Dick Grayson's Birthday—or Is It?

The weekly Robin comes early because today is Dick Grayson's birthday! Or rather, it's his birthday according to some sources, based on which "continuity" one chooses to follow.

The 1976 DC Super Calendar told us that Dick was born on 11 November. But that was what's now referred to in DC-land as "pre-Crisis," meaning the 1985 revamping of all DC universes.

From that Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries until 1994, Dick was said to have been born in the week before Halloween, or 24-30 October.

Then came another revamping, called Zero Hour: Crisis in Time. Since then, DC Comics have said that Dick Grayson was born on the first day of spring--specifically, 21 March, according to Nightwing: Year One.

Similarly, the murder of Dick Grayson's parents occurred on either 15 July, Halloween, or 27 June, depending on which era of comics one is reading.

DC gave us Infinite Crisis in 2005-06 and Final Crisis starting last year, but neither was said to have affected the all-important timing of Dick Grayson's birthday. So we should enjoy this date while we can. After all, the symbolic significance of the character of Dick Grayson, the first Robin, is that he grows up.

Top art by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, bottom by Ryan Sook.