Ages of Dick, Jason, and Tim When They Took up the Mantle of Robin?

[I AM SCI-FI]

Yeah, I need to work on shortening my titles, but I want to be descriptive.

So, how old was Bruce Wayne when he took up the mantle of "Batman"? I thought I read, in a comic, that he was 26. That seems kind of late, though.

How old were Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake when they each first took up the mantle of "Robin"? How long did Batman work alone between Robins?

This is what I have mathematically figured, with what little information I have, thus far:

 

Given ages are how old said individuals were when they took up their repective mantles

Bruce Wayne becomes Batman = 18

Worked alone for 3 years

Dick Grayson (Robin I) = 16 - Batman = 21

Worked with Dick Grayson for 9 years, worked alone for 1 year.

Jason Todd (Robin II) = 16 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 26 - Batman = 31

Worked with Jason Todd for 2 years, worked alone for 5 years.

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 16 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 23 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 33 - Batman = 38

Worked with Tim Drake for 4 years, now. So, the following ages are how old they are, presently

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 20 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 27 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 37 - Batman = 42

 

Alternate possiblity #1

Bruce Wayne becomes Batman = 26

Worked alone for 3 years

Dick Grayson (Robin I) = 16 - Batman = 29

Worked with Dick Grayson for 9 years, worked alone for 1 year.

Jason Todd (Robin II) = 16 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 26 - Batman = 39

Worked with Jason Todd for 2 years, worked alone for 5 years.

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 16 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 23 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 33 - Batman = 46

Worked with Tim Drake for 4 years, now. So, the following ages are how old they are, presently.

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 20 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 27 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 37 - Batman = 50

 

Alternate possiblity #2

Bruce Wayne becomes Batman = 21

Worked alone for 3 years

Dick Grayson (Robin I) = 16 - Batman = 24

Worked with Dick Grayson for 9 years, worked alone for 1 year.

Jason Todd (Robin II) = 16 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 26 - Batman = 34

Worked with Jason Todd for 2 years, worked alone for 5 years.

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 16 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 23 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 33 - Batman = 41

Worked with Tim Drake for 4 years, now. So, the following ages are how old they are, presently.

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 20 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 27 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 37 - Batman = 45

 

Alternate possiblity #3

Bruce Wayne becomes Batman = 18

Worked alone for 3 years

Dick Grayson (Robin I) = 16 - Batman = 21

Worked with Dick Grayson for 9 years, worked alone for 1 year.

Jason Todd (Robin II) = 16 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 26 - Batman = 31

Worked with Jason Todd for 2 years, worked alone for 5 years.

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 13 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 23 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 33 - Batman = 38

Worked with Tim Drake for 4 years, now. So, the following ages are how old they are, presently

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 17 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 27 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 37 - Batman = 42

 

Alternate possiblity #4

Bruce Wayne becomes Batman = 26

Worked alone for 3 years

Dick Grayson (Robin I) = 16 - Batman = 29

Worked with Dick Grayson for 9 years, worked alone for 1 year.

Jason Todd (Robin II) = 16 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 26 - Batman = 39

Worked with Jason Todd for 2 years, worked alone for 5 years.

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 13 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 23 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 33 - Batman = 46

Worked with Tim Drake for 4 years, now. So, the following ages are how old they are, presently.

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 17 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 27 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 37 - Batman = 50

 

Alternate possiblity #5

Bruce Wayne becomes Batman = 21

Worked alone for 3 years

Dick Grayson (Robin I) = 16 - Batman = 24

Worked with Dick Grayson for 9 years, worked alone for 1 year.

Jason Todd (Robin II) = 16 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 26 - Batman = 34

Worked with Jason Todd for 2 years, worked alone for 5 years.

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 13 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 23 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 33 - Batman = 41

Worked with Tim Drake for 4 years, now. So, the following ages are how old they are, presently.

Tim Drake (Robin III) = 17 - Jason Todd (Red Hood) = 27 - Dick Grayson (Nightwing) = 37 - Batman = 45

 

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[DeadMan-Mart]

According to many Batman comics and novels, Bruce Wayne became Batman at 30....but in comics...time doesn't matter....

[GPM in ICT]

Well the keep on playing with things. But Dick became Robin anywhere between the ages of 8 and 16. I think they have also changed the whole Dick joined at year three thing.I'm not sure if it's really been stated as to how old Dick is now, my guess would be anywhere from 21 to 25 but probably not older. Jason is just to complicated to think about. Where did you get two years from? I would think that it's less the that but with the recon his original origin it's hard to know what stories count and what stories don't count. Tim was roughly 13 when he became Robin and is now 16-ish.

