‘Batman vs. Superman’ Artwork Reveals That Robin Was Also a Murderer

Despite Ben Affleck’s solid turn as the caped crusader in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, some fans took issue with one particular aspect of this new Batman: he kills. It’s not entirely out of character for the iconic superhero (he’s killed people in the comic books before), but the movie and TV versions of the Dark Knight don’t typically murder bad guys. It’s part of that whole “hero” thing, you know? If you were one of the fans disappointed with Zack Snyder’s decision to have Batman kill some thugs, then boy do we have some news for you.

As you’ll recall, there’s a scene in Batman v Superman in which Affleck’s Bruce Wayne walks past a memorial to Robin in the Batcave. We see Robin’s costume covered in taunting graffiti which overtly suggests that the Boy Wonder met his end at the hands of The Joker. Also of note: the costume is holding a weapon, which looks like a staff of some kind.

Just kidding! It’s not a staff. Concept art from the official tie-in book Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Tech Manual (via Digital Spy) reveals that this is actually a medieval axe-like weapon, also known as a halberd — not exactly the sort of thing you use to tickle bad guys or just sort of knock them around. Nope. This is the kind of thing you use to slice and poke and hack into your enemies.

In accompanying text, props manager Doug Harlocker explains why the weapon is deconstructed and harder to identify:

That was Zack saying, ‘Look, maybe we should just make it look like it’s been broken and smashed.’ So we deconstructed it in order to film it.

So there you go. It’s Zack Snyder’s grim and gritty Justice League party and he’ll make all the heroes murderers if he wants to. Even poor Robin.

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