Robin tells his fellow Super Friends about how Batman took him in after his parents were killed[1] by Tony Zucco.
Tony Zucco[2] was a crime boss who killed Dick Grayson's parents by sabotaging their circus trapeze act, causing them to fall to their deaths.
Background Information
In Pre-Crisis continuity, Antonio Zucco (originally just "Boss Zucco" in his first appearance) is a Mafia boss, or simple low level thug (his position of power varies depending upon the Golden and Silver Age continuity) in Gotham City who is responsible for the death of Dick Grayson's parents.
Throughout the years, Zucco's role in Robin's origin remains largely the same. Zucco tries to extort the Haley's Circus, where the Flying Graysons are the main attraction. When the ringmaster, Mr. Haley (who runs an honest business), refuses to pay him protection money, Zucco sabotages the ropes the Graysons use in their act. The ropes break while Dick's parents are in mid-air and, because the Graysons perform their act without a safety net, they fall to their deaths.
Dick is subsequently adopted by Bruce Wayne (a.k.a. Batman) and becomes his partner Robin.
Both of them locate Tony Zucco and send him to jail.
In the Golden Age / Earth-Two canon, he is sent to the electric chair, whereas he is sent to prison for life in the Silver Age / Earth-One version.
Reference
Hanna Barbera’s Super Friends, Season 1 (1973):
Notes
- Tony Zucco first appeared in Detective Comics, Vol. 1 #38 (April, 1940).[3]
- He was created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson.
References
- ↑ As seen in The Planet-Splitter
- ↑ This name comes from DC Comics. In the SFU, his name was never revealed, nor was it actually stated how the Flying Graysons were killed. According to the comics they were murdered, but we can only assume the same is the case in the SFU.
- ↑ Go to the DC Database for more on Detective Comics, Vol. 1 #38 published April, 1940.