Tim Drake: Robin #1 Preview

[ZuLuLu]

I hope DC can see if this book fails it’s because of the art and not Tim and LGBT characters, and give him another series with a different creative team.

Base on DC 's solicitations for December 2022, there is going to be a change in the artist. TIM DRAKE: ROBIN #4 Written by MEGHAN FITZMARTIN Art and cover by RICARDO LÓPEZ ORTIZ

A look at his work still got the weird vibe that they seem to want with this book but a little more mainstream.

[SomeRandomSmartA55]

I know a lot of Bi pals who don't feel accepted by the community. They are often written off as greedy, slutty or just attention seekers who are experimenting.

it's quite sad that a large part of the community discriminates/denies a sizable part of their own.

Indeed it seems most people struggle with the concept of being to man and woman sincerely and equally.
Those who have a preference [male or female] don't understand since they have no frame of reference. That is understandable but so many don't even try to understand or to be respectful.

I've found it worrying so many readers and supposed allies are already fearful about Tim/Jon possibly dating a woman in the future.

I also noticed that the writer [Megan] is indeed writing Tim as Gay not Bi. She's writing him like he's into guys. He's not. He is into both.

That could be interpreted as phobic or it could be because she thinks fans don't understand what bi sexual means.

It'd be great to have a bi male character who truly reflected what it means to be bi. Dating both men and women. Not just another gay male character.

We all talk about representation but while we have plenty of same sex [exclusive] and opposite sex relationships we are lacking character who actually truly are portrayed to swing both ways. Even women like Wonder Woman and Catwoman who are supposed to be Bi aren't written as such.

Harley comes close since she has iconic male and female lovers.

I would have liked to see the same with Tim and Jon. They had a choice to do that with Tim but by rejecting his iconic female love interest as 'not himself' in favour of Benard they are making it harder for him to have iconic established lovers. One male, one female.

They had a really good thing with Tim having such a long and established relationship with Steph already in place. All they had to do was embrace and keep all that history positive while developing his new one.

Perhaps if we had more truly bisexual relationships in our media so many wouldn't struggle with the concept of a person being bisexual.

As a Bi male, how do you feel about Tim's writing of late?

Well it's complicated, Tim is my favorite comic book character of all time, I'm bisexual, Tim & Steph are my favorite couple, I credit those two as being the reason I really got into comics, a big part of their relationship really spoke to me as a bi guy, and Bernard is a character I have never liked.

I never wanted Tim to be Bi, mainly because I for me Tim is to Steph what Clark is to Lois. Meant to be, so the way he just dumped her off-panel for some guy who hasn't been around in over a decade is very jarring to say the least. I personally always got bi vibes from Jason, (but that may just be me projecting....or simping) but after Jon was announced as bi I kinda wished Damian was the "queer Robin" because at that point in time Damian never showed interest in girls or guys so he was a blank slate (plus then they could've paired him with Jon and have a robinxsuperboy pairing). And in his book he was on a journey to "find himself" it was a perfect route for him to explore. Instead they just did a major swerve on Tim's characterization. It didn't feel like a natural progression of his character (especially after how much TimxSteph stories there were in Rebirth & the Bendis YJ run). When Tim was announced as bi my initial reaction was "...wow....they have NO idea what to do with him..." It felt like they were trying to keep him relevant and could just dismiss all their criticism as homophobia (so far I have been proven right)

Upon rereading anything I could find on Tim, I see the potential of making Tim bi. However most of the "queer-coding" I found on Tim were mainly in the Teen Titans books and there was hardly anything from his solo series. it has potential, but the execution is all wrong.

The way he is being written right now is atrocious. This is not the character I fell in love with, it's a straight woman's yaoi fanfic version. I know this may be harsh, but....I have read porn parodies that have a better handle on his character on Tim than she does. She seems like a nice person and I do think she has good intentions, but you know the saying about the road to hell.

Honestly I have so many thoughts on this, but I can just sum it up as this:
Kiss Conner
Marry Stephanie
Kill Bernard

[witchboy]

The replacement artist looks somewhat better. It’s not a great page to represent what to expect. It doesn’t look like what I’d expect or want, but I’m still going to support Tim.

