Robin: All hail the boy wonder

As Robin celebrates his 80th birthday, Donal O’Keefe looks at the history of Batman’s sidekick, and how the duo caused an infamous gay scare in Hollywood

Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin in the classic 1960s TV version of Batman.

Batman and Socko doesn’t quite have the same ring, but Socko was one of many names Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane debated with artist Jerry Robinson when they decided Batman — a smash hit since his 1939 debut — needed an assistant. Amazingly, no superhero before had had a teenage sidekick.

Mercury, Wildcat, Pepper and Davy (as in Crockett) were suggested until Robinson had a brainwave: “I thought of a young Robin Hood and suggested adapting his costume for the new character. I added the final touch, the small R on his vest.”