Tim Drake should be the new Oracle

[gregpersons]

(I was going to post this in the Tim Drake megathread but felt like it was a valid enough point to warrant its own topic)

Red Robin is a terrible name, but Tim Drake is a great character. Oracle is a great name. Tim Drake's strongest attribute has been "computers!detective" since inception. That fits what Oracle's about.

Seems like an easy solve, right?

Tim Drake should fill the Oracle hole in the Bat-Universe, which is now more necessary than ever with more active sidekicks/allies than ever. It would also help re-establish Tim's ties to the DCU which are still fairly murky since his revisions in New52 and then being sidelined with Oz.

Tim does not need to be tragically mutilated to become Oracle. What would be more common and relatable is if he simply suffered a career-ending injury like an athlete would. He's unable to come from an MCL injury he suffered while training. That's a devastating injury in real life, even though it seems like small potatoes in the DCU when usually you need to be blasted by Darkseid to get sidelined for any amount of time. But that's why it'd be perfect for Tim — he is supposed to be relatable, like Peter Parker.

Making Tim the Oracle of the DCU returns Tim to his "audience surrogate" role, because it's like he's a streamer/Twitch kid but what he's playing with isn't PUBG, it's The Batman Family.

[JBatmanFan05]

This Tim as new Oracle idea is admittedly not necessarily a bad idea. You make a reasonable enough case for it.

But to play some devils advocate and counterargue:

Tim Drake's strongest attribute has been "computers!detective" since inception.

Yea, but a significant attribute of him was also that he was active in-the-field fighter as well. Like all Robins.

Tim Drake should fill the Oracle hole in the Bat-Universe, which is now more necessary than ever with more active sidekicks/allies than ever.

Some might read this as saying "Because of DC's mistakes (too many active sidekicks/allies), Tim (or his fans) should be "punished" via significantly changes to him and taken out of his long running active action role."

I'm sure many liked that was a computer nerd cerebral type that had to adjust to also having a very physical fighting life as well. Dick and Jason weren't like that as Robins or characters so much.

[gregpersons]

This Tim as new Oracle idea is admittedly not necessarily a bad idea. You make a reasonable enough case for it.

To play some devils advocate and counterargue:
Yea, but a significant attribute of him was also that he was active in-the-field fighter as well. Like all Robins.

Some might read this as saying "Because of DC's mistakes (too many active sidekicks/allies), Tim (or his fans) should be "punished" via significantly changes to him and taken out of his long running active action role."

Thanks! I think you're right that #Timfans might react poorly to a change, but it depends on how the idea is presented. If it's a leak or something, people might think it's the worst version of it, like you say, he's being punished or pushed away again. But if it's able to be a surprise, and comes from a natural place of storytelling, I think you could win people over to it.

Really, it could happen in one issue. Tim is injured, but he's still involved in helping, so while he recovers, he's doing Oracle things. He's done it before minus injury, so it's a natural fit. But it turns out that it won't heal in a way where he can be the same athlete he was before. It's not a matter of will. Minus cybernetic replacement -- a viable option -- your knee is done, Tim. You can walk but you can't put that same kind of stress on it again.

Tim COULD take the cybernetic option, but he's ALWAYS envisioned an endgame for himself, since Day One. Future Tim is his worst nightmare because he's talked about wanting to quit a number of times.

Oracle is the balance he's been looking for. He can be Oracle anywhere. He can be focused on studying in Harvard and be Oracle. He could live the normal life, with Steph as Spoiler, while being her (and everyone else's) Oracle.

So I think #Timfans would be happy to see the character more established in the greater DCU, he'd be getting more and better screen time.

But it doesn't have to be Tim — they're right now kind of squeezing Duke to being Oracle (though that really doesn't make any sense, in-universe or as far as maintaining a certain brand with the characters), and it could just as easily be Dick (though "Nightwing" is more established, he has a movie on the way, and though he also is a great "DCU connector" character, it'd be a stretch for him to be "computer detective" whereas that's always been Tim's thing) — it just makes the most sense for it to be Tim.

[Godlike13]

Tim Drake needs to find his own path. Like Nightwing and Oracle did.

[oasis1313]

I think Tim should be tragically mutilated, whether he became Oracle or not.

[godisawesome]

I think if anyone can be Oracle without being tragically mutilated... It should *still* be Babs.

Just... Just let her be a grade-A undisputed badass as both Batgirl and Oracle. There's no reason to keep her behind other heroes she should outrank in threat level.

I still think Red Robin *can* work as a Graduation for Tim, but only if it's played the same way that it was before Flashpoint, with a radically different profile in his costume (somethings the cowl did very well, in spite of how some people thought it was ugly), and a more mature, less Wesley Crusher-style portrayal. I think you could have his past elements that people love like his parents (who shockingly still haven't been featured in Rebirth) reintegrated to ground him a bit, but give him the MO and experienced portrayal of FabNic and Chris Yost's portrayal, with a combination of ambition and perspective that makes him facilate more believably between rightfully confident and arrogant.

Just, even if he does become Oracle... Please don't have him hack *guns,* anymore.

[JasonTodd428]

Tim Drake needs to find his own path. Like Nightwing and Oracle did.

I'd be happy enough with this but I'd also be happy if DC found a writer that can make Tim likable for me again even if they have to start back at square one in a lot of ways with him in order to do so. I really hate current Tim's smug, superior attitude and also hate how writers have amped up his tech skill to the exclusion of all the other skills he has as someone trained by Batman.

[ayanestar]

I would like Babs to be Oracle again lol someone needs to save her from her horrible book. I really dislike her current version. If DC wants to keep the current concept of the book just make Steph Batgirl and let Babs be herself again.
Anyway what I actually wanted to say is that Oracle is Babs' thing and Drake needs to find his own path. Red Robin was always a horrible name and Tim deserves better. I had high hopes for Rebirth but I've the feeling Tim got even more annoying + he looks like a cheap version of Robin. I have no idea who approved his new costume but it was a horrible idea. Who knows maybe Lobdell is the one who needs to fix Tim, he is doing a good job with Jason now so maybe he should fix the mess he created however there is always the possibility it might make things worse and maybe he just got lucky with Jason but one thing is for sure DC needs to figure out what to do with Tim and the rest of the Batman Family. I hate to start this topic again but maybe DC should also stop adding new/old characters to the Batman Family and Gotham without a plan. They can't just put them into one book and call it a day. It's not going to wok forever and they are wasting the potential of these characters. Tim, Steph and Cass could hold their own book once upon a time and I'm pretty sure they could do it again.