Review by Chad Burdette

By Chuck Dixon

Before striking out on his own as Nightwing, Dick Grayson was the first to serve as the Dark Knight's young squire Robin. Months after becoming the ward of Bruce Wayne, Dick began his training in the crime fighting ways under the watchful eye of the Batman. As he began his career as the light to the irrepressible darkness of the Batman he faced many challenges which would provide this young crime fighter with a baptism of fire.

Robin quickly finds out that there is a difference between the training grounds and the mean streets of Gotham. The grave risk which comes with heroism and placing an imperious youth in the line of fire becomes evident early on in the story. Youthful inexperience shows itself after a confrontation with Two Face leaves Robin at death's door after disobeying a direct order from Batman. After being fired from his sidekick role, Dick Grayson decides to strike out on his own and ends up with a group of young assassins. Throughout the story Robin faces off with classic rouges such as Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze and Killer Moth and a new villain, Shrike, is introduced into the Robin mythos, a character who would later resurface in the future during his career as Nightwing.

Dixon does a great job telling the origin of Dick Grayson. He also does an excellent job of weaving in subtle hints that foreshadow characters and plot lines that are going to happen in the future. For example, in Year One, Two Face makes Robin decide between saving Batman or the Judge who presided over the trail where Two Face was born. This storyline is revisited during the Prodigal storyline where Dick took over the mantle of the Bat for awhile. This series sets the groundwork for the future of Dick Grayson both psychologically and his sometimes stressed relationship with Batman.