[JayCueBatman]

no matter how you cut it, i think Bruce can be no older than 35-38 but then 42 isnt that far off

[pesatyel]

I read somewhere that Batman was "perpetually 29." (and Spiderman was "perpetually 24").

[GPM in ICT]

At one point both Supes and Bats were sort of 29-32. but with the original sidekicks all being in their mid 20's that's a bit harder to do. Last I heard there isn't so much a given age as it is that Superman and Batman have both been operating for 14 or 15 years.

 

I know over the Marvel Universe it's sort of the same, but it's more of a 10 years timeline (the FF, Spidey, Hulk and Avengers all started out about 10 years ago) and the basis for that is that Franklin Richards is 7 and a half.

[Cloud]

Well in the current comics Dick Grayson should be like in his 20s and becoming 30 very soon.

And judging that fact that Bruce Wayne adopted him when he was 8-12 that's like around 8-10 years for his career as Robin.

Then he's been Nightwing at least 5 years I guess to have enough time gap for Jason Todd, Tim Drake taken up the role as Robin.

And now Batman's with Tim Drake so it's like a few years?

so lets' say its 3rd year or Bruce being Batman when he adopted Dick. Probably around his 20's, lets say:

26-29(Batman Year3) +8-10(DIck as Robin)+5(Without Dick)+3>?(Currently with Tim)

THat's like in his 40s.

For me it seems reasonable for Batman to be like 40 something. He has to retired sooner or later.

 

And in short, Bruce adopted Dick when he was like 8-12 and he probably started being Robin right after he got adopted.

Then Jason Todd was in his teens when Batman found him so around 14,16 I think.

It's a bit hard to guess Tim Drake though. He seemed to started being Robin when he was still in High School. Probably somewhere around 14-18.

[Doom Saber]

I think the batman strategy guide for that one 3d game for the xbox states that Tim is 18

[Ghosts of Razgriz]

I'd Place Dick Grason around the age of 31, Jason Todd around 27 and Tim Drake around 21, maybe 22. Bruce has to at least be over 10 years older than Dick, because Dick's parents were killed when he was still a child, and Bruce was already an adult. So Bruce is at least 41 if not older. Maybe 43-44.

[Magic 8 Ball]

Your problem is that real-world times don't really apply in comics. Sure, Dick is roughly 25, meaning he's aged at least a decade since he became Robin, but Bruce is still in his thirties, and has been and will be for quite a while.

 

Tim Drake started as Robin with he was 15, possibly 14. In early issues of Robin, someone asked in the letters column how old he is, and they said 'about 15.' He has, presumably, aged a few years since then, even by 'comic time.'

 

Remember, we're dealing with a media which has constant ages for some characters, while others seem to be constantly aging. A media that often has 10-20 issues take place in the span of a day, but then will plop "six weeks later..." right in the middle of an issue and think nothing of it. Not only that, but these titles are supposed to be coherent with one another.

 

Frankly, I'm of the opinion that comic time isn't worth the headache. However, if you really want some help, check out the Zero Hour trade. DC put a timeline in the back that gives actual dates. Problem is, they are getting hopelessly out of date and jumbled the farther you go from the printing of the book- but it should at least give you some rough figures that DC (supposedly) follows.

 

If you really want some fun, try working out the Marvel timeline sometime. They work on a 'sliding timeline' of ten years. All the major groups and characters introduced in the 60's have been around for roughly ten years. However, if you go by the approximate ages of the X-Men, Kitty Pryde seems to have aged at least 7 years, while the others have aged about four. Franklin Richards is about 7, but Johnny Storm has been 25 for the last ten years of real time...

 

Really, it's often best not to think about these things.

[Straight Edge]

The only *sure* age we're given in the Batman mythos is Bruce's age when he becomes Batman, and that is 25.

 

There's also little variation on the fact that Dick became Robin three years later, when Bruce was 28. Dick's age fluctuates based on story, and to fit the present timeframe. In some stories, he's written as an 8 year old when his parents are killed (parelleling the age Bruce was when his parents died).

 

But that puts an oppresive amount of time between RObin's origin, and Dick's current career as Nightwing. If he's in his mid twenties now, then Batman's been operating for over 20 years! So Dick typically gets his origin place when he's twelve, which I'm cool with.

