View allAll Photos Tagged overachieve
Our time is simply wonderful, we are emanzipated women who may do with our bodies and faces whatever we fancy, we may enjoy virtual reality, let Artificial Intelligence do the no fun bits, get the face we always wanted, do outrageous things as usually only blokes would do and feel ever so overachieving, right .... RIGHT??! or ...
August 11, 2011 - Kearney Nebraska US
Only a few final captures of this day. Was trying out this new cam and I wanted to check out if I could get some quality pics that evening. I think I overachieved my own wishes!
#ForeverChasing
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Taken at Wilmette Park Beach Illinois.
Explored 3/12/12 # 67
Featured in chicagoist.com/2012/03/13/todays_weather_overachieving.php
Please View On Black
An overachieving pollinator!
On a Chaparral Mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus)
Carlsbad, CA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
P4260221
August 11, 2011 - Kearney Nebraska US
Only a few final captures of this day. Was trying out this new cam and I wanted to check out if I could get some quality pics that evening. I think I overachieved my own wishes!
#ForeverChasing
Press the key "L" to see black screen
Press the same key to return
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* Fine Arts America Exclusively for my High Quality Prints! *
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
Let's be honest: how many Americans know verses 2,3, or 4 of our National Anthem- let alone 158 in Greece?!?! Way to over-achieve Greece. Well-played.
When I was a kid my mother gave me a book of true facts for Christmas and I was instantly fixated on random, useless trivia and true facts. I used to read the Trivial Pursuit cards on road trips (nerd alert), and to this day I still have a passion for the unusual and bizarre factoids.
Theme: Random Facts
Year Fifteen Of My 365 Project
West Tennessee's Fulton Turn (T92) departs its namesake city one grade crossing north of the Kentucky-Tennessee state line, headed for the ex-GM&O Iselin yard at Jackson, TN. In the lead are ex-CR B23-7s #3172 and #4072, followed by ex-SP B30-7 #7855, which came to the WTNN via the Nashville and Eastern. First time I've seen the 7855 on a train.
Note the NS-style station sign for Fulton Junction; former crossing of two IC lines. NS purchased the Fulton - Jackson - Corinth line from ICG in 1988 and leased it to the WTNN in 2001. Unfortunately, the deactivated NS signal is hidden by an overachieving tree...and I forgot to bring a chain saw.
"It wasn't just Calgary's first significant snowfall of the season on Saturday (22 October 2022), it was Alberta's. It was a memorable event as the system overachieved in parts of the province.
Snowfall records, which began in 1881 were broken at Calgary International Airport. The area reported a one day total of 19 cm on Saturday, October 22, setting a new record for this day. The entire snowfall event total for Calgary -- from Friday night to Sunday morning -- has been reported as 23 cm." From the Weather Network.
www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/photos-major-ci...
All photos were taken though my very dirty back window at home. Still healing from my trip and fall six weeks ago, so have no desire to venture out on snow and ice! So, another six or seven months of this, sigh. Roll on next spring!
"It wasn't just Calgary's first significant snowfall of the season on Saturday (22 October 2022), it was Alberta's. It was a memorable event as the system overachieved in parts of the province.
Snowfall records, which began in 1881 were broken at Calgary International Airport. The area reported a one day total of 19 cm on Saturday, October 22, setting a new record for this day. The entire snowfall event total for Calgary -- from Friday night to Sunday morning -- has been reported as 23 cm." From the Weather Network.
www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/photos-major-ci...
All photos were taken though my back window at home. Still healing from my trip and fall six weeks ago, so have no desire to venture out on snow and ice!
We walked north from Quileute R. carefully dodging high tide waves on the upper beach that repeatedly pressed us against and beyond a jumble of oversized driftwood. The receding tide finally allowed a safe tripod shot on the beach when we reached "Hole in the wall". A fading winter day made the softness of longer exposures easy.
Washington beaches feature solitude, fir-topped sea stacks, and massive old-growth logs; the logs are borne on the backs of overachieving NW rivers to the Pacific from Olympic old-growth forests.
- www.kevin-palmer.com - My expectations and motivation were both low. Because of the slow solar wind speed, I didn’t think there would be much more than a boring green glow. Certainly it wouldn’t be as good as the show a couple weeks ago. But I couldn’t help taking a look anyway from a random road on the edge of town. This solar storm had a magnetic field pointing strongly southward for many hours, which helped it overachieve. Most of the time when I capture red auroras, the colors are subvisual. But this time the reds were very visible to the naked eye. The northern lights may appear any time of night, or even all night long in this case. But on average I find midnight-1AM to have the best views, so I always try to stay out until that time.
An overachieving pollinator!
Torrey Pines State Park, San Diego, CA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
1aaaP1010088
We walked north from Quileute R. carefully dodging high tide waves on the upper beach that repeatedly pressed us against and beyond a jumble of oversized driftwood. The receding tide finally allowed a safe tripod shot on the beach when we reached "Hole in the wall". A fading winter day made the softness of longer exposures easy.
Washington beaches feature solitude, fir-topped sea stacks, and massive old-growth logs; the logs were borne on the backs of overachieving NW rivers to the Pacific from Olympic old-growth.
This small, yet overactive and overachieving sunrise cumulus cloud towered well above its neighbors, though its bark was far worse than its non existent bite.
8-19-2017
Near Vandalia, IL
The constant need to fix and complete the nest. They never stop retrieving sticks. This bird may have overachieved.
The Swiss can't have just regular cones. Theirs are Red and white with little machined aluminium collars for sign holding.
"It wasn't just Calgary's first significant snowfall of the season on Saturday (22 October 2022), it was Alberta's. It was a memorable event as the system overachieved in parts of the province.
Snowfall records, which began in 1881 were broken at Calgary International Airport. The area reported a one day total of 19 cm on Saturday, October 22, setting a new record for this day. The entire snowfall event total for Calgary -- from Friday night to Sunday morning -- has been reported as 23 cm." From the Weather Network.
www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/photos-major-ci...
All photos were taken though my back window at home. Still healing from my trip and fall six weeks ago, so have no desire to venture out on snow and ice!
A photogenic shelf cloud and Whale's Mouth passes over Cayuga, Ontario. I managed some good pictures on this overachieving storm event.
Eva: Why are we wearing the hats?
Julia: It's my birthday!
Eva: That is only a partial explanation. You never wore a hat for my 11th birthday in February.
Julia: That's because there was no cake then.
Eva: Is there cake now?
Julia: Sure is. Mom's going to light the candle and then everyone will sing and bring over the cake.
Eva: Awesome. But I honestly have mixed emotions about this.
Julia: Why's that.
Eva: I like you and I like cake. But, I'm wondering why there wasn't cake for my birthday.
Julia: Acknowledged. But, can you just wear the hat and smile while they bring over the cake?
Eva: I will wear the hat. But, I'm not going to smile because of my seriously mixed emotions about the lack of cake for my birthday.
----------
Bruno always showed up in every birthday cake photo. He was never invited, but always made it into the frame for the photo. Eva either overachieved or underachieved on the photo op. I can't decide which.
There is other exciting news this week, but I'll share that with Aggie's pic.
The same heat that is making me wish for death is driving the vinca into overachieving. I really resent that.
August 11, 2011 - Kearney Nebraska US
Only a few final captures of this day. Was trying out this new cam and I wanted to check out if I could get some quality pics that evening. I think I overachieved my own wishes!
#ForeverChasing
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Rajah and Merlin playing around -Taken by Jessica
Rajah Passed away on 10/7/2012 may he rest in peace
@ninjam83
Featured in this article:
www.asylum.com/2010/05/28/overachieving-doorman-takes-dow...
blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2011/02/too-popular-to-b...
Consumerist Article Link:
consumerist.com/2010/10/its-probation-for-man-who-punched...
Huffington post :
www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/12/cat-surprises-dog-siame...
Uses on TUMBLR
wordsmyroommatehates.tumblr.com/post/7886062126/topkuss-p...
The year I was retiring I was told by the administration that I had been selected by the senior class to give their Backaloriate speech. Hell, I didn’t even know how to spell Baccalaureate, but I gave the administration rough drafts of three possible speeches. They told me they were all inappropriate for the occasion and asked if I’d consider writing another. I told them I doubted that I’d ever write one they would accept and told them to find someone else. They found my department head who delivered a most excellent speech. Here is the rough draft of my speech number 2:
In 1980, I was sitting in a downtown bar talking to a colleague when he asked me how many years I had been teaching. I told him ten. He then pointed out that after ten years at any job the effectiveness of anyone becomes inversely proportional to the number of years they remain at that job. When the administration informed me that far too many of you voted for me to give the address at this year’s Baccalaureate my first thought was that this great honor had come twenty-two years too late. And you can slide an awfully long way down the slippery slope to total ineffectiveness in twenty-two years.
In college one of the many courses I did poorly at was Speech. On the first day of class the instructor took out an egg timer and informed us that if we wanted a good grade we would have to turn the egg timer to five minutes before beginning our speech and finish before it did. He went on to explain why the Gettysburg Address was such an important document. The guest speaker that day spoke for three hours and no one remembers a word he said while Ol’ Abe spoke for three minutes and everyone has to try to remember what he said whether they want to or not.
When I sat down to write this speech I wasn’t sure I could pull it off because, well, twenty-two years is a long time to be sliding down that slippery slope. Then I thought, what am I worried about? I’d just do what more than a few of my former students did in my class. I’d wait until the last minute and just rip off someone else’s work. So here goes.
No score and eighteen years ago your parents brought forth on this continent a new child conceived in the knowledge that Title IX and “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” had forever changed the meaning of the words “all men are created equal” and dedicated to the wisdom that “There is no i in team.”
Now we are engaged in Senior Week secure in the knowledge that any child so conceived and dedicated can surely graduate. We have come to dedicate a portion of this week to the handing out of scholarships. For people have given some of their money, often in loving memory of those who were taken from us too soon, that some of you might not have to give so much of yours. It is altogether fitting and proper that we do so.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate-we cannot consecrate-we cannot hallow these halls. Those of you who overachieved, those of you who worked to your potential, and those of you who beat the system, have consecrated it far above our powers to add or subtract. The world will little note nor long remember what I said here, but you can never forget what you did here. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that we take increase devotion to that cause for which your parents have given every ounce of will power they possess; that we here highly resolve that these years shall not have been in vain; that you will manage to get a job and find some place else to live.
Photo taken during my Photography Class Self Portrait Assignment in Stonington High School, Stonington, CT
- www.kevin-palmer.com - My expectations and motivation were both low. Because of the slow solar wind speed, I didn’t think there would be much more than a boring green glow. Certainly it wouldn’t be as good as the show a couple weeks ago. But I couldn’t help taking a look anyway from a random road on the edge of town. This solar storm had a magnetic field pointing strongly southward for many hours, which helped it overachieve. Most of the time when I capture red auroras, the colors are subvisual. But this time the reds were very visible to the naked eye. The northern lights may appear any time of night, or even all night long in this case. But on average I find midnight-1AM to have the best views, so I always try to stay out until that time.
August 11, 2011 - Kearney Nebraska US
Only a few final captures of this day. Was trying out this new cam and I wanted to check out if I could get some quality pics that evening. I think I overachieved my own wishes!
#ForeverChasing
Press the key "L" to see black screen
Press the same key to return
Press "F" to "Like"
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Like | Follow | Subscribe | #NebraskaSC @
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* Fine Arts America Exclusively for my High Quality Prints! *
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
This is one of the stalks growing out of a succulent plant growing in our garden. I clipped the stalk and brought it inside to photograph with lights, where its cool. The plant itself looks like some form of overachieving cabbage, and is extremely colorful. Someday when it's cool and shady, and not 100 degrees, I'll photograph the plant itself.
Strobist info: Lit very simply with a YN560-II in a 24 inch softbox camera left and behind the plant at about 10 o'clock. For fill light I held a 32 inch reflective disc, camera right at 5 o'clock pointed at the dark areas of the plant. The strobe in manual mode was triggered by a Yongnuo RF-603N.
This is a simple setup that anyone can do and the total cost of the flash, triggers, softbox, reflector and light stand was around $225. On days when you can't go to the Grand Canyon, it's nice to be able to put interesting, yet simple, light on things from around your own house. This stuff isn't hard, but it could transform your photography.
If you like pictures of cactus and succulents, you might not hate my Cactus and Succulents set. That set can be seen here www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157633383093236/...
Other plants, flowers, fruit or thingys that I've photographed using strobes can be seen in my Strobe Lit Plant set. In the description for that set, I list resources that I've used to learn how to light with off camera flash, and the equipment that I use. www.flickr.com/photos/9422
I know the 55-250 isn't premium glass or even a true macro but I've always been pleased with how it overachieves, especially in superb natural light.
shown with camo brown backing and gloss acrylic finish in holder and ready for sale. not that I plan on actually having a sale or show.
"Whatever you do, or dream you can do - begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it." Johann Goethe
I watched this overachieving Northern Mockingbird carrying this stick towards its nesting site. The stick was at least twice as long as the bird. The nest was in a large shrub with very dense foliage. I didn't think there was any way the bird could maneuver the stick past all the exterior foliage and into the middle of the shrub, where its nest was. The bird twisted and turned the stick in all different directions and after about ten minutes, managed to get the stick inside the shrub. I was impressed.
From the archives.
