#reverse robin au

[ky-landfill]

“So then how do you suggest we proceed?”

[too0bsessedformyowngood]

Okay so I’ve been reading a lot of reverse robin AUs recently and I have a hot take. Duke Thomas should be the Dick Grayson parallel instead of Damian.

Hear me out. So bare bones Duke was the last to join in cannon, so he should be the first to join for reverse robins. But to get deeper into it Duke lost both of his parents at the same time setting him down a path of becoming a vigilante. He becomes Bruce’s ward instead of being adopted because he already was raised with two good parents and doesn’t want them to be replaced. He also created his own mantle that was the opposite to Batman, the light to Batman’s dark, inspiring hope against Batman’s fear. He’s friendly and works well and inspires others, but also extremely sharp and smart which people often forget.

Damian would work well as a batgirl parallel more. He would join after Duke but be a few years older, got there already trained and immediately jumping into crime fighting. Covering the areas that Bruce and Duke don’t fill. While Duke takes up his own name Damian would use a name more inspired by Batman himself.

I just think this dynamic of Bruce and Duke being the first dynamic duo would fit so well (also get to spotlight Duke who so often gets overlooked).

[chai-artsy]

[RRAU] Dealing with Trauma

[necrotic-nephilim]

I think what I love the most about Reverse Robin AU TimJay is the absolute potential for hero worship with Jason toward Tim. In canon we often forget that Tim didn't really care for Jason as Robin, meanwhile as I never shut up about, Jason has been weirdly respecting and obsessed with Tim since finding out about Tim's existence. So if you flip their order, make Tim Red Hood and make Jason Red Robin, there's so much room for hero worship from Jason.

As Robin, Jason has always teetered that edge of being pro-murder or not. Whether you believe he killed Felipe or not, even in his Post-Crisis introduction as Robin, he almost kills Two Face. Those concepts of lethal justice have always been brewing inside him, just reigned in by Bruce. So if you have Robin!Jason witnessing Red Hood!Tim start killing people and quickly making noticeable change in the landscape of gangs in Gotham, Jason would take quick notice. I think Tim as Red Hood would still be lethal, but there'd be a different application than Jason's Red Hood. Heads in duffle bags isn't Tim's style, even if he kills. I think you'd see something much more akin to that time Tim almost killed Boomerang, where it's such an elaborately thought out set up, it realistically doesn't even look like Tim killed anyone. It'd take months for Bruce to connect this string of deaths as anything other than coincidental, let alone link them to Red Hood. And Jason is wickedly smart, even as Robin. Jason, putting those pieces together before Bruce does and witnessing the undeniable positive change for Gotham it's enacting? Robin!Jason would be incredibly drawn in by that, and then even more-so, a Red Robin!Jason who has to grapple with being replaced to make room for the next Robin would I think, in anger, turn to Red Hood. And Tim would push him away at first, his plans don't have room for a scorned teenager who's trying to get back at Bruce and Nightwing!Damian like this- but I think Jason would wear him down. Prove to Tim that Jason can think on his wavelength.

Slightly related, what interests me about Red Hood!Tim is how it'd implicate his closeness to Ra's. Jason is taken into the League by Talia in Lost Days and Ra's doesn't necessarily approve of Jason's presence, especially not of Talia dunking him in the Pit, but Ra's has always canonically been A Little Weird about Tim. I think in a world Tim dies as the second Robin, it would be Ra's who dunks Tim to preserve his mind that Ra's thinks shouldn't be wasted, and you have the potential for 'apprentice of Ra's' Tim wrapped up in it all, even without him experience the Red Robin arc. So when it's Jason as Red Robin, instead of him going to Ra's when he's scorned by the Batfamily, he goes to Tim. The person he once idolized, because I think Tim would've been Jason's Robin. Smart, competent, a strong legacy to live up to. And now he's back, and he's pro-killing, an edge that Jason has always teetered on and would feel even closer to when he's replaced by a young Dick. I think Tim wouldn't ever be able to get rid of Jason.