 

Personally, if I even bother to look at the Bat-cast's ages, I go this route:

Year 1: Batman 25

Year 3: Batman 28, Robin 12

Year 5: Batman 30, Robin 14, Batgirl 18

Year 9: Batman 33, Robin 18 (part-time), Batgirl 22 (retires after college)

Year 10: Batman 34, Robin 19 (fired/quits), Barbara (in politics)

Year 11: Batman 35, Nightwing 20, Robin II 16, Barbara 24 (crippled by Joker)

Year 12: Batman 36, Nightwing 21, Robin II 17 (K.I.A. by Joker), Oracle 25

Year 13: Batman 37, Nightwing 22, Robin III 13, Oracle 26

 

And at this point, we're really at Year 16 (what with the Crises and One Year Later):

Batman 40

Nightwing 25

Robin 16

Oracle 29

 

They're all being written at these ages, more or less, so it pretty much works this way. Of course DC would never acknowledge Batman as being 40, but they really can't ignore that he's much older than Dick Grayson, so it's more of an "unspoken understanding" that Batman's up there... but still far from too old to fight the way he does.

[dcfansb#1]

Bruce started training at the age of 10 shortly after his parents where killed. He finished highschool at 15 and started his around the world training. Became Batman at 23. Three years later (one year in our time), Robin joined the team. Bruce is about 37-38

 

Dick's parents where killed when he was 8 and Bruce trained him for two year b4 he became Robin. At 15 he started The Teen Titans after Batman benched for the 2nd time. At 16 he finished highschool and when straight to Gotham Uni. He left Batman at 19 when Bruce told him that he did not want a Robin anymore because of all the Robin sightings near Gotham Uni. He then became Nightwing.

 

Jason became Robin when that next year at the age of 15 after Batman wanted to train him to keep him of the streets (which piss Dick off due to the fact that Bruce just said he didnt want a Robin anymore). He died 3 years later.

 

Tim joined the team at 17 but his age was later changed to 14. This was 2 years after Jason was killed. he is now a Jr. in highschool which puts him at 16 years old

 

 

 

 

Oracle joined when she was in highschool. About her 2 year in. She went to Gothem Uni 1 year b4 Dick because of how young he was when finished. She was shot 2 years after her college years and became the Oracle 3 years later.

 

 

These are all comics years ofcourse

[Straight Edge]

Became Batman at 23.

 

Three years later (one year in our time)

 

These are all comics years ofcourse

 

Where do you get age 23 for Batman's first appearance? From what I remember, it's pretty pointedly stated that he's 25, and Year One is still rock-solid continuity. Also, what "years" are you basing Robin's recruitment on? One year in our time? Are you basing this on the 1939/1940 intros, which haven't been in-continuity for 50 or so years?

 

When we say "In comic time" it usually means how much time has passed in the fictional world, which is usually a much shorter span than it takes for the books to be published. So ten years of Comic book releases could, conceivably, be only one year or so of Comic time. How, then, does three years "comic time" equal one year of our time?

[Bonz X]

"...between Robins..."

 

Man, that just sounds wrong...

 

#US1#

[Haze]

Yeah, Bruce became Batman at 25 in Year 1, but Frank Miller always writes for DKR Universe, and recently Batman is 24 in All-Star and has been going for a year. In regular continuity Batman meets Robin in the middle of the second year or so (Dark Victory) and the other Robins are pretty pliable in that respect.

 

Bats= 29-33 max

Dick= early 20s

Jason= can argue with New Earth continuity and whatnot, probably 19/20

Tim= 16

 

Just don't ask too many questions and it works out fine.

[dcfansb#1]

Our time is not always longer. Just like the new Year One comics, which came out one month after the Crisis. But to say Bats started at 25 is fair.

 

But Bats in most def in his mid 30's

[synch]

just think ... 10 years from now night wing will be as old as batman

& jason as well what ever he is calln him self ...

& tim will be the age nightwing is now...

+ factor in whatever new sidekicks pop in between now and then...

& batman will still be the same age

 

If I were to ever be a writer I think I would come up with anew charecter thorw them in the books and constantly age them every year and then have them die from old age in whatever amount of years just for kicks hahhah

[Straight Edge]

Yeah, Bruce became Batman at 25 in Year 1, but Frank Miller always writes for DKR Universe

 

What's that mean?

