When we first meet him in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader has been crime fighting in Gotham for a while. Long enough for him to train up his sidekick Robin, only to see him die at the Joker’s hands.
All of this was only conveyed in a single brief scene in the movie though, in which Bruce came across an outfit that you can just about make out as Robin’s, adorned with Joker-like graffiti. Of course, hardcore fans were able to put two and two together and worked out that the film was alluding to when Joker brutally killed Jason Todd, the second Robin, in the comics.
This is just one of many easter eggs spread throughout the movie, though, and as it turns out, there was actually another nod towards Robin that not many people picked up on. Like with the outfit in the Batcave, this one also implies that the character’s death carries quiet a bit of weight on Bruce’s conscience. Perhaps more than some fans might think.
If you’ll recall, during a scene in which we see Bruce working out, we can catch a glimpse of a bike in the foreground. Turns out that the vehicle belonged to Robin and Mr. Wayne’s keeping it around simply because he can’t get rid of it. Or at least, that’s according to director Zack Snyder, who said as much on Vero this week.
While not a huge revelation by any means, it’s certainly another interesting easter egg to be found in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and a nice nod to a bygone era of the Dark Knight, giving us a better idea of how damaged and bruised this version of Bats really is and adding just that little bit more to his backstory. Which is, of course, always appreciated.
Say what you want about Snyder and his work in the DCEU, but it’s stuff like this that shows how deep his love and appreciation of these characters runs and why he’s still got so many supporters.
