Tim Drake

Tim Drake
Tim Drake as Robin in Young Justice vol. 3, #1 (March 2019). Art by Patrick Gleason.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	As Tim Drake: Batman #436 (August 1989) As Robin: Batman #442 (December 1989) As Red Robin: (cameo appearance) Robin #181 (February 2009) (full appearance) Red Robin #1 (August 2009)
Created by	Marv Wolfman (writer) Pat Broderick (artist)
In-story information
Full name	Timothy Jackson Drake
Team affiliations	Batman Family Teen Titans Young Justice Wayne Enterprises Batman Inc. Outsiders Justice League
Partnerships	Batman Dick Grayson/Nightwing Barbara Gordon/Oracle
Notable aliases	Robin Red Robin Batman
Abilities	Skilled martial artist and expert hand-to-hand combatant Expert detective and master tactician Utilizes high-tech equipment and weapons

Timothy Jackson Drake is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick, he first appeared in Batman #436 (August 1989) as the third character to assume the role of Batman's vigilante partner Robin. Following the events in Batman: Battle for the Cowl in 2009, Drake adopted the alias of Red Robin. In 2019, Tim returned to his original Robin persona in the Wonder Comics relaunch of Young Justice, but later adopted his current codename Drake.

As a young boy, Tim was in the audience the night Dick Grayson's parents were murdered and later managed to discover the identities of Batman and the original Robin through their exploits. After the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd, and witnessing Batman spiral into darkness, Tim was convinced that he should train to become the third Robin.

The character has been featured in various adaptations, including the animated television series The New Batman Adventures, Young Justice: Invasion, and the video game series Batman: Arkham. In 2011, Tim Drake was ranked 32nd in IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.

Publication history

Tim Drake was named after Tim Burton, director of the then-upcoming 1989 film, and introduced in 1989's Batman: Year Three and his origin detailed in 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. Not wanting to make the same mistake as he did with Jason Todd, Batman had Tim endure an intensive period of training that was never given to his predecessors. Eventually, after Tim rescues Batman from Scarecrow, he proves his capability and becomes Robin. Batman editor Dennis O'Neil hoped that Grayson's approval of Drake would ease reader acceptance of him. Evidently, this approach was successful with the character being so accepted by readers that, after three successful miniseries, the character had his own 183-issue series from 1993 through 2009. 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 does not 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.

As Robin, the character has also been featured prominently in the Young Justice and 2003 Teen Titans series. As of June 2009, he took on the new identity of Red Robin, starring in yet another series by the same name.

Fictional character biography

Introduction

Tim Drake is the son of Jack Drake and Janet Drake, coming from the same social class as Bruce Wayne. 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 Tim and Dick Grayson as they met for the first time.

By the age of nine, Drake exhibits a genius level intellect and had deduced the identities of Batman and Robin as Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, after witnessing a gymnastic move by Robin that he previously saw Grayson display in the Flying Graysons. Inspired by the heroes' exploits, Tim trained himself in martial arts, acrobatics, detective skills, and scholastics to better himself both physically and intellectually. When Tim reached the age of thirteen, he saw that Batman had grown reckless and violent following the second Robin (Jason Todd)'s murder by the Joker. After his mother's death and his father's paralysis, Drake decided to intervene and Batman eventually enlisted him as the third Robin.

Robin (1989–2009)

Tim Drake's red and black Robin costume in Detective Comics #829 (May 2007). Art by Andy Clarke.

Before joining Batman as the third Robin, Tim Drake was given a modern redesign of the Robin costume and sent to train abroad with numerous experts to refine his martial arts. When Bruce Wayne retires after Knightfall, Robin goes solo to defend Gotham City. Robin would eventually go on to co-star with other teenaged superheroes 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 best friend Superboy (Kon-El) in Infinite Crisis (2005–2006), and the presumed death of his girlfriend Stephanie Brown in Batman: War Games (2004–2005), Drake was relocated to Blüdhaven, the city where Nightwing fights crime, 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.

Tim Drake was then given another redesign of the Robin costume with a red and black color scheme. The colors are those of Superboy's costume, in tribute to Superboy after he dies in battle.

