Batman, ages(his ages)

[Alejandro]

In which comics you get his age that are canon?

For examle now that he got blasted (time warped, whatever,noy get into that) by the omega beams, how many years old was he?

How many years old was he when he joined the league?

How many years old when he joined with robin?

how many years old when he started being Batman?

Thanks for reading and you always answer this questions i got so its so cool xD thanks in advance and hope you fill this up for me hehe:smile:

[RonnieThunderbolts]

For examle now that he got blasted (time warped, whatever,noy get into that) by the omega beams, how many years old was he?

According to Grant Morrison Batman was 35 or so.


How many years old when he joined with robin?

I believe a year into his career, which would make him 20, and Dick 12.


how many years old when he started being Batman?

Bruce was 19 when he became Batman, again, according to Grant Morrison.

I'll try to look up the interviews where Morrison mentions Bruce's age and time line stuff.

[Spiffy]

As far as I know, like dates, no age estimate (for any point in his life) with Batman is EVER nailed down as canon. Even the latest and greatest Bat scribe (whoever he is at the time) can never really pin this stuff down as permanent and definitive. At best, like Morrison, they'll simply give figures that they are basing their own writing assumptions around. Which could be totally redone by the next guy at the helm.

Really the situation is most like Neil Gaiman wrote in "Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader". Inherently fluid, at least in long arcs. That's as true for Batman's age, his Year One, and his Robin, as it is his death.

[nepenthes]

Jezebel Jet says "you're over 30 years old". but yeah I do seem to recall an interview where Morrison said he wrote him with 35 in mind.

Frank Miller says he's 25 in Year One.


How many years old was he when he joined the league?

Batman never actually trained with the League of Assassins in the comics. that was a Nolan/Goyer invention


How many years old when he joined with robin?

Alot of people generally say it's "year two"...but then you have to consider that the Year One itself story takes up an entire year, and then so does Long Halloween which in most peoples timelines fits in right after YO. so it should probably be more like year 3. Coincidentally, there is also a story named Year Three that establishes this.

[T Hedge Coke]

In which comics you get his age that are canon?

It's all canon within the pages of each. Between comics, in that greater DC Universe, it changes frequently.

For examle now that he got blasted (time warped, whatever,noy get into that) by the omega beams, how many years old was he?

Over thirty, according to on-panel info. Thirty-five, approximately, according to an interview with a current Bat-writer (Morrison) (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=147734).

How many years old was he when he joined the league?

As covered, he never actually joined the League of Assassins in the DCU, just in movies and maybe Elseworlds. The Justice League, however, has had him as a founding member a couple years into being Batman, or as a latecomer who kept a close eye on the early League, because he can't be photographed and all that urban legend jazz.

How many years old when he joined with robin?

Shortly after Crisis, he would have been around twenty-seven when he took a young Dick Grayson under wing. By Miller's revising of his own starting-age for Batman, All-Star would place Batman's age at early twenties, instead.

By Morrison's count, Bruce Wayne would have been about twenty-two/three when Robin gets going.

how many years old when he started being Batman?

The Miller establishes Bruce as twenty-five early in Year One, as he becomes Batman, but there's also some wonky math (thirteen years abroad, but boarded off as soon as his parents were dead) going on in the post-Crisis era that complicates this.

Miller has since revised his estimate, in interviews regarding his "year two" of All Star B & R.

Morrison has suggested a starting age of nineteen or twenty.

I believe Denny O'Neill had suggested the age of twenty, as well, but cannot turn up reference.

[numberONE]

Interesting question. When I think of Batman in the current comics, I think of him around 35.

BTW, how long was Dick Robin, how long was it before Jason Todd became the second Robin, how long was he Robin, and how long after that did Tim become Robin?

[Name Already Taken]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_DC_Universe

This is just for reference. It is all subjective as to what happened when in relation to eachother.

[Blue Blazes]

Batman never actually trained with the League of Assassins in the comics. that was a Nolan/Goyer invention


are you sure he doesnt mean the Justice League?

in which im unsure the answer...

[Superbeast]

Interesting question. When I think of Batman in the current comics, I think of him around 35.

BTW, how long was Dick Robin, how long was it before Jason Todd became the second Robin, how long was he Robin, and how long after that did Tim become Robin?

