Why is it so hard to really do anything good with Tim Drake now a days?

[scary harpy]

The truth is that Tim has never been sidelined by DC. The opposite. Just because the many many many directions they've taken with Tim haven't been successful or as successful as when the character was at his peak doesn't mean DC hasn't kept investing and trying.

His inability to move on and find a new identity is in large part the fault of the DC being staffed by a lot of people who grew up with Tim as their Robin. Bendis, Tynion, Taylor 3 prominent figures who have all proclaimed their fondness for the character and 3 writers who have recently leaned in on 90's RobinTim nostalgia as Kino.

It's hard to make a clean break when writers won't let readers move on.

Or when the writers of said content don't use him well.

So, DC is investing and trying with Tim by taking him in many, many, many unsuccessful or barely successful directions.

Simultaneously, Tim’s writers are unable to move on and find a new identity for Tim…or use Tim well in stories.

[Lady Nightwing]

I think Tim needs a soft reboot. He became insufferable after becoming an Olympic level athlete and a master hacker etc. The writers seemed so keen to show him as super capable, that they seemed unaware the were stripping him of likeable qualities. I'm talking about keeping his parents prisoner in their own home,which was actually a high tech nightmare prison, the whole Saviour debacle and aiding and abetting Basil Karlo to become giant Clayface who knew all the Batfamilys weakness. That last one was unintentional but he never acknowledged his role in it and instead lost the rag at Kate for shooting Clayface, even though he had no plan to stop his rampage.

Soft reboot is the way to go. Restore his family, he'd be the only one who regularly interacts with a 'normal' family since I think Dukes parents are still Jokerised. Restore his civilian friends. Ideally, he would get a new identity but we know that's been a struggle. Even so, he shouldn't be Robin. Revert him back to Red Robin, if that's the best DC can do but put him in a Red Robin suit. No standard Robin suit with a double R logo. You have to give him his own suit because if Tim and Damian are on panel together in the same suit, people are going to compare them, which I don't think bodes well for Tim. His character has been greatly diminished over the years and love him or hate him, Damian has a dynamic personality.

I would keep the questioning his sexuality thing. It is the most interesting thing that's happened to him in years. Most controversially I'd nerf his skill set. I'd keep him as an excellent detective and still capable with computers but no more robot armies or hacking everything. I'd think he'd be more interesting if he had to work harder at the physical aspects of it though. Sort of restore his everyman status and make him ore relatable to readers again. I don't want to make him useless or anything. Just an odd inward though on panel, that he's envious of Jason's size and strength etc.

[Rac7d*]

Because he needs something new. Not just sexual orientation, his character needs a huge changes in status quo. Yeah, he was created to be the Robin, who would be not just sidekick, but hero with his own support cast and storylines, and probably it's one of the reasons why they're hesistaning from moving him away from that. Attempts to keep Robin mantle on him are useless and harmful, it would only work if Damian give up the mantle. But this did not happen and will not happen in the near future, Damian is the Robin now, and there's no reason for Tim to share this mantle, he grew out of it.
Make him a detective in GCPD, or give him a different alias and make him work somewhere else, or, damn, they can even make him an anti-hero, even though it would cause a backlash. Tim desperately needs something new, not just clinging to Robin mantle for eternity.

Tim should have gone to college and come back a detective, we could perhaps create. Partnership with Gordon in the GCPD and build up a transition to make him commissioner, securing the batfamily an ally who knows who they are.

[Fergus]

So, DC is investing and trying with Tim by taking him in many, many, many unsuccessful or barely successful directions.

Simultaneously, TimÂ’s writers are unable to move on and find a new identity for TimÂ…or use Tim well in stories.

Some Writers due to nostalgia keep calling back to Robin Tim.- Tynion and Taylor

Some aiming for low hanging fruit by fan service and nostalgia -Robins put him in his 90's costume. Bendis strategy for YJ and his #TimDrakebestRobin twitter nonsense.

