Now that the boy is part of this family, I suspect he may need a father figure more than he needs a crimefighter. 
- —Alfred Pennyworth
A Matter of Family is an episode of season 4 of The Batman. It premiered on September 23, 2006.
Synopsis for "A Matter of Family"
The story begins with the Grayson family (consisting of John, Mary, and their son Richard) having dinner in their mobile home. The three are part of a travelling circus and they perform as acrobats. Richard is eager to practice and, once they are done with dinner, they enter the tent. Inside, they find a suspicious man going by the name Tony Zucco. Zucco offers "protection" to the circus performers but he is only sarcastically threatening them. The gangster demands money or his henchmen Strongman, Lion Tamer, and Juggler are going to destroy the circus. Richard stands up and begins to fight the Juggler and a fight erupts. Once the Lion Tamer and Juggler are beaten, John Grayson is knocked out from behind by the Strong Man. Mary and Richard watch in fright.
Tony Zucco, standing over John as he is coming to, offers his "protection" again. Richard says that they don't need his protection because the cops are already on their way. The cops don't get there first, though, but the Batman does. As the other villains flee, the Lion Tamer remains to fight Batman but is quickly beaten. Richard and Batman share a glance that Batman actually smiles for.
Zucco rushes away from the circus tent with his other two goons and swears revenge on the Graysons. Police sirens are heard and he and his henchmen continue to run.
Later that night, the circus is open for its first night in Gotham. Bruce Wayne is even there for the show. Backstage, the Flying Graysons try on their new costumes that Richard is reluctant to wear. Richard comes out of the shadow sporting a red and green costume with an "R" on the chest. He asks what the "R" is for. His mother replies that, when they are doing their stunts, he reminds her of a flying robin. Richard finds the comment dopey and the family shares a warm group hug.
During the show, it is the Flying Graysons' time to shine. The ring leader announces the team and clarifies that they never use a safety net in their routine. John is up first and he successfully does his first stunts.
In the audience, Tony Zucco evilly claps. He hands the Strong Man the popcorn bucket, only for him to find two lug nuts in it. The two henchmen realize they are to the Grayson's tight rope.
Mary is the second to jump. She successfully does her trick but the swing they are using is shown to be very very loose. Last, it is Dick's stunt. As he takes off his robe to perform the stunt, the wire holding the other two Graysons snaps. John and Mary look at their son as they plummet to the ground to their deaths. The crowd is horrified, even Bruce Wayne gets up to look. Richard, looking at his dead parents from above, begins crying and breaking down. Wayne looks up at the new orphan with sympathy.
The scene switches to a rainy day in the cemetary. The Graysons' funerals are today. Richard looks at his parents' graves with depression. Wayne walks up from behind the child and apologizes for Dick's loss. Dick thanks Wayne dully thanks Wayne for coming and for paying for the funeral, even though they have never met. Wayne remembers his own parents deaths and tells Alfred that he will adopt the orphan.
Later, a limo drops the young Grayson off at Wayne Manor where Wayne welcomes him.
It's dinner time at Wayne Manor. Richard has been in Wayne's care for a little while now. Grayson is eating alone again. Unfortunately, Wayne's second job as Batman cuts into spending time with his new child. Alfred simply tells the child that Wayne is a very busy billionaire.
In the Batcave, Alfred tells Batman that Richard really needs a father right now and not an absent crime-fighter. Batman is on the Batcomputer trying to link Zucco's involvement to the Graysons' murder. The only evidence he has so far is a tooth pick at the scene of the crime with Zucco's DNA on it. There are only two places that carry that specific tooth pick: Garrett's Family Resteraunt and the Ice Pick Club.
In the Ice Pick Club, Batman busts down the door and demands to know where Tony Zucco is. At first, the bar flies are scared of the vigilante but, when one punk begins to lead them, the thugs surround Batman. Batman thows several canister of smoke at the ground and the thugs begin to punch each other in the confusion. The Dark Knight then beats up all of the thugs, letting only three escape by accident. The lead bar fly hangs upside down by his legs as Batman questions him. The man says that he doesn't know where Zucco is, but his cronies are still on the map. Batman leaves to go find them.
In Wayne Manor, Grayson is casually playing video games by himself. Alfred looks at the boy with pity and tells him to follow him to another room. In the room lies a large picture of John and Mary Grayson holding each other over the fire place. Grayson looks at the portrait proud, but his pride transfers into anger as he swears revenge on Zucco. Alfred changes the topic and invites the boy to dinner.
