Batman Slaps Robin – The Origin of the Panel | Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources

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Batman Slaps Robin – The Origin of the Panel

by Brian Cronin | January 1, 2009 @ 5:27 AM | 30 Comments |

The following amusing panel has been making the rounds for awhile now…

And luckily, thanks to helpful reader onion3000, I now have the original panel to share with you all as well as the context behind it! Enjoy!

The story is an “Imaginary Story” from 1965′s World’s Finest #153, by writer Edmond Hamilton and artists Curt Swan

The concept behind the story is that Bruce Wayne believes that Superboy was responsible for his father’s death, so he became Batman specifically to fight against Superboy (and then, naturally, Superman).

Anyhow, the panel shows Batman’s partner, Robin, taking issue a bit with the Superman obsession (the panel, as you can see, was reversed for greater comedic effect).

onion3000 also shared with us the aftermath of the slap, as Batman comes up with a way to make everything “all better”…

Thanks again for all the scans, onion3000! Good stuff.

Comments below

30 Comments

onion3000

January 1, 2009 at 6:07 am

In the letters column of issue 155, someone asks where the idea of the story came from for issue 153.
The editor’s reply: “…In this case we have a bright reader, Cary Bates, of Dayton, Ohio, to thank. Cary, who is an excellent amateur artist, thought up the cover and the plot theme, which were developed by author Hamilton…”

Cary Bates… Name rings a bell…?

Tom Fitzpatrick

January 1, 2009 at 6:51 am

Somebody call Child and Family Services to report Child Abuse!

Dan Bailey

January 1, 2009 at 8:48 am

Frank Miller obviously grew up obsessing over that panel …

Thok

January 1, 2009 at 10:01 am

So, it’s Lex Luthor as Batman?

Omar Karindu, back from an Internet Thogal ritual

January 1, 2009 at 10:18 am

Is it just me, or is the original panel at least as funny as the ‘shopped version?

sgt rawk

January 1, 2009 at 11:13 am

That Batman … he’s always obsessed about SOMETHING.

Jaap!

January 1, 2009 at 3:51 pm

man batman so doesnt have a face going “MY PARENTS ARE DEAD”. If anything, he looks to be going “Robin, you little bitch. You know my parents are dead.”

sackett

January 1, 2009 at 4:49 pm

Batman looks a little pudgy on the cover there.

aboynamedposh

January 1, 2009 at 7:10 pm

I was just wondering about this the other day! Cheers.

Martin

January 2, 2009 at 11:54 am

Does this pre-date Scott Kurtz’s Batman: My Parents are Dead?

John

January 2, 2009 at 7:38 pm

So when is Grant Morrison going to incorporate this bit of continuity into his run?

onion3000

January 3, 2009 at 4:08 am

A few panels later, Batman makes it all OK again…

http://s474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/onion3000/?action=view&current=After-Slap-1.jpg

Tom Fitzpatrick

January 4, 2009 at 9:12 pm

Just remembered something, Batman was really pissed at the group who mind-wiped Dr. Light back in Identity Crisis a few years ago.
Wouldn’t it be a bit hypocritical of Batman, since he basically did the same to Robin?

I AM FeAR

January 4, 2009 at 9:29 pm

@Tom Fitzpatrick

that’s because Batman’s one of those jerks who thinks bad stuff is bad, unless he’s the one doing it, then it’s alright.

Brian Prax

January 4, 2009 at 9:42 pm

@I AM FeAR

So what you’re saying is that Batman is Nixon!?

Nice article. Hysterical context.

ArrionShaadow

January 5, 2009 at 1:33 am

BATMAN MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!!! THATS THE FUNNIEST THING IVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE!!!! I WANNA READ MORE!

Josh

January 5, 2009 at 7:00 am

Now lets see if anyone can figure out this one!

http://strangeink.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/papa-batman-spank.jpg

SlightlyMad

January 5, 2009 at 7:11 am

Is it just me, or does the panel with Batman hypnotising Dick hold the possibility for some pretty warped re-captioning? “You will forget that I made you dress up in little green swimming trunks & pixie boots…”

POWRSURG

January 5, 2009 at 8:26 am

Josh: That is from Batman’s first (or at least one of his first) adventures with Catwoman. It was recently reprinted in the first volume of Batman Chronicles.

I guess spanking was more acceptable back in the last 1930s?

Jill aka The Nerdy Bird

January 5, 2009 at 12:05 pm

Man, Batman’s a dick!

Crisis

January 5, 2009 at 12:16 pm

Josh: That panel is from Batman #1 in the story with Catwoman. And yes that is the original panel, no alterations.

Daniel

January 5, 2009 at 7:50 pm

Batman was really pissed at the group who mind-wiped Dr. Light back in Identity Crisis a few years ago.

Batman wasn’t pissed because they mind-wiped Dr Light (although he didn’t approve of that), he was pissed because they mind-wiped HIM and made him forget the incident.

Later, he realized that there was time missing from his memory of the day, and being the World’s Greatest Detective and all, figured out what had happened.

Vampier23

January 6, 2009 at 11:24 am

I’ve been wondering about this since 3 christmases ago!

Scott King

January 7, 2009 at 1:15 am

Ha, ha! That original panel is great. “You brat!”

If this is an original classic Batman story, why does everyone think that All-Star Batman is too over the top?

Aside from the curse words, there’s not much difference…

Lia Brown

January 7, 2009 at 1:16 am

Onion3000: Cary Bates wrote the pre-Crisis Flash series for years. He also wrote Captain Atom, and recently Marvel’s “True Believers” LS. And a bunch of other stuff I’m blanking on.

Bates used to write into the Flash letters columns before he took over the series, which makes me chuckle.

Batman’s Epic Slap to Robin’s Kisser | Mitchelaneous

December 7, 2009 at 5:09 am

[...] So Robin is not really such a jerk after all. Batman is overly obsessed with getting Superman, because he believes Superboy (and in turn Superman) was responsible for his father’s death. Check out the rest of the story behind the epic slap over at CBR. [...]

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