Once Dick takes over the role of Batman after Bruce's apparent death in Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, he fires Tim from the Robin mantle and gives it to Damian Wayne. Tim, believing that Bruce is still alive, assumes the identity of Red Robin and leaves Gotham City to go on a worldwide search for Wayne.

Red Robin (2009–2011)

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, Tamara "Tam" Fox, Lucius Fox's daughter, has been sent to find Tim Drake 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 (one of the assassins working for Ra's al Ghul, who had become an ally of Tim's) to Tam's hotel room, and they are promptly abducted by the League of Assassins.

Although initially reluctant, Tim Drake entered into an alliance with Ra's before 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 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 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' League of Assassins, Drake returns to Gotham City to overthrow Ra's plans to use Hush (surgically altered to resemble Bruce Wayne) to gain control of the Wayne family resources and destroy all that Batman held dear by 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 head on. He calls upon all of his friends to protect the various targets. 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. Tim is eventually appointed as the head of the newest incarnation of the Outsiders that now serve as Batman Inc.'s black-ops wing. Red Robin eventually rejoins the Teen Titans and takes over leadership from Wonder Girl. He remains as the team's leader during their climactic battle against Superboy-Prime and the new Legion of Doom.

Following an adventure with Black Bat where he faces Ra's al Ghul's sister, Tim stalks in his eye and attempts to kill a revived Captain Boomerang during the Brightest Day. Though Tim ultimately stops himself from killing Boomerang, he is chastised by Batman for his actions.

The New 52 (2011–2016)

Tim Drake in his New 52 Red Robin costume. Art by Brett Booth.

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Teen Titans #0 revealed Tim Drake's new origin, showing a large departure from his original origin, removing his connections to Dick Grayson's origin story. In the New 52, Tim is a talented athlete and computer genius who comes close to discovering the Batman's identity but never totally figures it out. When Tim finds the Batman and gets rejected for the role of sidekick, he decides to bring the Batman to him, by hacking the Penguin's bank account and donating millions of dollars thus putting his family in danger. The Penguin's goons come after Tim and his family, but the Batman saves them. Tim's parents are forced to go into witness protection, but they believe Tim deserves better and ask Bruce to take care of him for them. The Witness Protection Program renames him "Tim Drake," and he takes on the identity of "Red Robin", rather than the identity of "Robin", out of respect to Jason Todd. In recent issues he is shown to be a founding member of the Teen Titans as well as their leader, and he shows feelings for Wonder Girl.

Tim was unwilling to meet with the rest of the Bat-Family at the Batcave after he was infected with the Joker's new compound "HA". He was present when Damian was killed by The Heretic and admitted to Bruce that even though he had a dysfunctional relationship with Damian that he did grieve for him. He was also at the final battle between Batman and The Heretic when Talia killed her son's clone and blew up Wayne Tower.

Tim was also part of the Bat-Family's assembled team which went to Apokolips to retrieve Damian's body. As their mission focused on retrieving Robin, Tim, Jason, and Barbara wore costumes which resembled Damian's colors and each wore a Robin symbol. Following the completion of their mission and the revival of Damian he handed him the Robin symbol on his suit to welcome Damian back to life and to the role of Robin.

In the pre-Convergence timeline of Futures End, Refugees from Earth-2 are given a signal from Brother Eye, which allow them into the Earth-0 Universe, but start a war when Darkseid follows them, leading to the deaths of the Teen Titans, except for Drake. Tim abandons his Red Robin mantle and becomes a bartender until an attack by Brainiac, where changes to the timeline are made. Brainiac is captured, and Terry McGinnis dies at the hands of Brother Eye's Batman-Joker hybrid. Tim dons the Batman Beyond suit and goes back in time and prevents Brother Eye from sending the signal to Earth-2, creating a new future where there is less destruction, and the events of Convergence and everything afterwards take place. Tim is launched into the new future, 35 years later, where he becomes the new Batman and destroys a weakened Brother Eye.

DC Rebirth (2016–present)

Tim Drake as Red Robin in Detective Comics #947 (Feb. 2017). Art by Álvaro Martínez and Raúl Fernández.