In a family owned bakery, Strong Man and Juggler rob the owners. Batman silently knocks-out the juggler, but Strong Man heres a peep and pulls out his taser. Suddenly, a batarang knock the taser out of the man's hands. Batman then proceeds to beat down on the thug until he's on the ground bruised. The vigilante demands to know where Zucco is. Strong Man refuses to give up family, but Batman notices the bag of peanuts the thug is carrying. Batman says that the Strong Man just told him by accident.
It is night time and, in Wayne Manor, Grayson awakes after a nightmare. He walks downstairs to the room with the portrait of his parents. The boy watches the fire until one of the secret passages to the Batcave opens and Alfred walks out. The butler doesn't notice Grayson and the boy then silently reopens the secret passage.
In the Batcave, the boy steps off the elevator and explores the magical Batcave. He would like to stay longer, but the Batmobile comes swerving in. Grayson has to find a place to hide. Unfortunately, the orphan doesn't know Batman well enough and the Dark Knight easily finds him. Batman stares at Grayson and takes off his mask, revealing his secret identity to Dick.
In Wayne Manor, Wayne explains that he is the Batman and that that is why he's been absent so much from dinner. Grayson is astounded, but Wayne says that it's getting late and that they can have the conversation in the morning. The boy says that it's late for Bruce Wayne but early for the Batman.
Batman goes back to the circus tent and demands Zucco to show himself. Suddenly, a cannon fires and Batman finds himself hit with a flying bean bag.
In the Batcave, Grayson sneaks onto the Batcomputer without Alfred knowing. The orphan tracks Batman's communicator with the Batcomputer and finds that he is at the circus. Grayson has his own vendetta with Zucco that he wants to solve, not have Batman solve it for him. The boy dons his acrobat costume that he wore the day of his parents death and sets off for the circus.
Back at the circus, Batman wakes up to find himself on a giant dart board. Zucco explains that he and his father were in the circus. Zucco would throw knives and his father would be the one having the knives thrown at. Zucco throws several knives at Batman, missing on purpose, and reenacts his old circus performance. Wayne asks why Zucco gave up such a promising career, to which Zucco responds, "I missed."
Zucco throws one last knife that is headed directly for Batman's face, but the vigilante is saved from a falling sand bag. Up in the rafters, it's Grayson in his Robin costume. Robin distracts Zucco long enough for Batman begin to cut himself free with one of the knives on the board. Robin begins to lose the fight with Zucco is is beaten to the ground. Zucco reminds Batman of how he was forced to watch the Lion Tamer be beaten by the Dark Knight, now it's Batman's turn to watch. Zucco lifts a bowling pin to begin his beat down on the boy, Batman breaks free and kicks Zucco to the ground.
The gangster, panicing, climbs the a nearby ladder to the same post Dick was on when his parents died. Batman follows Zucco up and the villian accidentally trips off the side. As Zucco is about to experience a similar fate to the Graysons he killed earlier, Robin swoops in and saves his parents' murderer.
Outside the cirus, the police arrive and take Zucco away. Grayson and Wayne have a heart-to-heart and Batman officially recruits Dick. Unsure what to call him, Grayson looks at his costume with "R" his mother patched on for him. He suggests the name "Robin." Batman finds it odd, considering he's a bat, but Dick says that it's a family name. The new partners look boldly at the circus with a "Flying Graysons" advertisement sitting above them in the distance.
Appearing in "A Matter of Family"
Featured Characters:
- Batman (Flashback and main story)
- Robin (First appearance) (Origin)
Supporting Characters:
- Alfred Pennyworth
- Flying Graysons (First appearance)
- John Grayson (First appearance; dies)
- Mary Grayson (First appearance; dies)
Antagonists:
- Tony Zucco (Single appearance)
- Strongman
- Lion Tamer
- Juggler
- Rupert Thorne (Cameo)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Haly's Circus
- Ice Pick Club
- Bakery
- Wayne Manor
Items:
- Batcomputer
- Batarangs
- Taser
Vehicles:
Notes
- No notes.
Trivia
- No trivia.
See Also
- 4 Images from The Batman (TV Series) Episode: A Matter of Family
- Episodes of The Batman (TV Series)
- Images from The Batman (TV Series)
- Gallery for the The Batman (TV Series) series
Recommended Media
- None.
Links and References
- None.
Footnotes