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I Think Tim Drake is Robin Again…For Now
Something is happening at DC Comics regarding Robin and I’m not sure what. They haven’t made any formal announcements. They haven’t done any big events. The status quo is simply and quietly changing.
Just last week, Damian Wayne, the current Robin, made a big show in Teen Titans Annual #2 that he was finished being Robin. I made a blog post about it just yesterday!
Well today, in Young Justice #18, it looks like Tim Drake is going back to being Robin.
A year ago, it seemed like Tim had graduated to a new identity: Drake. That seemed pretty permanent. Why wouldn’t it be? DC had been struggling for years as to what to do with Tim Drake, and giving him a new identity seemed like the most logical solution.
But a lot has changed in a year. Dan DiDio was fired. That rumored “5G” project was cancelled. A lot of other people have been fired. Warner Bros is tightening their belts. A new video game was announced with Tim Drake as Robin.
What is happening? Are we really living in a world where Damian Wayne is no longer Robin and Tim Drake gets to assume the mantle again? Are we living in my dream come true?
I guess we’ve just got to take this one step at a time. I’ll stay with this story all night if I have to!
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Everything We Know About Tim Drake’s New Identity
I’ve put off writing this article for a long time. It’s a tough moment, but one that has been coming for years of fits and starts.
Tim Drake will soon finally graduate from being a Robin.
This has been a very long time coming. Damian Wayne, the current Robin, debuted all the way back in 2006. It was a tough pill to swallow at the time, but I think 13 years is enough time to accept that Tim Drake isn’t Robin anymore. It didn’t help that Tim “graduated” into being “Red” Robin for those past 13 years, while reverting to just Robin again only recently (maybe?).
What can I say? Tim Drake is the best Robin and my favorite Robin. He arrived on the scene in that cool new costume just as I was really getting into comics on my own. And with a love for the character already brewing from the old TV shows and the 90s cartoons, Tim was my Robin.
I’ll be OK.
Tim’s new name is going to be “Drake”. He gets it from an alternate dimension version of himself in Young Justice #8, out this week.
Obviously it’s his last name, but a drake is a male duck, and ducks are not to be messed with (I guess? Are we sure Bendis isn’t thinking of geese?). So I suppose it’s fine. It’s still a bird name, which is OK. Batman has a lot of bird allies these days.
I will make my peace with this over time. I think that new costume is pretty ugly, all browns and grays and unnecessary lines.
It’ll be OK. The only constant is change. Hopefully this will all work out for the best.
Now if only we could get a new Robin to replace Damian…
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Good News, Everybody! Tim Drake Is Robin Again!
The first issue of the revived Young Justice hit the stands last week and revealed that Tim Drake is Robin again. That’s great news for us Tim Drake fans! It’s been a long, grueling road since DC Comics gunked everything up back in the New 52 in 2011. They altered his origin and declared that Tim Drake was only ever “Red Robin” for some reason. Then Rebirth came along and they changed his origin back to normal, declaring that he had been Robin in the beginning, but had since changed to Red Robin.
And now, at long last, Tim Drake resumes the mantle of Robin. He’s the best Robin, has the best Robin costumes, and he deserves the title!
I tried to Google “Brian Michael Bendis” and “Robin” to see if there were any interviews where he explained why he made Tim Drake Robin again, but I couldn’t find any. Or maybe I didn’t dig deep enough. And I haven’t seen any explanation for what this means for Damian Wayne, the current Robin. Perhaps there will be two Robins? It’s not like having a Robin and a Red Robin was all that different.
The important thing is, “Batman and Robin” matters. It’s a household team. They’re the dynamic duo. It matters that Tim Drake was and is Robin. Granted, he’s probably going to spend all of his time with Young Justice and not teaming up with Batman. But anything could happen going forward. For now, it’s just enough to be happy and excited that something is going right with my favorite comic book characters.
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