writingwithcolor: Before you say, Write your own! – let me tell you that we do. But this page is a resource for writers, so we thought writers might want to know what kinds of representation would make us more likely to get excited about your book. We don’t speak for everyone in our demographic, just ourselves, but we hope this post gives you some cool writing ideas. Note: This is additional info writers can keep in mind when writing characters of those backgrounds. We believe it’s a good thing to ask the people you’re including what they’d like to see. Actually hearing from misrepresented and underrepresented people and asking us what we’d like to see of ourselves is much better than unthinkingly tossing characters into tired tropes or reinforcing stereotypes that do us harm. Colette (Black): More Black people doing shit! Going on adventures, riding dragons, being magical! More Black characters in prominent roles in fantasy + sci-fi and historical settings and not always and only as slavess. These stories are important, but they’re NOT our only stories. We were kings and queens too. Let us wear the fancy dresses for a change instead of the chains, damn it! More Black girls being portrayed as lovely and treasured and worth protecting. More Black girls finding love. More Black girls in general who aren’t relegated to arc-less, cliche “Sassy best friends” and “strong black women.” More positive, dynamic roles of Black men (fathers, brothers, boys…) More positive, dynamic family roles of Black families as a whole, families that are loving and supportive and there. More Black people from all socioeconomic classes. More Black characters that don’t rely on the stereotypes that the media is currently going full force to reinforce. Yasmin (Arab, Turkish): More Arabs who aren’t token characters. I want to see Arabs normalised in literature. Arab teenagers in high school, Arab young adults behind on their taxes, Arab dads who cook amazing food, Arab moms who refuse to soften their tongue for others. Arabs who aren’t mystical fantasy creatures from another planet. Arabs in YAs and in dramas and nonfiction and comedies and children’s books. We are human just like everyone else, and I’d like to see that reflected in literature. Often we are boxed into very specific genres of literature and made to feel ostracised from the rest. Let’s see some change! Alice (Black, biracial): I’m hoping for more Black and biracial (mixed with Black) leading characters in all genres, but mainly in SF/F who fall outside of the stereotypes. Characters I can relate to who love, cry and fight for their ideals and dreams. It would be great if their race would play an active role in their identities (I don’t mean plot-related). Some intersectionality with sexuality and disability is also sorely missed, without it becoming a tragedy or it being seen as a character flaw. More mixed race characters who aren’t mixed with some kind of monster, fictional race or different species. Dystopias about problems usually faced by poc having actual poc protags, without all the racial ambiguity which always gets whitewashed. Shira (Jewish): More Jewish characters who feel positively about their Judaism and don’t carry it around as a burden or embarrassment. While the latter is definitely a real part of our experience due to anti-Semitism and all we’ve been through as a people, the fact that it overrepresents us in fiction is also due to anti-Semitism, even internalized. (Basically, Jews who don’t hate Judaism!) More brave, heroic characters who are openly Jewish instead of being inspired by the Jewish experience and created by Jews (like Superman) or played by Jews (Captain Kirk) but still not actually Jewish. I’m tired of always being Tolkien’s Dwarves; I’d like a chance to play Bard, Bilbo, or even Gandalf’s role in that kind of story. Elaney (Mexican): While we’re discussing what sort of representation we’d like to see, I am using the word “latinista” and I want to quickly address that since you may have not seen it before: “-ista” is a genderless suffix denoting someone is from an area (“Nortista”, a northerner), or who practices a belief (“Calvinista”, a calvinist), or a professsion (you’ve heard ‘barista’). I find it more intuitively pronounceable than “latinx” and also more friendly to Spanish, French, and Portugueze pronunciation (and thus more appropriate), personally, so I invite you to consider it as an alternative. If you don’t like it, well, at least I showed you. 1. I want legal Latinista immigrants. The darker your skin is down here, the more likely you are to be assumed to be illegal by your peers, and I want media to dilute this assumption so many have of us. 2. I want Latinistas who are well educated, not just smart, and I mean formally educated, with college degrees, professional skillsets, and trained expertise. Being in fields which do not require a formal degree is no less legitimate of a lifestyle than being in a field which requires a PhD, but I want you to consider when casting your Latinista character that We, as a people, are assumed to be little more than the drop-out and the janitor by our peers, and People Of Color in scientific fields are mistaken as assistant staff rather than the scientists that they are. I want media to dilute this assumption. 3. I want Latnistas who are not marketed as “Latin American” but as their actual country of origin, because “Latin America” is a conglomerate of individual entities with their own, distinct cultures and if you are, for example, Cuban, then Mexican characters may appeal to you but they don’t have the same relatability as fellow Cuban characters. Wouldn’t you be a little more interested, too, to pick up a book that’s about a character who lives where you do rather than about a character who lives somewhere in general? 4. I want rich or well-to-do Latinistas. Looking back, I notice that several of the character concepts that have been bounced off of us with regards to Latinista characters incorporate poverty despite an astronomical and diligent work ethic. I don’t think this is on purpose but I do think that it is internalized because so often the stereotype of us is poor and uneducated in a vicious cycle (uneducated because we’re poor, poor because we’re uneducated) and I think that there should be more media to dilute this. Lastly, I personally do not want these tropes to be explored and subverted by people, I want them to be avoided entirely because I feel that normalizing positive representation rather than commenting on negative representation is far more beneficial and validating to the people these works are supposed to help and represent. We don’t need sympathy, we need empathy! Jess (Chinese, Taiwanese): Stories that don’t center around the identity of being Chinese-American. That doesn’t mean “erase any references to protag’s Chinese identity” but I’d definitely like stories that have us go on awesome adventures every now and then and don’t have the Chinese character being all “I AM CHINESE” from beginning to end. Please round out the Chinese migrant parents instead of keeping them as strict and/or traditional. PLEASE. I could go into how my parents and the Chinese aunties and uncles here are so awesome, seriously, and we need more older Chinese migrant characters who are awesome and supportive and just people. Also! EAST ASIAN GIRLS WHO AREN’T SKINNY AND/OR PETITE. Please. PLEEEEEASE. And more stories about Taiwanese and Chinese folks who aren’t in bicoastal regions (the Midwest, the Plains, etc.) WE EXIST. More Chinese-Americans who aren’t necessarily Christian. Maybe it’s because of the books I’ve wound up reading, but there seems to be this narrative of Chinese migrants joining churches and converting when they’re in the US. This doesn’t mean I want less Chinese-American Christians in fiction, mind: I’d also just like to see more Chinese families in the US who are Buddhist or who still keep up with the traditions they learned from their homelands, like me, without having it considered in the narrative as ~old fashioned~ or ~ancient~ or ~mystical~. Tangentially, when writing non-Christian Chinese families, I’d rather people keep the assumption of Communism being the underlying reason why far, far away. I have been asked in the past if Communism was why my family didn’t go to church, and needless to say, it’s really, really offensive. Stella (Korean): I’d love to see more Korean (and Asian-American) characters that don’t perpetuate the super-overachieving, stressed-out, only-cares-about-succeeding Asian stereotype. These Koreans exist (I would know; I went to school with quite a few of them) but they don’t represent all of us. I want to see more Korean characters solving mysteries, saving the world and having fun. More Koreans that aren’t pale, petite, and a size 2. Not all of us have perfect skin or straight black hair or monolids. And some of us love our short legs, round faces and small eyes! And fewer stoic&strict Korean parents, please. So many of us grew up with loud, wacky, so-embarrassing-but-endearing parents! Recently, there’s been quite a few novels with Korean American female protags (particularly in the YA section) that deal with being in high school, dealing with strict parents, getting into college, and boys. Lots of boys! I think it’s awesome that there are more books with KA protags, and I’m so so so glad they’re out there. But I also recognize that those are definitely not the kind of books I would have read as a teenager, and it’s not the kind of book I want to read now. I want to see more Korean characters that are queer, trans, ace, bisexual. More Korean characters that are disabled or autistic or have mental illnesses. More Korean characters in fantasy, SFF, mystery! Heck, space operas and steampunk Westerns. I want it all! :DDDD A lot of Korean-Americans struggle with their identity. It’s hard to balance things sometimes! But I’d love to see more stories that *aren’t* overtly about Korean-Americans dealing with their racial identity or sexual orientation, but stories about Koreans saving princesses and slaying trolls and commandeering spaceships. I want a plot that doesn’t center on Korean-American identity, but on a Korean-American character discovering themselves. White characters get to do it all the time; I want Korean characters to have a turn. And honestly, I just want to see more Asians in media, period. South Asians, Southeast Asians, Central Asians! Thai, Hmong, Tibetan, Filipino, Vietnamese characters. Indian characters! There’s so much diversity in Asia and among Asian diaspora. I want us to be more than just ~~mystical~~ characters with ancient wisdom and a generic Asian accent. We’ve got boundless oceans of stories within ourselves and our communities, and I can’t wait for them to be told. I would also love to see more multiethnic Asian characters that are *not* half white. It seems to be the default mixed-race Asian character: East Asian and white. But so many of my friends have multiethnic backgrounds like Chinese/Persian, Thai/Chinese or Korean/Mexican. I have Korean friends who grew up in places like Brazil, Singapore and Russia. Did you know that the country with the largest population of Koreans (outside of Korea) is actually China? And while I’m at it, I’d love to see more well-translated works from Asia in the US. Like, how awesome would it be to have more science fiction, fantasy, and historical novels from Asia that are easily accessible in English? SUPER awesome!! Kaye (Muslim): I am so hungry for Muslim representation, because there is so little of it. You can see one or two (YA) titles I currently think or have heard are good representation on the shelves - notably, Aisha Saeed’s Written in the Stars - on an AMA I did the other day for /r/YAwriters. However, I’d just love to see stories where Muslim characters go on adventures like everyone else! I’ve been saying recently that I’d LOVE to see a cozy mystery. Or a series of Muslim historical romances a la Georgette Heyer (there are a LOT of Muslim girls who love romances, and I’m just starting to get into the genre myself!). I’d love to see Muslim middle grade readers get girls who find secret passages, solve mysteries, tumble through the neighborhood with their dozen or so cousins. I have a lot of cousins and thus I always have a soft spot for cousins. And siblings. I’m looking forward to Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham because Jen is writing Scarlett as a detective a la Veronica Mars. And she’s Somali-American. How cool is that?! Let’s see some classic road trip YA with Muslims. Let’s see comedies with quirky characters - for instance, I know one or two tween Muslim girls who are driving their moms MAD by suddenly turning vegetarian and refusing to touch the celebratory biryani at family Eid parties, who join relevant societies at their schools and start preaching to their extended families about the benefits of going vegetarian and all the funny little interactions that are involved with that. Let’s have a story with some wise-cracking African American Muslim girls. My cousin is a niqaabi who loves YA and hates that she doesn’t see herself in it. Let’s see some stories with teen niqaabis! Let’s explore the full, joyful spectrum of diversity in Islam. Let’s have stories where we talk about how one word in Bengali is totally different in another language, and one friend is hilariously horrified and the other friend doesn’t know what he/she said. (True story.) I want to see joy. I want to see happiness. Being a woman of color and a hijaabi often means facing so many daily, disheartening scenarios and prejudice and hatefulness. So many of the suggested tropes recently in the inbox focus on trying to force Muslim characters into beastly or haraam or just sad and stereotypical scenarios. I know that writers are better and have bigger imaginations than that. You want angst? Push aside the cold, unkind, abusive Muslim parents trope. Let’s talk about the Muslim girls I know who have struggled with eating disorders. Let’s talk about Islamophobia and how that is a REAL, horrible experience that Muslim kids have to fear and combat every day. Let’s approach contemporary angst without the glasses of the Western gaze and assumptions about people of the Islamic faith on. We can have Muslim novels that focus on growing pains like Sarah Dessen and Judy Blume (and speaking of that, my “auntie” who used to teach in a madrasah used to press Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret on the Muslim girls she knew because of how Margaret approached growing up and had concerns about her faith and her relationships, etc.) Having Shia friends, I would like to see more stories that aren’t just assumed to be Sunni. How about stories about Su-Shi kids, too? (Sunni and Shia - the name always surprises me!) Let’s see some Muslim-Jewish friendships. Because they exist. And of course, I always, always hunger for Muslim voices first. Because it’s so important to have these voices there, from the source, and some of the issues with answering here at WWC is how people seem to be approaching certain tropes that a Muslim writer could explore with the nuance and lived experience of their faith behind it.
popcorn and i have a love/hate relationship.. very seldom do i enjoy eating it. but i will say that i do love my popcorn container. (:
today is wednesday which means today i had my digital animation class in the morning. my prof asked the class if anyone has completed the 3 chapters worth of tutorials that are due next week and if anyone has started working on our "under the sea" animation.. i said yes to everything and overheard someone's remark of "overachiever" which was directed towards me. i'm sorry but i do not think being smart and getting ahead in my work so that i do not fall behind should be considered as overachieving.. i'm proud of myself that i am much farther ahead than everyone else.
also, today i went and bought a bunch of candy for my annoying sweet tooth and the total came out to exactly $6.66... creeped me out !!
hopefully i will find some 110 film soon! can't wait! (:
may i also add that i hit 3000+ !! woo! thanks for the views everyone!
Overachieving young dreamcrafter with a passion for technology and an endless wonder of how the world works. He's quite a nice guy to be a friend with.
This MOC is a rework of my take on the same character I had made frm the previous year. I was starting to get tired of my head style using the 3x3 round bricks, so I created the face and it all started falling into place from there.
This is a succulent plant from out garden. I don't know it's botanical name, but to me, it looks like an overachieving cabbage.
Strobits info: Simple lighting with one YN560-II in a 24 inch pot, camera left, and a large silver reflector disk, camera right for fill. The flash, in manual mode, was triggered by a Yongnuo RF-603N.
Strobist info: I placed the pumpkin on a piece of black cloth. The main light was a YN560-II in a 24 inch softbox, camera left at 9 o'clock, for fill light I handheld a small mirror camera right at 4 o'clock, and for for a little kicker, I positioned a Strobie 130 in a Honl grid behind and to the right of the pumpkin at 2 o'clock. The strobes, in manual mode, were triggered by a Yongnuo RF-603N.
Other plants, flowers, fruit or thingys that I've photographed using strobes can be seen in my Strobe Lit Plant set. In the description for that set, I list resources that I've used to learn how to light with off camera flash, and the equipment that I use. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157628079460544/
If you like pictures of cactus and succulents, you might not hate my Cactus and Succulents set. That set can be seen here www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157633383093236/...
~
The other day, we were strolling around our historical town in North Carolina. One building had a plaque proclaiming that it was built in 1828, or thereabouts. We call that 'history' here in the States, and while interesting to some, it just doesn't seem very old when you compare it to a place like Burg Blankenstein.
Climbing up the steps and through the stone passageways of this medieval castle in Hattingen, Germany, I ran my hand along the rough wall, feeling the natural textures, the divots, and the roughness brought on by centuries of wear and use. I had to wonder how many people passed this way over the ages, how they dressed, what their lives must have been like.
From the top of the tower, there is a commanding view over the valley of the Ruhr River to the hills and fields beyond. It must have been a great place to watch for interlopers. We spent some time at the top, watching a shepherd in the field far below, moving his flock along the greenway aided by some hyperkinetic, overachieving border collies. I could imagine Lords and Nobles standing atop the tower in the morning mist, enjoying a cappuccino and playing "Master of All I Survey."
Construction of Burg Blankenstein began in 1227. The castle was ready in 1243, but was finished over the course of 200 years by the Counts of the Mark. In 1425, Blankenstein was one of the most important castles in the county. In 1614, shortly before the Thirty Years' War, it was occupied by Spanish troops. Over the years since then, the castle fell into disrepair, was ordered to be demolished, became a factory, and now houses a restaurant and reception hall.
You run your hands along the stone walls. You can feel century upon century under your fingertips. Ancient history.
Yeah, we could live there. Beautiful place.
~
Sony NEX 7, handheld at 18mm, three exposures +/-2 EV processed in PS CC, OnOne, and Nik Collection.
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"It wasn't just Calgary's first significant snowfall of the season on Saturday (22 October 2022), it was Alberta's. It was a memorable event as the system overachieved in parts of the province.
Snowfall records, which began in 1881 were broken at Calgary International Airport. The area reported a one day total of 19 cm on Saturday, October 22, setting a new record for this day. The entire snowfall event total for Calgary -- from Friday night to Sunday morning -- has been reported as 23 cm." From the Weather Network.
www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/photos-major-ci...
All photos were taken though my back window at home. Still healing from my trip and fall six weeks ago, so have no desire to venture out on snow and ice!
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Why is the all-new Alfa Romeo considered Premium?
Premium means something “of superior value, out
of the ordinary”...like an Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce.
Alfa Giulia is The Big Test Winner MOTORtrend!
GIULIA VS. 330I VS. A4 VS. C300 VS. ATS VS. XE VS. IS VS. S60
Who Makes the Best Compact Luxury Sports Sedan?
MOTORtrend looked at the whole picture, including price, depreciation, reliability, dealer experience, safety, infotainment features, and cargo- and passenger-carrying capacity. But given the nature of this category, subjective criteria also come into play, so things such as styling, brand image, overall appeal, and driving enjoyment are major factors in this test.
Every year, a half-million Americans are willing to pay a substantial premium for the experience of owning, driving, and of course being seen in one of these premium cars.
Our entry criteria were simple: a modest-down-payment, $399/month lease for 36 months, four doors, and a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The contenders: the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi A4 2.0TQuattro, BMW 330i, Cadillac ATS 2.0T, Jaguar XE 25t, Lexus IS 200t F Sport, Mercedes-Benz C300, and Volvo S60 T6 R-Design.
Ride & Handling
Alfa Romeo Giulia
Hit: Driving experience
The single most important attribute of a luxury sport sedan is the driving experience. It must handle like a four-door sports car, but it must also ride acceptably well for a luxury car. Nailing that balance is no easy task, and many came up short.
The biggest disappointment came from the BMW, which created the benchmark for this segment three decades ago. We’ve long criticized the latest 3 Series for being too soft, and this latest update hasn’t addressed that. The ride is comfortable, yes, but at the expense of handling, which no longer feels as sharp or focused. Rather than the class leader, it’s class generic.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Alfa. It was the nearly unanimous driver’s favorite, simultaneously a marvelous car to drive fast and still a comfortable commuter. The steering is quick, responsive, and talkative. The chassis responds perfectly to every input while muting every bump. More than any car here, it put the sport in sport sedan without suffering a jarring ride as a trade-off. A close second to the Alfa is the Cadillac, which got the vote from the lone dissenter. But its equally phenomenal chassis and steering were offset by a less luxurious ride quality.
Similar ride and handling trade-offs were the rule among the Lexus, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Audi. The Lexus handles nicely and rides well, but its portly curb weight made it feel heavy and dulled its responses. The Jaguar and Mercedes handled very well, but rubber-band tires and stiff shocks hurt their ride quality. The Audi both handled and rode very well, but the experience was very isolated and disconnected from the road. Many an editor likened it to a driving simulator.
The Volvo, which once overachieved in this category, felt a generation behind. The heaviest car here, its weight was a constant presence in corners despite the all-wheel drive’s best efforts to yank it out of the corner and down the straight. The steering was full of vibration from the all-wheel drive, and the ride wasn’t spectacular. In a hot segment, it’s just out-classed.
Audi A4 2.0T Quattro
Miss: Lack of passion
Performance
BMW 330i
Miss: Enjoyment—doesn’t do what the design suggests
Given the range of vehicles you could lease at this price, your decision to go with a sport sedan suggests you value performance. As such, this attribute likely weighs heavily on your purchase priorities. It’s the bedrock attribute of this segment.
The BMW 3 Series defined this segment and ruled it for decades, but in this test, it comes up average. It’s slightly above midpack in acceleration but among the worst in braking and just average in our instrumented handling tests. Still, judges praised its linear acceleration, minimal turbo lag, and excellent transmission programing.
If you want absolute performance at this price point and fuel economy, look no further than the Audi. A sleeper, the conservatively styled A4 is the quickest both in a straight line and around our figure-eight test. Its dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive give it a performance and traction edge off the line. But beyond 60 mph the Alfa’s best weight-to-power ratio and shortest gearing deliver the best performance, reaching 100 mph 1 second quicker and finishing the quarter-mile 3.3 mph faster than the Audi. Likewise, the Mercedes, with its Sport package, equals the Audi’s best-in-class figure-eight performance while stopping shorter. The Alfa’s figure-eight performance was severely handicapped by its overly aggressive stability control, which couldn’t be defeated.
The Cadillac comes up surprisingly short given its second-most powerful engine and second-lightest curb weight. We attribute this to its tallish first gear and somewhat lazy transmission. The Jaguar’s second-shortest gearing compensates for its second-worst weight-to-power ratio to produce solidly midpack performance.
The Lexus earned its slowest straight-line performance fair and square with the second-highest curb weight (despite being only rear-wheel drive) and the second-least powerful engine. It just felt overburdened. What the Lexus lacked in power, though, it made up for in handling.
Then there’s the odd case of the Volvo. A turbocharged and supercharged T6 variant rather than the directly comparable turbocharged T5 we requested, it was the most powerful in the test and blessed with all-wheel drive and the R-Design sport package, not to mention a Polestar engine software upgrade. It was also, however, the heaviest. As such, it was third-quickest to 60 mph and stopped second-shortest, but it was slowest on the figure eight by a good margin.
Efficiency
Jaguar XE 25t
Miss: Interior quality, design, and ergonomics
Gas is pretty dang cheap right now, but it won’t always be. Even when it’s cheap, it’s still an expense. There’s also an expectation of good fuel economy that comes with a downsized engine. After all, you want some payback when you give up horsepower and torque.
According to the EPA’s standardized lab test, these vehicles all return very similar fuel economy. Going by window stickers alone, we see most get around 23/32/26 mpg city/highway/combined. The Jaguar fares the worst, posting 21/30/24 mpg rating. The Mercedes just beats out the Alfa and the Audi by returning a best-in-test 24/34/28 mpg city/highway/combined. As you can see, it’s not a broad spread.
Here, our Real MPG partnership with Emissions Analytics is invaluable. In real-world testing, the Mercedes fell 2 mpg short across the board, abdicating its top spot. The Jaguar redeemed itself in city and combined ratings, and the Lexus dropped to a worst-observed 20.4/31.1/24.2 mpg city/highway/combined. Meanwhile, the Alfa soared with an observed 28.2/37.9/31.8 mpg city/highway/combined, well above its EPA estimates in all categories. We must caution, however, that our Alfa Romeo and Lexus were preproduction units, and both could show different results once their final software calibrations are made.