[SomeRandomSmartA55]

I don't think Stephanie was the voice of "old" Tim fans in that story. I mean, Fitzmartin isn't so subtle.

When Fitzmartin wants to criticize "old" Tim fans is too obvious. For example: Imaginary Batman in Dark Crisis Young Justice.


The reason why Stephanie was only allowed to feel "happy" is because she would be criticized as homophobic for many Tim x Bernard fans if she didn't feel "happy".

It isn't good writing, but I think Fitzmartin was trying to put Stephanie in a positive light.

Tried and failed miserably. Stephanie had gotten angry with Tim before because she thought he was cheating on two separate occasions. Both cases he was faithful to her but you understood why she came to those conclusions. But now that Tim’s with a guy it’s the “best day ever”

If the goal is to encourage people to come out the writers need to be realistic. Some people will not take it well…like say your ex-girlfriend!!!

And I speak from personal experience on this matter. It can get ugly and would have been great drama for the writers to play with.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

Tried and failed miserably. Stephanie had gotten angry with Tim before because she thought he was cheating on two separate occasions. Both cases he was faithful to her but you understood why she came to those conclusions. But now that Tim’s with a guy it’s the “best day ever”

If the goal is to encourage people to come out the writers need to be realistic. Some people will not take it well…like say your ex-girlfriend!!!

And I speak from personal experience on this matter. It can get ugly and would have been great drama for the writers to play with.

I think she should be more mad about the dumping offscreen, and ghosting, not the coming out. Also she should be mad at him for introducing her to his new partner without warning which is a HUGE dick move honestly.

In the past Steph has never supported Tim with someone else from the get go. I mean when she came back from the dead and saw he was with someone else, she respected it but didn't become a shipper on deck and still reflected on her relationship with Tim and couldn't help doing so. Even during Batgirl 2009 after they had a talk and reconcilled and SHE made it clear she doesn't want to be with him right now, when she found out he was engaged, she showed complex reaction and subtle jealousy instead of being an immediate shipper on deck. This behaviour was OOC for her.

[SomeRandomSmartA55]

I think she should be more mad about the dumping offscreen, and ghosting, not the coming out. Also she should be mad at him for introducing her to his new partner without warning which is a HUGE dick move honestly.

In the past Steph has never supported Tim with someone else from the get go. I mean when she came back from the dead and saw he was with someone else, she respected it but didn't become a shipper on deck and still reflected on her relationship with Tim and couldn't help doing so. Even during Batgirl 2009 after they had a talk and reconcilled and SHE made it clear she doesn't want to be with him right now, when she found out he was engaged, she showed complex reaction and subtle jealousy instead of being an immediate shipper on deck. This behaviour was OOC for her.

ABSOLUTELY!!!

God it is so refreshing to see people being bothered by the same issues I have. I can’t count how many times people have called me homophobic (mostly by straight people!) just because I don’t like how they handled this with Tim.

[thwhtGuardian]

I hope DC can see if this book fails it’s because of the art and not Tim and LGBT characters, and give him another series with a different creative team.

Yeah, this art is really horrendous...I don't get how anyone could like it.

[Robanker]

I think she should be more mad about the dumping offscreen, and ghosting, not the coming out. Also she should be mad at him for introducing her to his new partner without warning which is a HUGE dick move honestly.

In the past Steph has never supported Tim with someone else from the get go. I mean when she came back from the dead and saw he was with someone else, she respected it but didn't become a shipper on deck and still reflected on her relationship with Tim and couldn't help doing so. Even during Batgirl 2009 after they had a talk and reconcilled and SHE made it clear she doesn't want to be with him right now, when she found out he was engaged, she showed complex reaction and subtle jealousy instead of being an immediate shipper on deck. This behaviour was OOC for her.

The problem is that unless you have a long history of reading Steph, she would come across homophobic. Not a good look, especially when she's just been a supporting character or co-lead for over a decade.

It sucks, but I get erring on the side of caution when the prospect of bigotry getting attached to her is on the table. That said, the end result was a hard overcorrection.

