Batman’s New Robin Inspired By Scooby-Doo, We’re Dead Serious

That’s because Maps is the founder of Gotham Academy’s “Detective Club,” a secret group of students that investigates weird and sometimes supernatural happenings at her school. Batman has nabbed his first Robin with any ghosthunting experience under her belt—something that may help her when dealing with some of the more other-worldly enemies in Batman’s rogues gallery. People tend to forget that Batman sometimes fights a literal apparition named Gentleman Ghost.

It’s actually Mizoguchi’s Scooby-Doo-ing that led Batman to recruit the new Robin in the first place. Though they had had run-ins previously where Maps used her sleuthing to help the Dark Knight, Batman was always careful to stress that Maps was not an official part of the Bat-family until now. When Bat’s had to deal with a sudden wave of vampirism plaguing Gotham he knew exactly who to call.

Maps not only helped Batman quell Gotham’s vampire problem but she did it with enough style that Bruce started to begrudgingly think of her as his new Robin. Bruce Wayne says as much on the last page of Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12, “I’m calling her Robin now. Almost against my better judgement, but her instincts are good and she’s keen to learn. We’ll see.”

Maps—whose nickname comes from her love of cartography—made her debut in Gotham Academy #1 in 2014. Mizoguchi quickly became a fan-favorite character thanks to her cheerful, upbeat personality and her love of solving mysteries. She’s like the perfect amalgamation of Daphne and Velma making us wonder if the writers didn’t take some inspiration from Scooby-Doo.

Maps has been closely associated with the Robin mantle since her earliest days at Gotham Academy. First, she befriended the actual Robin, Damian Wayne, impressing him enough to earn a gift: an actual Batman-made Batarang. The tiny bat-shaped shurikens may seem disposable the way Batman tosses them around all willy-nilly, but in actuality, it’s very rare for someone not officially in the Batman family to possess any of Batman’s inventions.

Map’s possession of said Batarang later led Tim Drake to assume she was part of the “We Are Robin” vigilante movement that was, at one point, sweeping through Gotham’s youth. Then, in Gotham Academy: Second Semester # 12 (2016), Maps wore a makeshift Robin costume while saving one of her friends. Clearly, Batman naming Maps his new Robin has been a long time coming.

While Maps isn’t the first female Robin—both Carrie Kelley and Stephanie Brown predate her—she is the first Asian American Girl Wonder marking a positive new direction for sidekicks, at least when it comes to Batman. Every Robin brings something unique to the table—Dick Grayson is the world’s greatest acrobat, Jason Todd is great at scrapping, Tim Drake excels at detective work—and Maps is no different. Her infectious energy and bright personality are a nice contrast to someone like Damian Wayne, whose only talents seem to be brooding and being a neo-baby.

Maps love of folklore and the paranormal also make her the first Robin adept at dealing with the supernatural. This might signify a shift in Batman’s current adventures towards more unexplained phenomena, but so far, it’s too early to tell. One thing we do know, however, is that if someone doesn’t write a comic where Batman’s new Robin teams up with Ace the Bat-Hound for some Mystery Inc-style shenanigans, we’ll be very disappointed.