Cockpit/Cabin
Much of what makes a luxury sedan is its interior. After all, it’s the place where you spend time and the part of the car you spend the most time looking at, touching, listening to, and interacting with.
Regardless of the metrics used to score such subjective criteria, the Mercedes comes out on top. The elegant design and top-quality tactile materials made it a unanimous favorite among the judges. It also scored high marks in quietness, comfort, and rear-seat space. It was let down slightly by a cut-rate Garmin navigation system integrated into the otherwise all-Mercedes infotainment system.
The Audi also was well-received by the judges. The technical superiority was obvious; its virtual cockpit digital dash looked like something out of the future and offered features and functionality no competitor could match. We were also impressed with its impeccable build quality and excellent materials. It took demerits for a slightly tight rear seat, somewhat sterile design (apart from the dash), and slightly louder interior than we’d prefer.
Lexus came in a strong third, with high marks for build quality, materials, and interior quietness. Its design was controversial, and the rear seat was a bit cramped, but the seats were lauded for their comfort and support. The infotainment system and its finicky joystick interface earned unanimous scorn, even from the most generous judge. Even dismissing the controller, the system itself looks old and outdated, and it isn’t especially intuitive.
Other cars let down by their infotainment systems were the Cadillac and Jaguar. Although Cadillac’s CUE system is the best iteration to date, many of the judges still found the touch-sensitive controls difficult to use while driving and not always responsive. The Jaguar, also sporting its best infotainment system in years, drew complaints for being unintuitive and for crashing on several editors. Both cars were also hammered for their nearly unusable rear seats and rather dull interior designs.
The Volvo and BMW, meanwhile, were complimented for their comfort and decently sized rear seats but criticized for their dated interior designs and average materials quality. The BMW clawed some points back with its ergonomics, and the Volvo did, as well, because of its excellent seats. The BMW took hits for its incomprehensible Apple CarPlay integration, and the Volvo was dinged for its loud interior, especially for admitting rough engine noise into the cabin.
Lexus IS 200t F Sport
Miss: Front-end styling, acceleration
Then there’s the Alfa. Praised for its interesting and stylish interior design, it took knocks for its wonky ergonomics. We liked its decently large rear seat and comfortable front seats, but we took issue with the fit and finish and some cheaper materials.
Safety
Volvo S60 T6
Miss: Age. It just feels old.
As it was with fuel efficiency, our competitors are evenly matched in both government and insurance industry crash tests. No competitor scored lower than four stars out of five in the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s testing or Good in an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash test. (IIHS scores range from Poor to Good in crashworthiness testing and from Basic to Superior in crash-prevention systems.) Still, there are details to be examined here.
We should note before going forward that neither the Alfa Romeo nor Jaguar have yet been tested by either U.S. agency. The cars have been crash tested by their manufacturers and the results accepted by the NHTSA, so they can be sold in the U.S. Both cars also received five out of five stars in Europe’s Euro NCAP crash testing. We should also note that some data used here comes from the 2015 and 2016 model years, but the vehicles in question have not changed substantially between then and the current model year.
As you might expect, the Volvo came out on top of a very competitive field. The company, which stakes its reputation squarely on safety, had perfect scores in every crash test and top marks in the IIHS’ tests for seats and crash avoidance systems, as well as high marks in IIHS tests for headlights and LATCH child seat anchors. It is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, along with the Audi and BMW.
Among the rest of the pack, only the Volvo and Cadillac achieved a five-star front crash rating from NHTSA. The rest received four stars. All but the Mercedes-Benz received a five-star rollover rating from the NHTSA—the C300 scored four stars. Every competitor received five stars overall from NHTSA.
The IIHS hasn’t completed all tests on every competitor. In crash-prevention testing, the BMW and Lexus were the only two tested cars to receive an Advanced rating on their crash-avoidance systems. The rest received Superior grades. The Cadillac and Mercedes received Poor ratings for their headlights, and the rest tested received an Acceptable rating.
Value
Mercedes-Benz C300
Miss: Stiff ride with sport package
Because you’ll be paying the same lease price on all these competitors, value requires a different measurement. After all, no one wants to pay the same for a lesser car. How you define value is up to you, but for the purpose of this comparison, we’ve framed it as the content and performance you get for your $399 monthly payment. (And because many people buy out their leases, sticker price and retained value matter even in a leasing context.)
On this metric, the Audi shines brightest. Although its purchase price is on the higher end of the group, the return on investment is high. The Audi boasts the highest performance in our instrumented testing while also offering far more features than the rest. With price equalized, there’s no questioning the Audi’s dominance in the amount of car you get for the money. The Alfa scores high on performance and boasts the cheapest purchase price as-tested but has fewer features.
In the middle of the pack, the Jaguar offers quite a few features but is let down by low performance scores and a high as-tested price. The Lexus lands in a similar boat, but boasts a better as-tested price. The BMW, Cadillac, and Mercedes all offered a similar balance of performance and content. Cadillac, Mercedes, Lexus, and Volvo all sent cars equipped with sport handling packages, potentially in lieu of other content for the same money. BMW and Cadillac also tend to charge extra for features others include standard.
The Volvo stands out as a difficult case. Because a T6 R-Design was supplied, it carries the highest starting price and second-highest as-tested price, but it also snuck in a supercharged and turbocharged engine with by far the highest horsepower and torque output. As such, it performed well in testing and had high feature content. But at a $399 lease price, you’d actually get a T5 Inscription Platinum and give up the performance advantage.
Cost of Ownership
Time is a luxury and therefore so is reliability; no one wants to spend extra time at the dealer.
Unfortunately, the information on the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia is incomplete. Having returned to the U.S. market only recently, there simply is no empirical data regarding reliability, maintenance, repairs, and depreciation on an Alfa Romeo—although past models have taken slings and arrows in European quality ratings. We’ve calculated values for those categories based on information from multiple sources, and we took an average of costs for the rest of the competitors.
Per our partners at Intellichoice, the Cadillac is the car whose lease you might consider buying out. Although not the cheapest in any category, low costs across the board keep the Cadillac’s five-year cost of ownership to $45,592. Conversely, the Lexus suffers high insurance, fuel, and maintenance costs, giving it the highest five-year cost at $52,254.
There’s also the matter of complimentary scheduled maintenance. Sometimes it’s baked into the lease price, sometimes the manufacturer eats the cost as an incentive that changes from year to year based on the marketing department’s whim. At present, Jaguar offers five years/60,000 miles of free maintenance; BMW, Cadillac, and Volvo offer three/36,000 miles, and Lexus gives the first two services in the first year for free. Alfa Romeo, Audi, and Mercedes still charge for routine maintenance.
We would also point out that the difference between the most and least expensive car to own over five years is less than $7,000, illustrating again just how evenly matched the competitors are.
Conclusion
We considered every facet of these nine cars. We debated long and hard over how to weigh each category, given the values of buyers in this class. We wrestled with reputations and missing data, balanced the marketing and hype, and noted the differing expectations and priorities between leasing and buying.
However, in a class where passion, prestige, and performance often take precedence over cold hard facts and logic, we follow our hearts as much or more than our heads.
As a result, the back of the pack is populated exclusively by older models who have seen the segment pass them by.
The Volvo, which finished in second place the last time around, is showing its age. Far and away the oldest car in the test, it was outclassed at nearly every turn. Thoughtful updates have kept it on life support, but a new engine is no substitute for the comprehensive updates needed to make the S60 truly competitive, and the all-new car can’t come soon enough.
The BMW 3 Series easily won our last Big Test in this class, but even with a recent refresh we found it lacking. It led no categories and inspired little love from the judges, except for its zingy engine. The pressure is on Bavaria to up the next edition’s game if it wants to improve on its seventh-place finish here.
Cadillac ATS 2.0T
Miss: Rear seat
The Cadillac and Jaguar fought fiercely for position in the middle of the pack, with the American just edging out the Brit. Both cars drove wonderfully, but both were kneecapped by penned-in rear seats. The deciding factor ended up being the Jag’s glitchy infotainment system.
An excellent all-around performer, the Mercedes-Benz C300 is by far the most luxurious car here while still offering serious performance credentials. If its options packages were more value-oriented and the Sport edition carried a more luxurious ride, it might’ve managed the silver instead of bronze. It’s a similar story for the fourth-place Lexus, which punched above its weight class on many fronts but couldn’t overcome a weak engine and infuriating infotainment system.
Finishing in an honorable second place is the Audi A4. On paper the Audi wins in terms of features and space, while matching the Alfa’s objective performance, but a sterile personality and a sense of isolation from the driving experience kept it out of first place. If you aren’t willing to try the Alfa until all the data is in, the Audi is an excellent second option.
But because lease deals are a temporary fling, a shopper has the luxury of making make a decision with as much emotion as pragmatism. By that measure, the Alfa Romeo Giulia stacks up well in every category. Its incredible performance and driving experience make it the easy choice for us. We’re willing to look past the reliability question marks to experience the passion this Italian delight delivers. Without question, if it were our money, this would be the car we’d pick.
8TH PLACE: S60 T6
Stylish and safe, the Volvo can’t escape its long-past sell-by date. It’s an old car in a hyper-competitive class, and it just can’t keep up anymore.
7TH PLACE: BMW 330I
How the mighty have fallen. The reigning winner and standard-bearer of the class suffers from old age, dulled dynamics, and a lack of personality.
6TH PLACE: JAGUAR XE 25T
A new standard in the sporty-handling versus refined-ride equation, the Jaguar was undone by its tiny back seat, boring interior styling, and buggy infotainment system.
5TH PLACE: CADILLAC ATS 2.0T
The best sport sedan chassis in the class is let down by a useless back seat and barely acceptable infotainment system.
4TH PLACE: LEXUS IS 200T F SPORT
A good all-around performer, the weighty Lexus is underserved by its overstressed engine, unintuitive infotainment system, and polarizing styling.
3RD PLACE: MERCEDES-BENZ C300
The most luxurious of the field, the Mercedes needs to improve its ride quality and improve the value proposition of its pricing.
2ND PLACE: AUDI A4 2.0T QUATTRO
Smart, practical, sophisticated, and something of a Q-ship, the Audi quietly crawled its way up the podium but lacked the personality to take the top spot.
1ST PLACE: ALFA ROMEO GIULIA
Efficient, economical, quick, safe, and without question the most fun to drive, the Giulia is a car we’re willing to gamble on despite its reliability legacy and lack of cost-of -ownership data.
Premium means something “of superior value, out
of the ordinary”...like an Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce.
Alfa Giulia is The Big Test Winner MOTORtrend!
GIULIA VS. 330I VS. A4 VS. C300 VS. ATS VS. XE VS. IS VS. S60
Who Makes the Best Compact Luxury Sports Sedan?
MOTORtrend looked at the whole picture, including price, depreciation, reliability, dealer experience, safety, infotainment features, and cargo- and passenger-carrying capacity. But given the nature of this category, subjective criteria also come into play, so things such as styling, brand image, overall appeal, and driving enjoyment are major factors in this test.
Every year, a half-million Americans are willing to pay a substantial premium for the experience of owning, driving, and of course being seen in one of these premium cars.
Our entry criteria were simple: a modest-down-payment, $399/month lease for 36 months, four doors, and a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The contenders: the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi A4 2.0TQuattro, BMW 330i, Cadillac ATS 2.0T, Jaguar XE 25t, Lexus IS 200t F Sport, Mercedes-Benz C300, and Volvo S60 T6 R-Design.
Ride & Handling
Alfa Romeo Giulia
Hit: Driving experience
The single most important attribute of a luxury sport sedan is the driving experience. It must handle like a four-door sports car, but it must also ride acceptably well for a luxury car. Nailing that balance is no easy task, and many came up short.
The biggest disappointment came from the BMW, which created the benchmark for this segment three decades ago. We’ve long criticized the latest 3 Series for being too soft, and this latest update hasn’t addressed that. The ride is comfortable, yes, but at the expense of handling, which no longer feels as sharp or focused. Rather than the class leader, it’s class generic.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Alfa. It was the nearly unanimous driver’s favorite, simultaneously a marvelous car to drive fast and still a comfortable commuter. The steering is quick, responsive, and talkative. The chassis responds perfectly to every input while muting every bump. More than any car here, it put the sport in sport sedan without suffering a jarring ride as a trade-off. A close second to the Alfa is the Cadillac, which got the vote from the lone dissenter. But its equally phenomenal chassis and steering were offset by a less luxurious ride quality.
Similar ride and handling trade-offs were the rule among the Lexus, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Audi. The Lexus handles nicely and rides well, but its portly curb weight made it feel heavy and dulled its responses. The Jaguar and Mercedes handled very well, but rubber-band tires and stiff shocks hurt their ride quality. The Audi both handled and rode very well, but the experience was very isolated and disconnected from the road. Many an editor likened it to a driving simulator.
The Volvo, which once overachieved in this category, felt a generation behind. The heaviest car here, its weight was a constant presence in corners despite the all-wheel drive’s best efforts to yank it out of the corner and down the straight. The steering was full of vibration from the all-wheel drive, and the ride wasn’t spectacular. In a hot segment, it’s just out-classed.
Audi A4 2.0T Quattro
Miss: Lack of passion
Performance
BMW 330i
Miss: Enjoyment—doesn’t do what the design suggests
Given the range of vehicles you could lease at this price, your decision to go with a sport sedan suggests you value performance. As such, this attribute likely weighs heavily on your purchase priorities. It’s the bedrock attribute of this segment.
The BMW 3 Series defined this segment and ruled it for decades, but in this test, it comes up average. It’s slightly above midpack in acceleration but among the worst in braking and just average in our instrumented handling tests. Still, judges praised its linear acceleration, minimal turbo lag, and excellent transmission programing.
If you want absolute performance at this price point and fuel economy, look no further than the Audi. A sleeper, the conservatively styled A4 is the quickest both in a straight line and around our figure-eight test. Its dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive give it a performance and traction edge off the line. But beyond 60 mph the Alfa’s best weight-to-power ratio and shortest gearing deliver the best performance, reaching 100 mph 1 second quicker and finishing the quarter-mile 3.3 mph faster than the Audi. Likewise, the Mercedes, with its Sport package, equals the Audi’s best-in-class figure-eight performance while stopping shorter. The Alfa’s figure-eight performance was severely handicapped by its overly aggressive stability control, which couldn’t be defeated.
The Cadillac comes up surprisingly short given its second-most powerful engine and second-lightest curb weight. We attribute this to its tallish first gear and somewhat lazy transmission. The Jaguar’s second-shortest gearing compensates for its second-worst weight-to-power ratio to produce solidly midpack performance.
The Lexus earned its slowest straight-line performance fair and square with the second-highest curb weight (despite being only rear-wheel drive) and the second-least powerful engine. It just felt overburdened. What the Lexus lacked in power, though, it made up for in handling.
Then there’s the odd case of the Volvo. A turbocharged and supercharged T6 variant rather than the directly comparable turbocharged T5 we requested, it was the most powerful in the test and blessed with all-wheel drive and the R-Design sport package, not to mention a Polestar engine software upgrade. It was also, however, the heaviest. As such, it was third-quickest to 60 mph and stopped second-shortest, but it was slowest on the figure eight by a good margin.
Efficiency
Jaguar XE 25t
Miss: Interior quality, design, and ergonomics
Gas is pretty dang cheap right now, but it won’t always be. Even when it’s cheap, it’s still an expense. There’s also an expectation of good fuel economy that comes with a downsized engine. After all, you want some payback when you give up horsepower and torque.
According to the EPA’s standardized lab test, these vehicles all return very similar fuel economy. Going by window stickers alone, we see most get around 23/32/26 mpg city/highway/combined. The Jaguar fares the worst, posting 21/30/24 mpg rating. The Mercedes just beats out the Alfa and the Audi by returning a best-in-test 24/34/28 mpg city/highway/combined. As you can see, it’s not a broad spread.
Here, our Real MPG partnership with Emissions Analytics is invaluable. In real-world testing, the Mercedes fell 2 mpg short across the board, abdicating its top spot. The Jaguar redeemed itself in city and combined ratings, and the Lexus dropped to a worst-observed 20.4/31.1/24.2 mpg city/highway/combined. Meanwhile, the Alfa soared with an observed 28.2/37.9/31.8 mpg city/highway/combined, well above its EPA estimates in all categories. We must caution, however, that our Alfa Romeo and Lexus were preproduction units, and both could show different results once their final software calibrations are made.
Cockpit/Cabin
Much of what makes a luxury sedan is its interior. After all, it’s the place where you spend time and the part of the car you spend the most time looking at, touching, listening to, and interacting with.
Regardless of the metrics used to score such subjective criteria, the Mercedes comes out on top. The elegant design and top-quality tactile materials made it a unanimous favorite among the judges. It also scored high marks in quietness, comfort, and rear-seat space. It was let down slightly by a cut-rate Garmin navigation system integrated into the otherwise all-Mercedes infotainment system.
The Audi also was well-received by the judges. The technical superiority was obvious; its virtual cockpit digital dash looked like something out of the future and offered features and functionality no competitor could match. We were also impressed with its impeccable build quality and excellent materials. It took demerits for a slightly tight rear seat, somewhat sterile design (apart from the dash), and slightly louder interior than we’d prefer.
Lexus came in a strong third, with high marks for build quality, materials, and interior quietness. Its design was controversial, and the rear seat was a bit cramped, but the seats were lauded for their comfort and support. The infotainment system and its finicky joystick interface earned unanimous scorn, even from the most generous judge. Even dismissing the controller, the system itself looks old and outdated, and it isn’t especially intuitive.
