Robin’s Forgotten Weapon Shows Bruce’s ‘No Guns’ Rule Is a Joke

Warning: contains spoilers for Robins #4!

A recent reminder that Robin once used a deadly projectile weapon proves that Batman’s ban on his allies using firearms is effectively meaningless. The moment comes in issue four of the miniseries Robins, which won DC’s round robin fan vote for the series readers wanted to see, leading to this six-issue series written by Tim Seeley with art by Baldemar Rivas.

Robins focuses on all of the Caped Crusader’s former (and current) sidekicks from Dick Grayson all the way up through Damian Wayne. Thematically, the series is about whether or not Batman was in the right to take in children and train them to be merciless fighters dedicated to his cause. All of them joined Batman’s crusade for different reasons, and their morals are tested as they are methodically challenged by Jenny Wren, who claims to actually be the very first Robin.

In the first issue of the series, Jenny killed a man from a long distance while he was inside Dick Grayson’s apartment. This man, and others involved in the plot, was a part of a Robin “gauntlet,” essentially a final test a Robin has to undergo before Batman officially takes them on. It’s not until issue #4 that the Robins learn the murder weapon was a stone, a type of projectile used in a sling. Dick reflects that he used this weapon as Robin and was asked by Tim Drake about how to use it, as well. It was only after Tim researched the sling that he learned when wielded efficiently it could be just as lethal as a firearm, leading him to abandon it.

This revelation shows that Batman’s famous “no guns” policy is solely about his personal trauma, not about stopping his allies from taking lethal action. If so, he would’ve never condoned Tim picking up a potentially deadly projectile weapon in the first place. Batman has long banned his allies from using any form of gun in Gotham – a major sticking point with firearm-happy antihero the Red Hood – and has even been in situations where he’s chosen what seems like certain death over taking up the weapon. Many comics have treated this ban as a natural extension of Batman’s desire never to kill the criminals he battles, but the fact that he was willing to let first Dick and then Tim take up a weapon with similar lethal capabilities shows his rule is far less logical.

While the sling could obviously be used non-lethally, Jason Todd could easily argue the same about his guns. It’s fascinating that Bruce’s absolutist attitude to firearms so pointedly doesn’t extend to similar weapons. As the series explores whether Batman was right to train children in his war on crime, it’s relevant that some of his instructions weren’t founded in tactical or moral concerns, but in his own trauma.

The fact Tim, who is known for having strong morals, decided to relinquish the sling on his own speaks more to his own feelings against killing, and reflects a desire Bruce would certainly find admirable. Hopefully, this fact will act as a clue for the rest of the family, as Tim’s recent declaration that their former villains should be left to die was revealed to actually be the work of Jenny Wren, who had taken his place in disguise. Whatever Batman‘s reason for banning guns among his allies, Tim Drake’s Robin is deeply concerned with safeguarding all life, and that fact may be the only thing that can save his life as Jenny Wren plays out her plans.

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