Batman ‘89 Reveals First Look at Marlon Wayans’ Robin

Warning: includes a preview for Batman ’89 #1!

Batman ’89 artist Joe Quinones has released the first look at Marlon Wayans’ Robin. It’s been well documented that Tim Burton had intended to introduce Robin in Batman Returns. Obviously, things didn’t go according to plan and Robin never showed up. This was mainly because of the film’s producers who believed that there were too many characters and Robin got axed. The same thing happened to Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent, who was supposed to transform into the villainous Two-Face and be another foe for Batman to face.

Marlon Wayans was cast as Robin before production began on Batman Returns. Despite Robin being cut from Returns, director Tim Burton was determined to bring Wayans’ Boy Wonder into his Batman universe and planned to introduce him in Batman Forever. But Burton never made his third Batman film and was instead replaced by Joel Schumacher. Batman Forever was taken in an entirely new and different direction than the world Burton had established and Chris O’Donnell replaced Wayans as Robin.

Now, Batman ’89 artist Joe Quinones has shared a preview via Twitter of the series’ Robin. Naturally, with Batman ’89 bringing back so many unused concepts, Marlon Wayans’ likeness can be seen. In Quinones’ preview, the classical Robin color scheme of red, green, and yellow features. Additionally, thanks to another tweet from Quinones, eager fans already know that the classic Robin logo will be worn. However, there are some big differences in the overall look of the Robin suit. Check out the first look below:

The costume that Robin sports is very different from the action figures that were released alongside Batman Returns, which they sold despite him not being in the film. Those figures depicted Robin in a more traditional outfit similar to Burt Ward’s costume in Batman ’66 and the comics. Quinones’ drawings show that his Robin has a green and yellow hood to go with his outfit. This is an interesting deviation from what fans might have been expecting. Also, this Robin wears a yellow mask. The reason for these two new additions remains unclear, perhaps it is merely a stylistic choice or maybe there is a proper function to his new outfit.

It’s exciting enough to see a glimpse of Marlon Wayans’ Robin, and fans of the Burtonverse are no doubt eager to finally see him in action. One of the best things about DC Comics picking up Joe Quinones and Sam Hamm’s series is that so many of Burton’s benched concepts are being revived and retooled to fit into the comic book world. Batman ’89 is a digital-first series and its first issue will be available on participating platforms come July 27.

Source: Twitter

About The Author

Ben Rolph
(344 Articles Published)

Ben Rolph is a Comics features writer for Screen Rant. Based out of London, United Kingdom, Ben owns and runs an Arrowverse YouTube channel called ‘TheDCTVshow’, as well as being a film critic at DiscussingFilm. He is also a Tomatometer-approved critic and studies film at the University of Westminster.

Ben has a passion for the Arrowverse shows, especially The Flash and Supergirl, which he has watched and analysed for years.

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