Tim Drake: Robin, Red Robin, Drake Appreciation 2020

[Konja7]

I got a feeling they read tomorrow's issue, which will probably confirm Tim being robin again. Rich also did a article on stephanie being robin in this continuity today, which probably comes from tomorrows issue.

And honestly, all future Tim apparences show him in the robin costume. There is no way he keeps using that costume and still goes by Drake as his hero alias. It makes no sense.

It seems Tim is already using the Drake alias in a Robin costume (in some tie-in of Joker War), that's why it is so weird.

I also suspect Tim will change of costume in Young Justice #18. I guess we will know if he changes his alias too (or not).


PS: The confirmation that Stephanie was Robin appear in the preview of Young Justice #18 (I've already seen that too). That isn't really a leak.

[Rich Johnston]

Unlike other bleeding cool news (where they talk about leaks from their sources), a lot of this seems to be based on guesswork.

They say that Tim is going back to being Robin, because he will appear with the Robin suit in YJ. However, in Nightwing #73, he still under Drake alias in the Robin suit.

That's not the reason why we say that.

[Rich Johnston]

I got a feeling they read tomorrow's issue, which will probably confirm Tim being robin again. Rich also did a article on stephanie being robin in this continuity today, which probably comes from tomorrows issue.

And honestly, all future Tim apparences show him in the robin costume. There is no way he keeps using that costume and still goes by Drake as his hero alias. It makes no sense.

I never reveal a source but the Stephanie Brown thing was in the issue preview which we included in that very article.

[Darkcrusade25]

Just read the issue digitally. spoilers:

Looks like he’s Robin and that NW. #73 page was just writer misunderstandings. He doesn’t confirm it but he doesn’t deny it. Conner thinks that Batman and Spoiler had a talk with him about it. Goes on to mention that YJ would’ve had a “Drake” intervention if they didn’t convince him.

end of spoilers

[Frontier]

Just read the issue digitally. spoilers:

Looks like he’s Robin and that NW. #73 page was just writer misunderstandings. He doesn’t confirm it but he doesn’t deny it. Conner thinks that Batman and Spoiler had a talk with him about it. Goes on to mention that YJ would’ve had a “Drake” intervention if they didn’t convince him.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Well, at least Bendis can have fun with editorial seemingly overruling him on the whole "Drake" thing .

end of spoilers

[DragonPiece]

I've been sitting on my thoughts after reading it this morning, and I'm honestly pretty upset this is the way they give Tim back his role as robin. This was just such a unclimatic way of doing it for what should be a huge story. I don't know if Bendis was told to do this before joker war and death metal ended, but I'm not a fan of just doing it as a quick mention and quickly moving on to other things.

[AmiMizuno]

With Bendis, it's sometimes hard to tell. However, since he is going to be leave I wonder if things will be going back to the way they were

[Drako]

This may go down as the worst attempt at changing a character persona. After all those years of excellence, Tim deserved better. Let's hope he can at least gain some respect back as Robin again.

[ZeroBG82]

I've been sitting on my thoughts after reading it this morning, and I'm honestly pretty upset this is the way they give Tim back his role as robin. This was just such a unclimatic way of doing it for what should be a huge story. I don't know if Bendis was told to do this before joker war and death metal ended, but I'm not a fan of just doing it as a quick mention and quickly moving on to other things.

I'm not sure I agree.

On the one hand, yes, it feels like there should maybe be a story here worth telling. But until we see whether or not Tim is A Robin or THE Robin, which won't happen in this book, I'm not sure how significant that story may be. If Tim is just going to be A Robin, this works as well as anything. The Drake ID feels like it was set up for something that simply isn't going to be a thing anymore, and depending on how wide ranging Tim's presence is going to be in the DCU, there may still be a tale to tell about exactly how this went down.

On the other hand, part of me feels like this is just for the best. Ignore the silly, awful Drake phase and just get back to what matters. We even get a little joke from Bendis at his own expense, and a payoff to the visual gag from the previous issue with Tim and Batman's "discussion" in the background.

Like, I totally get why people want Tim to move forward and get his own brand. I loved what the Red Robin book did for Tim's development pre-Flashpoint, salvaging some of the grimdark nonsense the character had been subjected to. But, more so than any of the other Robins, Stephanie included, Tim feels tied to the identity. Even Damian, whom I have enjoyed in the Robin role, feels like Robin is a phase he goes through to grow as a character. That's certainly the way it turned out for Grayson and Jason. But Tim IS Robin in a way that none of the others has been since they first moved Grayson out of the role for Titans.

Maybe it's just me being silly, because I'm a huge Tim fan. He's my gateway to DC comics, and remains the one character I love above all others on this side of the Big Two. But for Dick, Jason, Stephanie or Damian, being Robin is about being Batman's sidekick. Even when he's having solo adventures and doing Teen Titans stuff, Damian is Robin, Son of Batman. Always in the shadow of his father. But Tim feels like he lets Robin transcend sidekick status and become something more stable as a solo ID. I think Grayson would have done so as well, if not for editorial mandate forcing Titans to make him into something else so Robin could be used in the Bat books. But it just didn't go that way until Tim. And now Robin feels like a healthier, more independent character when Tim is in the mantle, and not just another sidekick.

