Tim Drake: Robin, Red Robin, Drake Appreciation 2021

[Dataweaver]

People who want gay characters also want good stories.
Just like people who ship characters, like say Batman and Catwoman. Just because they like that relationship, they also want to get good stories with those characters.

So much this!

[witchboy]

The only other character Tim could possibly date outside of Bernard & Kon who fans would maybe want & is semi established is Bunker.

I love Bunker. I've not been happy how he's been sidelined so hard.
I would be really open to a Bunker/Tim relationship but i have to admit that Tim/Conner is always going to be my first choice. I've been invested in them for a long time, dreams don't die easy.
Maybe Bernard will wind up winning me over given time. I'm intrigued so far, but I am still seeing him as a short term character.

[Jadeb]

Bernard isn’t a new character. He’s from Tim’s solo.

I’m in the camp hoping this returns some focus to Tim’s private life. Know-it-all superhacker is a dead end. Tim is my favorite character but he’s been awful, for the most part, since the New 52.

[Konja7]

If DC can sideline the 1st Black Robin and one of the few Middle Eastern heroes in Western comics they can sideline a bi white character if he doesn't start making money.

To be fair, I don't think DC totally consider Damian as a minority. That's why they often draw him as a white kid, while they rarely give him the "minority status" (the use of this status is often a personal decision from writers).

[ZuLuLu]

Re-reading the issue, question:

Tim said he "wants the mantle" is he referring to Batman or Robin ?

[mmurphy1968]

Tim is DC's character to do with as they will and I have no dog in the fight one way or another other than Tim being my favorite Robin. If DC wants to change Tim's sexuality or have him explore it more that's fine. That said, I think this kind of treatment of Tim (and other characters like Bobby Drake and Alan Scott) is a poor way of treating the LGBTQ community. When comic company's retcon existing characters sexuality, especially when the characters have no history to justify it, they are taking an easy way out. IMO, it's shows an unwillingness or inability to create new, engaging characters so they take second or third tier characters and retcon them. If they are serious about making characters more diverse then instead of Alan Scott make Hal or John gay. Instead of Tim how about Damien or Bruce? Instead of Iceman how about any top tier X-Man? These retcons are being done to characters who don't carry their own monthly titles and were absent from the eyes of the general public until the retcon. I think DC and Marvel need to find a better way to address their diversity problems.

[witchboy]

Tim is DC's character to do with as they will and I have no dog in the fight one way or another other than Tim being my favorite Robin. If DC wants to change Tim's sexuality or have him explore it more that's fine. That said, I think this kind of treatment of Tim (and other characters like Bobby Drake and Alan Scott) is a poor way of treating the LGBTQ community. When comic company's retcon existing characters sexuality, especially when the characters have no history to justify it, they are taking an easy way out. IMO, it's shows an unwillingness or inability to create new, engaging characters so they take second or third tier characters and retcon them. If they are serious about making characters more diverse then instead of Alan Scott make Hal or John gay. Instead of Tim how about Damien or Bruce? Instead of Iceman how about any top tier X-Man? These retcons are being done to characters who don't carry their own monthly titles and were absent from the eyes of the general public until the retcon. I think DC and Marvel need to find a better way to address their diversity problems.

They're not going to give us a gay Batman anytime soon. It's groundbreaking that we're getting a gay Robin.
New characters rarely have staying power or prominent positions. I loved Bunker but where is he now? Restricting LGBT characters to only new characters mean few if any LGBT characters will stick around or get major roles.
I, like a lot of fans, did think there was potential for Tim to be gay decades ago. Society wasn't ready for major gay characters when Tim was created. Having him be gay now can be seen as balancing the scales a bit.
As for Iceman, I knew he was gay since the early 90s when Scott Lobdell was writing him, and Lobdell has confirmed that was his intention.
With Alan Scott, there are people who come out late in life. Meredith Baxter had five ex husbands when she came out in her sixties.
I, as a gay man, am not offended by characters coming out when it's written well, so please don't be offended on my behalf.

[Frontier]

I love Bunker. I've not been happy how he's been sidelined so hard.
I would be really open to a Bunker/Tim relationship but i have to admit that Tim/Conner is always going to be my first choice. I've been invested in them for a long time, dreams don't die easy.
Maybe Bernard will wind up winning me over given time. I'm intrigued so far, but I am still seeing him as a short term character.

I'm honestly juts not seeing a better alternative to Steph, but that might just be me.

[jpmst17]

I don't like this at all. It feels forced. Tim has been straight since the 90's, hes never been written to have any thoughts of being gay, and has been in a long relationship with spoiler. He also had a fling with Cassie in teen titans. I'm not against making a gay robin, but i don't like taking straight characters and making them gay. I had the same problem with Iceman.

[Konja7]

They're not going to give us a gay Batman anytime soon. It's groundbreaking that we're getting a gay Robin.

Only one correction, so far, Tim isn't gay.

Tim is still figuring his sexual identity. That has been explicitly mentioned by the writer.

So, it's also possible he is bi or queer.

[Restingvoice]

I'm reading up on Bernard Dowd's original appearances and wow I don't think anyone's gonna miss this guy. He's a stereotypical 90s sitcom friend (no, not best friend, the best friend would be black lol) that's there to either be annoying, pervy, a fool, or all of them.

I know he's written in the 2000s but he feels like a 90s sitcom character, and I think that archetype persisted to the 2000s with American Pie movies

[Aahz]

Bernard isn’t a new character. He’s from Tim’s solo.

But the new version seems not to have much similarities with the original.

[Aahz]

Yes, it's exciting to see this trending so big on news sources. I would hope this will lead to Tim maintaining a larger profile.

Sofar Tim isn't going to be the lead in any book that has been announced sofar (I don't think there are even any announced appearances of him in the next month sofar).

I mean his story wasn't even the "cover story" in this issue of Urban legends (that was the Red Hood story).

If DC really wants to make Tim higher profile again, they seem not really to put much effort into it.

[Zaresh]

Bernard isn’t a new character. He’s from Tim’s solo.

I’m in the camp hoping this returns some focus to Tim’s private life. Know-it-all superhacker is a dead end. Tim is my favorite character but he’s been awful, for the most part, since the New 52.

So I wasn't mistaking him beofre! I knew I remembered him from the solo. But then I keep reading he was new, so, I thought maybe I was missremembering it? I guess I wasn't, ha ha.

In that case, well, I go back to my first theory when I thought the was an old friend. He may be his actual first romance for a while, instead of just a short relationship. I wouldn't go like that, would have made a new character as the detonant of the change and testing date, but it easily could be.

[VolcanikTiger86]

Much like @mmurphy1968, i dont have a dog in the fight as i explained before for me and this applies to all characters that are outed, so long as i can personally tell stories with my favorite ships i honestly don't care what DC do. They want to make Tim gay - go for it i don't care so long as i can tell my stories in my universe or multi verse where Tim isn't gay, if everyone agrees that's ok then they can out Batman for all i care. Gay Bruce, Bi Bruce or Straight Bruce all are valid. New characters are a hard selling point but i do think that sometimes introducing or reestablishing characters and have them be gay or bi is easy than doing it with someone who has a strong fanbase and that fanbase likes a certain pairing but again a story with Bruce and Clark is just as valid as a story with Clark Diana and Lois or Tim Kon Cassie and Steph. For me let me do my thing and i'll let everyone do their thing and DC can do it. Do i think Tim was queer coded no but then i'm not queer so i'm bias maybe he was but i just want to see what happens next and see where he lands