| Tim Drake | |
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Tim Drake as Robin. Artwork for the cover of Robin vol. 2, 150 (Jul, 2006 DC Comics). Art by Patrick Gleason and Prentis Rollins. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | As Tim Drake Batman #436 (August 1989)[1] As Robin Batman #442 (December 1989)[2] As Red Robin Red Robin # 1 (August 2009)[3] |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman (writer) Pat Broderick (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Timothy Drake-Wayne[4] |
| Team affiliations | Batman Family Teen Titans Young Justice Wayne Enterprises Batman Inc. Outsiders |
| Partnerships | Bruce Wayne (Batman) Dick Grayson (Batman) Stephanie Brown (Batgirl) |
| Notable aliases | The Urban Legend, Robin, Tim Wayne, Red Robin, Alvin Draper, Mister Sarcastic, Batman, Todd Richards, Gary Glanz, Caroline Hill |
| Abilities |
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Timothy "Tim" Drake (also known as Tim Wayne)[3][5] is a superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics and in related media. The character was created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick. From 1989 to 2009, he was known as Robin in the Batman comics, becoming the third character to take up the identity. He was written by Tony Daniels as the third son of Batman during the Battle for the Cowl story arc. Tim Drake made his first comic book appearance in Batman #436 in a flashback as a child who was in the audience when Dick Grayson's parents fell to their deaths. Following the events in Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Drake has taken up the identity of Red Robin. In 2011 Tim Drake was ranked 32nd in IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.
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Tim Drake was introduced in 1989's Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying, in which he first introduced himself to Dick Grayson and impressed the former Robin with his skills. This led to Grayson and later Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler, to support Tim's request to be Batman's new partner. Batman editor Dennis O'Neil hoped that Grayson's approval of Drake would ease reader acceptance of him. Evidently, this approach was successful with Tim Drake being so accepted by readers that, after three successful miniseries, the character had his own 183-issue series from 1993 through 2009.[6] Mike Mullins on Newsarama has stated:
Throughout [the entire Robin series], the character of Robin has been captured consistently, showing him to step up to greater and greater challenges. Robin is a character who shows initiative and is driven to do what he views as right. He knows he is living up to a legacy left by Dick Grayson and strives to not disappoint Bruce Wayne, Batman. Tim is a more natural detective than previous Robins and is talented with computers, which allows him to stand in his own unique spotlight. Unlike his predecessors, Tim is not the most proficient combatant and has had to really work on his fighting technique, taking up the bo staff to give him an edge that Batman doesn’t need. Tim almost always seeks to analyze a problem and to outthink his opponent but has shown the ability to win a fight when necessary.[7]
As Robin, the character has also been featured prominently in the Young Justice and Teen Titans series, and, as of June 2009, Tim Drake/Wayne took on the new identity of Red Robin, starring in yet another series by the same name.
Tim Drake is the son of Jack and Janet Drake, coming from the same social class as Bruce Wayne.[8] When he was a young child, he visited the circus for the first time with his parents. The Drakes asked the Flying Graysons for a photo together, resulting in a momentary bond between Dick Grayson and Tim Drake as they met for the first time.[9]
After reaching the age of nine, Drake deduces the identities of Batman and Robin as Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson after witnessing a gymnastic move by Robin that Grayson displayed while performing with the Flying Graysons. Noting that Batman has grown reckless and violent following the death of second Robin Jason Todd, who was murdered by the Joker, Drake decided to intervene and Batman eventually enlisted him as the third Robin after the death of his mother and crippling of his father. Jack Drake also appeared in Identity Crisis. When Jean Loring sent him a gun he used it in self-defense and killed Captain Boomerang, but at the last second Boomerang threw a boomerang that killed Jack Drake. As a result Tim became an orphan, continuing the long held tradition that Robin is an orphan.[6][10][11]
Before joining Batman as the new Robin, Tim Drake was given a modern redesign of the Robin costume and sent to train abroad with numerous masters.[12] When Bruce Wayne retires after Knightfall, Robin goes solo to defend Gotham. Robin would eventually go on to co-star with other teenaged superheros in Young Justice and Teen Titans. He also made guest appearances in other DC comic books such as Nightwing and Azrael.