Some use their influence to satisfy their fanboy priorities - Tynion's push for Tim to take up the role again

Some writers have been real Robinteases for a while now Damian quitting, Tim's jumping in the role quicker than the Damian's ripped R logo hit the TT lounge floor







"should be easier now that we are together and everything's easier" Really Tim? Poor form. His father is standing right there.


All this [and thing's like Robin Eternal] makes it hard for fans to move on and undermines any effort made behind the scenes to move tim away from Robin.

They keep teasing Tim fans who keep hoping that Damian will soon be outsed and Tim will return to his right place as Robin [This words are taken from a comment from this very site posted not too long ago.

Dc and Fans need to move on because it's pretty clear that Damian isn't going anywhere on the contrary Dick, Damian and Duke seem to be the ones being used to target the next generation of WB consumers indicated by TTGo, DCSHG, Robin's by Garcia, Batwheels, Merry Little Batman and Supersons animated movie.

[Rufio]

I think Tim should get a new identity. It doesn't even have to be bird or bat related.

But Tim should go off to college (outside of Gotham) and he should be given a direction from there (outside of Gotham). He can have his boyfriend, but I think he needs to interact with other people too (outside of Gotham).

I do agree that when the writers are stuck in nostalgia mode, that they tend to lead characters in redundant directions or ways that don't appeal to the readers. Additionally, when writers are trying to connect with a certain part of the fanbase as opposed to just writing good stories, does the character suffer. Plus we have all these characters that are stuck orbiting Bruce and it is at the detriment of these characters. You won't get anywhere when a character is stuck being molded to Bruce (sorry Nightwing).

[SixSpeedSamurai]

Once they started making him more like Batman, starting with Identity Crisis, things went downhill. The Red Robin series was pretty good though, but it was all swept away with New 52 and DC really jacked him up there. As much as I like Tynion the 4th, his Rebirth Tim was kind of halfway between classic Tim and New 52 Tim. Bendis started out doing good things with Tim, then Drake hit. Not sure if there was a long term payoff he had planned, but YJ didn't last long (it was way to slow moving) and Tim was reset to basically what he was at the start of the series.

I will say that Taylor is doing good things with Tim in Nightwing even if he's a small supporting character there. I'd like it very much if he pitched some ideas for Tim. Since DC is set on keeping Damian Robin, come up with something new for Tim. I still like the idea of him being Rook, it's a bird and a chess piece, both seemingly would fit for Tim.

Tim works best as the everyman. He's the person in the family who could just walk away from it all someday. Someone at DC seemed bent on doing a hatchet job to anything Chuck Dixon did in the batoffice and Tim felt the brunt of that. We don't know the status of his parents currently as far as I know (dead or alive), the broke him up with Steph for some reason to make him bi as a publicity stunt. These are not the kind of changes needed to make progress with a character.

[Castiel]

Once they started making him more like Batman, starting with Identity Crisis, things went downhill. The Red Robin series was pretty good though, but it was all swept away with New 52 and DC really jacked him up there. As much as I like Tynion the 4th, his Rebirth Tim was kind of halfway between classic Tim and New 52 Tim. Bendis started out doing good things with Tim, then Drake hit. Not sure if there was a long term payoff he had planned, but YJ didn't last long (it was way to slow moving) and Tim was reset to basically what he was at the start of the series.

I will say that Taylor is doing good things with Tim in Nightwing even if he's a small supporting character there. I'd like it very much if he pitched some ideas for Tim. Since DC is set on keeping Damian Robin, come up with something new for Tim. I still like the idea of him being Rook, it's a bird and a chess piece, both seemingly would fit for Tim.

Tim works best as the everyman. He's the person in the family who could just walk away from it all someday. Someone at DC seemed bent on doing a hatchet job to anything Chuck Dixon did in the batoffice and Tim felt the brunt of that. We don't know the status of his parents currently as far as I know (dead or alive), the broke him up with Steph for some reason to make him bi as a publicity stunt. These are not the kind of changes needed to make progress with a character.