In Rebirth, Tim Drake still operates under the Red Robin alias. He gains a new and third overall Red Robin suit similar to his first Robin suit except with two "R"s as his logo instead of one. It is revealed later on in Detective Comics #965 that Tim Drake's origin story has reverted to that of the original universe, where he discovers Batman and Robin's identities after Jason Todd's death, and became Robin before adopting the Red Robin persona.

Tim is primarily featured in "Detective Comics" as part of Batman and Batwoman's new team in Gotham, along with Orphan, Spoiler, and Clayface. Red Robin, Orphan, Spoiler, and Clayface are being trained as a group by Batman and Batwoman, who are preparing them for the upcoming enemies known as the Colonists. The Colonists are revealed to be a military group under the command of Batwoman's father, Jake Kane, who have modeled themselves after Batman in a more violent matter. After the team rescues Batman and Tim hacks their database to discover their plans, Jake sends two waves of Bat-Drones to take down the "League of Shadows," which will kill hundreds of innocents in the process. As his other teammates evacuate the locations the drones were sent to, Tim hacks the drone's mission directive to make himself the sole target, knowing that the drones will stop once the target is eliminated.

While Tim manages to take down the first wave of drones, he is apparently killed by the second wave, devastating the Bat family and his former Teen Titans teammates. Prior to the mission, Tim was accepted to receive a genius grant from Ivy University, and planned to study there after defeating the Colonists. However, just before Tim was blasted by the second wave, he is teleported to an unknown place by Mister Oz and kept prisoner. Tim swore that his friends will find him.

Later, Batman learns from Ascalon, a robotic entity created by the Order of St. Dumas, that Tim is still alive, with Batman resolving to find Tim.

In Mr. Oz's prison, Tim is forced to relive his memories of the past by Mr. Oz. Realizing that Mr. Oz is using Kryptonian technology, Tim easily hacks into and frees himself as Mr. Oz reveals his identity as Jor-El and disappears. As he tries to find a way out, Tim finds Batman but discovers that he is Tim Drake from the Titans Tomorrow future. Unable to accept a future where he decides to become Batman, Tim is forced to aid his older-self in evading and containing a freed Doomsday. Tim learns from his future self that Dick, Jason, and Damian all tried to be Batman but either retired or were forced to be put down by Tim (in the case for Damian). After Doomsday is lured back to his cell, both Tims teleport out of Mr. Oz's prison and arrive in Gotham in the Titans Tomorrow future. Before being sent back, Tim is asked by his future self to apologise to Conner but the younger Tim has no idea who Conner is, although he later admits that the name is tugging at his heart, but he doesn't know why. Tim is incapacitated by his future self as the latter decides to go back in time to kill Batwoman, the apparent cause of Tim becoming Batman. Tim returns to Gotham and is reunited with the Bat Family but warns them about Future Tim.

After a battle with Ulysses Armstrong and Brother Eye, Tim and Stephanie leave Gotham to investigate the alternate timelines, and Tim's resorted memories of his past friends from Young Justice. This leads him to Metropolis, where he is reunited with Wonder Girl, Impulse and meets Teen Lantern and Ginny Hex. The five young heroes later travel to Gemworld, where they are also reunited with Superboy, and meet Princess Amethyst. Lost in the Multiverse, Young Justice struggles to return home, with Tim taking on the new identity of Drake.

Skills and abilities

Combat skills

Prior to becoming Robin, Tim Drake had been trained in the martial arts and was already a skilled and abled fighter, while also being trained in fields such as acrobatics, forensics, detective work and criminology. After becoming Robin, Drake managed to hone his fighting skills and eventually became a master hand-to-hand combatant and expert martial artist, being skilled in several fighting styles, such as Aikido, Judo, Karate, Savate, Kung Fu, Ninjutsu, and Tai Chi in addition to being trained in gymnastics, and was taught by numerous teachers including Batman, Dick Grayson, and Lady Shiva. Though he has been bested and beaten by other members of the Batfamily; notably Jason, he is shown to be a calculating and cunning combatant. Damian sucker punched Tim in one of their early encounters and that for a time Tim had a habit of holding back when facing off against Damian. When Tim finally decided not to hold back, he easily beat Damian with impunity. Tim has even held his own briefly against Dick Grayson. His weapon of choice is the bo staff. 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. He managed to survive a potentially fatal encounter with Jason Todd in Battle for the Cowl by pretending to be dead. He was then ultimately rescued by Robin/Damian Wayne. With a special shot, Tim is also inoculated against several toxins the Batman Family has encountered, including Joker Venom, Scarecrow's Fear Toxin, and some of Poison Ivy's pheromones.

