The origin of Dark Nights: Death Metal’s Robin King has been revealed, but the Dark Multiverse villain isn’t who anyone would have suspected.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for “King of Pain” in Dark Nights Death Metal: Legends of the Dark Knights #1 by Peter J. Tomasi, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia and Rob Leigh, available now.
The Batman Who Laughs’ multiple sidekicks, or “groblins” — all twisted versions of Batman’s longtime partner Robin — have been among the most disturbing signature characters of Dark Nights: Metal and Dark Nights: Death Metal’. But Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Dark Nights: Death Metal #2 brought forth the most twisted among them, the Robin King.
In that issue, the former Batman Who Laughs, now transformed into the Darkest Knight, had taken notice of this particular Robin and asks him to tell him his story. That story — told to the Darkest Knight only in whispers — was unknown, until now. Peter J. Tomasi and Riley Rossmo’s “King of Pain” story in Dark Nights Death Metal: Legends of the Dark Knights #1 reveals the origin of the boy set to become the Robin King.
But as Tomasi and Rossmo’s story shows, the Robin King isn’t even a Robin. He’s not Dick Grayson. He’s not Jason Todd or Tim Drake. He’s not even Damian Wayne. The future Robin King, in fact, is an extremely troubled young Bruce Wayne who embraces darkness long before he had the chance to become Batman.
In this corner of the Dark Multiverse, Bruce Wayne is a deeply troubled and disturbed child, even as an infant. “The darkness was always there,” his world’s Alfred Pennyworth states, juxtaposed over scenes of young Bruce torturing animals, crafting weapons, and assaulting and killing others. The nature of the Dark Multiverse had gotten its grip on Bruce before he ever had a chance or inkling to show any kind of heroism or altruism.
As happens in every reality, Bruce’s parents take him to the movies to see Beware the Gray Ghost. On that one fateful, life-changing evening, they are later accosted in that dark alley near the theatre. But here, Joe Chill doesn’t take the life of Thomas and Martha Wayne. instead, a psychopathic Bruce produces a hidden blade and slashes Chill’s throat before the criminal can act. Whatever Bruce’s troubles, he seemingly saves his parents’ lives for a moment.
But before the shocked and incredulous Waynes can act, Bruce grabs Chill’s gun and gleefully shoots both of them dead.
The deaths of his parents are, as always, a defining moment for young Bruce. Bbut rather than vow to fight crime, he instead commits one his own. Placing Chill’s gun back into the mugger’s hand and then conjuring up some fake tears for the arriving police officers, Bruce frames the dead Chill for the murders that he himself committed and is subsequently seen exactly how he wants to be by the world at large: as Gotham’s orphaned prince. As always, he’s a victim, not a murderer.
However, Alfred has seen the darkness in Bruce all along, even suspecting that Bruce had something to do with his parents’ murders. He secretly slips officer Jim Gordon electronic evidence of Bruce’s dark misdeeds the following day. When confronted by Gordon, Bruce savagely kills him and subsequently battles Alfred. Donning a new Robin-esque costume, Bruce also overpowers and kills Alfred, before proclaiming himself as The Robin King.
It’s not clear why Bruce would take the name of Robin in a world without a Batman, nor what he did in the intervening years before the arrival of The Batman Who Laughs. What is clear, though, is this evil incarnation of Bruce is grooming himself for something larger. Just as he bided his time playing the role of a young heir, he appears to also have been patient serving as one of several sidekicks to The Batman Who Laughs, waiting for the opportunity to ascend to a throne of his own.
