itDuring the Batwoman panel at this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego, showrunner Caroline Dries revealed that 1960s Batman star Burt Ward would appear in the Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Ward is best known for portraying Robin alongside Adam West's Batman in the Dark Knights seminal superhero series from 1966 to 1968. He also played the character in the show's spinoff film and the 1979 TV special Legends of the Superheroes. More recently, Ward reprised his role as Dick Grayson, alongside West's Batman, in the animated features Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders and Batman vs. Two-Face.
While he's most famous for playing one figure within the Batman mythology, it's not clear who Ward will actually portray in "Crisis on Infinite Earths." Now, CBR is breaking down some of the characters who TV's first Robin could feasibly portray in the upcoming crossover.
In some ways, the most obvious role for Ward to play would be an older Dick Grayson who's retired from being a superhero. Since "Crisis" is all about bringing in other realities from the Arrowverse's larger multiverse, almost any iteration of a character appearing. With that in mind, Ward could simply reprise his role as the Robin who operated alongside Batman for decades.
Seeing Ward reprise his role as Robin nearly 60 years after his first foray as the Boy Wonder would be a dream come true for fans of the '60s series. It would also allow The CW to pay homage to one one of DC's first on-screen heroes in Adam West, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 88.
This Robin could be modeled after the Dick Grayson of the original Earth-Two, who never abandoned his Robin identity and continued operating as a superhero well into his adulthood. Notably, this hero's Earth was destroyed in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover.
In the second episode of last year's Elseworlds crossover, Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) takes Barry Allen (Grant Gustin), Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist), and Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) to the roof of a Wayne Enterprises building to use as their base of operation as they search for John Deegan. In passing, she mentions that the Wi-Fi password is "Alfred," an obvious nod to Batman's iconic butler.
With one classic Batman ally already under his belt, having Ward portray Alfred would almost be too good to be true. This scenario could also see the Batman actor return for small cameos on the Batwoman series, which premieres this fall on The CW. The Arrowverse, particularly Supergirl and The Flash, has already set a precedent for bringing veteran DC actors back in roles that are related to, but not identical to, the roles they once played, and bringing Ward in as Alfred would certainly fit that bill.
On a similar note, Ward could portray Batman's most trusted non-superhero ally, Commissioner Gordon. With a deep commitment to ridding the city of crime, Gordon usually finds himself as a somewhat skeptical ally of the Dark Knight, in sharp opposition to the trusting Gordon that Ward's Robin knew in the '60s.
Given that Ward is in his mid-70s, he fits the age-range of a character like Jim Gordon. Playing a character with such a rich backstory would allow the actor to give a deep performance with some weight behind it rather than appearing in a glorified cameo. And again, this is the type of role veteran DC actors have played in the Arrowverse before. However, in all likelihood, we won't know who Ward will portray until promotion for the crossover begins in earnest.
Scheduled to air this fall on The CW, "Crisis on Infinite Earths" will involve Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman.
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