Carrie Kelley: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Caroline Kelley

First Appearance: The Dark Knight Returns (1986)

Powers: Similar to Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, and Dick Grayson, Carrie Kelley is an expert detective. She’s also proficient in just about every form of high-tech weaponry on Earth and is an expert martial artist.

Affiliation: Batfamily, Justice League

Did You Know? Carrie Kelley was created by Frank Miller.

A Little History

The origin of Carrie Kelley is pretty straightforward. 

Carrie Kelley first appeared inside the pages of The Dark Knight Returns in the year 1989. She was created by the trio of Frank Miller, Klaus Jansen, and Lynne Varley.

In The Dark Knight Returns, Caroline “Carrie” Kelley was barely a day over thirteen when she first encountered Batman. Just recently coming out of retirement, an angry and old Batman rescued the young Carrie after she came under attack by a group of street criminals. After her rescue, Carrie spent the next few days thinking about Batman. She understood that she was too young to be him but remembered that the various Robin’s he had as sidekicks over the years were usually around her age. This thought prompted her to spend the entirety of her lunch money on a Robin costume. 

Now with a Robin costume, she spent the next many days trying to attract the attention of Batman. She did this by attracting and attacking con men and other street-level thugs. Eventually, she did, in fact, catch the attention of Batman. Although he didn’t take her on as a recruit, she had successfully auditioned for him.

Like the Robin’s before her, Carrie’s persistence paid off. One night while Batman was trying to stop a gang known as The Mutants, Carrie showed up. Lucky for Batman that she did. Because he was outnumbered, Carrie provided the additional support that he needed to escape. After helping him flee, he agreed to take her on as his sidekick.

And that’s it. The origin of Carrie Kelley.