Other cars let down by their infotainment systems were the Cadillac and Jaguar. Although Cadillac’s CUE system is the best iteration to date, many of the judges still found the touch-sensitive controls difficult to use while driving and not always responsive. The Jaguar, also sporting its best infotainment system in years, drew complaints for being unintuitive and for crashing on several editors. Both cars were also hammered for their nearly unusable rear seats and rather dull interior designs.
The Volvo and BMW, meanwhile, were complimented for their comfort and decently sized rear seats but criticized for their dated interior designs and average materials quality. The BMW clawed some points back with its ergonomics, and the Volvo did, as well, because of its excellent seats. The BMW took hits for its incomprehensible Apple CarPlay integration, and the Volvo was dinged for its loud interior, especially for admitting rough engine noise into the cabin.
Lexus IS 200t F Sport
Miss: Front-end styling, acceleration
Then there’s the Alfa. Praised for its interesting and stylish interior design, it took knocks for its wonky ergonomics. We liked its decently large rear seat and comfortable front seats, but we took issue with the fit and finish and some cheaper materials.
Safety
Volvo S60 T6
Miss: Age. It just feels old.
As it was with fuel efficiency, our competitors are evenly matched in both government and insurance industry crash tests. No competitor scored lower than four stars out of five in the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s testing or Good in an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash test. (IIHS scores range from Poor to Good in crashworthiness testing and from Basic to Superior in crash-prevention systems.) Still, there are details to be examined here.
We should note before going forward that neither the Alfa Romeo nor Jaguar have yet been tested by either U.S. agency. The cars have been crash tested by their manufacturers and the results accepted by the NHTSA, so they can be sold in the U.S. Both cars also received five out of five stars in Europe’s Euro NCAP crash testing. We should also note that some data used here comes from the 2015 and 2016 model years, but the vehicles in question have not changed substantially between then and the current model year.
As you might expect, the Volvo came out on top of a very competitive field. The company, which stakes its reputation squarely on safety, had perfect scores in every crash test and top marks in the IIHS’ tests for seats and crash avoidance systems, as well as high marks in IIHS tests for headlights and LATCH child seat anchors. It is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, along with the Audi and BMW.
Among the rest of the pack, only the Volvo and Cadillac achieved a five-star front crash rating from NHTSA. The rest received four stars. All but the Mercedes-Benz received a five-star rollover rating from the NHTSA—the C300 scored four stars. Every competitor received five stars overall from NHTSA.
The IIHS hasn’t completed all tests on every competitor. In crash-prevention testing, the BMW and Lexus were the only two tested cars to receive an Advanced rating on their crash-avoidance systems. The rest received Superior grades. The Cadillac and Mercedes received Poor ratings for their headlights, and the rest tested received an Acceptable rating.
Value
Mercedes-Benz C300
Miss: Stiff ride with sport package
Because you’ll be paying the same lease price on all these competitors, value requires a different measurement. After all, no one wants to pay the same for a lesser car. How you define value is up to you, but for the purpose of this comparison, we’ve framed it as the content and performance you get for your $399 monthly payment. (And because many people buy out their leases, sticker price and retained value matter even in a leasing context.)
On this metric, the Audi shines brightest. Although its purchase price is on the higher end of the group, the return on investment is high. The Audi boasts the highest performance in our instrumented testing while also offering far more features than the rest. With price equalized, there’s no questioning the Audi’s dominance in the amount of car you get for the money. The Alfa scores high on performance and boasts the cheapest purchase price as-tested but has fewer features.
In the middle of the pack, the Jaguar offers quite a few features but is let down by low performance scores and a high as-tested price. The Lexus lands in a similar boat, but boasts a better as-tested price. The BMW, Cadillac, and Mercedes all offered a similar balance of performance and content. Cadillac, Mercedes, Lexus, and Volvo all sent cars equipped with sport handling packages, potentially in lieu of other content for the same money. BMW and Cadillac also tend to charge extra for features others include standard.
The Volvo stands out as a difficult case. Because a T6 R-Design was supplied, it carries the highest starting price and second-highest as-tested price, but it also snuck in a supercharged and turbocharged engine with by far the highest horsepower and torque output. As such, it performed well in testing and had high feature content. But at a $399 lease price, you’d actually get a T5 Inscription Platinum and give up the performance advantage.
Cost of Ownership
Time is a luxury and therefore so is reliability; no one wants to spend extra time at the dealer.
Unfortunately, the information on the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia is incomplete. Having returned to the U.S. market only recently, there simply is no empirical data regarding reliability, maintenance, repairs, and depreciation on an Alfa Romeo—although past models have taken slings and arrows in European quality ratings. We’ve calculated values for those categories based on information from multiple sources, and we took an average of costs for the rest of the competitors.
Per our partners at Intellichoice, the Cadillac is the car whose lease you might consider buying out. Although not the cheapest in any category, low costs across the board keep the Cadillac’s five-year cost of ownership to $45,592. Conversely, the Lexus suffers high insurance, fuel, and maintenance costs, giving it the highest five-year cost at $52,254.
There’s also the matter of complimentary scheduled maintenance. Sometimes it’s baked into the lease price, sometimes the manufacturer eats the cost as an incentive that changes from year to year based on the marketing department’s whim. At present, Jaguar offers five years/60,000 miles of free maintenance; BMW, Cadillac, and Volvo offer three/36,000 miles, and Lexus gives the first two services in the first year for free. Alfa Romeo, Audi, and Mercedes still charge for routine maintenance.
We would also point out that the difference between the most and least expensive car to own over five years is less than $7,000, illustrating again just how evenly matched the competitors are.
Conclusion
We considered every facet of these nine cars. We debated long and hard over how to weigh each category, given the values of buyers in this class. We wrestled with reputations and missing data, balanced the marketing and hype, and noted the differing expectations and priorities between leasing and buying.
However, in a class where passion, prestige, and performance often take precedence over cold hard facts and logic, we follow our hearts as much or more than our heads.
As a result, the back of the pack is populated exclusively by older models who have seen the segment pass them by.
The Volvo, which finished in second place the last time around, is showing its age. Far and away the oldest car in the test, it was outclassed at nearly every turn. Thoughtful updates have kept it on life support, but a new engine is no substitute for the comprehensive updates needed to make the S60 truly competitive, and the all-new car can’t come soon enough.
The BMW 3 Series easily won our last Big Test in this class, but even with a recent refresh we found it lacking. It led no categories and inspired little love from the judges, except for its zingy engine. The pressure is on Bavaria to up the next edition’s game if it wants to improve on its seventh-place finish here.
Cadillac ATS 2.0T
Miss: Rear seat
The Cadillac and Jaguar fought fiercely for position in the middle of the pack, with the American just edging out the Brit. Both cars drove wonderfully, but both were kneecapped by penned-in rear seats. The deciding factor ended up being the Jag’s glitchy infotainment system.
An excellent all-around performer, the Mercedes-Benz C300 is by far the most luxurious car here while still offering serious performance credentials. If its options packages were more value-oriented and the Sport edition carried a more luxurious ride, it might’ve managed the silver instead of bronze. It’s a similar story for the fourth-place Lexus, which punched above its weight class on many fronts but couldn’t overcome a weak engine and infuriating infotainment system.
Finishing in an honorable second place is the Audi A4. On paper the Audi wins in terms of features and space, while matching the Alfa’s objective performance, but a sterile personality and a sense of isolation from the driving experience kept it out of first place. If you aren’t willing to try the Alfa until all the data is in, the Audi is an excellent second option.
But because lease deals are a temporary fling, a shopper has the luxury of making make a decision with as much emotion as pragmatism. By that measure, the Alfa Romeo Giulia stacks up well in every category. Its incredible performance and driving experience make it the easy choice for us. We’re willing to look past the reliability question marks to experience the passion this Italian delight delivers. Without question, if it were our money, this would be the car we’d pick.
8TH PLACE: S60 T6
Stylish and safe, the Volvo can’t escape its long-past sell-by date. It’s an old car in a hyper-competitive class, and it just can’t keep up anymore.
7TH PLACE: BMW 330I
How the mighty have fallen. The reigning winner and standard-bearer of the class suffers from old age, dulled dynamics, and a lack of personality.
6TH PLACE: JAGUAR XE 25T
A new standard in the sporty-handling versus refined-ride equation, the Jaguar was undone by its tiny back seat, boring interior styling, and buggy infotainment system.
5TH PLACE: CADILLAC ATS 2.0T
The best sport sedan chassis in the class is let down by a useless back seat and barely acceptable infotainment system.
4TH PLACE: LEXUS IS 200T F SPORT
A good all-around performer, the weighty Lexus is underserved by its overstressed engine, unintuitive infotainment system, and polarizing styling.
3RD PLACE: MERCEDES-BENZ C300
The most luxurious of the field, the Mercedes needs to improve its ride quality and improve the value proposition of its pricing.
2ND PLACE: AUDI A4 2.0T QUATTRO
Smart, practical, sophisticated, and something of a Q-ship, the Audi quietly crawled its way up the podium but lacked the personality to take the top spot.
1ST PLACE: ALFA ROMEO GIULIA
Efficient, economical, quick, safe, and without question the most fun to drive, the Giulia is a car we’re willing to gamble on despite its reliability legacy and lack of cost-of -ownership data.
Premium means something “of superior value, out
of the ordinary”...like an Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce.
Alfa Giulia is The Big Test Winner MOTORtrend!
GIULIA VS. 330I VS. A4 VS. C300 VS. ATS VS. XE VS. IS VS. S60
Who Makes the Best Compact Luxury Sports Sedan?
MOTORtrend looked at the whole picture, including price, depreciation, reliability, dealer experience, safety, infotainment features, and cargo- and passenger-carrying capacity. But given the nature of this category, subjective criteria also come into play, so things such as styling, brand image, overall appeal, and driving enjoyment are major factors in this test.
Every year, a half-million Americans are willing to pay a substantial premium for the experience of owning, driving, and of course being seen in one of these premium cars.
Our entry criteria were simple: a modest-down-payment, $399/month lease for 36 months, four doors, and a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The contenders: the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi A4 2.0TQuattro, BMW 330i, Cadillac ATS 2.0T, Jaguar XE 25t, Lexus IS 200t F Sport, Mercedes-Benz C300, and Volvo S60 T6 R-Design.
Ride & Handling
Alfa Romeo Giulia
Hit: Driving experience
The single most important attribute of a luxury sport sedan is the driving experience. It must handle like a four-door sports car, but it must also ride acceptably well for a luxury car. Nailing that balance is no easy task, and many came up short.
The biggest disappointment came from the BMW, which created the benchmark for this segment three decades ago. We’ve long criticized the latest 3 Series for being too soft, and this latest update hasn’t addressed that. The ride is comfortable, yes, but at the expense of handling, which no longer feels as sharp or focused. Rather than the class leader, it’s class generic.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Alfa. It was the nearly unanimous driver’s favorite, simultaneously a marvelous car to drive fast and still a comfortable commuter. The steering is quick, responsive, and talkative. The chassis responds perfectly to every input while muting every bump. More than any car here, it put the sport in sport sedan without suffering a jarring ride as a trade-off. A close second to the Alfa is the Cadillac, which got the vote from the lone dissenter. But its equally phenomenal chassis and steering were offset by a less luxurious ride quality.
Similar ride and handling trade-offs were the rule among the Lexus, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Audi. The Lexus handles nicely and rides well, but its portly curb weight made it feel heavy and dulled its responses. The Jaguar and Mercedes handled very well, but rubber-band tires and stiff shocks hurt their ride quality. The Audi both handled and rode very well, but the experience was very isolated and disconnected from the road. Many an editor likened it to a driving simulator.
The Volvo, which once overachieved in this category, felt a generation behind. The heaviest car here, its weight was a constant presence in corners despite the all-wheel drive’s best efforts to yank it out of the corner and down the straight. The steering was full of vibration from the all-wheel drive, and the ride wasn’t spectacular. In a hot segment, it’s just out-classed.
Audi A4 2.0T Quattro
Miss: Lack of passion
Performance
BMW 330i
Miss: Enjoyment—doesn’t do what the design suggests
Given the range of vehicles you could lease at this price, your decision to go with a sport sedan suggests you value performance. As such, this attribute likely weighs heavily on your purchase priorities. It’s the bedrock attribute of this segment.
The BMW 3 Series defined this segment and ruled it for decades, but in this test, it comes up average. It’s slightly above midpack in acceleration but among the worst in braking and just average in our instrumented handling tests. Still, judges praised its linear acceleration, minimal turbo lag, and excellent transmission programing.
If you want absolute performance at this price point and fuel economy, look no further than the Audi. A sleeper, the conservatively styled A4 is the quickest both in a straight line and around our figure-eight test. Its dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive give it a performance and traction edge off the line. But beyond 60 mph the Alfa’s best weight-to-power ratio and shortest gearing deliver the best performance, reaching 100 mph 1 second quicker and finishing the quarter-mile 3.3 mph faster than the Audi. Likewise, the Mercedes, with its Sport package, equals the Audi’s best-in-class figure-eight performance while stopping shorter. The Alfa’s figure-eight performance was severely handicapped by its overly aggressive stability control, which couldn’t be defeated.
The Cadillac comes up surprisingly short given its second-most powerful engine and second-lightest curb weight. We attribute this to its tallish first gear and somewhat lazy transmission. The Jaguar’s second-shortest gearing compensates for its second-worst weight-to-power ratio to produce solidly midpack performance.
The Lexus earned its slowest straight-line performance fair and square with the second-highest curb weight (despite being only rear-wheel drive) and the second-least powerful engine. It just felt overburdened. What the Lexus lacked in power, though, it made up for in handling.
Then there’s the odd case of the Volvo. A turbocharged and supercharged T6 variant rather than the directly comparable turbocharged T5 we requested, it was the most powerful in the test and blessed with all-wheel drive and the R-Design sport package, not to mention a Polestar engine software upgrade. It was also, however, the heaviest. As such, it was third-quickest to 60 mph and stopped second-shortest, but it was slowest on the figure eight by a good margin.
Efficiency
Jaguar XE 25t
Miss: Interior quality, design, and ergonomics
Gas is pretty dang cheap right now, but it won’t always be. Even when it’s cheap, it’s still an expense. There’s also an expectation of good fuel economy that comes with a downsized engine. After all, you want some payback when you give up horsepower and torque.
According to the EPA’s standardized lab test, these vehicles all return very similar fuel economy. Going by window stickers alone, we see most get around 23/32/26 mpg city/highway/combined. The Jaguar fares the worst, posting 21/30/24 mpg rating. The Mercedes just beats out the Alfa and the Audi by returning a best-in-test 24/34/28 mpg city/highway/combined. As you can see, it’s not a broad spread.
Here, our Real MPG partnership with Emissions Analytics is invaluable. In real-world testing, the Mercedes fell 2 mpg short across the board, abdicating its top spot. The Jaguar redeemed itself in city and combined ratings, and the Lexus dropped to a worst-observed 20.4/31.1/24.2 mpg city/highway/combined. Meanwhile, the Alfa soared with an observed 28.2/37.9/31.8 mpg city/highway/combined, well above its EPA estimates in all categories. We must caution, however, that our Alfa Romeo and Lexus were preproduction units, and both could show different results once their final software calibrations are made.
Cockpit/Cabin
Much of what makes a luxury sedan is its interior. After all, it’s the place where you spend time and the part of the car you spend the most time looking at, touching, listening to, and interacting with.
Regardless of the metrics used to score such subjective criteria, the Mercedes comes out on top. The elegant design and top-quality tactile materials made it a unanimous favorite among the judges. It also scored high marks in quietness, comfort, and rear-seat space. It was let down slightly by a cut-rate Garmin navigation system integrated into the otherwise all-Mercedes infotainment system.
The Audi also was well-received by the judges. The technical superiority was obvious; its virtual cockpit digital dash looked like something out of the future and offered features and functionality no competitor could match. We were also impressed with its impeccable build quality and excellent materials. It took demerits for a slightly tight rear seat, somewhat sterile design (apart from the dash), and slightly louder interior than we’d prefer.
Lexus came in a strong third, with high marks for build quality, materials, and interior quietness. Its design was controversial, and the rear seat was a bit cramped, but the seats were lauded for their comfort and support. The infotainment system and its finicky joystick interface earned unanimous scorn, even from the most generous judge. Even dismissing the controller, the system itself looks old and outdated, and it isn’t especially intuitive.
Other cars let down by their infotainment systems were the Cadillac and Jaguar. Although Cadillac’s CUE system is the best iteration to date, many of the judges still found the touch-sensitive controls difficult to use while driving and not always responsive. The Jaguar, also sporting its best infotainment system in years, drew complaints for being unintuitive and for crashing on several editors. Both cars were also hammered for their nearly unusable rear seats and rather dull interior designs.
The Volvo and BMW, meanwhile, were complimented for their comfort and decently sized rear seats but criticized for their dated interior designs and average materials quality. The BMW clawed some points back with its ergonomics, and the Volvo did, as well, because of its excellent seats. The BMW took hits for its incomprehensible Apple CarPlay integration, and the Volvo was dinged for its loud interior, especially for admitting rough engine noise into the cabin.
Lexus IS 200t F Sport
Miss: Front-end styling, acceleration
Then there’s the Alfa. Praised for its interesting and stylish interior design, it took knocks for its wonky ergonomics. We liked its decently large rear seat and comfortable front seats, but we took issue with the fit and finish and some cheaper materials.
Safety
Volvo S60 T6
Miss: Age. It just feels old.
As it was with fuel efficiency, our competitors are evenly matched in both government and insurance industry crash tests. No competitor scored lower than four stars out of five in the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s testing or Good in an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash test. (IIHS scores range from Poor to Good in crashworthiness testing and from Basic to Superior in crash-prevention systems.) Still, there are details to be examined here.