 

Dakr Knight Returns was written as a "What If" or, to use the old adage, an "Elseworlds before there was an Elseworlds". Year One was the beginning of Batman's in-conitnuity soft reboot after the Crisis. Granted both were written using Miller's take on the character (since he was the writer of both) but they are not connected except perhaps in Miller's mind.

 

And sorry, but All-Stars is *not* the same "DKR Universe"... either. Frank's stuff stand on their own, each seperate... if there's any overarcing continuity, it's a jumbled mess that contradicts itself constantly.

 

 

>>and recently Batman is 24 in All-Star and has been going for a year.>>

 

Exactly. All Stars contradicts Year One. And in DKR Batman says Dick coined the term "Batmobile", but in All Stars, Batman calls the car a Batmobile when Dick asks what it is. So each story contradicts another, thus they are not the same Universe.

 

>>In regular continuity Batman meets Robin in the middle of the second year or so (Dark Victory)>>

 

If you actually read Year One, Long Halloween, and Dark Victory, with careful attention to the dates... Bruce actually meets Dick in Year Five! It's probably the best example of the Loeb/Sale Batman stories being out of continuity. Yes, they were references in Hush, which is definitely In, but the timeline is internally inconsistent.

 

Miller and Loeb/Sale Timeline:

 

Year One (First 365 days of actual Batman activity.)

April 9 - First Batman appearance

August 2 - First Catwoman crime

November 2 - Batman and Catwoman both confront the Roman

 

Year Two:

June - Johnny Viti’s Wedding

October 31 - Johnny Viti is murdered, Gilda’s first outing as Holiday

February 14 - Maroni’s guards are murdered, Alberto’s first outing as Holiday

April 1 - Holiday takes a “holiday”.

 

Year 3:

August 2 - The Roman’s Birthday, Harvey Dent is scarred by Maroni.

October 31 - Two-Face kills The Roman.

 

Year 4:

August 2 - Selina Kyle attends the 1-year memorial service at The Roman’s grave

October 31 - Harvey Dent is taken from Arkham Asylum during a riot.

February 15 - Selina leaves for Rome, breaks up with Bruce.

 

Year 5:

May/June - Dick Grayson’s parents are killed. By Father’s Day, he lives with Bruce.

July 4 - Bruce reveals his secret to Dick.

August 2 - Harvey goes to trial for the “Hangman” murders. Is broken out by Rogues.

Labor Day - Catwoman returns from a six-month hiatus.

October - Harvey Dent kills Sophia Falcone, the “Hangman” killer

October 31 - Dick takes the oath, and becomes Robin.

[I AM SCI-FI]

I love making people think.

[Rollo Tomassi]

The only *sure* age we're given in the Batman mythos is Bruce's age when he becomes Batman, and that is 25.

 

There's also little variation on the fact that Dick became Robin three years later, when Bruce was 28. Dick's age fluctuates based on story, and to fit the present timeframe. In some stories, he's written as an 8 year old when his parents are killed (parelleling the age Bruce was when his parents died).

 

But that puts an oppresive amount of time between RObin's origin, and Dick's current career as Nightwing. If he's in his mid twenties now, then Batman's been operating for over 20 years! So Dick typically gets his origin place when he's twelve, which I'm cool with.

 

Personally, if I even bother to look at the Bat-cast's ages, I go this route:

Year 1: Batman 25

Year 3: Batman 28, Robin 12

Year 5: Batman 30, Robin 14, Batgirl 18

Year 9: Batman 33, Robin 18 (part-time), Batgirl 22 (retires after college)

Year 10: Batman 34, Robin 19 (fired/quits), Barbara (in politics)

Year 11: Batman 35, Nightwing 20, Robin II 16, Barbara 24 (crippled by Joker)

Year 12: Batman 36, Nightwing 21, Robin II 17 (K.I.A. by Joker), Oracle 25

Year 13: Batman 37, Nightwing 22, Robin III 13, Oracle 26

 

And at this point, we're really at Year 16 (what with the Crises and One Year Later):

Batman 40

Nightwing 25

Robin 16

Oracle 29

 

They're all being written at these ages, more or less, so it pretty much works this way. Of course DC would never acknowledge Batman as being 40, but they really can't ignore that he's much older than Dick Grayson, so it's more of an "unspoken understanding" that Batman's up there... but still far from too old to fight the way he does.

 

 

This is a pretty accurate and well thought out breakdown. I seem to recall Tim having a 16th birthday right around the time of the Gang War that left Black Mask in charge. After OYL that would make him 17 now. But he could easily have been 12 when he started instead of 13.