Then on Tim's side, I think his reaction to being replaced after his death would be a complicated one. Objectively, being the Robin who believes Batman needs a Robin, he'd respect the logic and know Bruce was always going to replace him eventually. But still, there's always going to be that instinctual emotional reaction of betrayal and replacement. I think he'd view Jason at first with anger and distance, but then, seeing Jason as this street kid with begrudging potential, I could see Red Hood!Tim testing Jason. Constantly throwing things at Jason, seeing how he reacts, if he lives up to being Robin. Tim has a need for analyzing people, understanding their strengths and weaknesses. And he seems the Robin mantle very uniquely, he'd need to have it proven to him that Jason can handle it.

So you would have this dynamic of Jason hero worshipping Tim, slowly believing in Tim's methodology. While Tim is at first dismissive of him, but then starts to test him, see what makes this kid tick. And I think the TimJay potential of Jason trying to prove himself to Tim could be Neat.

[thesulkycroissant]

I like the concept of Reverse Robin AUs but I think it's important then that Robin not be the name of the mantle. Because Robin is Dick's, but also because I don't think it makes sense for Damian if he's not taking up a legacy mantle. I like the idea of Damian adopting a bird theme, though, which one day Dick can bring Robin into.

[haveihitanerve]

the thing I love most about the reverse Robin au is all the lovely like... angst that can be used and manipulated when it comes to adoption

Since Damian is the only birth child, and in the normal universe, it becomes a thing where he has to learn that blood isn't everything and Dick means just as much to Bruce as he does, even though he's not his birth son

but now that he's the oldest- does he deal with adopted kids the way you might deal with pets? treat them as lesser than?

or does he step up and be a big brother and throws hands with anyone who even dares to compare them and put down his brothers because they might be adopted but theyre family nonetheless

[kheta]

Things I need in a Reverse Robins AU

-I don’t care what the order is but please let Duke and Jarro be adopted before Damian is taken in! I need Damian to be jealous of an alien starfish, my bones require it 😭

-Duke ans Damian make Jason and Dick’s lives so difficult… not as antagonist and purely because they snuck out and caused so much havock that Bruce now has a sixth sense for when his kids want to act up. They cannot even attempt stealth because Duke and Damian did it better.

-I want Duke and Damian to be those kid brothers that never got along. They used to regularly ‘spar’ (fist fight) but Dick, Cass and Jason don’t believe it because they get along so well now? Tim and Steph are obviously lying.

-A grown Dick Grayson being so mad because he went his whole life wanting to be taller than just one big brother, one! And he never gets it 🥰 (Him and Tim are the same height. He hates it w a passion) Technically he is taller than Jarro. But so is Ace and Tidus, that accounts for literally nothing.

-In contrasts to his big brother’s stealth and sneaking out shennanigans, Tim just straight up lies to Bruce when he wants to take off with YJ, vaguely saying their plans (baseball, trip to some histprical landmark, chilling on Bart’s new ride) So while Bruce blames Duke and Dami for his greys, he says that Tim is the only reason he isn’t fully grey because he’s so responsible and considerate and always tells Bruce everything. (Tim tells Bruce exactly three things, two are half-truths and one is the boldest lie in town 😇 Bruce is nonethewiser.)

-Running off of that, I want Tim to be the sneaky middle child always in chaos, but I want Dami to know this and point it out to Bruce and gst shut down (like Candace Flynn levels of bad)

-Dick is spoilt by his many older siblings. He knows and takes advantage. I’m talking like 18yo Dick Grayson showing up at 22yo Jason’s place when Jason is at College and Jason returns home to find his little brother wearing his robe, eating hia cereal and asking if he can borrow Jay’s car because Bruce is hiding his keys until Dick actually gets a drivers license, which he doesn’t need because he hardly ever drives anyway 🙄😒 Jason tells him to fuck off, kicks him for not throwing thw empty cereal box away and asks where tf he thinks he’s off to anyway??????

