90s Tim Drake Robin Series

[Jadeb]

Tim started off as a Peter Parker everyman, a smart kid who often found himself out of his league, even against some of Batman's c-list villains. It gave a real sense of danger to his small-scale adventures, and his supporting cast -- including a living, loving father -- set him apart from other DC characters. Over time, he became more competent and confident, which was a healthy evolution for the character. But then he fell victim to DC's voracious hunger for tragedy and gore. They killed off his dad, his best friend (Conner) and his girlfriend, and turned Tim into a brooding mini-Bats. Despite this, he remained a functional character until the reboot, which destroyed him entirely. Instead of a bright, normal kid doing good because he wanted to, the new Tim was an Olympic-level gymnast and genius computer hacker who was so reckless, arrogant and stupid that he endangered his family's lives and was rewarded by becoming Red Robin. So he was never really a Robin, and he's not even Tim Drake -- "Drake" is a fake name because his family is in witness protection. (I'm not even kidding.) Since then he's been possessed by a demon and, while possessed, seduced two of the female Titans -- a far cry from the perennial virgin nerd he used to be. These days he's the ultimate Mary Sue, always having a master plan and saving the day without having to earn his victories. It's a huge shame.

[DisneyBoy]

Woah, thanks for the rundown. I'm astonished they changed so much about Tim, seeing as how there wasn't much the readership didn't like about the original...

And I thought Red Robin was just his second identity... not his first! Darn that Nu52.

[WhipWhirlwind]

Jadeb's covered it.

Tim's original shtick and main selling point was that he was Peter Parker meets Batman. DC has since ignored that and completely ruined the character, to the point where his best moments come from when writers seem to just pretend they are writing pre52 Tim.

[agentofthebat]

Robin and Red Robin were two awesome series! I remember reading Robin while I was in High School. Good Times!

[godisawesome]

What has happened to him since? I know he became Red Robin and I have a few of those issues and the art was really good... did the writing undermine him in the Nu52?

Woah, thanks for the rundown. I'm astonished they changed so much about Tim, seeing as how there wasn't much the readership didn't like about the original...

And I thought Red Robin was just his second identity... not his first! Darn that Nu52.

It's only fair to mention that some people did dislike his Red Robin solo as well, finding him to be a Batman-lite and a little too generic for their tastes. I mean, I liked it and the book had vocal support from the fanbase, but it wasn't unanimous.

Which is why I think it's still amazing just how horrible the New 52 version is in comparison. Fabian Nicieza, the writer for most of the last few arcs of the Robin solo and the back half of the Red Robin run, admitted that he was writing a more somber and even somewhat arrogant Tim, but he did that because of the context around the character, and made a strong effort towards getting Tim's occasional irreverence towards overly serious villains and heroes down, as well as a general trend towards contrasting the remaining aspects of Tim's normal life with his "night job." Tim would still spend about half of each issue out of costume. And he made the arrogance and somber turn a flaw for the character, which I think worked great.

But the New 52 seemed to try and make that arrogance a defining trait, and has no civilian Tim Drake issues worth any note at all.

[Vinsanity]

What has happened to him since? I know he became Red Robin and I have a few of those issues and the art was really good... did the writing undermine him in the Nu52?

They killed off his dad. He went downhill from there. Though I do love the arrogance. To me I mean you're trained by the Bats, surely you have to be arrogant.

[Kingcrimsonprog]

When and why did pre52 Tim turn into Red Robin with the costume change and everything?

[godisawesome]

Kind of a transition from the last arc of the original Robin solo into Red Robin.

[sunofdarkchild]

After Bruce 'died' and Dick became Batman he made Damian Robin. Dick said that it was because he felt that he and Tim were too equal for Tim to be his Robin, but the result was that Tim was pushed out of the role against his will. So Tim became Red Robin instead.

[Jadeb]

Though I do love the arrogance. To me I mean you're trained by the Bats, surely you have to be arrogant.

I think Bruce would beat that out of him just to keep him alive. A lot of the Bat villains look like chumps but aren't. Smugly assuming you've got this covered is a good way to get killed.

From a storytelling perspective, it elevates the villains if Tim has to struggle to take them down. That also provides the dramatic tension for the story.

I would like NuTim much more if we periodically saw that the bravado was just a false front, or at least saw him having to earn his victories more often.

[DisneyBoy]

I rather liked that Tim had a living father to look after, especially one who wasn't well. It gave something to the character that he has responsibilities beyond being a superhero.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

One of my favorite superhero comics from my youth.

[The Shredder]

I've been thinking about pulling out a bundle of those early Dixon issues and re-reading them since it's been awhile. Absolutely loved the series as a kid growing up in the '90's. My introduction to Tim was Robin II The Joker's Wild mini. Extremely fun read!

[brandnewfan]

Great character until Lobdell got hold of him.

[Winter_fury]

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ROBIN: REBORN collects in chronological order for the first time ever BATMAN #455-457, DETECTIVE COMICS #618-621, and ROBIN #1-5.

Is this a good point to start collecting Tim drake as robin or a there stories that come before this?