Dick was Robin for 5 years I believe. I think he went a year long trip to discover himself and what not aged 17 and shortly after that he joined the Teen Titans. He became Nightwing when he was 18 after he was fired by Batman due to a disagreement between the two. Jason Todd took it the mantle within about a year aged 14. He was murdered aged 15 so lasted maybe a little over a year as Robin. It was another two years before Tim Drake entered the picture and he apparently became Robin aged 12. So Dick is meant to be about 25-6, Todd about 22-23 and Tim 16-17. I think putting Bruce around 35-36 makes sense.

[RonnieThunderbolts]

Dick was Robin for 5 years I believe. I think he went a year long trip to discover himself and what not aged 17 and shortly after that he joined the Teen Titans. He became Nightwing when he was 18 after he was fired by Batman due to a disagreement between the two. Jason Todd took it the mantle within about a year aged 14. He was murdered aged 15 so lasted maybe a little over a year as Robin. It was another two years before Tim Drake entered the picture and he apparently became Robin aged 12. So Dick is meant to be about 25-6, Todd about 22-23 and Tim 16-17. I think putting Bruce around 35-36 makes sense.

I think you are mostly correct.

In the current-continuity, i.e. the most recent retelling, Dick Grayson became Nightwing because Batman fired him and Bruce replaced him with Jason almost immediatley, well under a year. Other than that is about right, except that Jason Todd shouldn't be any more than 2 or three years older than Tim, while Tim was 16 (having had his 16th birthday already) Bruce and Cassandra celebrated Jason Todd's birthday, his 18th Birthday, before they knew Jason was back. Since the One Year Later promotion and other events happening since that period I'd put it as two years passing, making Jason about 20 and Tim about 18, which works with Tim's time line as well, while Tim was explicitly 13 when he became Robin, and has been referred to as having been Robin for 5 years in current continuity relatively recently. Also, I don't believe that two years comic time was intended to pass between Tim's becoming Robin and Jason having died. In the time line in the Batman Secret Files and Origins #1 has Jason Todd becoming Robin 2 years before Tim Drake does, with there being only about a year between Jason's death and Tim's becoming Robin.



It is all subject to change all the time, I'd be interested to see if the time line is any more set in stone. The post-Zero Hour time line was actually pretty well defined, appearing in the Batman, Justice League and Nightwing Secret Files issues, among others, but that appears to have become more fast and lose since the Infinite Crisis changes to "New Earth's" history.

[kevink31593]

One interesting way to look at "comic book time" and character's ages is that four real years = one comic book year. I know this is not exact science and there are several in-story references that will contradict this (**cough**NML**cough**OYL**cough**Greg Rucka**cough), but it is an interesting theory to examine and on the surface appears to roughly work.

For example, Bruce Wayne debuted as Batman in 1939 at let's say age 19. 70 years ago means Bruce has been Batman for 17.5 comic book years. Bruce would have been 24.25 years old when the JLA was founded (1960), 30.25 years old when Dick became Nightwing (1984), 32.5 years old when Knightfall happened (1993), and 35 years old during "Hush" (2003). He would be 36.5 years old as of 2009. He is due to turn 40 years old in 2023.

Dick Grayson debuted as Robin in 1940. I know Dick was older when he became Robin in the current continuity, but some writers have suggested he was as young as 8 when he became Robin. Let's say that's valid. This would make Dick 14 when the Teen Titans form (1964), 15.25 years old when he leaves for Hudson University (1969), and 18 years old when the New Teen Titans form (1980). Dick became Nightwing in 1984. He was Robin for 44 actual years, or 11 comic book years, making him 19 when he becomes Nightwing. He has been Nightwing for 25 actual years, or 6.25 comic book years, making him currently 25.25 years old. (Which makes me older than Nightwing, as I turn 27 in a couple months! I've been reading Batman comics since I was younger than Tim Drake. I started reading in '93 shortly before my 11th birthday.)

Tim Drake debuted in 1989 at age 13. The four real years = one comic book years works well with Tim's age. He turned 14 in 1993 (when he received a special driver's license in Detective Comics #668), and in Secret Origins 80-Page Giant #1 from 1998 it states he has recently turned 15, but his 16th birthday arrived a little late in 2003 (Robin #116). It can be assumed that as of 2009, Tim is either almost or already 18. This works perfectly. 20 years after his introduction at 13 years old, he has been Robin for five years and is currently 18 years old.

