Tim Drake: Robin, Red Robin, Drake Appreciation 2021

[Aahz]

Or it might generate interest. Hopefully the latter.

I doubt it.

I think most his longterm readers are more interested in having him and Steph together, over any other relationship.

Honestly does anybody think this guy would be anymore interesting as one of Tim's previous civilian love interests?

And it is not like having a gay character would be somehow new and ground braking at this point...

[Frontier]

He's been floundering for years. I'd prefer a more sustainable and thought out approach but it would be maybe the quickest boost to his profile that DC could do. Tim's been mentioned more times on my social media because of those panels than he has in years. It's not ideal, a bit reminiscent of Babs Burnside costume. Upped her public profile, wasn't particularly great for character development.

I think it's kind of problematic that DC thinks changing a characters sexuality can make them more popular, but I guess they already did it with Alan Scott.

I doubt it.

I think most his longterm readers are more interested in having him and Steph together, over any other relationship.

Honestly does anybody think this guy would be anymore interesting as one of Tim's previous civilian love interests?

And it is not like having a gay character would be somehow new and ground braking at this point...

Honestly, yeah, like I'm not against him liking guys but it's not like it's going to get people more invested than his relationship with Steph that has, like, decades of build up and focus.

Like, has Catwoman hooked up with another girl since she was confirmed to be Bi? Compared to all the focus on her relationship with Batman?

[CPSparkles]

It's remarkable to me. dC never seems to have an ear within the fanbase except when it comes to Tim. Is this due to Tynion being previously in charge of the hellyeahtimDrake site?

I say this because making Tim Robin, making him LGBtQ and even his recent stint of looking younger than 10 yrold Damian are very popular wishes amongst tim fans on Tumblr.

I hope those people buy comics because if not....

[CPSparkles]

I think it's kind of problematic that DC thinks changing a characters sexuality can make them more popular, but I guess they already did it with Alan Scott.

Honestly, yeah, like I'm not against him liking guys but it's not like it's going to get people more invested than his relationship with Steph that has, like, decades of build up and focus.

Like, has Catwoman hooked up with another girl since she was confirmed to be Bi? Compared to all the focus on her relationship with Batman?

Were Catwoman fans pushing for her to be LGBTQ prior to to Dc making her Bi?
Did Alan Scott get more popular as an LGBTQ character?

I wonder if Tim Thomas on Titans is going to be gay too? that a diversity double whammy

[Lady Nightwing]

I think it's kind of problematic that DC thinks changing a characters sexuality can make them more popular, but I guess they already did it with Alan Scott.

DC aren't great for representation. They seem to readily make high profile female characters bisexual but reluctant with male characters. So you have to wonder, is it leaning more towards fetishisation than genuine character development?

[Kid Devil]

DC aren't great for representation. They seem to readily make high profile female characters bisexual but reluctant with male characters. So you have to wonder, is it leaning more towards fetishisation than genuine character development?

I agree part is fetishization which is why the top three bad girls in Gotham are bi but none of the the top ten bad boys are. However, straight women are much more likely to perform sexual endeavors with other women than straight men are with men.

[Swallowtail]

DC aren't great for representation. They seem to readily make high profile female characters bisexual but reluctant with male characters. So you have to wonder, is it leaning more towards fetishisation than genuine character development?

I think you would have to be very naive to pretend that DC doesn’t have an eye to the Current huge demand for boy’s love YA content and that that the driving force behind that demand is millennial and Gen Z girls rather than gay boys demanding more representation.

But also the profile of the people writing the biggest DC books has changed a lot even in the last couple of years and While I generally feel almost every decision Tynion has made on Batman has cynical motivation underlying it, I think this time he’s probably doing it from a genuine place of wanting the character to reflect how he saw him growing up.

Edit: Though I have to say, handing the execution off This change to a newbie female writer so she will have to suffer the inevitable wave of toxic fanboy backlash, rather then pulling on his big boy pants and doing it in Batman himself is an absolute dick move.

[Aahz]

I say this because making Tim Robin, making him LGBtQ and even his recent stint of looking younger than 10 yrold Damian are very popular wishes amongst tim fans on Tumblr.

If we go by what tumblr wants, there wouldn't be any straight characters left in any IP.

I think you would have to be very naive to pretend that DC doesn’t have an eye to the Current huge demand for boy’s love YA content and that that the driving force behind that demand is millennial and Gen Z girls rather than gay boys demanding more representation.

But if they want to tap into that market, they should probably start publishing romance/slice of life comics again, and not try to get that audience to read their Superhero books.

[CPSparkles]

If we go by what tumblr wants, there wouldn't be any straight characters left in any IP.

But if they want to tap into that market, they should probably start publishing romance/slice of life comics again, and not try to get that audience to read their Superhero books.

How did Gotham High and the title about Starfire's daughter do?

I know tumblr isn't representative of the whole fandom but it's a subset and a dedicated one so it's a start.

I like to think that DC's R&D dept/marketing has been in this game long enough to know best. fingers crossed.

[Kid Devil]

But if they want to tap into that market, they should probably start publishing romance/slice of life comics again, and not try to get that audience to read their Superhero books.

One word... BINGO

[SixSpeedSamurai]

I think it's kind of problematic that DC thinks changing a characters sexuality can make them more popular, but I guess they already did it with Alan Scott.

And The Ray for some reason.

I don't care if they make Tim bi I suppose, but I'd rather see him with Steph and their relationship explored. Either way, these are not the way to fix Tim. He needs a role in the DCU and a purpose. Either make him Robin WITH Batman or set him up a solo ID. Go back to Red Robin with a cowl or try Rook.

[legion_quest]

Always assumed Jason would have been the 'easier' character to make bisexual and not cause too much 'but what about when this panel said this' backlash.

I think it's good for a bat boy to be LGBT given how many female bat aligned characters seem to be bi, just possibly the wrong one, if indeed it is that.

[Swallowtail]

If we go by what tumblr wants, there wouldn't be any straight characters left in any IP.

But if they want to tap into that market, they should probably start publishing romance/slice of life comics again, and not try to get that audience to read their Superhero books.

Why? They have a built in market of people who are looking for gay superheroes. They are not a more or less valid audience then people who say ‘well, they should leave that sort of stuff to slice of life comics and stay out of my DCU’ and their money is just as good. Teen and tween girls have been of the major success stories for girls over the last couple of years.

[Aahz]

Why? They have a built in market of people who are looking for gay superheroes. They are not a more or less valid audience then people who say ‘well, they should leave that sort of stuff to slice of life comics and stay out of my DCU’ and their money is just as good. Teen and tween girls have been of the major success stories for girls over the last couple of years.

Because I don't think that superheroes is what a good part of this audience is looking for.

I might be wrong, since "boy’s love YA content" is not exactly a genre I'm that knowledgable in.

[HsssH]

DC aren't great for representation. They seem to readily make high profile female characters bisexual but reluctant with male characters. So you have to wonder, is it leaning more towards fetishisation than genuine character development?

I think its entirely about wet dreams.

Why? They have a built in market of people who are looking for gay superheroes. They are not a more or less valid audience then people who say ‘well, they should leave that sort of stuff to slice of life comics and stay out of my DCU’ and their money is just as good. Teen and tween girls have been of the major success stories for girls over the last couple of years.

Lets not forget that some people have zero problems with gay characters, but they'd prefer if the character they have been following for couple of decades suddenly wouldn't become gay. I'm all for Midnighter and Apollo appearing more frequently, but Alan or Tim being gay? Meh, and its not that I like Tim much in the first place.