With the auspicious move of the DC Universe to the newly launched HBO Max, I find myself in nerd paradise, as a longtime, not-so-closeted fangirl of ALL things Batman. I was just barely 5 when my grandparents took me to see the first Keaton/Tim Burton Batman movie at a drive-in movie theatre, which was a long, long time ago (drive-in movie theatres having been obsolete until the pandemic brought them back). I don’t know what it was, maybe the theatricality of it all, or my affinity of all things caped (see Phantom of the Opera), but I was hooked! Oh man, it was epic. Most kids get bored and fall asleep mid-movie but I loved this Caped Crusader. As a girl, I had limited options in the 80’s-90’s for female superheroes, until Power Rangers came along, and even then I didn’t much care for female superheroes anyway. Nothing personal. It just wasn’t my thing. I’d wear pink and dresses and all, but I loved watching the male superheroes kick villainous butt.

Then, I was introduced to the 1960’s Batman re-runs on TV. It wasn’t until much later in the 90’s that I would get to see the ill-fated, but still good (in my opinion) Joel Schumacher Batman movies with Chris O’Donnell playing opposite to two different Batmans (Batmen?), so my first taste of Robin, the “Boy Wonder” came about in the form of Burt Ward playing a tight-clad, booty short wearing, gold caped Dick Grayson/Robin. Maybe he was effeminate or somewhat androgynous enough to appeal to both the boy and girl aspects of my psyche. Cute, not threatening, cookie-cutter, swept back hair…possibly my gateway to the boyband breakthrough of the 90’s, angsty (for the 60’s anyways). I don’t know, but what I really loved was the team effort he brought to the dynamic of the Dynamic Duo. Most people enjoy the “lone wolf” aspect of Batman, but I enjoy the whole tag-team bit.

My brother decided he wanted to be the 1960’s iconic Adam West Batman for Halloween and my grandma was handmaking the costumes as there weren’t ready made outfits at the time, and I had the honor of being Robin. I didn’t see myself as a sidekick or a second banana, but as an equal. It gave me an opportunity to bond with my older brother who would allow me to play with his action figures. I had a gold lamé cape, even shinier than the tv show one, and even after Halloween I wore that thing around the house until it was in shreds. I felt powerful and fearless when I wore it.

Now, looking back, I can laugh at the production values of the 1960’s Batman. Campy to a fault, but fun. I think that’s where a lot of the same qualities of Power Rangers came into play. I will say though, I notice Robin’s affinity to be gassed or knocked out in many episodes and tied elaborately to a giant log in a sawmill or dangled over a vat of Joker acid or some such nonsense, a la the old school silent movie damsel in distress, which just makes me love the campiness all the more. But honestly, Robin is so much more than just Bat bait. He’s endured his fair share of nicknames such as “Bird Boy” or “Boy Blunder”, but I think he helps to balance out and humanize Batman more. Otherwise it just seems like too much machismo run amok. Batman needs a protégé, someone to carry on in his footsteps, and someone who will have his back.

This brings me to the Batman movies of latter, the Schumachers, the nippled, skin-tight, rubber Batsuits of the lawless late 90’s, pre-Christian Bale chainsmoker batgrowl. Val Kilmer’s chiseled jawline now wears the cape and cowl. He is broody AF and reluctant to take on the newly orphaned Dick Grayson (Chris O’Donnell) into his bat brood after discovering the Batcave in stately Wayne Manor and is sore at his foster dad for not revealing himself to Two-Face at the circus where a giant comical bomb is lowered into the big top and the remaining Graysons perish in the scuffle. There are disagreements, but that sneaky loveable scamp finds his way into Brucey’s good graces when Batman is chasing down Riddler and Two-Face later on, who have now joined forces. Batman is buried under rubble at a construction site and it looks like he’s done for, until a greenish gloved hand reaches into the rubble and pulls Batman skyward. It’s revealed to be (SPOILER ALERT if you haven’t seen the 1995 movie yet) Robin, Boy Wonder, clad in a fancy Robin suit of gold, green, red, and black, courtesy of Alfred, and hanging acrobat style from some kind of wire who just coyly says, “Hi,” to his surprised mentor. I loved this scene. It has stuck with me for years. It only further endeared Robin to me. Batman was in deep bat doo-doo and Robin saved him.

In the very late 90’s to early 2000’s, Batman the Animated Series was on the air and my Batman loving brain did a backflip. For a cartoon, it was very dark and broody, edgy and action packed. But nonetheless amazing! The animation was stellar. That iconic Batman voice by Kevin Conroy, that cheeky Alfred, and of course, Robin. I loved it so much that I bought a special boxed set of all the episodes on DVD with special booklet and features from Amazon for $75 without batting (pun intended) an eyelash. They delved into Robin’s story a little more via the two part episode of “Robin’s Reckoning” and the Nightwing chapter as well. Even the animated Robin was cute and snarky in his own way. I couldn’t wait to get home from school and flip on the TV for my daily 22 minute fix.