-I want Cass to be a bratty younger sister, but only to Jason. She’s happy to hangout and cherishes her time with all her brothers, but she terrorises Jason. Purposefully is quieter when walking near him to frighten him, steals every comfy, bright hoodie he owns, wiggles into his bed and leaves her stuff for him to pick up, clean. She happily helps with chores until Jason asks and suddenly, she did not hear him, she was ‘busy, calm down grumpy.’ I want her looking at his school work and making faces at him if he tries to help her. I want her to want nothing more than to bite Jason, but also have him be her secret favourite brother. I need them to be best friends but the sort who will sell each other out for a single corn chip.

-Dick convinces Damian to help him steal an elephant. If Damian weren’t so weak for his baby brother he’d think about how even tge manor is not large enough to comfortably house an elephant. Duke isn’t completely sure it’s a good idea, but he trusts his brother’s to be smart enough to think this through ☺️ (they have not and will not think the logistics of owning an elephant through) Tim is fully aware this is a bad plan, he’s just even worse at saying no to Dick 💀 Steph is so mad that she has to be the voice of reason among these idiots 😒

-Tim dropping out of High-school actually leads to a huge fight lol. Bc Duke and Damian have Masters and Jason is looking into Ivy Leagues and Cass adores you Tim you need to be a role model 😠 Tim moves to San Francisco and doesn’t talk to Bruce for months after that fight. He still regularly contacts his siblings though.

-Personally don’t love Jason dying in Reverse Robin AU’s, but you know if Joker killed him at 15 he’d be dead in two weeks tops. Oh you want to kill the baby brother of a trqined assassin and Tim, one bad hour away from villany, Drake-Wayne? You think Duke would stop them? Dick? You think wrong. Dick might even try to jump ahead of the line. Cass is perfectly happy to shut her eyes and pretend she cannot see her brothers planning 🫢 The Joker would die a slow and painful death. Steph and Duje would run Batman distraction. (Bruce actually has a support network and two kids younger than Jason who are grieving. He’d need to be a parent and help them with their grief. He’ll probably be shit at it, but he’d still need to try.)

-When Steph starts college she occasionally visits the manor, liberally fills her bag with spare socks, new towels and non-perishables. Alfred doesn’t mind. Bruce does, but only because he’s more than willing to buy it for her and she will kick him if he even glances at any of his credit cards or bank accounts while she is near.

- Barbara probably has a crush on Steph and Tim. Like not a serious, I want a romantic relationship crush. But like ‘Steph is so strong and pretty and she’s so smart Dick, she wants to be a Doctor that’s so cool!’ And Tim is that weird crush you can’t describe. Like Matthew Gray-Gubler. He looks sorta like a raccon and an addict, but he’s weirdly handsome and can work a computer like no one else, ‘isn’t he so smart Dick?’ Dick doesn’t know whether to be jealous or to laugh at her because. Like. Really??? That’s who you think is cute from all my amazing big brothers ans sisters?

-Dick, as youngest brother, probably has the most eclectic music taste. He listens to classical, trap music, K-Pop, scremo, RnB, showtunes. Just all genres. He doesn’t love all genres, bit he k ows enough to have a super weird road trip playlist.

-Dick also always has to deal with his friends, civvie and otherwise, having crushes on his siblings.

-Jarro barely spends holidays with the family, but he gets presents put aside for him and is the most patient, most fun big brother of the batfam. Damian still hates him, but will begrudgingly buy him gifts and invite him to family events because unfortunately, Jarro is his sibling. -Because he's never around, Jarro is the favourite older sibling, with Jason, Cass and Dick always making him projects from school. Duke, Dami and Tim see Jarro more, since they love going to see the JL or going to space and don't care that Bruce disapproves. They will either lie to Bruce or sneak out or just leave the manor 'Because I am a grown ass adult B, you can't ground me.' Steph does not like space or the JL half as much and is more busy studying/working than the other three losers. (affectionate)

-Gotham villains are in shock when, after having highly predictable vigilantes who just come in through the front/back door (Duke and Damian) they are faced with vigilantes who will in fact bazooka an entry way open (Jason and Cass)

[melucomarket]

Not Jason helping out his lil bro with his stubborn, unconventional approach to getting the cookies from the top cabinet

[missbluesunflowersstuff]

In a reverse Robin, I was thinking about Bruce and Damian's situation being a little more painful - you know when Damian died and came back (Duke is the first and Damian is the second) , instead of blaming Bruce for not being avenged, Damian is cold and hurt, distant and the reason is more "why didn't you stop them from bringing me back? You knew they could do it, so why didn't you take care to stop it? Why you allow them to bring me back?!"