We should note before going forward that neither the Alfa Romeo nor Jaguar have yet been tested by either U.S. agency. The cars have been crash tested by their manufacturers and the results accepted by the NHTSA, so they can be sold in the U.S. Both cars also received five out of five stars in Europe’s Euro NCAP crash testing. We should also note that some data used here comes from the 2015 and 2016 model years, but the vehicles in question have not changed substantially between then and the current model year.
As you might expect, the Volvo came out on top of a very competitive field. The company, which stakes its reputation squarely on safety, had perfect scores in every crash test and top marks in the IIHS’ tests for seats and crash avoidance systems, as well as high marks in IIHS tests for headlights and LATCH child seat anchors. It is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, along with the Audi and BMW.
Among the rest of the pack, only the Volvo and Cadillac achieved a five-star front crash rating from NHTSA. The rest received four stars. All but the Mercedes-Benz received a five-star rollover rating from the NHTSA—the C300 scored four stars. Every competitor received five stars overall from NHTSA.
The IIHS hasn’t completed all tests on every competitor. In crash-prevention testing, the BMW and Lexus were the only two tested cars to receive an Advanced rating on their crash-avoidance systems. The rest received Superior grades. The Cadillac and Mercedes received Poor ratings for their headlights, and the rest tested received an Acceptable rating.
Value
Mercedes-Benz C300
Miss: Stiff ride with sport package
Because you’ll be paying the same lease price on all these competitors, value requires a different measurement. After all, no one wants to pay the same for a lesser car. How you define value is up to you, but for the purpose of this comparison, we’ve framed it as the content and performance you get for your $399 monthly payment. (And because many people buy out their leases, sticker price and retained value matter even in a leasing context.)
On this metric, the Audi shines brightest. Although its purchase price is on the higher end of the group, the return on investment is high. The Audi boasts the highest performance in our instrumented testing while also offering far more features than the rest. With price equalized, there’s no questioning the Audi’s dominance in the amount of car you get for the money. The Alfa scores high on performance and boasts the cheapest purchase price as-tested but has fewer features.
In the middle of the pack, the Jaguar offers quite a few features but is let down by low performance scores and a high as-tested price. The Lexus lands in a similar boat, but boasts a better as-tested price. The BMW, Cadillac, and Mercedes all offered a similar balance of performance and content. Cadillac, Mercedes, Lexus, and Volvo all sent cars equipped with sport handling packages, potentially in lieu of other content for the same money. BMW and Cadillac also tend to charge extra for features others include standard.
The Volvo stands out as a difficult case. Because a T6 R-Design was supplied, it carries the highest starting price and second-highest as-tested price, but it also snuck in a supercharged and turbocharged engine with by far the highest horsepower and torque output. As such, it performed well in testing and had high feature content. But at a $399 lease price, you’d actually get a T5 Inscription Platinum and give up the performance advantage.
Cost of Ownership
Time is a luxury and therefore so is reliability; no one wants to spend extra time at the dealer.
Unfortunately, the information on the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia is incomplete. Having returned to the U.S. market only recently, there simply is no empirical data regarding reliability, maintenance, repairs, and depreciation on an Alfa Romeo—although past models have taken slings and arrows in European quality ratings. We’ve calculated values for those categories based on information from multiple sources, and we took an average of costs for the rest of the competitors.
Per our partners at Intellichoice, the Cadillac is the car whose lease you might consider buying out. Although not the cheapest in any category, low costs across the board keep the Cadillac’s five-year cost of ownership to $45,592. Conversely, the Lexus suffers high insurance, fuel, and maintenance costs, giving it the highest five-year cost at $52,254.
There’s also the matter of complimentary scheduled maintenance. Sometimes it’s baked into the lease price, sometimes the manufacturer eats the cost as an incentive that changes from year to year based on the marketing department’s whim. At present, Jaguar offers five years/60,000 miles of free maintenance; BMW, Cadillac, and Volvo offer three/36,000 miles, and Lexus gives the first two services in the first year for free. Alfa Romeo, Audi, and Mercedes still charge for routine maintenance.
We would also point out that the difference between the most and least expensive car to own over five years is less than $7,000, illustrating again just how evenly matched the competitors are.
Conclusion
We considered every facet of these nine cars. We debated long and hard over how to weigh each category, given the values of buyers in this class. We wrestled with reputations and missing data, balanced the marketing and hype, and noted the differing expectations and priorities between leasing and buying.
However, in a class where passion, prestige, and performance often take precedence over cold hard facts and logic, we follow our hearts as much or more than our heads.
As a result, the back of the pack is populated exclusively by older models who have seen the segment pass them by.
The Volvo, which finished in second place the last time around, is showing its age. Far and away the oldest car in the test, it was outclassed at nearly every turn. Thoughtful updates have kept it on life support, but a new engine is no substitute for the comprehensive updates needed to make the S60 truly competitive, and the all-new car can’t come soon enough.
The BMW 3 Series easily won our last Big Test in this class, but even with a recent refresh we found it lacking. It led no categories and inspired little love from the judges, except for its zingy engine. The pressure is on Bavaria to up the next edition’s game if it wants to improve on its seventh-place finish here.
Cadillac ATS 2.0T
Miss: Rear seat
The Cadillac and Jaguar fought fiercely for position in the middle of the pack, with the American just edging out the Brit. Both cars drove wonderfully, but both were kneecapped by penned-in rear seats. The deciding factor ended up being the Jag’s glitchy infotainment system.
An excellent all-around performer, the Mercedes-Benz C300 is by far the most luxurious car here while still offering serious performance credentials. If its options packages were more value-oriented and the Sport edition carried a more luxurious ride, it might’ve managed the silver instead of bronze. It’s a similar story for the fourth-place Lexus, which punched above its weight class on many fronts but couldn’t overcome a weak engine and infuriating infotainment system.
Finishing in an honorable second place is the Audi A4. On paper the Audi wins in terms of features and space, while matching the Alfa’s objective performance, but a sterile personality and a sense of isolation from the driving experience kept it out of first place. If you aren’t willing to try the Alfa until all the data is in, the Audi is an excellent second option.
But because lease deals are a temporary fling, a shopper has the luxury of making make a decision with as much emotion as pragmatism. By that measure, the Alfa Romeo Giulia stacks up well in every category. Its incredible performance and driving experience make it the easy choice for us. We’re willing to look past the reliability question marks to experience the passion this Italian delight delivers. Without question, if it were our money, this would be the car we’d pick.
8TH PLACE: S60 T6
Stylish and safe, the Volvo can’t escape its long-past sell-by date. It’s an old car in a hyper-competitive class, and it just can’t keep up anymore.
7TH PLACE: BMW 330I
How the mighty have fallen. The reigning winner and standard-bearer of the class suffers from old age, dulled dynamics, and a lack of personality.
6TH PLACE: JAGUAR XE 25T
A new standard in the sporty-handling versus refined-ride equation, the Jaguar was undone by its tiny back seat, boring interior styling, and buggy infotainment system.
5TH PLACE: CADILLAC ATS 2.0T
The best sport sedan chassis in the class is let down by a useless back seat and barely acceptable infotainment system.
4TH PLACE: LEXUS IS 200T F SPORT
A good all-around performer, the weighty Lexus is underserved by its overstressed engine, unintuitive infotainment system, and polarizing styling.
3RD PLACE: MERCEDES-BENZ C300
The most luxurious of the field, the Mercedes needs to improve its ride quality and improve the value proposition of its pricing.
2ND PLACE: AUDI A4 2.0T QUATTRO
Smart, practical, sophisticated, and something of a Q-ship, the Audi quietly crawled its way up the podium but lacked the personality to take the top spot.
1ST PLACE: ALFA ROMEO GIULIA
Efficient, economical, quick, safe, and without question the most fun to drive, the Giulia is a car we’re willing to gamble on despite its reliability legacy and lack of cost-of -ownership data.
Bekijk deze video op YouTube:
Why is the all-new Alfa Romeo considered Premium?
Premium means something “of superior value, out
of the ordinary”...like an Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce.
Alfa Giulia is The Big Test Winner MOTORtrend!
GIULIA VS. 330I VS. A4 VS. C300 VS. ATS VS. XE VS. IS VS. S60
Who Makes the Best Compact Luxury Sports Sedan?
MOTORtrend looked at the whole picture, including price, depreciation, reliability, dealer experience, safety, infotainment features, and cargo- and passenger-carrying capacity. But given the nature of this category, subjective criteria also come into play, so things such as styling, brand image, overall appeal, and driving enjoyment are major factors in this test.
Every year, a half-million Americans are willing to pay a substantial premium for the experience of owning, driving, and of course being seen in one of these premium cars.
Our entry criteria were simple: a modest-down-payment, $399/month lease for 36 months, four doors, and a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The contenders: the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi A4 2.0TQuattro, BMW 330i, Cadillac ATS 2.0T, Jaguar XE 25t, Lexus IS 200t F Sport, Mercedes-Benz C300, and Volvo S60 T6 R-Design.
Ride & Handling
Alfa Romeo Giulia
Hit: Driving experience
The single most important attribute of a luxury sport sedan is the driving experience. It must handle like a four-door sports car, but it must also ride acceptably well for a luxury car. Nailing that balance is no easy task, and many came up short.
The biggest disappointment came from the BMW, which created the benchmark for this segment three decades ago. We’ve long criticized the latest 3 Series for being too soft, and this latest update hasn’t addressed that. The ride is comfortable, yes, but at the expense of handling, which no longer feels as sharp or focused. Rather than the class leader, it’s class generic.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Alfa. It was the nearly unanimous driver’s favorite, simultaneously a marvelous car to drive fast and still a comfortable commuter. The steering is quick, responsive, and talkative. The chassis responds perfectly to every input while muting every bump. More than any car here, it put the sport in sport sedan without suffering a jarring ride as a trade-off. A close second to the Alfa is the Cadillac, which got the vote from the lone dissenter. But its equally phenomenal chassis and steering were offset by a less luxurious ride quality.
Similar ride and handling trade-offs were the rule among the Lexus, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Audi. The Lexus handles nicely and rides well, but its portly curb weight made it feel heavy and dulled its responses. The Jaguar and Mercedes handled very well, but rubber-band tires and stiff shocks hurt their ride quality. The Audi both handled and rode very well, but the experience was very isolated and disconnected from the road. Many an editor likened it to a driving simulator.
The Volvo, which once overachieved in this category, felt a generation behind. The heaviest car here, its weight was a constant presence in corners despite the all-wheel drive’s best efforts to yank it out of the corner and down the straight. The steering was full of vibration from the all-wheel drive, and the ride wasn’t spectacular. In a hot segment, it’s just out-classed.
Audi A4 2.0T Quattro
Miss: Lack of passion
Performance
BMW 330i
Miss: Enjoyment—doesn’t do what the design suggests
Given the range of vehicles you could lease at this price, your decision to go with a sport sedan suggests you value performance. As such, this attribute likely weighs heavily on your purchase priorities. It’s the bedrock attribute of this segment.
The BMW 3 Series defined this segment and ruled it for decades, but in this test, it comes up average. It’s slightly above midpack in acceleration but among the worst in braking and just average in our instrumented handling tests. Still, judges praised its linear acceleration, minimal turbo lag, and excellent transmission programing.
If you want absolute performance at this price point and fuel economy, look no further than the Audi. A sleeper, the conservatively styled A4 is the quickest both in a straight line and around our figure-eight test. Its dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive give it a performance and traction edge off the line. But beyond 60 mph the Alfa’s best weight-to-power ratio and shortest gearing deliver the best performance, reaching 100 mph 1 second quicker and finishing the quarter-mile 3.3 mph faster than the Audi. Likewise, the Mercedes, with its Sport package, equals the Audi’s best-in-class figure-eight performance while stopping shorter. The Alfa’s figure-eight performance was severely handicapped by its overly aggressive stability control, which couldn’t be defeated.
The Cadillac comes up surprisingly short given its second-most powerful engine and second-lightest curb weight. We attribute this to its tallish first gear and somewhat lazy transmission. The Jaguar’s second-shortest gearing compensates for its second-worst weight-to-power ratio to produce solidly midpack performance.
The Lexus earned its slowest straight-line performance fair and square with the second-highest curb weight (despite being only rear-wheel drive) and the second-least powerful engine. It just felt overburdened. What the Lexus lacked in power, though, it made up for in handling.
Then there’s the odd case of the Volvo. A turbocharged and supercharged T6 variant rather than the directly comparable turbocharged T5 we requested, it was the most powerful in the test and blessed with all-wheel drive and the R-Design sport package, not to mention a Polestar engine software upgrade. It was also, however, the heaviest. As such, it was third-quickest to 60 mph and stopped second-shortest, but it was slowest on the figure eight by a good margin.
Efficiency
Jaguar XE 25t
Miss: Interior quality, design, and ergonomics
Gas is pretty dang cheap right now, but it won’t always be. Even when it’s cheap, it’s still an expense. There’s also an expectation of good fuel economy that comes with a downsized engine. After all, you want some payback when you give up horsepower and torque.
According to the EPA’s standardized lab test, these vehicles all return very similar fuel economy. Going by window stickers alone, we see most get around 23/32/26 mpg city/highway/combined. The Jaguar fares the worst, posting 21/30/24 mpg rating. The Mercedes just beats out the Alfa and the Audi by returning a best-in-test 24/34/28 mpg city/highway/combined. As you can see, it’s not a broad spread.
Here, our Real MPG partnership with Emissions Analytics is invaluable. In real-world testing, the Mercedes fell 2 mpg short across the board, abdicating its top spot. The Jaguar redeemed itself in city and combined ratings, and the Lexus dropped to a worst-observed 20.4/31.1/24.2 mpg city/highway/combined. Meanwhile, the Alfa soared with an observed 28.2/37.9/31.8 mpg city/highway/combined, well above its EPA estimates in all categories. We must caution, however, that our Alfa Romeo and Lexus were preproduction units, and both could show different results once their final software calibrations are made.
Cockpit/Cabin
Much of what makes a luxury sedan is its interior. After all, it’s the place where you spend time and the part of the car you spend the most time looking at, touching, listening to, and interacting with.
Regardless of the metrics used to score such subjective criteria, the Mercedes comes out on top. The elegant design and top-quality tactile materials made it a unanimous favorite among the judges. It also scored high marks in quietness, comfort, and rear-seat space. It was let down slightly by a cut-rate Garmin navigation system integrated into the otherwise all-Mercedes infotainment system.
The Audi also was well-received by the judges. The technical superiority was obvious; its virtual cockpit digital dash looked like something out of the future and offered features and functionality no competitor could match. We were also impressed with its impeccable build quality and excellent materials. It took demerits for a slightly tight rear seat, somewhat sterile design (apart from the dash), and slightly louder interior than we’d prefer.
Lexus came in a strong third, with high marks for build quality, materials, and interior quietness. Its design was controversial, and the rear seat was a bit cramped, but the seats were lauded for their comfort and support. The infotainment system and its finicky joystick interface earned unanimous scorn, even from the most generous judge. Even dismissing the controller, the system itself looks old and outdated, and it isn’t especially intuitive.
Other cars let down by their infotainment systems were the Cadillac and Jaguar. Although Cadillac’s CUE system is the best iteration to date, many of the judges still found the touch-sensitive controls difficult to use while driving and not always responsive. The Jaguar, also sporting its best infotainment system in years, drew complaints for being unintuitive and for crashing on several editors. Both cars were also hammered for their nearly unusable rear seats and rather dull interior designs.
The Volvo and BMW, meanwhile, were complimented for their comfort and decently sized rear seats but criticized for their dated interior designs and average materials quality. The BMW clawed some points back with its ergonomics, and the Volvo did, as well, because of its excellent seats. The BMW took hits for its incomprehensible Apple CarPlay integration, and the Volvo was dinged for its loud interior, especially for admitting rough engine noise into the cabin.
Lexus IS 200t F Sport
Miss: Front-end styling, acceleration
Then there’s the Alfa. Praised for its interesting and stylish interior design, it took knocks for its wonky ergonomics. We liked its decently large rear seat and comfortable front seats, but we took issue with the fit and finish and some cheaper materials.
Safety
Volvo S60 T6
Miss: Age. It just feels old.
As it was with fuel efficiency, our competitors are evenly matched in both government and insurance industry crash tests. No competitor scored lower than four stars out of five in the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s testing or Good in an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash test. (IIHS scores range from Poor to Good in crashworthiness testing and from Basic to Superior in crash-prevention systems.) Still, there are details to be examined here.
We should note before going forward that neither the Alfa Romeo nor Jaguar have yet been tested by either U.S. agency. The cars have been crash tested by their manufacturers and the results accepted by the NHTSA, so they can be sold in the U.S. Both cars also received five out of five stars in Europe’s Euro NCAP crash testing. We should also note that some data used here comes from the 2015 and 2016 model years, but the vehicles in question have not changed substantially between then and the current model year.
As you might expect, the Volvo came out on top of a very competitive field. The company, which stakes its reputation squarely on safety, had perfect scores in every crash test and top marks in the IIHS’ tests for seats and crash avoidance systems, as well as high marks in IIHS tests for headlights and LATCH child seat anchors. It is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+, along with the Audi and BMW.
Among the rest of the pack, only the Volvo and Cadillac achieved a five-star front crash rating from NHTSA. The rest received four stars. All but the Mercedes-Benz received a five-star rollover rating from the NHTSA—the C300 scored four stars. Every competitor received five stars overall from NHTSA.
The IIHS hasn’t completed all tests on every competitor. In crash-prevention testing, the BMW and Lexus were the only two tested cars to receive an Advanced rating on their crash-avoidance systems. The rest received Superior grades. The Cadillac and Mercedes received Poor ratings for their headlights, and the rest tested received an Acceptable rating.
