Who will be the next Robin?

So who is up next to take up the mantle as Robin? After this month of looking back at each of the four Robins and how their characters have changed in DC's New 52 universe, it is now time to look forward to who the next Robin may be. This will all be speculation, and it will all be for fun. Deanpool will put his detective skills to work. It should be noted that many of these theories were inspired by the Batsgiving teaser, that Deanpool decided to look at again and do a separate post with his analysis of the Batman: Eternal teaser.
Review this past mont's post on: Dick Grayson/Nightwing, Jason Todd/Red Hood, Tim Drake/Red Robin, & Damian Wayne/Robin

Like it was said in the beginning of the month in the Preview, it seems that Snyder is setting up Harper Row to be a key character in the Batman series, possibly the next Robin. She has the technical skills and an obsession with helping Batman, perhaps only lacking the physical talents. Tim Drake stepped in during Batman's emotional outbreak after Jason Todd's death and it landed him a spot as Robin (with some extra motivations as well). Did Harper follow the same path with her intervention after Damian's death? She's smart, resourceful, and motivated. However, there is such a thing as being overqualified. Harper seems too perfect for the role, again minus any physical skills or training, and with Snyder constantly showing her in more and more issues, it seems like it's alluding to a larger role. But what role could it be, if not Robin? There's also her relationship with her brother. Being a Robin is practically a full-time job, and if readers have learned anything about Harper Row, it's that she'll do anything to protect her brother. Hard to watch over her brother when she's fighting crime elsewhere. The past Robins were orphans, thus no serious connections to anyone else that might learn their secret. Deanpool believes that for this theory to come true, it would require something dramatic to happen to Harper's brother that would push her to take things into her own hands and maybe even resort to violence. Batman would then be there to suggest otherwise, stop her from doing something she'd regret blah blah blah. Then train her into a Robin by channeling her anger and emotions as a motivating force to fight crime for justice... similar to how the death of Bruce's parents motivate him. Makes sense to Deanpool, and he believes that readers are already emotionally invested enough in Harper Row for a story like this to make an impact.

Stephanie Brown as Spoiler, Robin, & Batgirl. Triple threat.

With the whispers of a return for Spoiler aka Stephanie Brown aka technically the "fourth Robin," her clean slate from the relaunch places her in a perfect position to be re-introduced into the comic universe with a bang. Though many Stephanie Brown fans admired her run as Batgirl rather than her run as Robin, a second go around as a female Robin has potential to go better than her first. If she's anything like her pre-New 52 self, she'll still bring a spunky, feisty character with obedience issues that Damian presented. While she isn't a new face to comics, she will be new to the New 52 and it's not clear how much of continuity there will be with the character. It's not as likely that Bruce accepts help from such a new face, but another fun speculation with the news that she'll be coming to the New 52 thanks to the Batsgiving teaser..

Batman Eternal teaser. The person in the purple hoodie... Spoiler?

Also what if Tim Drake comes back as a Robin? We saw Damian take the role as Robin when Dick Grayson became Batman, but if all that never happened wouldn’t we still have a Bruce Wayne-Tim Drake tandem? In the Batman and Robin series that is still continuing even in the absence of Damian Wayne as Robin, one of the first issues in the aftermath of Damian's death featured Batman and Red Robin. Deanpool is sure Tim Drake would love to work with Batman again. And with the Teen Titans series coming to an end in April after the conclusion of "Forever Evil," it's hard to picture what else Tim Drake could possibly have lined up for himself as anything other than the leader of the Teen Titans. That is, other than taking up the vacant Robin position. He wouldn't even do that much of a name change, or maybe not even do any name change at all. The biggest reasoning for disproving this theory may be explained when we learn how the events in "Forever Evil" lead to the end of the Teen Titans series. Will it make way for something new? Or will most these heroes without on-going titles get shelved to make way for new titles? It'd be pretty sad to have Tim Drake resort to cameo appearances instead of his monthly appearances.