[ayanestar]

The art for this comic is definitely a choice. I also don't understand what the target audience is for this. I'm not active on Twitter, Tumblr etc. these days, so tell me, do his fans really like what DC have been doing with him lately?
I still think it was a mistake to make him Robin again. They should have used this opportunity to find a new superhero identity for him instead.

[SomeRandomSmartA55]

The art for this comic is definitely a choice. I also don't understand what the target audience is for this. I'm not active on Twitter, Tumblr etc. these days, so tell me, do his fans really like what DC have been doing with him lately?
I still think it was a mistake to make him Robin again. They should have used this opportunity to find a new superhero identity for him instead.

People are split on making him bi. Most are okay with it but NEARLY EVERYONE hates how they handled things between Tim & Steph. I also agree making him Robin again is backtracking. He should be Red Robin that run was rad!

[NOCTPHOENIX]

The problem is that unless you have a long history of reading Steph, she would come across homophobic. Not a good look, especially when she's just been a supporting character or co-lead for over a decade.

It sucks, but I get erring on the side of caution when the prospect of bigotry getting attached to her is on the table. That said, the end result was a hard overcorrection.

Like I said, a simple "nice to meet you" would have been enough. The end result wasn't a hard overcorrection, it was just shilling Bernard and using Steph as a prop to.

[witchboy]

Steph being that excited to meet Bernard was cringey.
I do get the writer was trying to make Steph likable and only had a short amount of space to devote to her.
Like all the issues with Steph, this needed more time and space to do it right.
I’d love to see some flashbacks maybe in a Pride special 2023 that flesh out the whole story arc with Steph and Tim’s changing relationship, from break up, Steph’s anger she should have and her acceptance.
There’s a good story that could be told there.

[Super_kon]

I hoped that fitzmartin could improve her understanding of characters, but it seems she writes on directive instead of exploration. Tim has been acknowledged as a detective on par or surpassing Batman. It seems unlikely that he wouldn’t know it was Bernard behind him.
Contrast this preview with Superboy: Man of Tomorrow. Both previews show men lost, trying to find their way. One author acknowledges the history and uses it to move forward, while the other focuses on this current relationship to not only invalidate his prior romantic relationship, but his familial ones.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

Steph being that excited to meet Bernard was cringey.
I do get the writer was trying to make Steph likable and only had a short amount of space to devote to her.
Like all the issues with Steph, this needed more time and space to do it right.
I’d love to see some flashbacks maybe in a Pride special 2023 that flesh out the whole story arc with Steph and Tim’s changing relationship, from break up, Steph’s anger she should have and her acceptance.
There’s a good story that could be told there.

She wasn't trying to make her likeable. She was just using her as a prop to shill Bernard. She really hates Steph. Like I said introducing your new partner to your ex without asking said ex is a huge ******* thing to do.

Steph was acting like a middle schooler who discovered slashfic or straight women who like to squee and coo at the adorable "gay babies" which honestly is what Fitzmartin is and the audience she is writing for. On twitter she once called Tim and Bernard "muh babies".........

DC won't tell this story as Bateditorial hates Timsteph in the same way they hate DickKory.

[Robanker]

Like I said, a simple "nice to meet you" would have been enough. The end result wasn't a hard overcorrection, it was just shilling Bernard and using Steph as a prop to.

Oh, I agree. Hell, I'd still have her react poorly and then when Tim pushes back (because he's dumb to be introducing them so soon, so he'd absolutely be a bonehead about it), she would express it's that he's parading his new flame in front of her, not that he's a dude, and that Tim really doesn't understand people if he thinks it's the right time. Have her tell Bernard she's sorry, it's not about him, she's just really mad at how insensitive Tim is being and just be on her way.

You know, some pushback over leaving your girlfriend and introducing her to your new significant other immediately. Have Bernard support Tim while also saying that, yes, it was a dick move. Actual relationship drama that can bring people closer! Your current SO and ex meeting is always a conversation, and usually a complicated one. Dig into that juicy steak dinner instead of just microwaving the fucking thing to room temp. :/

Just about anything other than what we got. But if we must **** the bed, I prefer it doesn't make Steph look like a homophobe. She can walk away from that poor writing fine in the end.