With Jason Todd, one concrete age we have for him is his 18th birthday, published in 2004 (Detective Comics #790). Backtracking 20 actual years (5 comic book years) to his debut as Robin in 1984, he would have been 13 at the time. He would have only been Robin for one year when he died at age 14 (1988). Jason would currently be 19.25 years old as of 2009.

Damian Wayne is problematic. Most assume he is currently 10 years old. This would mean he was born 40 actual years ago, in 1969, even though Son of the Demon wasn't published until 1987, 5.5 comic book years ago. This might not be a problem; if Damien was a test tube baby as suggested by Grant Morrison, he could appear to be older than he actually is. He could actually be 5 years old and appear to be 10 years old.

[Vidocq]

One interesting way to look at "comic book time" and character's ages is that four real years = one comic book year. I know this is not exact science and there are several in-story references that will contradict this (**cough**NML**cough**OYL**cough**Greg Rucka**cough), but it is an interesting theory to examine and on the surface appears to roughly work....


That's impressive, Dick is a little wonky (I doubt that the kid presented in Tec #38 was 8 years old) but other than that it fits incredibly well. You came up with this? Or where did you get it from?

[kevink31593]

That's impressive, Dick is a little wonky (I doubt that the kid presented in Tec #38 was 8 years old) but other than that it fits incredibly well. You came up with this? Or where did you get it from?

Thanks for the compliment. I think it works rather well, myself. I don't want to take complete credit for this theory. I've been around the message boards now for 9 years. (I joined the official DC boards as "Batman Fan 31593" in April 2000). I honestly can't recall if I thought of this myself or if another poster mentioned it and I just read it on the boards.

You're right, Dick's starting age is kind of strange, especially given today's sensibilities. However, I think both Marv Wolfman and Devin Grayson (someone correct me if I'm wrong) have referred to Dick starting out at age 8. I don't have the exact issue in front of me right now, but I recall a reference to Dick starting out at 8 years old from Devin's run on "Gotham Knights".

[RonnieThunderbolts]

Thanks for the compliment. I think it works rather well, myself. I don't want to take complete credit for this theory. I've been around the message boards now for 9 years. (I joined the official DC boards as "Batman Fan 31593" in April 2000). I honestly can't recall if I thought of this myself or if another poster mentioned it and I just read it on the boards.

You're right, Dick's starting age is kind of strange, especially given today's sensibilities. However, I think both Marv Wolfman and Devin Grayson (someone correct me if I'm wrong) have referred to Dick starting out at age 8. I don't have the exact issue in front of me right now, but I recall a reference to Dick starting out at 8 years old from Devin's run on "Gotham Knights".

Marv Wolfman wrote the Post-Crisis version of his origin initially, making Dick Grayson 12 at the time he became Robin, not 8. Post-Crisis I've seen it exclusively referred to as 12, not 8, it was only in the Golden Age I've ever seen him starting out at 8.

What issue from Devin's run had Dick at 8? Are you sure? I'm just curious, I don't doubt you.

[kevink31593]

Marv Wolfman wrote the Post-Crisis version of his origin initially, making Dick Grayson 12 at the time he became Robin, not 8. Post-Crisis I've seen it exclusively referred to as 12, not 8, it was only in the Golden Age I've ever seen him starting out at 8.

What issue from Devin's run had Dick at 8? Are you sure? I'm just curious, I don't doubt you.

I'll have to check my collection. It might have been the arc where Dick's "grandfather" shows up. BRB.

[RonnieThunderbolts]

I'll have to check my collection. It might have been the arc where Dick's "grandfather" shows up. BRB.

No problem, thanks very much for being so thorough. I'm looking for the direct references to Dick's age in the Post-Crisis retelling right now as well, I've found plenty to lock in Tim's age, but if Dick wasn't 12 when he became Robin and WAS 8, then he is only 2 years older than Tim, because Tim Drake was 6 when he met Dick the day his parents fell to their deaths. Either way, Dick was 20 in Teen Titans, on panel, of this I am positive, when he met Tim again, who was 13. An age difference of 6 years and some odd months fits with Dick being 12 when he meets Tim the first time and 20 when he meets him again. If he were 8, the age difference between Tim and Dick begins to make less and less sense.