Value
Mercedes-Benz C300
Miss: Stiff ride with sport package
Because you’ll be paying the same lease price on all these competitors, value requires a different measurement. After all, no one wants to pay the same for a lesser car. How you define value is up to you, but for the purpose of this comparison, we’ve framed it as the content and performance you get for your $399 monthly payment. (And because many people buy out their leases, sticker price and retained value matter even in a leasing context.)
On this metric, the Audi shines brightest. Although its purchase price is on the higher end of the group, the return on investment is high. The Audi boasts the highest performance in our instrumented testing while also offering far more features than the rest. With price equalized, there’s no questioning the Audi’s dominance in the amount of car you get for the money. The Alfa scores high on performance and boasts the cheapest purchase price as-tested but has fewer features.
In the middle of the pack, the Jaguar offers quite a few features but is let down by low performance scores and a high as-tested price. The Lexus lands in a similar boat, but boasts a better as-tested price. The BMW, Cadillac, and Mercedes all offered a similar balance of performance and content. Cadillac, Mercedes, Lexus, and Volvo all sent cars equipped with sport handling packages, potentially in lieu of other content for the same money. BMW and Cadillac also tend to charge extra for features others include standard.
The Volvo stands out as a difficult case. Because a T6 R-Design was supplied, it carries the highest starting price and second-highest as-tested price, but it also snuck in a supercharged and turbocharged engine with by far the highest horsepower and torque output. As such, it performed well in testing and had high feature content. But at a $399 lease price, you’d actually get a T5 Inscription Platinum and give up the performance advantage.
Cost of Ownership
Time is a luxury and therefore so is reliability; no one wants to spend extra time at the dealer.
Unfortunately, the information on the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia is incomplete. Having returned to the U.S. market only recently, there simply is no empirical data regarding reliability, maintenance, repairs, and depreciation on an Alfa Romeo—although past models have taken slings and arrows in European quality ratings. We’ve calculated values for those categories based on information from multiple sources, and we took an average of costs for the rest of the competitors.
Per our partners at Intellichoice, the Cadillac is the car whose lease you might consider buying out. Although not the cheapest in any category, low costs across the board keep the Cadillac’s five-year cost of ownership to $45,592. Conversely, the Lexus suffers high insurance, fuel, and maintenance costs, giving it the highest five-year cost at $52,254.
There’s also the matter of complimentary scheduled maintenance. Sometimes it’s baked into the lease price, sometimes the manufacturer eats the cost as an incentive that changes from year to year based on the marketing department’s whim. At present, Jaguar offers five years/60,000 miles of free maintenance; BMW, Cadillac, and Volvo offer three/36,000 miles, and Lexus gives the first two services in the first year for free. Alfa Romeo, Audi, and Mercedes still charge for routine maintenance.
We would also point out that the difference between the most and least expensive car to own over five years is less than $7,000, illustrating again just how evenly matched the competitors are.
Conclusion
We considered every facet of these nine cars. We debated long and hard over how to weigh each category, given the values of buyers in this class. We wrestled with reputations and missing data, balanced the marketing and hype, and noted the differing expectations and priorities between leasing and buying.
However, in a class where passion, prestige, and performance often take precedence over cold hard facts and logic, we follow our hearts as much or more than our heads.
As a result, the back of the pack is populated exclusively by older models who have seen the segment pass them by.
The Volvo, which finished in second place the last time around, is showing its age. Far and away the oldest car in the test, it was outclassed at nearly every turn. Thoughtful updates have kept it on life support, but a new engine is no substitute for the comprehensive updates needed to make the S60 truly competitive, and the all-new car can’t come soon enough.
The BMW 3 Series easily won our last Big Test in this class, but even with a recent refresh we found it lacking. It led no categories and inspired little love from the judges, except for its zingy engine. The pressure is on Bavaria to up the next edition’s game if it wants to improve on its seventh-place finish here.
Cadillac ATS 2.0T
Miss: Rear seat
The Cadillac and Jaguar fought fiercely for position in the middle of the pack, with the American just edging out the Brit. Both cars drove wonderfully, but both were kneecapped by penned-in rear seats. The deciding factor ended up being the Jag’s glitchy infotainment system.
An excellent all-around performer, the Mercedes-Benz C300 is by far the most luxurious car here while still offering serious performance credentials. If its options packages were more value-oriented and the Sport edition carried a more luxurious ride, it might’ve managed the silver instead of bronze. It’s a similar story for the fourth-place Lexus, which punched above its weight class on many fronts but couldn’t overcome a weak engine and infuriating infotainment system.
Finishing in an honorable second place is the Audi A4. On paper the Audi wins in terms of features and space, while matching the Alfa’s objective performance, but a sterile personality and a sense of isolation from the driving experience kept it out of first place. If you aren’t willing to try the Alfa until all the data is in, the Audi is an excellent second option.
But because lease deals are a temporary fling, a shopper has the luxury of making make a decision with as much emotion as pragmatism. By that measure, the Alfa Romeo Giulia stacks up well in every category. Its incredible performance and driving experience make it the easy choice for us. We’re willing to look past the reliability question marks to experience the passion this Italian delight delivers. Without question, if it were our money, this would be the car we’d pick.
8TH PLACE: S60 T6
Stylish and safe, the Volvo can’t escape its long-past sell-by date. It’s an old car in a hyper-competitive class, and it just can’t keep up anymore.
7TH PLACE: BMW 330I
How the mighty have fallen. The reigning winner and standard-bearer of the class suffers from old age, dulled dynamics, and a lack of personality.
6TH PLACE: JAGUAR XE 25T
A new standard in the sporty-handling versus refined-ride equation, the Jaguar was undone by its tiny back seat, boring interior styling, and buggy infotainment system.
5TH PLACE: CADILLAC ATS 2.0T
The best sport sedan chassis in the class is let down by a useless back seat and barely acceptable infotainment system.
4TH PLACE: LEXUS IS 200T F SPORT
A good all-around performer, the weighty Lexus is underserved by its overstressed engine, unintuitive infotainment system, and polarizing styling.
3RD PLACE: MERCEDES-BENZ C300
The most luxurious of the field, the Mercedes needs to improve its ride quality and improve the value proposition of its pricing.
2ND PLACE: AUDI A4 2.0T QUATTRO
Smart, practical, sophisticated, and something of a Q-ship, the Audi quietly crawled its way up the podium but lacked the personality to take the top spot.
1ST PLACE: ALFA ROMEO GIULIA
Efficient, economical, quick, safe, and without question the most fun to drive, the Giulia is a car we’re willing to gamble on despite its reliability legacy and lack of cost-of -ownership data.
this is what i wore on the first day of my ma program. i like to think it's budget clown meets bertie wooster meets overachieving freshman political candidate in saved by the bell the college years.
yellow button down: old navy
linen vest: old navy (remixed)
polka dot tie: thrifted (remixed)
grey high waisted skirt: ricki's
plaid flower pin: claire's?
pink tights: hand-dyed by onceupon. these tights are kind of dead now. i managed to put a big hole in the leg.
dark blue flats: payless
pink laptop bag: golla via best buy
“We may have began as the soldiers Batman built for his crusade. But we became something else, something he never expected. We started as an army. We chose to be a family. And if there's hope for us... there's hope for anyone."
~ Red Hood on the Batman Family, and on how some members were originally Robin's.
Every kid wants to be Batman, but do you have a lifetime of training? A billion-dollar fortune? The dream gets dashed pretty quickly. So OK, maybe you can’t be Batman… but that doesn’t mean you can’t be adopted by him.
And just like that, Robin the Boy Wonder made the kid sidekick an icon.
Acrobat Dick Grayson was the youngest member of his parents’ death-defying circus act. But after their cold-blooded murder, Dick vowed revenge. Seeing a genuine piece of himself in the boy, Batman took him in—and gave him a better outlet for his anger. Becoming Batman’s protégé, Robin is an expert fighter and astounding acrobat—with the toughest example in the world to live up to. But the Boy Wonder’s true strength may lie in not being Batman—and providing a beacon of hope and family throughout the Dark Knight’s grim crusade.
But as Dick matures into his own entity—eventually becoming the masked crime fighter Nightwing—Robin proves more than just an identity, but a mantle passed to the most worthy. From the troubled Jason Todd to the overachieving Tim Drake, the mask is now worn by Bruce Wayne’s own son Damian—a rebellious troublemaker who’s been trained by assassins since birth. With a lethal skill set and a marginal sense of mercy, Robin no longer needs Batman to protect him from criminals.
Publication History
Robin is the alias of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson, to serve as a junior counterpart and the sidekick to the superhero Batman. As a team, Batman and Robin have commonly been referred to as the Caped Crusaders and the Dynamic Duo. The character's first incarnation, Dick Grayson, debuted in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940). Conceived as a way to attract young readership, Robin garnered overwhelmingly positive critical reception, doubling the sales of the Batman titles. Robin's early adventures included Star Spangled Comics #65–130 (1947–1952), the character's first solo feature. He made regular appearances in Batman-related comic books and other DC Comics publications from 1940 through the early 1980s, until the character set aside the Robin identity and became the independent superhero Nightwing.
The character's second incarnation, Jason Todd, first appeared in Batman #357 (1983). He made regular appearances in Batman-related comic books until 1988, when he was murdered by the Joker in the storyline "A Death in the Family" (1989). Jason later found himself alive after a reality-changing incident, eventually becoming the Red Hood. The premiere Robin limited series was published in 1991, featuring the character's third incarnation, Tim Drake, training to earn the role of Batman's vigilante partner. After two successful sequels, the monthly Robin series began in 1993 and ended in early 2009, which also helped his transition from sidekick to a superhero in his own right. In 2004 storylines, established DC Comics character Stephanie Brown became the fourth Robin for a short time before the role reverted to Tim Drake. Damian Wayne succeeds Drake as Robin in the 2009 story arc "Battle for the Cowl."
The current and former Robins always feature prominently in Batman's cast of supporting heroes; Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian all regard him as a father. In current continuity as of 2021, Dick Grayson serves as Nightwing, Jason Todd is the Red Hood, Stephanie Brown is Batgirl, and Tim Drake has picked up the mantle of Robin again after a stint as Red Robin. Damian has left behind the title Robin, but remains the title character of the Robin comic book. In recent years, Batman has also adopted new sidekicks in the form of Bluebird, whose name references Robin, and The Signal.
Creation
About a year after Batman's debut, Batman creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger introduced Robin the Boy Wonder in Detective Comics #38 (1940). The name "Robin the Boy Wonder" and the medieval look of the original costume were inspired by Robin Hood. Jerry Robinson noted he "came up with Robin because the adventures of Robin Hood were boyhood favorites of mine. I had been given a Robin Hood book illustrated by N. C. Wyeth ... and that's what I quickly sketched out when I suggested the name Robin Hood, which they seemed to like, and then showed them the costume. And if you look at it, it's Wyeth's costume, from my memory, because I didn't have the book to look at." Other accounts of Robin's origin state that the name comes from the bird called the American robin, not from Robin Hood, Frank Miller's All Star Batman and Robin being a notable exception. Sometimes both sources are credited, as in Len Wein's The Untold Legend of the Batman. Although Robin is best known as Batman's sidekick, the Robins have also been members of the superhero groups the Teen Titans (with the original Robin, Dick Grayson, as a founding member and the latter group's leader) and Young Justice.
In Batman stories, the character of Robin was intended to be Batman's Watson: Bill Finger, writer for many early Batman adventures, said:
"Robin was an outgrowth of a conversation I had with Bob. As I said, Batman was a combination of Douglas Fairbanks and Sherlock Holmes. Holmes had his Watson. The thing that bothered me was that Batman didn't have anyone to talk to, and it got a little tiresome always having him thinking. I found that as I went along Batman needed a Watson to talk to. That's how Robin came to be. Bob called me over and said he was going to put a boy in the strip to identify with Batman. I thought it was a great idea."
Fictional character biography
The following fictional characters have assumed the Robin role at various times in the main DC Comics Universe continuity:
Dick Grayson
“Who do I think I am? Good question, really, and I'll answer like this: I've seen too much to be Robin, but I'm still too optimistic to be Batman. I'm Nightwing. I'm Officer Dick Grayson. I'm Barbara's boyfriend, Bruce Wayne's adopted son, and the last living member of the Amazing Flying Graysons. I'm happy."
~ Dick Grayson.
In the comics, Dick Grayson was an 8-year-old acrobat and the youngest of a family act called the "Flying Graysons". A gangster named Boss Zucco, loosely based on actor Edward G. Robinson's Little Caesar character, had been extorting money from the circus and killed Grayson's parents, John and Mary, by sabotaging their trapeze equipment as a warning against defiance. Batman investigated the crime and, as his alter ego billionaire Bruce Wayne, had Dick put under his custody as a legal ward. Together they investigated Zucco and collected the evidence needed to bring him to justice. From his debut appearance in 1940 through 1969, Robin was known as the Boy Wonder. Batman creates a costume for Dick, consisting of a red tunic, yellow cape, green gloves, green boots, green briefs, and a utility belt. As he grew older, graduated from high school, and enrolled in Hudson University, Robin continued his career as the Teen Wonder, from 1970 into the early 1980s.
The character was rediscovered by a new generation of fans during the 1980s because of the success of The New Teen Titans, in which he left Batman's shadow entirely to assume the identity of Nightwing. He aids Batman throughout the later storyline regarding the several conflicts with Jason Todd until he makes his final return as the "Red Hood". Grayson temporarily took over as Batman (while Wayne was traveling through time), using the aid of Damian Wayne, making his newish appearance as "Robin", to defeat and imprison Todd. With Bruce Wayne's return, Grayson went back to being Nightwing.
Julie Madison
Julie Madison had passed off as Robin for a brief time in a Bob Kane story published in Detective Comics #49 in March 1941.
Jason Todd
“But there are some crimes -- sins -- that Gotham can't wash away."
~ Jason Todd.
DC was initially hesitant to turn Grayson into Nightwing and to replace him with a new Robin. To minimize the change, they made the new Robin, Jason Peter Todd, who first appeared in Batman #357 (1983), similar to a young Grayson. Like Dick Grayson, Jason Todd was the son of circus acrobats murdered by a criminal (this time the Batman adversary Killer Croc), and then adopted by Bruce Wayne. In this incarnation, he was originally red-haired and unfailingly cheerful, and wore his circus costume to fight crime until Dick Grayson presented him with a Robin suit of his own. At that point, he dyed his hair black.
After the miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, much of the DC Comics continuity was redone. Dick Grayson's origin, years with Batman, and growth into Nightwing remained mostly unchanged; but Todd's character was completely revised. He was now a black-haired street orphan who first encountered Batman when he attempted to steal tires from the Batmobile. Batman saw to it that he was placed in a school for troubled youths. Weeks later, after Dick Grayson became Nightwing and Todd proved his crime-fighting worth by helping Batman catch a gang of robbers, Batman offered Todd the position as Robin.
Believing that readers never truly bonded with Todd, DC Comics made the controversial decision in 1988 to poll readers using a 1-900 number as to whether or not Todd should be killed. The event received more attention in the mainstream media than any other comic book event before it. Readers voted "yes" by a small margin (5,343 to 5,271) and Todd was subsequently murdered by the Joker in the storyline, A Death in the Family, in which the psychopath beat the youngster severely with a crowbar, and left him to die in a warehouse rigged with a bomb.
Jason Todd later returned as the new Red Hood (the original alias of the Joker) when he was brought back due to reality being altered. After the continuity changes following the New 52 DC Comics relaunch, Jason becomes a leader of the Outlaws, a superhero team that includes Starfire and Arsenal who had spent years with Grayson in the Titans.
Tim Drake
“Batman, if they think they can kill someone like Robin-- who are they going to hunt down next? I don't know why you decided to wear that costume-- but it makes you a symbol. Just as Robin was a symbol. Or Superman, or Nightwing, or the policeman who wears his uniform. And this isn't just a symbol of the law, it's a symbol of justice. When one policeman is killed, others take his place because justice can't be stopped. And Batman needs a Robin. No matter what he thinks he wants."
~ Tim Drake on why Batman needs a Robin.
DC Comics was left uncertain about readers' decision to have Jason Todd killed, wondering if readers preferred Batman as a lone vigilante, disliked Todd specifically, or just wanted to see if DC would actually kill off the character. In addition, the 1989 Batman film did not feature Robin, giving DC a reason to keep him out of the comic book series for marketing purposes. Regardless, Batman editor Denny O'Neil introduced a new Robin. The third Robin, Timothy Drake, first appeared in a flashback in Batman #436 (1989) as a preadolescent boy, introduced by writer Marv Wolfman, interior penciler Pat Broderick, and inker John Beatty. Drake's first name was a nod to Tim Burton, director of the 1989 Batman film. The character first donned the Robin costume, and became associated with the third version of Robin, in the acclaimed "A Lonely Place of Dying" sequel storyline, which culminated in issue #442, written by Marv Wolfman with cover art by George Pérez, storyline interior pencils by Pérez, Tom Grummett, as well as Jim Aparo, and inks by Mike DeCarlo.
The ensuing Tim Drake storylines, authored by the late Alan Grant and penciled by the late Norm Breyfogle, coupled with the 1989 release of Burton's Batman, spurred sales of both comic book titles Batman and Detective Comics. For the latter, Grant attested in 2007 that "when the Batman movie came out, the sales went up, if I recall correctly, from around 75,000 to about 675,000." 1989–90 was indeed the "Year of the Bat:" Capital and Diamond City Distributors reported that the Year One-inspired Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight dominated four out of the five spots for preorders (not total sales and second printings). The only exception was the third preorder spot, snagged by Batman #442, the conclusion to Tim Drake's "A Lonely Place of Dying" storyline. The "Year of the Bat" continued into the first half of 1990.