True I honestly was not okay with that publicity stunt it comes off as more offensive than anything else. I honestly feel like a good retcon would be to say the current Tim is a brain washed imposter inserted by Hugo Strange and the real Tim is locked in Arkham Asylum and have him pull an Arkham Knight but again that'd be like what happened with the gun shooting alternate Tim. In truth it's hard to fix Tim as he comes off as entitled and spiteful in scenes like the one where he said "We're back together." right in front of Bruce. Mind you if he did come out and admit he was jealous of Damien and hated him for being Robin that'd at least be something interesting.

[Fridays]

Perhaps Tim Drake always felt like an afterthought character. He was the third Robin.

[Aahz]

the broke him up with Steph for some reason to make him bi as a publicity stunt.

I it was a publicity stunt it was really badly planed.
I if the had given him a new solo and had tried to create interest in that, but doing it in an anthology story with no new book for Tim announced sofar, and having it been overshadowed by doing the same with Jon Kent just a few month later, that not well planed.

[SixSpeedSamurai]

Perhaps Tim Drake always felt like an afterthought character. He was the third Robin.

Not in the least. He was highly popular in the 90's, 180+ issue series, YJ series, Teen Titans series plus being in Detective and Batman a lot. They modernized Robin with him and showed he belongs.

[Buried Alien]

When Tim Drake was introduced in 1989, his function was to replace the slain Jason Todd as Robin. That worked just fine until 2005, when Jason returned (albeit not as Robin). Then, a few years later, Damian Wayne was introduced, given the Robin role, and to everyone's surprise, appealed to much of the fan base. The one-two blow of Jason returning and Damian becoming popular as Robin put Tim in a very awkward position as the very reason he was created was suddenly obviated.

It's a shame: I've always liked Tim much more than Jason or Damian.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[MajorHoy]

Perhaps Tim Drake always felt like an afterthought character. He was the third Robin.

Not in the least. He was highly popular in the 90's, 180+ issue series, YJ series, Teen Titans series plus being in Detective and Batman a lot. They modernized Robin with him and showed he belongs.

And don't forget: while Dick had his own regular solo feature in Star Spangled Comics (starting with issue #65, cover-dated February 1947), Tim was the first Robin to earn his own regular, long-running solo comic book title.
Not something DC would normally give to "an afterthought character".

[9th.]

They just need to find a niche and stick with it, have him do magic or something.

[Rac7d*]

They just need to find a niche and stick with it, have him do magic or something.

its a little late to start studying the arcane for him

[Writerblog]

I it was a publicity stunt it was really badly planed.
I if the had given him a new solo and had tried to create interest in that, but doing it in an anthology story with no new book for Tim announced sofar, and having it been overshadowed by doing the same with Jon Kent just a few month later, that not well planed.

Bleeding cool said that it wasn't planned in advance. That story is still unfinished, like is taking months to continue the story. This sucks for the character, if you gonna do it, do it well.

Once they started making him more like Batman, starting with Identity Crisis, things went downhill. The Red Robin series was pretty good though, but it was all swept away with New 52 and DC really jacked him up there. As much as I like Tynion the 4th, his Rebirth Tim was kind of halfway between classic Tim and New 52 Tim. Bendis started out doing good things with Tim, then Drake hit. Not sure if there was a long term payoff he had planned, but YJ didn't last long (it was way to slow moving) and Tim was reset to basically what he was at the start of the series.

I will say that Taylor is doing good things with Tim in Nightwing even if he's a small supporting character there. I'd like it very much if he pitched some ideas for Tim. Since DC is set on keeping Damian Robin, come up with something new for Tim. I still like the idea of him being Rook, it's a bird and a chess piece, both seemingly would fit for Tim.

Tim works best as the everyman. He's the person in the family who could just walk away from it all someday. Someone at DC seemed bent on doing a hatchet job to anything Chuck Dixon did in the batoffice and Tim felt the brunt of that. We don't know the status of his parents currently as far as I know (dead or alive), the broke him up with Steph for some reason to make him bi as a publicity stunt. These are not the kind of changes needed to make progress with a character.

DC even botched Birds of Prey and tried to cncel Steph Brown