But enough of my ramblings.

[Digifiend]

I've been sitting on my thoughts after reading it this morning, and I'm honestly pretty upset this is the way they give Tim back his role as robin. This was just such a unclimatic way of doing it for what should be a huge story. I don't know if Bendis was told to do this before joker war and death metal ended, but I'm not a fan of just doing it as a quick mention and quickly moving on to other things.

Yeah, he was almost certainly told to reset him before the book ended.

I bet the Wonder Girl story in #19 was also meant to last longer originally.

[Konja7]

I'm not sure I agree.

On the one hand, yes, it feels like there should maybe be a story here worth telling. But until we see whether or not Tim is A Robin or THE Robin, which won't happen in this book, I'm not sure how significant that story may be. If Tim is just going to be A Robin, this works as well as anything. The Drake ID feels like it was set up for something that simply isn't going to be a thing anymore, and depending on how wide ranging Tim's presence is going to be in the DCU, there may still be a tale to tell about exactly how this went down.

On the other hand, part of me feels like this is just for the best. Ignore the silly, awful Drake phase and just get back to what matters. We even get a little joke from Bendis at his own expense, and a payoff to the visual gag from the previous issue with Tim and Batman's "discussion" in the background.

Like, I totally get why people want Tim to move forward and get his own brand. I loved what the Red Robin book did for Tim's development pre-Flashpoint, salvaging some of the grimdark nonsense the character had been subjected to. But, more so than any of the other Robins, Stephanie included, Tim feels tied to the identity. Even Damian, whom I have enjoyed in the Robin role, feels like Robin is a phase he goes through to grow as a character. That's certainly the way it turned out for Grayson and Jason. But Tim IS Robin in a way that none of the others has been since they first moved Grayson out of the role for Titans.

Maybe it's just me being silly, because I'm a huge Tim fan. He's my gateway to DC comics, and remains the one character I love above all others on this side of the Big Two. But for Dick, Jason, Stephanie or Damian, being Robin is about being Batman's sidekick. Even when he's having solo adventures and doing Teen Titans stuff, Damian is Robin, Son of Batman. Always in the shadow of his father. But Tim feels like he lets Robin transcend sidekick status and become something more stable as a solo ID. I think Grayson would have done so as well, if not for editorial mandate forcing Titans to make him into something else so Robin could be used in the Bat books. But it just didn't go that way until Tim. And now Robin feels like a healthier, more independent character when Tim is in the mantle, and not just another sidekick.

But enough of my ramblings.

If I'm not mistaken, although Dick as Robin hasn't a solo, he has a good amount of time as an independent Robin in College (and not just in Teen Titans).

As you said, Dick "needing" a new identity to become independent was mainly editorial madate, because they want Robin as a Batman partner at that time.

Ironically, Tim was Robin when DC want Robin to be more independent. In itself, DC wants Batman to be a solitary hero, while they still want to profit with Robin identity. So, they need Robin to be more independent.

[Light of Justice]

I'm not sure I agree.

On the one hand, yes, it feels like there should maybe be a story here worth telling. But until we see whether or not Tim is A Robin or THE Robin, which won't happen in this book, I'm not sure how significant that story may be. If Tim is just going to be A Robin, this works as well as anything. The Drake ID feels like it was set up for something that simply isn't going to be a thing anymore, and depending on how wide ranging Tim's presence is going to be in the DCU, there may still be a tale to tell about exactly how this went down.

On the other hand, part of me feels like this is just for the best. Ignore the silly, awful Drake phase and just get back to what matters. We even get a little joke from Bendis at his own expense, and a payoff to the visual gag from the previous issue with Tim and Batman's "discussion" in the background.

Like, I totally get why people want Tim to move forward and get his own brand. I loved what the Red Robin book did for Tim's development pre-Flashpoint, salvaging some of the grimdark nonsense the character had been subjected to. But, more so than any of the other Robins, Stephanie included, Tim feels tied to the identity. Even Damian, whom I have enjoyed in the Robin role, feels like Robin is a phase he goes through to grow as a character. That's certainly the way it turned out for Grayson and Jason. But Tim IS Robin in a way that none of the others has been since they first moved Grayson out of the role for Titans.

Maybe it's just me being silly, because I'm a huge Tim fan. He's my gateway to DC comics, and remains the one character I love above all others on this side of the Big Two. But for Dick, Jason, Stephanie or Damian, being Robin is about being Batman's sidekick. Even when he's having solo adventures and doing Teen Titans stuff, Damian is Robin, Son of Batman. Always in the shadow of his father. But Tim feels like he lets Robin transcend sidekick status and become something more stable as a solo ID. I think Grayson would have done so as well, if not for editorial mandate forcing Titans to make him into something else so Robin could be used in the Bat books. But it just didn't go that way until Tim. And now Robin feels like a healthier, more independent character when Tim is in the mantle, and not just another sidekick.

But enough of my ramblings.

