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Let's be clear, this post isn't breaking a lot of new ground.  I'm pretty sure the pictures you'll see have been posted before.  However, this topic persists on the internet for a reason, and I don't think many people have put together a presentation this exhaustive.  Enjoy. 

From the beginning, Batman and Robin have had a relationship that was difficult to define.  Theirs was a complex, multi-faceted conglomeration of father-son, teacher-student, hero-sidekick, and brotherly friendship.  However, there was one thing all of these archetypes had in common:  they were all very much man on man.

If I were a guidance counselor, I would be required by law to report this.From the moment they got up in the morning until they collapsed exhausted in bed at night, these two had a connection that went beyond the normal bonds of friendship.  They completed each other's thoughts, they knew each other's routines and they shared more than just a love of spandex and justice.  Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson (we're not even going to get into the the whole Jason Todd thing at the moment, my geek friends) shared an understanding that comes from a level of male bonding that relatively few men ever achieve--statiscally speaking, probably only about 4%.    Some aspects of their feelings would never see the light of day, doomed to forever languish in the depths of the Batcave obscured by metaphorical smoke bombs the duo frantically scattered throughout their family and friends.  They would face many trying situations, but their utility belts would always hold one special gadget to protect them in the most dire of situations--the gadget of love.

Something tells me they never felt clean...never felt cleaThey were men forced to live double lives, showing the world one face while there was another each was forced to hide behind sleekly designed, wildlife-themed, flamboyant masks.  As each man fought to protect a culture that wasn't prepared to accept who they really were, they also wrestled with their own demons--their own burly, oily, demons.  Sometimes in the lingering waking of sleepless nights, they no doubt took comfort in the fact that there would always be at least one other person who could enjoy Showgirls both actually and ironically.  Sadly, the one time they could truly be themeselves was when they firmly grasped their poles and slid into the warm embrace of the cloaked anonymity that only comes from wearing a cape and driving a convertible.  No doubt as the night wrapped them in welcoming arms, they turned to each other and asked, "Are we Bruce and Dick posing as Batman and Robin, or Batman and Robin posing as Bruce and Dick."

Wow. Just....wow.

Bruce Wayne faced an incredible challenge, as he was charged not just with fighting crime, but also with shepherding a young boy into manhood....

In his capacity as guardian and mentor, Bruce undoutedly worried about whether or not his lifestyle would put Dick in danger...

Remember, when you're saved by a super-hero, you're being saved by everyone he's ever saved in his entire life...

And even after all they had done for the world around them, they still faced judgment for lives that they didn't choose, but rather that chose them...

Superman was faced with a choice: say what he was thinking and endanger his working relationship, or cowboy up and risk the wrath of the parents of Cub Scout Pack 52.

If only they had lived in a more enlightened age.  As they look back over their lives at this point, they must ask themselves, "If I could turn back time..."

Art imtiates life imitating art imitating the navy.

Batman and Robin (and, apparently, Superman), we salute you.