[kevink31593]

No problem, thanks very much for being so thorough. I'm looking for the direct references to Dick's age in the Post-Crisis retelling right now as well, I've found plenty to lock in Tim's age, but if Dick wasn't 12 when he became Robin and WAS 8, then he is only 2 years older than Tim, because Tim Drake was 6 when he met Dick the day his parents fell to their deaths. Either way, Dick was 20 in Teen Titans, on panel, of this I am positive, when he met Tim again, who was 13. An age difference of 6 years and some odd months fits with Dick being 12 when he meets Tim the first time and 20 when he meets him again. If he were 8, the age difference between Tim and Dick begins to make less and less sense.


Gotham Knights #21, page 3. Dick: "I've known Bruce since I was eight." (http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=page3&issue=08206663066%2021)

I would agree that there are several more current continuity references to Dick having been 12/13 when he started out as Robin. One of the earlier post-Crisis issues (Batman #416) stated that he was Robin for six years, contradicting my earlier post stating he was Robin for 11 years. The five year difference between eleven years and six years as Robin being ages 8-13. The Robin: Year One miniseries depicts him as middle school age when he started out. Batman: Turning Points #2 also depicts him as older.

Reconciling Tim's age when he visited the Haly's Circus the night the Flying Grayons died using my theory is also difficult. Backtracking Tim's age 13 in 1989 back to 1940, he would have only been 9 months old at the time. Pretty good memory for a nine month old if that's true.

We do have some wiggle room with the quote from Gotham Knights #21, though. Dick simply states that he has known Bruce since he was 8, not that he became Robin at age 8. Perhaps this can be interpreted as Bruce visiting a Haly's Circus performance and meeting Dick Grasyson a few years earlier than the incident in which Dick's parents were killed. Bruce might have been a frequent Circus attendee. :wink:

[RonnieThunderbolts]

Gotham Knights #21, page 3. Dick: "I've known Bruce since I was eight." (http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=page3&issue=08206663066%2021)

I would agree that there are several more current continuity references to Dick having been 12/13 when he started out as Robin. One of the earlier post-Crisis issues (Batman #416) stated that he was Robin for six years, contradicting my earlier post stating he was Robin for 11 years. The five year difference between eleven years and six years as Robin being ages 8-13. The Robin: Year One miniseries depicts him as middle school age when he started out. Batman: Turning Points #2 also depicts him as older.

Reconciling Tim's age when he visited the Haly's Circus the night the Flying Grayons died using my theory is also difficult. Backtracking Tim's age 13 in 1989 back to 1940, he would have only been 9 months old at the time. Pretty good memory for a nine month old if that's true.

We do have some wiggle room with the quote from Gotham Knights #21, though. Dick simply states that he has known Bruce since he was 8, not that he became Robin at age 8. Perhaps this can be interpreted as Bruce visiting a Haly's Circus performance and meeting Dick Grasyson a few years earlier than the incident in which Dick's parents were killed. Bruce might have been a frequent Circus attendee. :wink:

I'd be more than ok with that explanation myself.

[kevink31593]

If Batman: Year One, The Long Halloween, and Dark Victory are to be taken literally and accepted into cannon (excluding the reference to 25 year old Bruce Wayne), then Dick actually becomes Robin during Batman's fifth year.

Year One takes up an entire calendar year. The Long Halloween starts on Halloween of Year 2 and ends on Halloween of Year 3. Dark Victory begins in Halloween of Year 4 and ends on Halloween of Year 5. Superimposing this timeline over Batman's history using the 4 real years = 1 comic book year theory, Years 1 thru 5 take place from 1939-1958.

If you take Dick at age 18 in 1980 and backtrack, he would have been 12 in 1956. This falls in line with the Year One/Long Halloween/Dark Victory timeline. Robin not showing up until "1956" is not that big of a deal. Most of the post-Crisis retellings of Batman's first encounters with his rogues gallery have been rewritten to exclude Robin anyway, even though he was present during the original stories. I personally like the idea of Batman operating solo for several years before taking on a partner. It works well with Tim's age too; he would have been almost 5 at the time, old enough to remember the events of the night the Flying Graysons were killed.

[RonnieThunderbolts]

If Batman: Year One, The Long Halloween, and Dark Victory are to be taken literally and accepted into cannon (excluding the reference to 25 year old Bruce Wayne), then Dick actually becomes Robin during Batman's fifth year.

