Damian Wayne may be Robin these days, but you don't see him wearing short-shorts or little green booties. Those are steel-tip fightin' boots right there. Is it because Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely wanted a more hardcore look for today's Robin? Or is it because if you try to make him look silly Damian will reach up and punch you in the junk so hard you will never be the same?

It's a bit of both.

Damian Wayne Robin by Joel Carrroll.

I've already given yo a look at the super-sweet Batman variant skins offered as incentives for Batman: Arkham City pre-orders (most of which, frustratingly, are not available in the U.S. at the time of this writing). 

And, as previously reported, here in the States, Best Buy is offering Robin's Challenge Maps - featuring Robin as a playable character - for their Arkham City pre-orders. Turns out Tim gets some skins of his own, as part of the package. There's the badass Arkham City original, as previously seen, plus a Red Robin variant, and my personal favorite, old school Bruce Timm-style Robin as seen in Batman: The Animated Series.

Since he was first revealed as a playable character in Batman: Arkham City, Rocksteady's redesigned Robin has been the topic of a lot of talk among the fans. More than any character other than Harley Quinn, this Robin has been given a distinctive new look, going beyond the black, white and red minimized color consistent with Arkham City promotional art and extending to his shaved head and an aura of brooding badassery.

Personallly I wasn't surprised, shocked or dismayed - there's the Arkham Asylum games universe, and its every bit as distinctive in its own way as any other DC spinoff universe, like the world of the JLU. It's not as if, in any of his monthly titles, Batman utilizes an explosive gel gun for like, everything. Yet in the game, he does. I have no problem with that, and I have no problem with a skinhead Robin.

Others did. Robot 6 reports of commenters comparing Arkham City's Robin to Eminem and even calling him "horribly Schumacher-esque" Ouuuch.

Rocksteady Studios' Senior Concept Artist Kan Muftic has decided that the time has come to address the situation, and give "The Final on Robin" in a post on the Arkham City community message boards:

"We wanted to create a Robin that players would identify as a contemporary character and move away from the traditional “Boy Wonder” image that most people know. Our vision of Robin is the one of a troubled young individual that is calm and introverted at times but very dangerous and aggressive if provoked. The shaved head is inspired by cage fighters, because we thought that Robin might be doing that in his spare time to keep him on his toes. Still, we kept all the classic trademarks of Robin’s appearance, such as the red and yellow colors of his outfit, the cape and the mask.

We really hope that people will discover our Robin as one of their new favorite characters in the Batman universe. He is back and he means business."

It's Robin, the Boy Wonder - and oh, he just told me to go eff myself. What a lovable little scamp, huh? You could just eat him up!

Damian isn't gonna wear short shorts and pixie boots in this homage to Detective Comics #38 by deviantARTist KevinEleventh.

Best Buy was the source of last week's announcement that Robin would be a playable character in Batman: Arkham City when they announced that he would be unlocked to gamers who pre-ordered from their website. Well today they've updated the announcement to include new details and more importantly - a look at Robin himself.

That's Tim Drake, all right. Not how he'll look in the DC Universe come September of course - or how he's looked ever (skinhead much?), but close enough for disco. We've got the staff, and a general air of badassery, along with a black, white and red color scheme in keeping with Arkham City's uniquely dark vision of the DCU.

In any case, the game looks awesome and the playable Robin, while doubtlessly DLC that will be available to everyone, is officially enticing enough that I just pre-ordered the game from Best Buy, my first purchase from the chain in some 7 years or so.

Hey, they've thrown in a Red Robin skin, how was I supposed to resist?

Holy Amalgam, Batman! The whole mini-tunic and pointy shoes look totally works for her.

While some Bat-fans are still reeling from Dick Grayson's ascendance to the Batman of Gotham, Andrew Makes Comics takes things to a whole new level of weird, casting Dick as Holden Caufield in The Catcher in the Rye.

Awesome weirdness ensues. Click here or on the image below to embiggen.

So, is it weird that I find this unbelievably sexy? You know what, don't answer, I don't care.

With this Secret Wishes Ladies Robin costume you can make sure you always have Batman's back and look good at the same time. The costume includes the dress, cape, gloves, belt and eye mask.

You can buy this super-sexy costume here.