[oifaaa]

Personally I'd really love to see a reverse robins where Steph takes over/tears apart black masks entire criminal empire cause her and Jason's "deaths" are already such clear parallels. So she wouldn't be Red Hood and she'd probably operate a lot differently, like her motives would more be about proving herself after how everything went down with an emphasis on proving Bruce wrong but also I think she deserves to be a little unhinged. As a treat

See you, you get it but also I really love this idea because you can do something really fun with it that after steph comes back from the dead she decides to fuck with black mask and take his name while hes still alive as shes destroying him, Jason on the other hand still dies as well but bc of when he dies he comes back much sooner and he still decides he's gonna go by red hood so he can taunt the joker as a haha you couldn't kill me and now I've got your name and using it as a hero name and basically they both still end up looking like this:

[providencehq]

Reverse Robins where Damian aka Magpie discovers that their newly resurrected brother isn't newly resurrected. In fact, you discover you harmed him while your father forced you into an undercover mission to back to the League of Assassins and you don't learn till years later when he personally comes back to kill you (and fails.)

Specifically what happens is that Jason Todd aka Shrike comes back to Gotham to personally harm his older siblings since his anger is placed at them more than Bruce for his death at the hands of the Joker. This is because they pressured him to be Shadow (aka Robin.) When he comes back, he fails in his attempts for revenge and ends up getting captured by the Bats, has his identity revealed by Tim figuring out a way to take off his helmet (it looks like a motorcycle helmet.) Damian helps to initially subdue him enough to bring him back to the cave but at they're starting to get medical help, he feels the scars are familiar on Jason for some reason, panics, and books it out of the cave.

It takes time a few hands to get Jason subdued because he is freaking out the second he wakes up in the cave as they're trying to stabilize him. Mostly due to blood loss, Jason thinks he's back in the League and is trying to ask for forgiveness, mentioning Tim and Damian (both seen as heirs to the League by Ra's.)

Stephanie/Black Mask ends up searching for Damian after he ran off and we get this interaction.

[ky-landfill]

Helouda! Only if you want to… how about a Reverse!Robins with big bro Tim and baby Jay, or Dick… or both!! ;;_;; ♡

Thank you so much for sharing your art with the fandom!!! :"D♡♡♡

[too0bsessedformyowngood]

Sorta a continuation of this post.

I’ve been thinking more about reverse robins AU with Duke as the Dick/Nightwing parallel, and I have some ideas.

So like, Duke came first. He was the light to Batman’s darkness. I don’t know if he would start off with Signal or another mantle and become Signal later on, but he definitely had the bright colors from the start. Batman might be the Dark Knight but Duke was Gotham’s (K)night Light. Batman fought what hid in the shadows but Signal chased the shadows away, provided a guiding light home. He was the Sunshine when the never ending grey clouds got too thick. He was Gothams hope and inspiration for a brighter future.

But don’t forget he was also a menace. I don’t think it would go down exactly like it did in the comics, it was the early years for Batman-and for the villains as well. After Duke’s parents were gone (maybe by Joker still turning them mad with Joker gas in Joker earliest year, maybe year one for him or something else) he started planning. He started working harder in school, focusing on the sciences to one day make a cure but also would go out looking for his parents, like in canon. He would stumble into things way bigger, overhearing plots from villains and mafias and decided to become an inconvenience for them. Letting the airs out of tires when no one was watching, a fire alarm pulled right before an attack, door stoppers on the outside of each door to a warehouse trapping the villains who where planning inside. A sudden strong of bad luck befalling the main terrors of Gotham. It didn’t go unnoticed, especially by Batman. Duke kept his streak of being unseen until one night he crossed paths with the Bat.