Following the deaths of his father in Identity Crisis (2004), his girlfriend Stephanie Brown in Batman: War Games (2004–2005) and his best friend Superboy (Kon-El) in Infinite Crisis (2005–2006), Drake was relocated to Blüdhaven for a period of time in order to escape the "ghosts" of Gotham City and to stay close to his stepmother Dana Winters who was admitted into a Blüdhaven clinic after going into psychological shock over Jack Drake's murder at the hands of Captain Boomerang,[13][14] was given another redesign of the Robin costume in the colors of Superboy's costume[15] and was formally adopted by Bruce Wayne as his son.[8][16]
After Batman's apparent death in Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, Bruce Wayne's biological son Damian Wayne takes up the Robin identity while Tim Drake, believing that his mentor is still alive, assumes the identity of Red Robin and leaves Gotham City to go on a worldwide search for Bruce Wayne.[3][17][18]
Red Robin, which was launched in late 2009, depicted Tim Drake's search to find evidence that Bruce Wayne was still alive after cutting himself off from the rest of the Bat Family. He was approached by Ra's al Ghul's assassins, who were also interested in finding out what happened to Batman. At the same time, Tam, Lucius Fox's daughter, has been sent to find Tim Drake-Wayne to bring him back to Gotham. Tim goes to Iraq and manages to discover definitive proof that Bruce was alive and lost in time, but was ambushed by an assassin from the Council of Spiders. He manages to drive himself and Pru to Tam Fox's hotel room, and they promptly get abducted by the League of Assassins. Although initially reluctant, he entered into an alliance with Ra's al Ghul nearly bleeding to death due to their encounter with the Council of Spiders. He was put in charge of the League of Assassins by Ra's al Ghul, and used the time to simultaneously plan how to stop the Council of Spiders and destroy the League of Assassins. After failing to foil all but one of the Council's assassination attempts, Tim realizes that the Council will be attacking the League's base, and realizes that he left Tam Fox in danger at the base. Rushing back to base, he simultaneously manages to delay the Council of Spiders, blow up the League's base, and escape with Tam.
After crippling Ra's al Ghul's League of Assassins, Drake returns to Gotham City to overthrow Ra's plans to use Hush, who was surgically-altered to resemble Bruce Wayne, to gain control of the Wayne family resources by becoming the CEO and controlling shareholder of Wayne Enterprises in accordance to Bruce Wayne's will. Ra's al Ghul plans to destroy all that Batman held dear, and begins directing his assassins to target all of the Batman's associates. Realizing that these attacks are a smokescreen and that the real target is coercing Hush to sign away Wayne Enterprises, Red Robin decides to confront Ra's al Ghul head on. He calls upon all of his friends to protect the various targets. He distracts Ra's al Ghul from stopping Lucius Fox from making Drake the controlling shareholder of Wayne Enterprises. Realizing that Red Robin has bested him, Ra's al Ghul commends him, calls him 'detective,' and launches Tim out of the window. Tim is happy that he was able to achieve victory without any compromises, and is saved from falling by Batman, Dick Grayson. Drake has since moved back to Gotham City and reestablished ties with his family and friends. After Bruce Wayne's return, Tim begins to aid his plans for expanding their mission globally with Batman, Inc.[19] Tim is eventually appointed as the head of the newest incarnation of the Outsiders, who now serve as Batman Inc.'s black-ops wing.[20] Red Robin eventually rejoins the Teen Titans and takes over leadership from Wonder Girl. He remains as the team's leader during their climatic battle against Superboy-Prime and the new Legion of Doom.[21]
Following an adventure with Blackbat where he faces Ra's al Ghul's sister,[22] Tim stalks and attempts to kill Captain Boomerang (who was resurrected during the Brightest Day). Though Tim ultimately stops himself from killing Boomerang, he is chastised by Batman for his actions.[23]
In the 2011 relaunch in September, Tim Drake is seen in the new Teen Titans #1 issue as Red Robin, now sporting a new costume designed by Brett Booth.[24] According to writer Scott Lobdell, many elements of Drake's history will remain canon.[25] At the start of the series, Tim has been in a state of semi-retirement after his falling out with Batman, and uses his computer skills to fight crime over the internet in a manner similar to Oracle. He is also shown monitoring various teenaged superheroes, such as Static, Miss Martian, Solstice and Kid Flash. After being attacked by agents from the shadowy organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E., Tim dons a new Red Robin suit and returns to the world of crime fighting.[26]
As Red Robin, Tim teams up with the mysterious and belligerent powerhouse thief known as Wonder Girl and the hyperactive speedster calling himself Kid Flash to stand a chance against his many enemies. This Teen Titans rooster seems to have no ties to the previous Titans.