Let's not ignore the conspiracy theory that the Damian that died in Batman, Inc. #8 may just be one of Talia’s clones and the real Damian is still floating around somewhere (very similar to Roy Harper in Young Justice). Could the real Damian still be out there? If so, then why would the League of Assassins recover the dead body if it was just a clone? Unless they don't have the original anymore as well and that particular clone was the closest match to the original. But with the new animated DC film being Son of Batman and Damian reappearing in Batman: Li'l Gotham, the Damian: Son of Batman mini-series, and even in the anniversary Detective Comics #27 issue (all after his death), there's a sense that publishers recognize that Damian was such a fan favorite and may want to find some way to bring him back to the New 52 comics. There's also the possibility that if he really died, could Batman train a clone of Damian instead (since it is evident that Talia has multiple clones of Damian Wayne)?

Though it would be weird to think about how Carrie Kelley could somehow play into this universe (since The Dark Knight Returns is not in canon), Deanpool is sure there could be someway to work it in with all the popularity that the book and the animated movie have received.
There was a bit of a tease in the issues of Batman and Robin after Damian's death that made it look like Carrie Kelley would be making an appearance as Robin. But that's all it was, a tease. While she does make her debut in the New 52 universe, it's not the same impact that she made in TDKR (at least for the moment). She's a bit older and in college, but her personality is very much the same. Can't really theorize much more than that on this one. Her introduction and supposed connection to Damian that is talked about in the issue can hint to some type of future for her in the comics, but it's unclear as to what that future holds.

How about Talon? With all the Court of Owls hype still buzzing since 2011, imagine the possibility of Batman running with Talon (the one with his own New 52 series). Already a trained assassin, he seems like the perfect shape for a new Robin (and maybe even a way to bring up a new story with the Court of Owls for Batman?!). OR pick out another younger kid who was destined to be a Talon and save the kid from going down a path with the Court of Owls. Dick was meant to be apart of the Court and Bruce did that exact thing with him. It'd be a fresh face, but a good tie-in to a popular story arc, a good way to possibly bring back another Court of Owls story, and present a similar background to Damian's with training a kid chosen and/or raised to be a killer. The Batsgiving  picture adds to this theory as we see a blonde-haired person behind Batman.

If we're going to explore past Robin's going back to being Robin, and with a bit of extreme thinking, could Dick Grayson return as Robin? Okay, the immediate reaction to this one should likely be, "Uh no Deanpool, he's Nightwing. Why would he go back to Robin, the role meant for someone under the tutelage of Batman?" Well those who have been following the "Forever Evil" story (what DC reader isn't, and even if not it gets talked about more than enough on this blog) know that Nightwing's identity has been exposed and revealed to public by the Crime Syndicate. His future, assuming he survives Forever Evil, is looking bad enough as it is. Furthermore, the Nightwing series is set to end in April when the "Forever Evil" will conclude as well. Seems appropriate since it'd be kind of hard to explain why Nightwing would still exist if everyone knew it was Dick Grayson. Yeah DC doesn't do as much of the public superhero thing like Tony Stark as Iron Man, or the Fantastic Four and things like that. But the end of Nightwing does not mean end of Dick Grayson. With the vacancy at the Robin position, it's not too weird think of the original dynamic duo to have a reunion is it? Dick can lay low at Wayne Manor/Bat-cave but still fight crime as an established hero. We get a bit nostalgic seeing this duo together again in the Batman and Robin Annual #2. This idea is explored a bit more in the Batsgiving teaser that Deanpool recently analyzed for this post too.

Or there’s always Batman being the lone wolf he always seems to be. If writers aren’t too eager to replace the Robin role, perhaps we can explore more Bruce Wayne stories or place Bruce Wayne in much more dangerous scenarios. This theory sounds bad for the Batman and Robin series because Deanpool doubts they want to continue doing a Batman and "Guest to substitute for Robin". We get enough solo Batman in Batman, Detective Comics, and Batman: Dark Knight. This was a chance for readers to see him team-up with the Boy Wonder. But it also wouldn't be the smartest move to quickly replace Robin. Two out of four Robins have died under Batman's watch, one of them being his biological son. Don't think even Batman is eager to replace the Robin mantle. Let him go through a phase of doubt in thinking he can't protect anyone other than himself. Then when he needs it the most, reintroduce the new (or old based on some of these theories) Robin. It's not easy being apart of the Bat family and Batman knows it.

So there's a couple theories on who can step into the Robin costume next. There's plenty of others to consider, but Deanpool wanted to talk about the ones that immediately come to mind. For more clues as to who will be the next Robin, read Deanpool's Batsgiving post.

Will the line get longer or will one of the old Robins retake the spot ?