Other skills

The most intellectually gifted of the Robins, Drake has deduced 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. 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. Tim also speaks several languages beyond his native English, including Cantonese, Russian, Spanish and German. Even Nightwing is proud of his skills, saying that he was a better Robin than he was.

Drake, like Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne, has served as leader to the Teen Titans, as well as Young Justice, and was even placed in charge of the rescue efforts of Blüdhaven by Superman, following the attack made by Deathstroke and his fellow villains.

Costumes

File:Robin (Tim Drake - circa 2005).jpg

Tim Drake as he appears in Supergirl vol. 5, #2 (Nov. 2005). Art by Ian Churchill.

Tim Drake's original Robin costume had a red torso, yellow stitching and belt, black boots, green short sleeves, gloves, and pants,. He wore a cape that was black on the outside and yellow on the inside. This costume was different from that of his predecessors in that it provided increased protection with an armored tunic and gorget, long 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 and 52, Tim Drake modified his costume to favor a mostly red and black color scheme in tribute to his best friend, Superboy (Kon-El), who died fighting Earth-Prime Superboy. This Robin costume had a red torso, long sleeves, and pants with a cape that was black on the outside and yellow on the inside. It also had yellow stitching and belt, and black domino mask, gloves, and boots.

Tim Drake resumed the motif of a red and black costume when he took on the identity of Red Robin. The Red Robin costume consisted of a long-sleeved red tunic, along with black boots, tights, gloves, cape and cowl. It also included 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 with spiked gauntlets, a cropped tunic, and a new utility belt.

The theme of a red and black costume continued in 2011 with Tim Drake's New 52 Red Robin outfit. The costume was altered considerably, as it was a single piece red and black costume, with assorted belts on his waist and legs. The full cowl was replaced with a black domino mask, similar to his previous two Robin costume designs. His chest harness was attached to a set of rocket powered wings, designed by Virgil Hawkins a.k.a. Static, that allow Red Robin the ability of flight. He continued to use his bo staff and other assorted equipment.

In the 2016 DC Rebirth relaunch, Tim Drake maintains the role of Red Robin. This Red Robin costume serves as a homage to his first Robin costume. His costume is returned to a similar look as his original Robin costume consisting of a red torso, yellow utility belt, black pants, and green short sleeves, gloves, and boots. He also has new cape that is black on the outside and yellow on the inside similar to the Robin cape. While his Red Robin suit is similar to his first Robin suit, it has two "R"s as his logo instead of one, to show that he is no longer Robin and now Red Robin. The mask is similar to his New 52 domino mask. His bo-staff remains his primary weapon.

With the revived Young Justice series, Tim has returned to the identity of Robin. His new costume shares similarities with his Rebirth suit, however with various adjustments and revisions. His suit still has the red torso, black pants, and armored sleeves. However his pants now merge into split-toed boots with green highlights, losing the green leg guards. He's replaced the bulkier arm guards with smaller arm guards with blades similar to Damian Wayne's Robin suit. His cape, while still black and gold, is now scalloped to looks similar to his OYL later cape. Tim's double-R logo has been replaced with his original single "R" logo. He continues to use a bo-staff as his primary weapon.

Alternate versions

Further information: Alternate versions of Robin

Batman Beyond

Set after the events of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Tim Drake 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 and he continues to struggle to keep his sanity intact. His wife is revealed to have been aware of her husband's heroic and tortured past, and implied to have met Tim and his former mentor at some point before he retires as Robin.

Bruce offered Tim a job in his company, which he accepted, after he merged it with Lucius Fox Jr.'s company Foxteca and renamed the company Wayne Incorporated. The condition, that Tim would not get himself involved with the superheroic activities of Bruce, Terry, or the JLU and Bruce would pay for his children's college tuition. He is currently working as a communications expert handling satellites and other associated technology.

