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Good News, Everybody! Tim Drake Was Robin Again!
Robin is one of my all-time favorite comic book characters, and Tim Drake is my favorite Robin. And as a comic book geek who likes what he likes, you can imagine how bummed I was at how drastically the New 52 altered Tim Drake’s origin story. The biggest change the New 52 reboot made was that Tim Drake was never Robin in name, only Red Robin, as if the adjective changed anything. There were also changes to how he became Robin — like the name “Tim Drake” being a witness protection name, and taking away the fact that Tim figured out Bruce and Dick were Batman and Robin.
Well guess what? There’s good news, everybody! Because self-proclaimed Tim Drake fan James Tynion IV has decided to change everything back in the pages of Detective Comics! Now and hopefully for all time, Tim Drake was Robin!
This takes me way back
Look at the ‘R’ insignia on his chest! There’s only one R! That means he was Robin for reals, people! Tim Drake was legitimate! Rebirth has finally lived up to its purpose! At least in my eyes!
And that’s not all! In this week’s issue of Detective Comics, Tynion re-establishes Tim Drake’s original origin story! Once again, Tim was a smart kid who deduced on his own that Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson were Batman and Robin, and he tried to convince Dick to be Robin again — only to take up the role himself!
Way back!
It also sounds like “Tim Drake” is going to be his real name again. No more of this witness protection retcon! That was always poorly thought out anyway!
As a Robin and Tim Drake fan, I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s been a long several years since New 52 drastically altered my favorite DC Comics character, but I’m glad to see that the wheel of comics has once again turned things back in my favor!
Of course, this raises newer, weirder questions about Robin continuity.
In the original stories, when Damian Wayne showed up to be the new Robin, and Tim Drake graduated to being Red Robin, he took on a whole new costume and purpose. It was a natural transition, even if the name “Red Robin” was a weird step forward. It’s no Nightwing, but DC made it work.
But now? That picture above is Tim Drake’s first costume as Robin.
And this is Tim’s Red Robin costume for Rebirth.
Still an OK costume
So…what happened in the new continuity when Damian showed up? How was it decided that he would become Robin and Tim would become Red Robin? Because based on these costumes, it looks like the change in the new continuity means that Tim just added a second “R” to his insignia. His costume looks almost identical, so he didn’t even transition out of that.
It’s like Damian probably whined about being Robin, but Tim clearly wasn’t done with the job, so to make everybody happy, he just added the word “Red” and a second “R” to his costume. The letter is probably just taped on.
“Look, look, see? Now I’m Reeeed Robin. Totally different identity.”
Works for me!
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Big Tim Drake News This Week!
Finally, at long last, Tim Drake is going to return to comics after his fake-out…was it earlier this year? Last year? I don’t remember. Either way, there’s going to be some big Tim Drake news and re-retcons in this week’s issue of Detective Comics! Check out this preview and interview with writer James Tynion IV!
I’ll be back after the issue drops to share all the great news! I just wanted to prepare everybody in the world of comics for this great week.
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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 8/12/17
Next week is Flame Con! I’ll tell you all about it when I get home. It’s going to be the big convention debut of Gamer Girl & Vixen, and we are very excited! But we’ve got to wait, and until then, we can read the likes of Detective Comics, Harley Quinn, Squirrel Girl and even Ms. Marvel!
Comic Book of the Week goes to the first issue of writer Tom King’s new Mister Miracle series. This is the issue that everybody is talking about this week, and for damn good reason!
Can’t argue with that
I’m ready for Secret Empire to be over. These events are way too long. The latest issue is fine. It’s all still fine. But there’s no energy anymore. It doesn’t feel like the story is just going through the motions, per se. It’s more like…clearly this whole thing was orchestrated from on high, like all stories. But rather than really tell the story and the nitty gritty, we’re kind of just strolling through the big moments. We’re not reading this comic so much as it’s being told to us. I hope that explains it.
Comic Reviews: Detective Comics #962, Harley Quinn #25, Hulk #9, Mister Miracle #1, Ms. Marvel #21, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #23.
Tim Drake Works to Reclaim His Title as Best Robin Ever
Now that his stint in the Teen Titans is over, and even though he’s believed to be dead, Tim Drake is still taking steps to reclaim his title as the Best Robin Ever. Don’t believe that’s true? Just ask noted Batmanologist Chris Sims. Simple as that.
But when Tim was rebooted into Red Robin and leader of the Teen Titans for the New 52, a lot of that energy and magic went away. Suddenly he didn’t have much to do with Batman overall. And now everybody’s calling Damian Wayne the Best Robin ever. Please.
Fortunately, even in death, Tim is around to set the record straight, like in this week’s new issue of Detective Comics!
Also, Redbird is back!
It’s all leading towards this year’s big Batman stories, in which the not-dead Tim Drake will hopefully play a big role. But until then, join me after the jump for how Tim proves he’s the best, better than all the rest.
SPOILERS for Detective Comics #950.
The Definitive Robin Costume Ranking
Happy Thanksgiving, comic book lovers! To help make your Turkey Day a bit more palatable, and because most of the Internet is probably shut down today, I’ve decided to have a lot of fun by ranking all of the comic book Robin costumes! I am a huge Robin fan, and his costume is a pretty notorious hallmark of the character.
1940 was a hell of a year
Fortunately, Robin has been through quite a few changes and retcons over the years, producing a whole wardrobe of different outfits, styles and designs. Robin has had almost as many costume changes as Batman! And from hundreds of different highly skilled artists. So I looked up as many as I could find and decided to rank them from my least to most favorite.
This list is as ‘definitive’ as I felt I could get featuring in-canon comic book costumes from throughout DC’s nearly 100-year history. If I’ve forgotten any, let me know in the comments and I’ll find a place for it. But I’ve left out the Elseworlds costumes, the movie, cartoon and video game costumes, and most of the one-off alternate reality costumes. Maybe I’ll throw all of those into a second list somewhere down the line.
For now, join me after the jump for the Definitive Robin Costume Rankings!
Henchman-4-Hire 