Year One takes up an entire calendar year. The Long Halloween starts on Halloween of Year 2 and ends on Halloween of Year 3. Dark Victory begins in Halloween of Year 4 and ends on Halloween of Year 5. Superimposing this timeline over Batman's history using the 4 real years = 1 comic book year theory, Years 1 thru 5 take place from 1939-1958.

If you take Dick at age 18 in 1980 and backtrack, he would have been 12 in 1956. This falls in line with the Year One/Long Halloween/Dark Victory timeline. Robin not showing up until "1956" is not that big of a deal. Most of the post-Crisis retellings of Batman's first encounters with his rogues gallery have been rewritten to exclude Robin anyway, even though he was present during the original stories. I personally like the idea of Batman operating solo for several years before taking on a partner. It works well with Tim's age too; he would have been almost 5 at the time, old enough to remember the events of the night the Flying Graysons were killed.

Not too shabby, you do good work fitting it all together coherently.

That would also make Cassandra Cain 19 and a half, as she was introduced at 17 ten years ago.

[kevink31593]

Not too shabby, you do good work fitting it all together coherently.

That would also make Cassandra Cain 19 and a half, as she was introduced at 17 ten years ago.

Thanks! It's fun to examine timelines and characters' ages, but at the end of the day what's important is if you enjoy the stories. For the most part, I have enjoyed the majority of the Batman stories that I have read over the years.

You're correct about Cassandra. I've always assumed she was approximately the same age as Jason, who would currently be just over 19 years old.

Stephanie Brown is also in the same age range. During her first appearance from Detective Comics #647-649, she was depicted as slightly older than Tim. Based on this she should currently be 18-19 years old.

Barbara Gordon's age is difficult to nail down. She has been depicted as being several years older than Dick, as well as being the same age as Dick (Nightwing Annual #2 depicted them both being 16 at the same time in one flashback). I prefer to think of her as two years older than Dick. Based on my theory, Dick was 14.75 in 1967 during Babs' debut as Batgirl, making her almost 17 years old at the time. She would have been 22 in 1988 during "The Killing Joke" and she would currently be 27.25.

[Alejandro]

Wow thanks for all the anwers.

Yes I do meant the JUSTICE league xD sorry for not specifying, I hadnt hard about the other one so I thought it was clear. I think I´ll stay with Morrison ages in my mind hehe

Anyways, somebody knows what age aprox when he entered the Justice league?

[kevink31593]

You're welcome!

From my earlier post:


Bruce would have been 24.25 years old when the JLA was founded (1960)

[Lorendiac]

As far as I know, like dates, no age estimate (for any point in his life) with Batman is EVER nailed down as canon. Even the latest and greatest Bat scribe (whoever he is at the time) can never really pin this stuff down as permanent and definitive. At best, like Morrison, they'll simply give figures that they are basing their own writing assumptions around. Which could be totally redone by the next guy at the helm.

Really the situation is most like Neil Gaiman wrote in "Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader". Inherently fluid, at least in long arcs. That's as true for Batman's age, his Year One, and his Robin, as it is his death.

I agree -- DC prefers not to let things get pinned down to precise and inflexible figures such as: "Today is Bruce's 35 birthday. He's been Batman for the last 13 years, 8 months, and 11 days!" (Or whatever!)

Years ago, around the time "Infinite Crisis" was just starting, and well before Grant Morrison started his run on the "Batman" title, I examined these matters in some detail. First I offered the numbers for Batman's age, Dick's age, Tim's age, etc., which I personally "felt comfortable" with, when looking at them in "the modern comics" and estimating how old I thought they were and how many years of experience I thought they each had.

Then I turned around and talked about how it was all just a matter of opinion anyway, with different writers implicitly or explicitly contradicting one another on various details as they went along, which meant there was nothing sacred about my personal estimates! :biggrin:

In case anyone wants to check the details of my reasoning at the time, here's a link. It turns out the thread I started in September 2005 is still available right here on CBR: My Timeline for Batman's Age (and why it's probably wrong!) (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=81165)

[kevink31593]

Marv Wolfman wrote the Post-Crisis version of his origin initially, making Dick Grayson 12 at the time he became Robin, not 8. Post-Crisis I've seen it exclusively referred to as 12, not 8, it was only in the Golden Age I've ever seen him starting out at 8.