 

I think Batman has matured enough in the DC Universe that he's an aging father figure to alot of the heroes. And he keeps his secret so closely guarded, that he's taken on mythological proportions to so many of the younger heroes. Giving him an air of experience only adds to that. A 40 year old Batman with two decades of crime fighting under his belt is way cooler than a more energetic twenty something Batman.

 

So how old is Jean Paul Valley? ; )

 

 

I love making people think.

 

 

Here's something to make you think. DC likes to shake things up (Killing Superman, Breaking Batman's back etc). What if Bruce had to step away from the mantle and an African American took over for awhile. Would you buy it? Does that idea intrigue you? it might be closer than you think....

[hamsterboy]

 

Frankly, I'm of the opinion that comic time isn't worth the headache. However, if you really want some help, check out the Zero Hour trade. DC put a timeline in the back that gives actual dates. Problem is, they are getting hopelessly out of date and jumbled the farther you go from the printing of the book- but it should at least give you some rough figures that DC (supposedly) follows.

 

 

 

Going by that,it says Bruce's parents were killed 25 years before Zero Hour. Then,ten years before Zero Hour,Bruce became Batman. Two years later or eight years before Zero Hour,Dick became Robin. Four years later he became Nightwing. A year after that,Jason Todd became Robin and was killed during said year. Two years after that,Tim bacame the third Robin. I doubt this will clear anything up but maybe it'll help.

[Haze]

Yeah, Bruce became Batman at 25 in Year 1, but Frank Miller always writes for DKR Universe

 

What's that mean?

 

Dakr Knight Returns was written as a "What If" or, to use the old adage, an "Elseworlds before there was an Elseworlds". Year One was the beginning of Batman's in-conitnuity soft reboot after the Crisis. Granted both were written using Miller's take on the character (since he was the writer of both) but they are not connected except perhaps in Miller's mind.

 

And sorry, but All-Stars is *not* the same "DKR Universe"... either. Frank's stuff stand on their own, each seperate... if there's any overarcing continuity, it's a jumbled mess that contradicts itself constantly.

 

 

>>and recently Batman is 24 in All-Star and has been going for a year.>>

 

Exactly. All Stars contradicts Year One. And in DKR Batman says Dick coined the term "Batmobile", but in All Stars, Batman calls the car a Batmobile when Dick asks what it is. So each story contradicts another, thus they are not the same Universe.

 

>>In regular continuity Batman meets Robin in the middle of the second year or so (Dark Victory)>>

 

If you actually read Year One, Long Halloween, and Dark Victory, with careful attention to the dates... Bruce actually meets Dick in Year Five! It's probably the best example of the Loeb/Sale Batman stories being out of continuity. Yes, they were references in Hush, which is definitely In, but the timeline is internally inconsistent.

 

Miller and Loeb/Sale Timeline:

 

Year One (First 365 days of actual Batman activity.)

April 9 - First Batman appearance

August 2 - First Catwoman crime

November 2 - Batman and Catwoman both confront the Roman

 

Year Two:

June - Johnny Viti’s Wedding

October 31 - Johnny Viti is murdered, Gilda’s first outing as Holiday

February 14 - Maroni’s guards are murdered, Alberto’s first outing as Holiday

April 1 - Holiday takes a “holiday”.

 

Year 3:

August 2 - The Roman’s Birthday, Harvey Dent is scarred by Maroni.

October 31 - Two-Face kills The Roman.

 

Year 4:

August 2 - Selina Kyle attends the 1-year memorial service at The Roman’s grave

October 31 - Harvey Dent is taken from Arkham Asylum during a riot.

February 15 - Selina leaves for Rome, breaks up with Bruce.

 

Year 5:

May/June - Dick Grayson’s parents are killed. By Father’s Day, he lives with Bruce.

July 4 - Bruce reveals his secret to Dick.

August 2 - Harvey goes to trial for the “Hangman” murders. Is broken out by Rogues.

Labor Day - Catwoman returns from a six-month hiatus.

October - Harvey Dent kills Sophia Falcone, the “Hangman” killer

October 31 - Dick takes the oath, and becomes Robin.

 

According to Miller himself on an interview at Newsarama, he always writes for the DKR universe, and yeah, he's contradicted himself, but so what? In the long run, it doesn't matter. DC adopted Year One as continuity, but with reboots and whatnot, not everything stays constant. Comic time is fluid, so putting actual dates to it is pointless, especially so soon after a reboot.