Tim Drake has had a few romantic relationships with a handful female characters throughout his career as Robin. None have been too serious though.
Stephanie Brown: former girlfriend
Ariana Dzerchenko: A former girlfriend of Tim Drake
Zoanne Wilkins: DA fellow student of Tim Drake's. Tim had to pretend to need to be tutored in math. The two dated a couple times but things didn't quite work out.
Tam Fox: The daughter of Lucius Fox. Adventured with Tim starting in Issue #5 of his short lived Red Robin title. The two kissed once and showed some affection for each other, but nothing more ever occurred between the two
Darla Aquista: Young daughter of a Gotham mafia boss who was resurrected with incredible magical powers. She was a junior at Louis E. Grieve Memorial High School the same school as Tim Drake. She has shown interest in Tim and they have shared a kiss or two over the years, but her sordid past and ties prevents them from having any type of serious relationship.
Lynx III: A love interest for Red Robin.
Secret: Had a crush on Tim, but nothing ever came out of it
Jubilee: In the Marvel vs. DC crossover story leading up to the Amalgam Comics combined universe.
Wonder Girl: After Superboy's death and before his rebirth, there was a brief romance followed by some tension. Been some more tension in the reboot of the Titans.
Ravager: Tim didn't really return her affections but she pretty much threw herself at him.
Tim Drake has been trained by Batman and other instructors across the world, including Lady Shiva. He has knowledge in several martial arts such as Ninjustu, Karate, Judo, Aikido, Jujitsu but his favorite combat defense is Bojutsu (taught in Ninjutsu). He has beat Lady Shiva in sparring and is classed the best stick fighter who ever lived. Tim was able to fend off several notorious assassins from the Council of Spiders at once while protecting Tam Fox and also in the end game of his plan to destroy several League of Assassins bases; earning commendation from Ra's al Ghul himself who was watching the fight from afar. [27] His combat style is a reflection of everything he learned from the masters, Bruce, and his own incredible intelligence deducing weak points in moments and targeting them with a variety of combat tactics. He is also inoculated against several toxins the Batfamily has encountered, including Joker Venom, Fear Toxin, and some of Poison Ivy's pheromones.
Comic book writer Fabian Nicieza commented:
He is "the smart one" of the Bat-family, the thinker and planner. I mean, of course Bruce Wayne/Batman is what he is, and Tim isn’t quite there yet, but Tim at 17 has a more developed intellect than Bruce at 17 did. That’s not to say Dick Grayson or Barbara Gordon are dumb, of course they’re not, but Tim’s level of thinking is a bit... thicker... than theirs. For me, Dick is about superior reflexive thinking, Barbara about superior operational thinking and Tim is about superior comprehensive, or all-encompassing, thinking. What I love about Tim is that he shares some of the strongest traits of various Bat-family members. The intellect and detective skills of Bruce, the ability to lead others and be a friend to others like Dick has and even the ability to make cold, harsh decisions like Jason does.[28]
At the age of about nine years old, Tim Drake was able to deduce Robin's secret identity as Dick Grayson when Robin performed a quadruple somersault, in which Grayson was only one of the three people who could perform such a flip. This deduction also allowed Drake to deduce that Grayson's guardian Bruce Wayne was Batman.[9] Drake's intellect has allowed him to deduce a majority of other heroes' identities including Flash and Superman. In addition, after foiling Ra's al Ghul's master plan to assassinate everyone Bruce Wayne cared about and ruining the Wayne Family fortune, Ra's has addressed Tim as "Detective", a title the villain once only reserved for Bruce Wayne.[29] His intellect has enabled him to excel in computer science and a grasp of assorted scientific techniques, including biology, engineering, and genetics, which he has been shown to use in his attempts at re-cloning Superboy.[30] Tim also speaks several languages beyond his native English, including Cantonese,[31] Russian,[32] Spanish[3] and German.[33]
Drake, like Dick Grayson, has served as leader to Young Justice, the Teen Titans, and even being placed in charge of the rescue efforts of Blüdhaven by Superman, following the attack made by Deathstroke and his fellow villains.
Tim Drake's original costume was different from that of his predecessors to give him a measure of increased protection, which included an armored tunic, a cape colored black on the outside and yellow on the inside, and green leggings. Other details include an armored gorget, jika-tabi style boots, an emergency "R" shuriken on his chest in addition to the traditional batarangs, and a collapsible bo staff as the character's primary weapon. Following Infinite Crisis, Drake's costume was modified to favor a black and red color scheme and included long sleeves.