Preorders for Batman and Detective Comics issues featuring a revived Joker and Penguin began to compete with, and even edged out, the last three parts of Grant Morrison's and Klaus Janson's Gothic storyline in Legends. Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man arrived in the second half of 1990, inaugurating six months of Spidermania (or Mcfarlamania, depending on the reader). DC closed out 1990 with vendors under-ordering issues, prompting the publisher to push Batman #457 and the first part of the Robin mini-series into second and then third printings. The next year, 1991, witnessed the ascension of Chris Claremont's, Jim Lee's, and Scott Williams's X-Men against Magneto, as well as Fabian Nicieza's and Rob Liefeld's X-Force, into the top of the preorder rankings. The only exception to this X-mania was, again, Tim Drake and the sequel to the Robin miniseries, the first variant issue of which garnered the third spot, firmly wedged between variant issues of X-Force and X-Men. The mini-series pitted solo Robin against the Joker, in response to fan demands for a matchup since "A Death in the Family." The 1990s comic booming bust had begun.
In a supplemental interview with Daniel Best, Alan Grant added that "every issue from about that time [after the 'Year of the Bat'] that featured Robin sales went up because Robin did have his own fans." Although both Grant and Breyfogle initially believed that their Anarky character could potentially become the third version of Robin, they were quick to support the editorial decision to focus on Drake. Breyfogle agreed that "it was a big thing to bring in the new Robin, yes. I know my fans often point specifically to that double page splash where his costume first appears as a big event for them as fans and I usually have to point out to them that Neal Adams was the one who designed the costume. The 'R' symbol and the staff were all that was really mine." In the "Rite of Passage" storyline for Detective Comics, Grant and Breyfogle intertwined 1) Drake matching wits with Anarky; 2) a criminal and anthropological investigation into an apocryphal Haitian vodou cult (revealed by Batman, asserting anthropological and investigative authority, as a front for extortion and crony capitalism); 3) the murder of Drake's mother by vilified cult leaders; 4) the beginning of Drake's recurrent nightmares and trauma; as well as 5) the perspective of a child of one of the cult's Haitian followers, unknowingly and inadvertently orphaned by Batman at the end of the four-issue arc.
Tim Drake eventually transitioned from late preadolescence to adolescence, becoming the third Robin over the course of the storylines "Rite of Passage" and "Identity Crisis", with all issues scripted by Alan Grant and penciled by Norm Breyfogle. Story arcs that included Drake only in subplots or featured his training in criminal investigation, such as "Crimesmith" and "The Penguin Affair," were either written or co-written by Grant and Wolfman, with pencils by Breyfogle, Aparo, and M. D. Bright. Immediately afterwards, the character starred in the five-issue miniseries Robin, written by Chuck Dixon, with interior pencils by Tom Lyle and cover art by Brian Bolland. The new Batman and Robin team went on their first official mission together in the story "Debut", again written by Grant and penciled by Breyfogle.
Bruce Wayne, a former child of trauma, guided "other trauma victims down a path of righteousness." Tim Drake endured trauma and "emotional duress" as a result of the death of his mother (father in a coma and on a ventilator). Drake contemplated the idea of fear, and overcoming it, in both the "Rite of Passage" and "Identity Crisis" storylines. Grant and Breyfogle subjected Drake to recurrent nightmares, from hauntings by a ghoulish Batman to the disquieting lullaby (or informal nursery rhyme), "My Mummy's dead...My Mummy's Dead...I can't get it through my head," echoing across a cemetery for deceased parents. Drake ultimately defeated his own preadolescent fears "somewhat distant from Bruce Wayne" and "not as an orphan." By the end of "Identity Crisis", an adolescent Drake had "proven himself as capable of being a vigilante" by deducing the role of fear in instigating a series of violent crimes.
In the comics, Tim Drake was a late preadolescent boy who had followed the adventures of Batman and Robin ever since witnessing the murder of the Flying Graysons. This served to connect Drake to Grayson, establishing a link that DC hoped would help readers accept this new Robin. Drake surmised their secret identities with his amateur but instinctive detective skills and followed their careers closely. Tim stated on numerous occasions that he wishes to become "The World's Greatest Detective", a title currently belonging to the Dark Knight. Batman himself stated that one day Drake will surpass him as a detective. Despite his combat skills not being the match of Grayson's (although there are some similarities, in that they are far superior to Todd's when he was Robin), his detective skills more than make up for this. In addition, Batman supplied him with a new armored costume for his transition to the adolescent Robin.
Tim Drake's first Robin costume had a red torso, yellow stitching and belt, black boots, and green short sleeves, gloves, pants, and domino mask. He wore a cape that was black on the outside and yellow on the inside. This costume had an armored tunic and gorget, an emergency "R" shuriken on his chest in addition to the traditional batarangs and a collapsible bo staff as his primary weapon, which Tim Drake continues to use as the superhero Red Robin. Neal Adams redesigned the entire costume with the exception of the "R" shuriken logo, first sketched by Norm Breyfogle.
Tim Drake is the first Robin to have his own comic book series, where he fought crime on his own. Tim Drake, as Robin, co-founded the superhero team Young Justice in the absence of the Teen Titans of Dick Grayson's generation, but would then later re-form the Teen Titans after Young Justice disbanded following a massive sidekick crossover during which Donna Troy was killed. Tim served as leader of this version of the Titans until 2009, at which point he quit due to the events of Batman R.I.P.
Following Infinite Crisis and 52, Tim Drake modified his costume to favor a mostly red and black color scheme in tribute to his best friend, Superboy (Kon-El), who died fighting Earth-Prime Superboy. This Robin costume had a red torso, long sleeves, and pants. It also included black gloves and boots, yellow stitching and belt, and a black and yellow cape. Tim Drake continued the motif of a red and black costume when he assumed the role of Red Robin before and during the events of The New 52.
Tim Drake assumes the identity of the Red Robin after Batman's disappearance following the events of Final Crisis and "Battle for the Cowl" and Damian Wayne becoming Grayson's Robin. Following 2011's continuity changes resulting from The New 52 DC Comics relaunch, history was altered such that Tim Drake never took up the Robin mantle after Jason Todd's death, feeling that it would be inappropriate. Instead, he served as Batman's sidekick under the name of the Red Robin. However, in DC's Rebirth relaunch, his original origin was restored.
Stephanie Brown
“A guy asked me a question the other day... about why people run when things get tough. That's easy -- you can become someone else, wherever you land, right? Who's gonna know the difference? So why stay? Why set yourself up for more failure? For more pain? Also easy -- because we don't know how to do anything else. So why stay? Why open yourself up to all the bad you've tried to leave behind? "The only variable you can control is yourself." You can forget who you are, or you can be who you want to be. That's why you stay. You stay for a second chance."
~ Stephanie Brown.
Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake's girlfriend and the costumed adventurer previously known as the Spoiler, volunteered for the role of Robin upon Tim's resignation. Batman fired the Girl Wonder for not obeying his orders to the letter on two occasions. Stephanie then stole one of Batman's incomplete plans to control Gotham's crime and executed it. Trying to prove her worthiness, Brown inadvertently set off a gang war on the streets of Gotham. While trying to help end the war, Brown was captured and tortured by the lunatic crime boss Black Mask. She managed to escape, but apparently died shortly afterwards due to the severity of her injuries. Tim Drake keeps a memorial for her in his cave hideout underneath Titans Tower in San Francisco. She appeared alive and stalking Tim, after his return from traveling around the globe with his mentor. It turned out that Dr. Leslie Thompkins had faked Stephanie's death in an effort to protect her. For years she operated on and off as the Spoiler, but was then recruited as Barbara Gordon's replacement as Batgirl. She had her own series, as well as making appearances throughout various Batman and Batman spin-off series. Her time as the Spoiler, Robin, and Batgirl was retconned to have never occurred after the Flashpoint event, with her being reintroduced having just become the Spoiler in Batman Eternal. However, her history as Robin was later restored.
Damian Wayne
“I'm not like Tim, or Jason, or even Dick. I'm light-years ahead of all the past Robins in skill and training. I'm either your partner in this or I'm not."
~ Damian Wayne.
Damian Wayne was the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, thus the grandson of the immortal Ra's al Ghul. Batman was unaware of his son's existence for years until Talia left Damian in his care. Damian was violent and lacking in discipline and morality, and was trained by the League of Assassins. Learning to kill at a young age, Damian's murderous behavior created a troubled relationship with his father, who vowed never to take a life.
Originally conceived to become a host for his maternal grandfather's soul as well as a pawn against the Dark Knight, Batman saved his child from this fate, which forced Ra's to inhabit his own son's body, and thus, Damian was affectionate to his father. After Batman's apparent death during Final Crisis, Talia left her son under Dick Grayson and Alfred Pennyworth's care and Damian was deeply affected by his father's absence. In the first issue of "Battle for the Cowl", Damian was driving the Batmobile and was attacked by Poison Ivy and Killer Croc. Damian was rescued by Nightwing, who then tries to escape, but was shot down by Black Mask's men. Nightwing tried to fight the thugs, but the thugs were shot by Jason Todd. After a fight between Nightwing and Todd, Todd eventually shot Damian in the chest. In the final issue of the series, Alfred made Damian into Robin. Damian's first task as Robin was to rescue Tim. After "Battle for the Cowl", Grayson adopted the mantle of Batman, and instead of having Tim (whom he viewed as an equal rather than a protégé) remain as Robin, he gave the role to Damian, whom he felt needed the training that his father would have given him.
Following the Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne and Flashpoint events, Bruce Wayne returned to his role as Batman, while Dick resumed as Nightwing. As of The New 52, Damian continued to work with his father, but temporarily gave up being Robin (as his mother had put a price on his head), and went under the identity of Red Bird. Damian met his end at the hands of the Heretic, an aged clone of Damian working for Leviathan, bravely giving up his life. Despite his status as deceased, Damian starred in his own miniseries, Damian: Son of Batman, written and drawn by Andy Kubert, set in a future where Damian is on the path to become Batman after his father fell victim to a trap set by the Joker. Batman eventually started a difficult quest to resurrect him, returning Damian to life with Darkseid's Chaos Shard.
Alternative versions
Batman Beyond
In the Future's End event and later in the DC Rebirth run, Matt McGinnis, brother of Terry McGinnis, becomes the newest incarnation of Robin in order to save his brother from the villain Payback. Initially excited about the role, Matt was eventually asked to stop being Robin after his encounter with the Joker.
Batman: Digital Justice
In the digitally rendered tale Batman: Digital Justice, James Gordon the grandson of his namesake, Commissioner Gordon, takes on the mantle of the Batman. A character named Robert Chang, who is somewhat reminiscent of the post-Crisis Jason Todd, takes on the mantle of Robin.
Batman '89: Drake Winston
In 2021, DC published Batman '89, a limited series that served as a continuation of Tim Burton's Batman films Batman and Batman Returns, ignoring the subsequent films Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997), in which actor Michael Keaton did not appear following Burton's departure from the franchise. This series featured a new version of Robin named Drake Winston (whose appearance is inspired by Marlon Wayans, who was originally attached to play the role in the Burton films).
Winston is a mechanic who works at Royal Autobody, an auto shop in Burnside owned by Harvey Dent's childhood mentor, Jerome Otis. His ancestors had their own automotive company that was acquired by Bruce Wayne's great-grandfather in a forced buyout. He strongly dislikes cops and authority figures and dresses up as a masked vigilante at night to help the residents of his neighborhood. He is initially distrustful of both Bruce Wayne and Batman, but after witnessing his dedication towards helping people and figuring out they are the same person, the two become partners and work together to stop the corrupted Dent and arsonists terrorizing the city.
Winston never directly calls himself "Robin" in the story, but there are several allusions to his alias. He likes birds and keeps several as pets, including a robin. When he stops a group of Batman impersonators from breaking into a store, some bystanders thought he was called Robin because one of the impersonators claimed he was "robbin' the store". When Bruce asks him what he calls himself at the end of the story, he considers naming himself "The Avenging Eagle" since he likes birds, but says it's not final and he's still deciding.
Dick Grayson (Earth Two)
The Robin of Earth-Two is a parallel version of the fictional DC Comics superhero, who was introduced after DC Comics created Earth-Two, a parallel world that was retroactively established as the home of characters which had been published in the Golden Age of comic books. This allowed creators to publish comic books featuring Robin while being able to disregard Golden Age stories, solving an incongruity, as Robin had been published as a single ongoing incarnation since inception.
Robin's origin and history begins the same as the classic version except the timeframe occurs when the Detective Comics #38 was originally printed: 1940.
Richard Grayson's parents are killed by Anthony Zucco. After a period of training, a young Dick Grayson becomes Robin. His first printed story is "Robin, the Boy Wonder." Robin participates in the war-time only All Star Squadron. His distant cousin is Charles Grayson, the scientific assistant of Robotman. This version of Dick Grayson ceased to exist after the multi arc DC Universe spanning event Crisis on Infinite Earths. He was killed by the Anti-Monitor's Shadow Demons while trying to save civilians, along with Earth-1's Kole and the daughter of Earth-Two's Batman, the Huntress (Helena Wayne).
When the Multiverse was recreated in the DC Universe event, Infinite Crisis, a new Earth-Two was born, with a Dick Grayson that resembles the original Earth-Two Grayson. It was established that this new Earth-Two was not the same one as before the Crisis on the Infinite Earths, although Grayson's attitude and his status as a crime-fighter with the Justice Society certainly reflected what had gone before.
After the events of Flashpoint, Helena Wayne, daughter of Earth-2's Batman and Catwoman served as Robin and became the only partner that Batman had ever had. In this continuity, Bruce Wayne had never adopted Dick Grayson as his ward, so he never became Robin on Earth-2. However, he does appear later, married to Earth-2's Barbara Gordon, who never became Batgirl on Earth-2.
Talon (Earth-3)
For the characters introduced in The New 52, see Court of Owls. The second Talon is a fictional character shown in Teen Titans #38 (2006), the former sidekick of Owlman, created by Geoff Johns and Tony S. Daniel. He is a former member of the Crime Society and a member of the Teen Titans during the one-year gap after Infinite Crisis. According to an interview with Tony Daniel at Newsarama, Talon is supposed to look like his mentor Owlman. He briefly battled Black Adam with his fellow Titans during World War III. It was revealed in The Search for Ray Palmer: Crime Society that there have been several Talons. The first one is shown dressed parallel to that of Grayson's classic Robin costume, including brown pixie boots. On post-Crisis Earth-3, the Teen Titans' Talon and Duela Dent, the daughter of the Jokester, had been dating. When Duela revealed their relationship to her parents, her father denounced her and the two fled. It is unknown how the two managed to flee to New Earth, or what has happened to Talon beyond that.
Bruce Wayne Junior
In "The Second Batman and Robin Team" (Batman #131, April 1960), Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred writes a story about the possible future of Batman and Robin. In it, Bruce Wayne marries Kathy Kane (Batwoman) and they have a son named Bruce Jr. When Wayne retires as Batman, Dick Grayson takes over the role of the Caped Crusader. Bruce Jr., having secretly trained on his own, volunteers to become the new Robin, despite objections from his mother. As Robin II, he fights alongside Batman II. Several subsequent "imaginary stories" featuring Bruce Jr. followed; the last in this series was "Bat-Girl—Batwoman II" in Batman #163 (May 1964). Bruce Wayne Jr next appeared in World's Finest Comics #215 (January 1973) as one of the Super-Sons.
Grant Morrison used the Bruce Wayne Jr. character in JLA #9 (September 1997), in the story "Elseworlds." After the supervillain Key traps the Justice Leaguers in dream worlds, Batman dreams of a future in which he is married to Selina Kyle/Catwoman. They have a son named Bruce Junior, who was raised from birth to be a superhero and serves as Robin II alongside a Tim Drake Batman.
John Byrne created his own Bruce Jr. in the epilogue of the Batman/Captain America crossover from 1996; this Robin is a red-head and resembles a male Carrie Kelley. Captain America wakes up in modern times after having been frozen in ice towards the end of World War II. He reunites with Batman, a friend who had helped him when Joker and Red Skull joined forces. Cap is amazed to learn that in the time he slept, Bruce Wayne has retired from being Batman, has passed the mantle to Dick Grayson and that his son Bruce Junior is the new Robin.
Byrne revisited Bruce Jr. in his Superman & Batman: Generations series. There, Bruce Junior is son of Bruce Senior and his wife, who is never identified but is implied to be Julie Madison. "BJ" greatly desires to be a hero and trains in the hopes of following in his father's footsteps. His mother refuses to let BJ become Robin until he turns eighteen. On Halloween night of 1964, when BJ is fifteen, he and Superman's daughter Kara (Supergirl) sneak out to have an adventure and, with the help of Wonder Woman's daughter Wonder Girl and The Flash's nephew Kid Flash join forces to defeat some of Flash's Rogue's Gallery. Afterward they decide to form their own team called the Justice League. BJ and Kara become romantically involved as adults, but BJ puts the relationship on hold when Joker kills Dick, forcing him to become the third Batman.
BJ and Kara eventually marry, but their wedding is halted by Kara's brother Joel Kent. Joel, who had been manipulated his whole life by Lex Luthor to hate his family, kills Kara by punching through her chest. Joel dies shortly thereafter, and BJ agrees to raise his powerless son in order to prevent another such tragedy from happening (he also marries Joel's widow, Mei-Lai, sometime in the intervening years). The child, named Clark Wayne, becomes BJ's Robin and is offered the mantle of Batman when he becomes an adult. Clark turns it down, having deduced that he isn't BJ's biological son, and believing that only a real Wayne should be Batman, instead adopts the identity of Knightwing. In the 1990s, BJ goes on a quest to locate his missing father, whom he eventually discovers as having taken over Ra's al Ghul's criminal empire and turned it into a force for good. Bruce asks BJ to assume control of the organization so that he can become Batman once again.
