop who didn’t approve of Batman’s methods, but appreciated the results of his nightly crime fighting. Batman’s Rogues Gallery grew to include a host of bizarre criminals, such as the Joker, Catwoman, Two-Face and the Penguin. As his enemies increased, help arrived in the form of another young boy left parentless by brutal crime.

Robin
As a member of the Flying Graysons acrobatic family, young Dick Grayson thrilled audiences nightly on the high wire beside his circus aerialist parents. But when gangster “Boss” Zucco sabotaged the high wire because the owner of Haly’s Circus refused to offer up protection money, the elder Graysons paid with their lives. Billionaire Bruce Wayne was in the audience that night; however, it was Batman who visited the grieving Dick Grayson, offering the boy a chance at retribution by becoming Robin, the Dark Knight’s squire in his personal war on crime.

Dick Grayson
The first Robin [yes, there was more than one Robin, there have been 4 in fact, all in continuity] was carefully schooled by Batman, learning all the skillshe would need to bring “Boss” Zucco to justice. Before long, Dick was ready for action. Sewaring a solemn oath, he joined the Dark Knight’s crusade as his most trusted partner, Robin the Boy Wonder.

After several years in service to the Dark Knight, Grayson – then leader of the Teen Titans – relinquished the mantle of Robin when Batman forced him to choose between his duties with the Titans and his promise to aid the Dark Knight. Adopting the identity of Nightwing, Dick continued to battle crime while remaining Batman’s close ally.