Controversial Batfamily Opinions

[dietrich]

I'm fine with Tim getting retired.

I don't think that's a controversial opinion.

[phonogram12]

You also spelt the interesting version wrong.

Did I, though?

That was actually a rhetorical question. I'm well aware that I didn't.

[Pete26]

duplicate Dicks? DO NOT WANT! I'd rather have Damian as Nightwing.

Nah, I don't need two Dicks

[Timothy Hunter]

The murder of Batman's parents is the most boring part of his mythos.

When Bruce Wayne's motivation for being Batman is boiled down to a single tragic event by writers it takes away his complexity.

[Timothy Hunter]

I don't think that's a controversial opinion.

I wonder where this hatred/ambivalence of Tim Drake originated. I suspect sometime around the start of the New Fifty Two, because DC hasn't done anything remarkable with him in over a decade. I think Tim's popularity is rooted in how consistently good in solo series was, but now that he has hasn't had an ongoing since 2011 and he's been rendered into an ensemble character without a strong enough personality to stand out.

[Lal]

I wonder where this hatred/ambivalence of Tim Drake originated. I suspect sometime around the start of the New Fifty Two, because DC hasn't done anything remarkable with him in over a decade. I think Tim's popularity is rooted in how consistently good in solo series was, but now that he has hasn't had an ongoing since 2011 and he's been rendered into an ensemble character without a strong enough personality to stand out.

It probably stems from there being so many bat characters, and Tim sharing so many similar traits with the others.
Tim, until making him bi, didn't really have something to really distinguish himself from the others.
They even acknowledged it in the Robin special - he's not the golden boy or the bad boy or the child of Batman and Grandson to Ra's. He's "the other one".

DC just decided to make him Bi, and retiring the queer Robin now could be quite problematic. So maybe they could just put him in an entirely different position. Grayson was great, and while Tim isn't exactly a sexy superspy, he's smart and could maybe carry the spies/ espionage angle of the DCU. Maybe being separated from other Gotham characters could help.

[exile001]

I wonder where this hatred/ambivalence of Tim Drake originated. I suspect sometime around the start of the New Fifty Two, because DC hasn't done anything remarkable with him in over a decade. I think Tim's popularity is rooted in how consistently good in solo series was, but now that he has hasn't had an ongoing since 2011 and he's been rendered into an ensemble character without a strong enough personality to stand out.

I think it interest in Tim was starting to wane by the time his Dad was killed* but it really kicked off from Damian fans feeling threatened Tim would return and as a reflection of Tim fans hating that Damian replaced him (starting with Damian half killing him in the first arc). Since then it's just grown into the usual echo chamber of "Tim is the best/worst character EVAR!1!1!!!!!!!" as these things are wont to do.

*Tim started as a smart but flawed character, but between the second half of Dixon's run and Johns making him Batman Jr on Teen Titans he was seen as too perfect and generic.

[Godlike13]

Tim’s the Nickelback of the Batfamily. He ran his course. Being so formulaic and generic just stopped being appealing. As he continues to try to follow the formula of others with this pursuit to establish his Nightwing. His popularity is rooted and dependent on pure nostalgia at this point. He was a generation’s Robin, but new generations became consumers and so he fell off.

[Gaius]

Tim’s the Nickelback of the Batfamily. He ran his course. Being so formulaic and generic just stopped being appealing. As he continues to try to follow the formula of others with this pursuit to establish his Nightwing. His popularity is rooted and dependent on pure nostalgia at this point. He was a generation’s Robin, but new generations became consumers and so he fell off.

Posts like this are this site needs a "like" function.

[Alan2099]

When they killed Tim's dad, they were trying to make his character into something it wasn't and he never recovered from that.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I wonder where this hatred/ambivalence of Tim Drake originated. I suspect sometime around the start of the New Fifty Two, because DC hasn't done anything remarkable with him in over a decade. I think Tim's popularity is rooted in how consistently good in solo series was, but now that he has hasn't had an ongoing since 2011 and he's been rendered into an ensemble character without a strong enough personality to stand out.

For me it's more boredom than outright hatred. Tim hasn't appealed to me in years. Tim was more interesting when I was in high school. Unfortunately the new 52 coincided with my college years. Tim and the YJ crew just weren't interesting to me anymore.

Right now there's a bunch of new characters that caught my attention. Tim just feels stale and comic book time didn't help his generation. It's not a unique problem to them but a notable one.

[Aahz]

I wonder where this hatred/ambivalence of Tim Drake originated. I suspect sometime around the start of the New Fifty Two, because DC hasn't done anything remarkable with him in over a decade. I think Tim's popularity is rooted in how consistently good in solo series was, but now that he has hasn't had an ongoing since 2011 and he's been rendered into an ensemble character without a strong enough personality to stand out.

I think that's mostly it.

He hasn't had a solo (not even a mini or an out of continuity one) in years.

The team books he has been on since flashpoint have been mostly disliked.

He has barely had any character development and when it comes often from kind of nowhere (change to Drake and back to (Red) Robin, his coming out).

[TheRay]

The "Batfamily" does not need to feel or act like an actual family.

[Catlady in training]

I like both Tim and Damian (though Damian much more) and I despise the idea that you have to choose one and dislike the other. Fandom rivalries like that are one of the worst things in comicbook fandom and they make a bad name for fans and sadly also for the characters involved.

It's not a zero sum game, there's no need to feel that your favorite character is going to be treated badly because of another character. Especially in a fandom like Batman where characters already get plenty of attention, as opposed to many other DC characters. We should be more grateful for what we get.

[Jackalope89]

The "Batfamily" does not need to feel or act like an actual family.

I mean, outside of major events, its rare to see more than 2 together anyway. And that's not including them actually getting along. I think Duke and Cass are the only ones not to have aggravated anything bad. Tim suddenly broke it off with Steph after Bendis promised a long relationship (not sure if he ever told her). And the rest have been distant, at best, since Alfred's death.