The Red Robin costume consists of a long-sleeved red tunic, along with black boots, tights, gloves, cape and cowl. It also includes a black-and-gold utility belt that carries Drake's weaponry such as his bo staff and throwing discs. After Drake's confrontation with Ra's al Ghul in Red Robin #12, the costume was slightly altered.
After the 2011 relaunch, the full cowl is replaced with a mask that covers his eyes, similar to his two Robin costume designs.
Set after the events of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (which is set on Earth-12 one of the 52 parallel earths to the Earth on which Batman the Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures take place), Tim serves as a supporting character in the ongoing Batman Beyond comic book series. It is suggested that, after a series of examinations, he is freed from the Joker's control, although the experience has left him with doubts.
After Dick Grayson, Tim Drake is the second Robin to make the most appearances in the DC animated universe (DCAU). Drake made his animated debut as Robin in the animated series The New Batman Adventures, voiced by Mathew Valencia. His characterization was changed to blend in Jason Todd's.[34] In addition to continuing to appear regularly on The New Batman Adventures, Drake also made guest appearances on the 1998 Superman: The Animated Series episode "Knight Time",[35] and two Static Shock episodes: "The Big Leagues" and "Future Shock", voiced by Shane Sweet.[36][37] He also made two cameo appearances in the Justice League episodes "The Savage Time" and "Hereafter".
The fate of Tim Drake in the DCAU was revealed in the 2000 animated film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. In a flashback sequence, the Joker kidnapped and tortured Drake to the point of insanity. The demented Drake reveals a sliver of his original mind when he kills the Joker. The new Batman, Terry McGinnis, confronted the resurrected Joker, revealed to be the 52 year-old Tim Drake transformed through a microchip containing the Joker's memories, personality, and DNA. In the 2003 animated film Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, Drake appeared in a supporting role as Robin, voiced by Eli Marienthal.
In 1993, a few years after his debut as Robin, DC launched a monthly solo series featuring Tim Drake's adventures as Robin, with Batman appearing as a supporting character. The series ended in February 2009 with issue #183 following the events of Batman: RIP and Final Crisis. As of August 2009, Drake is the star in a new series, Red Robin. He has also starred in some miniseries and one-shots. This material has been collected as follows:
| Year | Title | Material collected | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Robin: Tragedy & Triumph | Detective Comics #618–621; Robin II #1–4 | SC: ISBN 1-56389-078-X |
| 1998 | Robin: A Hero Reborn | Batman #455–457, Robin (1991 miniseries) #1–5 | SC: ISBN 1-56389-029-1 |
| 2000 | Robin: Flying Solo | Robin #1-6; Showcase '94 #5–6 | SC: ISBN 1-56389-609-5 |
| 2004 | Robin: Unmasked! | Robin #121-125 | SC: ISBN 1-40120-235-7 |
| 2005 | Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood | Robin #132–133; Batgirl #58–59 | SC: ISBN 1-40120-433-3 |
| 2006 | Robin: To Kill a Bird | Robin #134–139 | SC: ISBN 1-40120-909-2 |
| 2006 | Robin: Days of Fire and Madness | Robin #140–145 | SC: ISBN 1-40120-911-4 |
| 2007 | Robin: Wanted | Robin #148–153 | SC: ISBN 1-40121-225-5 |
| 2007 | Robin: Teenage Wasteland | Robin #154–162 | SC: ISBN 1-40121-480-0 |
| 2008 | Robin: The Big Leagues | Robin #163–167 | SC: ISBN 1-40121-673-0 |
| 2008 | Robin: Violent Tendencies | Robin #170–174; Robin/Spoiler Special #1 | SC: ISBN 1-40121-988-8 |
| 2009 | Robin: Search for a Hero | Robin #175–183 | SC: ISBN 1-40122-310-9 |
| 2010 | Red Robin: The Grail | Red Robin #1-5 | SC: ISBN 1-40122-619-1 |
| 2010 | Red Robin: Collision | Red Robin #6–12, Batgirl (vol. 3) #8 | SC: ISBN 1-40122-883-6 |
| 2011 | Red Robin: Hit List | Red Robin #13–17 | SC: ISBN 1-40123-165-9 |
| 2012 | Red Robin: 7 Days of Death | SC: ISBN 1-40123-364-3 |
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