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Brianna Mc Crary
Professor Derohanessian
English 113B
6 May, 2015
Project Text
Gender has and still does play a large role in society. Society decades ago placed women
and men into separate categories portraying men to be more sophisticated than women in the
workplace, and women to be better than men performing housewife duties at home. Women were
looked at as weak and not as sophisticated as men several decades ago, but in our society today,
even though women are sometimes still looked at as being below men, women can also be
looked at as being equal, or above men. In Frank Millers Batman: The Dark Knight Returns,
gender is incorporated in a way that women are not being seen as much as men are in the novel,
why Robin, Batmans sidekick, was given a role of a young male, and why Robin is meant to be
next in line if Batman were to be killed.
In all Batman movies, comics, and television shows, Robin was portrayed as being a
young male, but in Millers DKR, the graphic novel transformed Robin a girl. In Batman
Biography, History, there is evidence that Robin was considered male in most television shows,
movies, and comics, but in Millers graphic novel, the switch of genders for Robin creates
something new to the audience because it is more common for a superhero to be male and not
female. The superheros we see the most are male, therefore, it is clear that male superheros are
most favored and well known, especially because men are looked at as creatures that are stronger
than women. It is also moral for a man to fight crime instead of a woman because women are

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said to be gentle, and they play the role of the damsel in distress in stories, TV shows, and
movies. Therefore, since it is peculiar to see and read about a superhero that is a woman, Miller
was clearly using Robin as a symbol for womanly power.
Since Robin is a girl in DKR, there is the idea of Robin being below Batman because of
her gender, then, there is also the idea that Robin is a symbol for women being more powerful in
society. Batman is like the king, or the leader in the novel, and if Batman were to fail, Robin
would then take his place. This shows that gender is still important in a way that is unfair and
bias. On page 182 of Millers graphic novel, there is a full page showing Batman and Robin on
horses preparing to fight. Batman is the largest character on the page and is in front of Robin.
Robin is shown on the left of Batman (readers right), which symbolizes how she will be the next
in line if all does not go well for Batman. It is questionable if Robin is behind Batman because
she is next in line to protect Gotham, if Robin is behind Batman because she is a girl, or if Robin
was a character that was supposed to have Batmans back during battle.
In panel three, box one on page 140 off Millers graphic novel, the textboxes imply that
Robin stands with Batman to fight crime, therefore, she will be experienced in fighting crime and
will be ready to help the people of Gotham. . . . A tiny hand tightens its grip on my arm. . . a girl
of thirteen breathes in sharply, suddenly, her innocence lost. . . it ends tonight, Joker (pg. 140).
This shows that Batman has confidence in Robin fighting next to him in battle, and that she is
not being looked at as someone with less power than Batman; she appears to be his equal. In the
box in panel three, Robins face is noticeably close to Batmans. This may be a symbol showing
that Robin and Batman have a close and trustable relationship. The box showing Robin and
Batman being so close together also creates a picture of Robin being a daughterly figure to
Batman, which gives him a reason to want to do well in his crime fighting career. Everyone

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needs some motivation, therefore, Robins purpose for being in DKR is not only to help him
fight crime, but to motivate him to keep doing the right thing.
According to The History of Robin: The Significance of Superhero Sidekicks
superheroes like Robin are considered sidekicks because they are there to talk to the main
superheros like Batman and keep them company. The sidekicks were created for two simple
reasons. One, the hero needed someone to talk to. Two, publishers were seeking a way to appeal
to young readers, their biggest demographic (Cagney). Since Robin is a girl, it is easier to make
the connection that women are starting to be looked at as sophisticated, and not there to stand
next to men for emotional support only. Not only is Robin a sidekick and can be seen as a source
of comfort for Batman, but Robin is also a female which shows even more how women are
compared to men.
In Millers novel, there are not a lot of women that are shown as superheros, and they are
also not shown as much as the men who are villains. There is one villain that is a woman and is
drawn as a man. Why would a woman villain be drawn as a monstrous man. It is reasonable to
say that this graphic novel favors male figures over womanly figures. There is no obvious
separation of women and men, which proves that men are highly favored in society. Robin and
the female villain play a huge role in the DKR because women are not shown as much as they
should be in the novel. A woman playing a villain in the DKR states that men can defeat women
easily, which adds on to the fact that women are less powerful than men. The color scheme in the
novel is masculine as well and has no femininity.
The color scheme in the DKR revolves around colors like red, yellow, green, blue, and
black. There are no girly colors like pink and light purples in the novel, which shows how men
are dominant in Millers novel. Robin, being a teenage girl, should have a uniform with more

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feminine colors such as pinks and purples, but instead, she has the colors yellow, red, and green
for her costume colors. Robins appearance also resembles a young boy because her haircut is cut
short. It is safe to say that overall Miller made men higher than women to show how society sees
the two genders.
All in all, Millers graphic novel opens the eyes of readers to understand the symbolism
between the role of women and Robin, Batmans sidekick. Gender and the Dark Knight Returns
shows audiences the role women can play in superhero comics, movies and TV shows. Women
can be just as important as men as superheros, and should not be looked at as less than men.
Robin as a girl superhero brings a variety that is equal for men and women, and shows that
women can play an important and useful role in life.

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Works Cited

"Batman Biography, History." Batman History, Batman Biography, Batman Bio. N.p., n.d. Web.
21 Apr. 2015.
Cagney. "The History of Robin: The Significance of Superhero Sidekicks." The Artifice. N.p.,
Apr. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Miller, Frank. N.p.: DC Comics, 1986. Print.