Bruce for his part would have know about the little boy who lost his parents in the attack, and it would have also brought up some memories for him as well. He would have kept a small track of him, but noticed he was in foster care so didn’t do much until one day he came across the reason behind all the karma the villain have be having. Looking into the boys eyes and seeing the same fire that he had, blazing more fierce as Duke explains how he will find his parents and save them, and if he could prevent more bad things along the way he will. Something pinging in Bruce’s soul, this kid lost his parents like he did but not fully, and he still had hope among the need for justice, something that had faded so long ago for himself. He took Duke back that day, promising that he will find Duke’s parents, and kept a closer eye on him after the fact.

Duke noticed that after that day it became like clockwork, he would sneak out, search Gotham, cause a little chaos, get caught by the Bat and brought back to his current foster home. Bruce did some digging, looked for Dukes parents but also found out that Leslie Thompkins was the person in charge of Duke’s case. After a few weeks of the new schedule he met up with Dr. Thompkins. They talked about how Duke has been bounced around from home to home and sneaking out to find his parents almost every night. After a long conversation, and not as much convincing as one would expect, Duke found himself being driven to his next foster home, Wayne Manor.

Okay I’m going to leave this here for now. I ended up writing so much more than I though I would lmao. I have more ideas and will probably continue this soon.

[chai-artsy]

Variant cover redraw

[necrotic-nephilim]

reverse robins damitim is so absolutely addicting to me for exactly the reason you listed!! I really love Tim suddenly needing to be more impressive to hear praise from Damian. we *know* Tim is smart and impressive, but now he's really willing to do as much as he can to hear that praise, and I like thinking about what mindset Tim must be in to be suddenly wanting that so much.

(I'm sorry this is short and might not be coherent, I'm currently recovering from a vaccine and am very groggy)

YEAH you get it. i think Tim as Red Hood would be a lot more vulnerable than Jason was, in seeking like? some sort of emotional reaction from Damian or Bruce aside from just "why is the Joker still alive". almost a sort of "could you still love me? even though i'm like this now and i can't go back?" complex for Red Hood!Tim could be SO fun. and combine that with a Nightwing!Damian who doesn't give any sort of praise or kind words to ppl he perceives as equals/adults it would make for a ROUGH time with Tim. the miscommunication of Damian thinking it's perfectly understood that he still loves Tim, just doesn't support his actions. whereas Tim doesn't understand why Damian is so cold with him compared to how he was when Tim was still a child in Damian's eyes. and how far Tim would go for any sort of attention or praise- a RR!DamiTim version of 'Brothers in Blood' where Jason dresses as Nightwing for Dick's attention could be SO fun. the brainrot never ends with these two. they will never see eye to eye but will always be so in love with each other. and maybe Tim could actually be good, if it just means once Damian will tell him he's proud of him. but bc he never tells Damian that's what he wants, Damian never gives it to him. endless cycle of pain <3

[dragonfly0808]

So, behind the scenes I’ve been working on the Reverse Robin AU (which will include Cass and Duke) and I’ve decided that, while they will maintain their backstories and most of their general arcs, they will be trading one storyline with one of the others, some more popular/important than others.

I won’t give much context but…

Duke will get a Dick storyline

Damian will get a Steph storyline

Cass will get a Tim storyline

Steph will get a Jason storyline

Tim will get a Cass storyline

Jason will get a Duke storyline

And Dick will get a Damian storyline

Note: the storylines will play out differently due to each of their personalities and how they would react to each other’s storylines if that makes sense

This is aside from trying to explore their dynamics with Bruce and each other

Also, age order will go: Damian -> Duke -> Tim -> Steph -> Cass -> Jason -> Dick

The order of them joining the family: Duke -> Damian -> Cass -> Steph -> Tim -> Jason -> Dick

That is all (also the work I’ve done has been like- figuring out the plot/ages/order/who gets what storyline not actually writing it so don’t expect updates anytime soon ajjajajaj)