BTW, Batman: Year Three (Batman #436-439, by Marv Wolfman) from 1989 depicts the muder of the Flying Graysons as having happened over a decade earlier. Dick was 20 years old at the time. This seems to support Dick starting as Robin at age 8. This can most likely be discounted though as Dick's origin as been retold a few times since 1989.

[RonnieThunderbolts]

BTW, Batman: Year Three (Batman #436-439, by Marv Wolfman) from 1989 depicts the muder of the Flying Graysons as having happened over a decade earlier. Dick was 20 years old at the time. This seems to support Dick starting as Robin at age 8. This can most likely be discounted though as Dick's origin as been retold a few times since 1989.

I was just looking at year three, and they said "nearly a decade" which would be under ten years, not over a decade.

On the first panel of page 18 in Batman 436 in Year 3 part one it says:

"It was almost ten years ago when Richard Grayson became a victim." And if he was 20, and it wasn't a decade, then he would be 12, maybe 11 or 10, but couldn't be under 10.

[kevink31593]

I was just looking at year three, and they said "nearly a decade" which would be under ten years, not over a decade.

On the first panel of page 18 in Batman 436 in Year 3 part one it says:

"It was almost ten years ago when Richard Grayson became a victim." And if he was 20, and it wasn't a decade, then he would be 12, maybe 11 or 10, but couldn't be under 10.


I'll take your world for it. I don't have this issue in front of me. I don't have a photographic memory. :smile:

Regarless, it is questionable how much of Year Three is still in continuity.

[kevink31593]

Here is my personal preference for a Batman timeline, with the corresponding "actual" years:

YEAR ONE (1939-1942)

* Year One/Monster Men/Mad Monk/Man Who Laughs

YEAR TWO (1943-1946)

* The Long Halloween begins

YEAR THREE (1947-1950)

* THe Long Halloween ends

YEAR FOUR (1951-1954)

* Dark Victory begins

YEAR FIVE (1955-1958)

* Dark Victory ends

YEAR SIX (1959-1962)

* Robin: Year One, JLA: Year One

YEAR SEVEN (1963-1966)

* Teen Titans: Year One

YEAR EIGHT (1967-1970)

* Batgirl: Year One/O'Neil Adams era begins

YEAR NINE (1971-1974)

* O'Neil/Adams Era, Tales of the Demon

YEAR TEN (1975-1978)

* Englehart/Rogers era, Strange Apparitions

YEAR ELEVEN (1979-1982)

* New Teen Titans begins, Gerry Conway era Batman/Detective linked

YEAR TWELVE (1983-1986)

* Batman and the Outsiders, Nightwing: Year One, Crisis on Infinite Earths

YEAR THIRTEEN (1987-1990)

* The Killing Joke/A Death in the Family/A Lonely Place of Dying

YEAR FOURTEEN (1991-1994)

* Knightfall/Quest/End/Prodigal

YEAR FIFTEEN (1995-1998)

* Contagion/Legacy/Cataclysm/Road to NML

YEAR SIXTEEN (1999-2002)

* NML/New Gotham/Officer Down/Muderer/Fugitive

YEAR SEVENTEEN (2003-2006)

* Hush/War Games/Infinite Crisis/OYL

YEAR EIGHTEEN (2007-2010)

* Batman and Son/Black Glove/RIP/Final Crisis/Battle for the Cowl

[kevink31593]

I was just looking at year three, and they said "nearly a decade" which would be under ten years, not over a decade.

On the first panel of page 18 in Batman 436 in Year 3 part one it says:

"It was almost ten years ago when Richard Grayson became a victim." And if he was 20, and it wasn't a decade, then he would be 12, maybe 11 or 10, but couldn't be under 10.

Just finished reading through Batman 436-439. "Year Three" actually contradicts itself. In addition to the above quote that you posted, may I present Batman 438, page 10, panel 5:

Zucco: "Mr. Pennyworth, for eleven years you've petitioned the parole board to keep me imprisoned."

This has to be what I was thinking of when I remembered Year Three depicting the murder of the Graysons being over a decade prior, supporting Dick being Robin at age 8.

In any case, "Year Three"'s status in the official continuity is questionable, so both of the above quotes can be disounted. Robin's origin has been retold in Robin Annual #4, Legends of the Dark Knight #100, and Dark Victory, all three depicting Dick older than 8, closer to 12/13.