A story in Generations II has Bruce's dying wife imply that BJ isn't his biological son, but this is not explored until Generations III, where BJ uses a Lazarus Pit and becomes Robin once more, ultimately learning that he truly is Bruce's son and everything was a plan by his mother to make up for never allowing father and son to work together as heroes. In Generations III, BJ's life is greatly extended by the use of the Lazarus Pit so he can help the human resistance battle the forces of Darkseid, but when he is mortally wounded he decides to pass on, feeling that he's kept Kara waiting far too long; the sight of their spirits departing together is enough to make even Bruce Senior shed a tear.
For more information on a similar concept, see Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's son by Talia al Ghul. In the wake of his father's apparent death, his father's first Robin, Dick Grayson, took over as Batman with Damian serving as the new Robin. The version of Damian depicted in Batman: The Brave and the Bold has more in common with Bruce Jr. than with his portrayal in comics.
Deathwing
Introduced as an alternative Dick Grayson in the pages of Team Titans from a timeline when his Titan teammate Donna Troy had a son who was driven mad, took on the mantle of Lord Chaos and conquered his world. This version of Dick stayed in his identity of Nightwing and helped train squadrons of superpowered teenagers that became known as the Teen Titans. He was involved with the much younger Titan Mirage during this time. This alternative-future Nightwing came back in time and briefly joins the Team Titans when their mission takes them to their past, our present. This version of Nightwing, attacked and corrupted by a dark version of Raven shortly after his arrival, changes his name to "Deathwing", and serves as her assistant. He becomes so twistedly evil that he at one point tracks down his one-time lover, Mirage, and rapes her. She becomes pregnant and has a child named Julienne.
During the Zero Hour event that retroactively erased this timeline, Mirage, Terra and Deathwing survive. It is later established that they are from the current timeline, and were shunted through time and given false memories by the Time Trapper, who wished to use them as sleeper agents against the time travel villain Extant.
It wasn't revealed until one of the later runs of the Teen Titans that this was not Dick Grayson, in fact his true identity was never uncovered. After this storyline, this version of Nightwing has not been seen since.
Red Robin
In Kingdom Come (a post-Infinite Crisis Earth-22), a middle-aged Dick Grayson reclaims the Robin mantle and becomes Red Robin, not at the side of his former mentor Batman, but rather with Superman's League. His uniform is closer to Batman's in design, rather than any previous Robin uniform. Age has not slowed him down, as he possesses all of his stealth and fighting skills. In this story he has a daughter with Starfire; Mar'i Grayson (Nightstar). Starfire has apparently died by the time of the story, according to the Elliot S Maggin novelization, and Nightstar calls Bruce Wayne "Grandpa", despite no blood relation. At the end of the comic and the novel, Bruce and Dick reconcile.
Red Robin reappeared in promotional material for the DC Countdown event. Eventually, it was revealed that this Red Robin was not Dick Grayson, but rather Jason Todd who appeared under the cape and cowl. The Red Robin costume was stated to be more symbolism, than an actual costume choice, as Jason has been both the Red Hood and Robin, being shown as Red Robin.
However, in Countdown to Final Crisis #17, Jason dons a Red Robin suit from a display case in the "Bat Bunker" (Earth-51's equivalent to the Bat Cave) as he and Earth-51 Batman join the fight raging on the Earth above the bunker. Jason keeps his new suit and identity for the rest of his tenure as a "Challenger of the Unknown", only to discard it on his return to New Earth and revert to his "Red Hood" street clothing.
During the Scattered Pieces tie-in to Batman R.I.P., a new Red Robin makes his appearance, at first only as a glimmering image following Robin (Tim Drake) and suspected to have stolen a briefcase of money from the Penguin. Tim initially suspects Jason Todd of reprising his Red Robin persona. Jason claims innocence, supposing that someone may have stolen his suit when he discarded it earlier. The new Red Robin breaks up a scuffle between Tim and Jason, and later is revealed to be Ulysses Armstrong. Armstrong later changes costumes when he reveals himself to be the new Anarky, and after being severely burned in an explosion, an embattled Tim Drake dons the less-revealing Red Robin costume to hide his wounds. He later returns to his standard uniform.
In 2009, a new on-going series was introduced titled Red Robin. The new Red Robin was revealed to be Tim Drake.
In 2014-5's Multiversity series, a Red Robin also appears as part of Superman's darker incarnation of the Justice League on Earth-22, still based on the alternate future continuity of Kingdom Come.
Earth-6: Stan Lee's Robin
A version of Robin exists for Stan Lee's Just Imagine... line of comics, in which DC Comics characters were re-imagined by Marvel Comics luminary Stan Lee. Robin is an orphan who has been forced by Reverend Darkk, the series' main villain, into becoming a thief and a murderer. He meets Batman when Darkk assigns Robin to kill him. Batman survives the attack and in return shows Robin what kind of a man Darkk really is. Robin joins the good side for a time, but in the crisis issue it is revealed that Robin has in fact been working with Darkk the whole time; in the end he is transformed into a "Hawk Man", before being reborn through Yggdrasil as the "Atom". In the current New 52 DC Multiverse, these events took place on Earth-6.
DC One Million
In DC One Million setting, the Batman of the 853rd Century is aided by the robot called Robin the Toy Wonder. This Batman's parents were guards on the prison planet of Pluto and died in a prison riot that turned into a mass slaughter of the guards. Robin is programmed with the personality of this Batman as a boy and acts as a foil/source of perspective so that he will not become consumed by darkness in his quest for justice. This Robin believes this was the same reason Bruce Wayne brought Dick Grayson into his life.
Dick Grayson (Earth-43)
In this universe, the setting of Batman & Dracula: Red Rain and its sequels, the Flying Graysons are killed by the vampire Batman, as shown in DC Infinite Halloween Special. Dick grows up to become an obsessive vampire hunter, but is turned by Batman in The Search for Ray Palmer: Red Rain, and becomes his partner. Robin has remained a vampire and is now a member of the "Blood League", a vampire Justice League, alongside Earth-43's Vampire Batman.
Dick Grayson (Earth-50)
In the Wildstorm Universe, Dick Grayson is a Planetary agent in Gotham City, partnered with a man named Jasper who resembles the Joker. He appears in Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth, prior to the Planetary team's shift into universes with a Batman. However, given the events of Flashpoint, this alternate Earth was merged with Earth-0 and Earth-13 and therefore this character no longer exists in main DC continuity.
Injustice series
In the prequel comic of the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Damian remains under the guise of Robin until Year Five where he becomes Nightwing. Although he will still become one of Superman's allies in his Regime. It is revealed in Year One that Dick Grayson's death at the hands of Damian Wayne was a mere accident because Damian was frustrated at Dick's lecturing him during a prison riot. In Year Two, Damian makes two minor appearances: once to alert Superman to Sinestro's arrival at the Justice League Watchtower, and again while Despero, having been assaulted by the Sinestro Corps, is crashing toward Earth. In Year Three, Damian attempts to defeat some villains and nearly gets killed but Dick Grayson, (now the new Deadman), saves him and gives him his old Nightwing costume as a birthday present, unaware to Damian or any other Regime members. Despite having severed ties with his father, Damian still greatly regards Alfred. Unknown to Damian, Superman, thinking Damian's "Nightwing" birthday gift is a set up by Batman, secretly sends Zsasz to kill Alfred before Damian arrives back at the Batcave. With Alfred gone, Damian now joins Superman's Regime. Batman, becoming aware of Superman's plan afterward, is too late to convince his son of the truth behind Alfred's death.
Injustice 2
In the prequel comic of the video game sequel Injustice 2, Damian is first seen in a prison cell as an imprisoned and powerless Superman and Batman talk about what happened, with Batman, tiring of Superman's insistence that it was somehow Bruce's fault for not being there when Clark needed him most, he turns to walk away. As he does so, Superman throws up the past deceased Robins, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd as well as Tim Drake who unbeknownst to Batman is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone along with the surviving Titans. Then, suddenly, there is an attack on the prison by the Suicide Squad and an imposter Batman, all under the leadership of Damian's mother, Talia and the League of Assassins, to free Damian for his grandfather Ra's Al Ghul's current plans. Damian becomes very angry at his mother and Athanasia Al Ghul for having killed the powerless prison authorities like Turpin, instead of disarming them and not releasing Superman and Cyborg. At Ra's' secret lair, Damian is introduced to his sister, Athanasia Al Ghul. Later, in Ra's' Lair, He meets several other of Ra's' recruits, including, Vixen, Poison Ivy, Cheetah and the impostor Batman's remaining Suicide Squad members. During this meeting, Ra's Al Ghul talks about the 5 years since Joker's corruption of Superman and the state of the world. Damian is later tasked along with Deadshot and Katana to capture the original Blue Beetle, Ted Kord. On the next day, Damian brings Alfred's corpse from Wayne Manor while having Black Lightning's daughters, and the son of Green Arrow and Black Canary be kidnapped, and later to nurse his butler after resurrecting him in the Lazarus Pit. Later during the Insurgency's raid on Ra's hideout in South America, Damian predicts that the Insurgency will come with no surrender thanks to Batman. Damian fought his father temporarily until a fully recovered Alfred stops them from killing each other. As Blue Beetle destroys Ra's hideout, which indirectly kills most of the extinct animals and accidentally kills Diablo, Damian is separated from Alfred. Despite Alfred currently being under the Insurgency's care, Damian is still glad he is safe.
Few days later, Damian was sent to recruit Black Adam. However, the ruler of Kahndaq refuses to cooperate with Ra's. At the same time Damian met Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, who is later revealed to be a Kryptonian like Superman. He and Kara are later fighting terrorists while passing by flying together. As Damian is about kill a terrorist, Kara told him to stop from making a mistake on behalf of her feelings to protect the innocence without killing everyone. On the next day, Adam recommended Damian to stay with him and Kara, while needing his help for their rescue mission on freeing their ally, Diana. As Kara is sent to infiltrate Amazon, the nations' security is very tight, Damian is worried if the Amazons spill the truth about what the Regimes had done 5 years, the Regime will lose Kara, but Adam tells Damian to be patient, and is soon glad to find out that most of the Amazonian are still loyal to Diana, quickly succeeding the rescue without being captured. Upon hearing news about the massacre in the small town at Williams, Arizona caused by his grandfather and Solovar sending Amazo killing every human around including women and children, Damian departs to Gorilla City where the League of Assassins and their Suicide Squad are hiding to inform his closest allies (Vixen and Animal Man) about what the Gorillas and League of Assassins had done to the peaceful people of the said town, then spills the truth to entire two villainous groups to prevent Kahndaq sharing a similar fate, resulting in Gorilla Grodd's failed uprising attempt from taking over Gorilla City, leading him and his followers to be exiled from their home city. He, Animal Man and Vixen soon warn their Regime allies about Ra's and Solovar's plan to bring destructions on innocent humans, while Kara herself is not yet prepared to fight against Amazo and must stay in Kahndaq.
The third Robin, Tim Drake/Red Robin, one of the Titans who first rebelled Superman's regime is being released from the Phantom Zone's imprisonment along with Wonder Girl and Starfire, with the exception of Superboy who preferred to stay in the said dimension after Superman broke his heart back in the first game's previous comic issue. Unfortunately, Tim's reunion did not last long, as Zod trails the Titans to be able to escape and shots Tim's heart with his Heat Vision from behind, killing the Boy Wonder. Before Batman plans to avenge Tim's death, Ra's sends Amazo to kill Zod for good, and Harley sadly expresses about how Tim had been a better Robin as Dick used to be if they were alive. After fully he recovered from his heart surgery during Amazo's attack, Superboy, now the Insurgency's new Superman learned that he is now implanted with Zod's heart, the same villainous Kryptonian general who murdered Tim.
At some point after Damian was forced to return to League of Assassins by his mother and younger sister, Damian figured out that the impostor Batman is none other than the revived former second Robin, Jason Todd, now working for Ra's. During the Insurgency's raid on the Assassins' hideout in South America to save one of their kidnapped children and Harley, Jason fought Wildcat and almost killed him, until Green Arrow and Black Canary's son Conner knocks Jason back with a sonic scream inherited from his mother Canary. As the League of Assassins and their Suicide Squads relocated in Gorilla City to allied themselves with King Solovar, then recently kill the peaceful human civilians in Arizona by dispatching Amazo, Jason starting to doubt about Ra's ideal.
By time Ra's and Solovar begin their plans to wipe out every humans on Earth after Grodd and his followers had been exiled, Damian, Vixen, and Animal Man plan a second rebellion against Ra's for his madness. Jason soon figures out the three heroes' plan to betray Ra's. However, Damian tries to convince Jason of what they are doing for Ra's is actually wrong, and believes in him that killing innocent human civilians is not what he desired.
Injustice vs. The Masters of the Universe
As this series continues alternatively from the second game's bad ending, it revealed that Damian (now as a new Batman) and his fellow ex-Regime and Titans member Cyborg finally realize what they have been fighting for, just like how The Flash, Hal Jordan and the late-Shazam felt before them, and began to defect to and lead the Insurgency, while also being joined by the former Batman imposter Jason/Red Hood. Damian admit on never forget his accidental sin he committed on his late-Nightwing predecessor Dick.
When Skeletor's Army arrived in their universe's Earth, at the same time Darkseid's Apokalips Army arrived there as well, Damian summoned He-Man/Prince Adam and his allies for a same purposes. After manage to find and freed his both father and predecessor from Superman's Brainiac Tech brainwashing, Damian told him about Supergirl's location and compare Superman to be just like Zod and Ra's was. Unfortunately, Damian is snapped by Wonder Woman's lasso on his neck from behind in cold blood, but his death eventually gives original Batman a stronger will to break free from Superman's control. When Skeletor revealed his true color on playing both Darkseid and Superman's side for his scheme, Superman stand down and recently mourn Damian's death, leading him once again made a temporary truce to settle with Darkseid and Skeletor.
Powers & Abilities
Intimidation: It is known that Robin has the ability to instill fear in others, even the people that know him best can be intimidated by him.
Master Acrobat: Excellent in gymnastics and acrobatics.
Peak Human Conditioning: Through intense training, Robin represents the pinnacle of human physical ability. His physical characteristics are greater than that of even an Olympic level athlete. His strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, durability, senses, and coordination are at peak human perfection as possible for one of his age, to improve even further with continued physical and mental growth. Robin engages in intense regular rigorous exercise (including aerobics, weightlifting, gymnastics, and simulated combat) to keep himself in peak condition, and has often defeated opponents whose size, strength, or other powers are much higher than his own. He has spent his entire life in pursuit of physical perfection and has attained it through constant intensive training and determination, to the point that he is able to take on all of his teammates at once and beat them (this is particularly significant as he is not trying to hurt them).
Peak Human Strength: He is arguably one of the "strongest" Non-metahumans on Earth. He has been seen punching out opponents that are larger than him and that are nearly invulnerable like Cinderblock. Robin is able to support a large about 800-pound bear guardian on his back.
Peak Human Reflexes: Robin's reflexes are amazing. He can leap large distances and he can dodge point blank projectile fire and has done so many times in the series.
Peak Human Speed: Robin is shown to be able to run at above average speed.
Peak Human Endurance: Robin's endurance is greater than any human shown in the series. Robin can go a long period of time without stopping and fixes himself on his work.
Peak Human Agility: His agility is greater than that of an Olympic-level acrobat. He was raised in an acrobat family known as the "Flying Graysons" and began agility training at the
earliest age. He is shown to be able to scale the city buildings.
Peak Human Durability: Robin has been shown to be able to handle the worst hits and impacts without giving out.
Martial Arts Master: Robin is one of the finest human combatants on Earth, his skills honed to such a level even superhumans and armed adversaries can be overpowered by them. He has mastered several different martial arts styles from across the world, learned from the Dark Knight and the True Master. He even learned some alien martial arts from Blackfire.
Master Stealth: Robin, despite the bright colors he wears, is a master at stealth, capable of breaching high security facilities with ease, without being detected.
Expert Marksman: Robin almost never misses a target with his various weapons.
Master Detective: Robin is an expert detective and logical thinker, able to solve cases before anyone else.
Master Tactician & Strategist: Robin comes up with excellent strategic plans to expose and defeat criminals, always aiming to "work smarter, not harder."
Escapologist: Robin is shown to be able to escape even the most elaborate of traps.
Tracking: Robin is shown to be able to pick up a criminal's trail long after any given crime.
Disguise Master: Robin's Red X disguise fooled even the Teen Titans.
Expert Thief: Robin has shown that he's quick well at playing the role of a thief, as he had shown when he went around as Red X and when he had swiped X's belt.
Expert Mechanic & Vehicle Driver: Excellent at motorcycle driving. Robin was also responsible for the creation of the high-tech Red X suit, capable of defeating multiple superhumans with ease, and he and Cyborg developed the T-Communicators. He has also used the Tower's own technology proficiently, including its computer and his own laptop.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
_____________________________
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Secret Identity: Dick Grayson
Publisher: DC
First appearance: Detective Comics #38 (April 1940)
Created by: Bob Kane (Writer)
Bill Finger (Artist)
Jerry Robinson (Artist)
Robin has appeared many times on the Bijou Planks, including:
BP 2018 Day 314!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/45814587191/
BP 2019 Day 123!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/46848135365/
BP 2019 Day 230!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/48569045136/
BP 2021 Day 1!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/50786635676/
BP 2021 Day 130!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/51170286157/
BP 2022 Day 178!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/52178025011/
BP 2023 Day 186!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/53024610634/
BP 2024 Day 1!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/53436814835/
And much in the Paprihaven story, such as episode 1009!
With my camera perpetually fogging up with temperatures around freezing, I waited an hour for this shot....only to discover a slightly fogged shot. Still, I salvaged it the best I could. With an overachieving solar flare hitting our planet hours before, here's a shot of the dim "Northern Lights" at Colvin Park, IL, north of Kingston. A Kingston police officer whom I kind of know came by and told me I had been called in for shooting with a gun. I told him I was shooting...with a camera. :-)