Robin's Reckoning
| "Robin's Reckoning" | |
|---|---|
| Batman: The Animated Series episode | |
The title card from "Robin's Reckoning" Part 1
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| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 32 and 33 |
| Directed by | Dick Sebast |
| Written by | Randy Rogel |
| Original air date | February 7 and 14, 1993 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
Thomas F. Wilson as Tony Zucco
"Robin's Reckoning" is a two-part episode of the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series. The episodes originally aired on February 7 and 14, 1993, and were written by Randy Rogel and directed by Dick Sebast. It earned the series an Emmy for Most Outstanding Half Hour or Less Program and is considered one of the best episodes of the series. The second part aired a week later.
The story is based on the origin of Robin (Dick Grayson) from Detective Comics #38 (April 1940), which it shows through flashbacks, intercutting an unfolding mystery in the present with the more significant moments of Robin's life. It touches on Robin uncovering who killed his family and how he first met and joined forces with Batman. Meanwhile, it also shows how Batman and Robin are slowly growing apart.
During a stake-out at a construction site, Batman and Robin catch a gang of mobsters trying to extort money from a wealthy architect. While all but one of the mobsters escapes, Batman catches the straggler and demands the name of his boss. The criminal refuses to speak to him or the police, but when Batman shows he's not joking, the criminal blurts out the name "Billy Marin", a name that seems to disturb the Caped Crusader. When they return home, Robin is left wondering who Marin really is, but Batman insists that Robin stay out of this one: he works alone for the time being. Following Batman's departure, Robin and Alfred Pennyworth use the Batcave's criminal database to determine the real identity of the crime boss. Robin discovers that Marin is really an alias for Tony Zucco, someone he crossed paths with nine years ago in an event which changed his life.
As a young child, Dick Grayson was in a popular circus acrobat trio with his parents, "The Flying Graysons". While performing at a Wayne Charity convention in Gotham City, Dick overhears Zucco threaten the ringmaster, Mr. Haley, telling him that if he doesn't pay money for "protection", people will die. Haley refuses, and in response, Zucco partially saws through a trapeze rope to be used in the Graysons' act. During a portion of the trapeze act involving Dick's parents on the same trapeze, the rope snaps and his parents plummet to their deaths in front of his eyes. Bruce Wayne, who is in the audience, takes pity on the boy, as they are both the orphaned sons of parents murdered in their presence. Upon hearing of Dick's telling of what he saw, Jim Gordon fears that he will have no place to go, as he is a material witness, but Bruce steps in and adopts Dick. As Batman, he becomes obsessed with finding Zucco, to the point that he is rarely home, leaving Dick mostly alone.
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