And now with the DC Universe’s live action show Titans on HBO Max, we get to see a whole new side of Robin that is often overlooked and ignored; grown-up Robin, now Nightwing! This was touched upon briefly in Batman the Animated Series and a few straight to DVD animated movies, but this new Titans is gritty and raunchy, it has some serious bat balls. This even moodier broodier Dick Grayson is struggling with his identity away from the shadow of Bruce/Batman while he mentors his own flock of fledgling superheroes and he’s got some majorly deep demons to deal with, inside and out! I pretty much inhaled the first two seasons as soon as I discovered them on HBO Max and I am now anxiously awaiting Season 3 to drop August 12th. There’s so much more to the Robin universe to explore including more on Jason Todd and Tim Drake! I have mixed feelings about the Jason Todd variation of Gen 2 Robin, but again angst is the word and this Robin is even giving Batman a run for his inherited money and I do know the plans they have in store for poor Jason, but I am waiting to see what Titans twist they put on the story I am aware of. Sometimes knowing too much spoils the surprises. Maybe one day I will finally get my Nightwing standalone movie, but for now Brenton Thwaites on Titans is fulfilling all my angsty tormented Robin/Nightwing dreams.

Having just recently returned from seeing Avengers: Endgame, I know I waited over a month for all the falderal and fanboying to die down a smidge, so that I could fully enjoy the movie. I dodged many a spoiler laden post, until I saw the “I (Iron Man power cell or heart) You” 3000 and a meme on a popular Facebook website featuring a picture of the once glorious Chris Hemsworth with a very ungodly gut. Now having not yet seen the movie until a few days later, I knew of these details just short of a month after the movie’s release, I just didn’t know the full context within the 3 hour span of this penultimate knock em’ sock em’ superhero bash flick. So in a way, I was waiting to see how it all played out.

When searching Fat Thor online, I came across many articles that took offense to this character and played the “fat shaming” card with gusto. To me, it was a hilarious break from an otherwise way too serious and tedious three hours of butt numbing butt kicking. There had to be a comedic relief in there and Thor, being a former Norse god, was prime material for it. The first glimpse of his protruding beer belly had me in stitches. In a way, it made this whole universe of ultimate warriors who were all tight and toned look much more realistic. Thor, the formidable “God of Thunder” was now the “God of Thunder Thighs” and in a way much more attainable than the perfectly coiffed and cut figure he had once been. Which proves even Gods can have a nervous breakdown or a midlife crisis and lay on the pizza and booze.

I laughed, sure, but I also felt a kinship with Thor. I had been chubbier in my college years, because I could not be well educated and physically fit at the same time, something had to give. Namely: my waistline. Also, I was in the midst of developing and being ultimately diagnosed with a chronic pain and arthritic condition in my 20’s, so my energy levels were basement level. I look back on my “fat” pics and cringe sometimes as I don’t know how I ever let it get so bad and I’m still no bikini model, nor do I want to be, but I had my rough patch. It wasn’t until I was asked to be a bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding that I went on a diet and kicked my own butt on the treadmill nearly 6 days a week and lost over 45 pounds and 2 dress sizes in 6 months. In the time since then, I have gained some of the weight back, but I still go for walks and swim and watch what I eat. I am not trying to be anything other than myself, regardless of those scale numbers.

There was something endearing about him letting himself go, it made him seem more human and not so much of that cocky heir to the Asgardian throne from previous movie installments. Like that all too familiar song from the 1990’s song “What If God Was One Of Us?” What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Just a stranger on a bus trying to make his way home? Of course Thor had no real home other than Earth since the destruction of Asgard and then the damage done to the ship in Endgame. So all these godly worlds he had once had dominion over and a smug sense of satisfaction to go along with them had all been destroyed, by one homewrecker or another. Although ‘Asgard’ is more of a state of mind and a people rather than one specific place, having lost a long-time home of my own recently, it still stings. And if you think you’ve got family problems and sibling rivalry, try being a Norse God. Drama to the max!

It would have been unfair in the movie if, along with Thor’s magnificent powers, he was able to shed a 60 pound beer belly just by summoning the powers of Mjolnir or Stormbreaker. No, he was more mortal than god now and for the remainder of the movie Fat Thor also remained and he was still a formidable fighter, along with the rest of the Avengers crew. My only question was: How did the Thor costume still fit on his *ehem* robust physique? (and don’t say “movie magic”) I liked that he embraced who he was and accepted himself thusly to succeed at being who he is and not who he’s supposed to be, to be the man he’s meant to be, regardless of his physical physique.

We salute you Fat Thor! And I hope there’s an action (or should I say inaction) figure released along with all the other Avengers, who still look better than I ever will. I guess being ridiculously good looking is one of the requirements for being a superhero.