I kinda agree with you. When we talk about Tim's new identity, we usually discuss about new name and new costume but I think the most important part of having new identity is having new concept and new mindset that makes him unique and different than Robin as sidekick of Batman. Dick as Nightwing detached himself from Batman, create his own team, and became pioneer to other teen heroes. Red Hood abandon Batman no-killing rule, driven by his trauma over his death. Damian....to be fair I've never see him as normal Robin, let alone sidekick. But Tim, even as Red Robin or as Drake, he didn't seem so different than on his time as Robin, especially on Red Robin his main mission is to find Bruce. That makes him a good Robin for Bruce but also what makes him....Robin. So for Tim to have new identity, there's 2 question that have to be answered, what's the change and what's the cause of the change? And no Bendis, your future self tells you that Drake is the most dangerous bird in the world is not a legitimate cause. So before those questions are answered, I think it's best for him to be Robin for a while.

[failo.legendkiller]

I'm not sure I agree.

On the one hand, yes, it feels like there should maybe be a story here worth telling. But until we see whether or not Tim is A Robin or THE Robin, which won't happen in this book, I'm not sure how significant that story may be. If Tim is just going to be A Robin, this works as well as anything. The Drake ID feels like it was set up for something that simply isn't going to be a thing anymore, and depending on how wide ranging Tim's presence is going to be in the DCU, there may still be a tale to tell about exactly how this went down.

On the other hand, part of me feels like this is just for the best. Ignore the silly, awful Drake phase and just get back to what matters. We even get a little joke from Bendis at his own expense, and a payoff to the visual gag from the previous issue with Tim and Batman's "discussion" in the background.

Like, I totally get why people want Tim to move forward and get his own brand. I loved what the Red Robin book did for Tim's development pre-Flashpoint, salvaging some of the grimdark nonsense the character had been subjected to. But, more so than any of the other Robins, Stephanie included, Tim feels tied to the identity. Even Damian, whom I have enjoyed in the Robin role, feels like Robin is a phase he goes through to grow as a character. That's certainly the way it turned out for Grayson and Jason. But Tim IS Robin in a way that none of the others has been since they first moved Grayson out of the role for Titans.

Maybe it's just me being silly, because I'm a huge Tim fan. He's my gateway to DC comics, and remains the one character I love above all others on this side of the Big Two. But for Dick, Jason, Stephanie or Damian, being Robin is about being Batman's sidekick. Even when he's having solo adventures and doing Teen Titans stuff, Damian is Robin, Son of Batman. Always in the shadow of his father. But Tim feels like he lets Robin transcend sidekick status and become something more stable as a solo ID. I think Grayson would have done so as well, if not for editorial mandate forcing Titans to make him into something else so Robin could be used in the Bat books. But it just didn't go that way until Tim. And now Robin feels like a healthier, more independent character when Tim is in the mantle, and not just another sidekick.

But enough of my ramblings.

I feel you there, man!
I've always been a Robin fan. Robin is the superhero I've always looked for. The Batman's sideckick, the best friend, the pupil, the faithful squire, the light ray in the dark knight.
This is what Robin means to me, and only two people could totally fit this role with due respect: Dick Grayson and Tim Drake.

Dick has grown-up and become something more than this, never denying his life and role as Robin.
Jason never totally worked as Robin, he was disobedient, hothead and everyone knows where this took him. He eventually found his path in other ways.
Damian never cared being Robin, he doesn't respect what means being Robin. He's not Robin, he always have been the Son of Batman. This is what fit to him and, maybe, the direction DC seems to have taken now.
And then there is Tim. He is the perfect Robin, he embodies everything needed to fit the Robin role. He's The Robin, able to remain faithful to its role and at the same time grow and evolve it.

Prolblem is that they committed the mistake of moving him from this role, as a matter of fact with Red Robin book pre-flashpoint they also did a good work. But then N52 came, and Tim has lost everything that characterized him.
Bendis has succeeded in the arduous task of making things worse, and now taking him back to Robin seem to be a demotion.
I don't know what to think about it. On the one hand having back Tim as Robin is so rightful, so natural. On the other sounds as a demotion, a failure.

[Aahz]

I've been sitting on my thoughts after reading it this morning, and I'm honestly pretty upset this is the way they give Tim back his role as robin. This was just such a unclimatic way of doing it for what should be a huge story. I don't know if Bendis was told to do this before joker war and death metal ended, but I'm not a fan of just doing it as a quick mention and quickly moving on to other things.

It is not like the change from Robin to Drake was executed really differently.

[The Lucky One]

If I'm not mistaken, although Dick as Robin hasn't a solo, he has a good amount of time as an independent Robin in College (and not just in Teen Titans).

Correct. Dick had a solo feature in Star-Spangled Comics #65-130 (as a result of which, he actually appeared in MORE Golden Age comics than Batman himself!) from 1947 through 1952. Then in December 1969, he went off to college and started appearing in semi-regular solo stories in ‘Tec and later Batman Family, as well as his Teen Titans appearances. So for basically all of the 1970s, most of Dick’s non-TT appearances were solo backup stories.