Titans Tomorrow

Main article: Titans Tomorrow

In the "Titans Tomorrow" story arc during writer Geoff Johns' run on Teen Titans, Robin and the rest of the team encounter future versions of themselves from a time after all of their mentors have been killed. As a brutal new Batman, Tim Drake personally hunted down every member of his mentor's Rogues Gallery, turning Arkham Asylum into a cemetery filled with the graves of the original Batman's enemies, whom Tim killed using the same pistol that Joe Chill used to murder Thomas and Martha Wayne when Bruce was a child. Tim had difficulty accepting that he could ever adopt such brutal methods as the direct successor to Batman, who always maintained a strict policy against murder. In a final battle culminating in both present and future Titans colliding, the battle ends in a stalemate. Using a Cosmic Treadmill in the adult Tim's Batcave, Robin and his team return home to contemplate the future they've seen.

Injustice: Gods Among Us

In this reality, based on the video game of the same name, Tim Drake was a new member of the Teen Titans as Red Robin at the time the Joker's nuclear explosion went off in Metropolis. The Titans tracked down Superboy to the Fortress of Solitude where he attempted to stop Superman. Tim tries lifting the Phantom Zone projector, but cannot because Superman placed a safety cap that weighs a hundred tons. When Superboy is mortally wounded, Tim and the other Titans are sent by Superman to the Phantom Zone.

In the prequel to Injustice 2, Tim and the Titans (minus Superboy) are finally rescued by the remaining heroes. But just as he's reuniting with Batman, General Zod escapes the Phantom Zone and kills Tim by piercing his heart with heat vision.

DC Bombshells

Tim Drake appears in the DC Bombshells continuity as a former prisoner of Katherine-Webb Kane's orphanage, where he and the others were forced to build robots for Axis supporters. He is eventually rescued by the Batgirls, whom he joins afterwards, wearing a baseball costume similar to his Robin costume on the main earth. He appears close to Alysia Yeoh.

The New 52: Futures End and Batman Beyond

In the Futures End series, an older Tim Drake takes the role of Batman after Terry McGinnis dies. In 2015 Drake stars in the new Batman Beyond series. In the series, Tim Drake faked his death during the war between Earth Prime and Earth-2 and became a bar owner by the name of Cal Corcoran. He assisted Terry McGinnis who had come back through time to prevent the creation of Brother Eye. After Terry was killed in action defending Drake from Brother Eye's Batman/Joker Hybrid (a Brother Eye-controlled fusion of Batman and Joker from Terry's timeline) he passed on his futuristic Batsuit to Tim and in his dying wish asked him to become the new Batman and go back through time to prevent the war between Prime Earth and Earth 2, which he believed will prevent the creation of Brother Eye.

He successfully travels back through time 5 years using a time band and convinces Brother Eye to not send a beacon to attract the surviving hero's of Earth-2 thus preventing the war with Earth 2. Following the completion of his mission Brother Eye sends Tim back to Terry's timeline hoping to find Terry alive so he can return the Batsuit to him. However what he finds is still same future Terry came from realizing that Terrifitech is a constant and Brother Eye cannot be defeated in the past Tim declares that Brother Eye has not won yet.

A few days later Tim stops a break in at a Wayne-Powers facility by Jokers who attempt to steal a critical component that keeps Brother Eye from detecting Gotham City. He later meets up with Terry's brother Matt who is angry at Tim for wearing his brother's costume and in private declares that he should have been the one who succeed Terry as Batman.

Following the meeting Tim heads outside Gotham City to an internment camp that holding all people captured by Brother Eye. Before he can break into the facility he is attacked by a Brother Eye converted Superman who attempts to kill him. Knowing he cannot kill Superman A.L.F.R.E.D overloads the Batsuits power reserves, temporally injuring Superman. As a result, the Batsuit deactivates itself leaving Tim in his civilian attire and defenceless against Brother Eye's army. He is then captured and placed in a detention center where he meets Terry's friend Max Gibson and to his surprise Barbara Gordon.

However, following DC's Rebirth, Terry McGinnis is back to life and has once again taken the mantle of Batman Beyond. The future New 52 Tim has been erased due to the timeline change.

Nightwing: The New Order

In this alternate reality, Nightwing ends an ongoing feud between superpowered beings by activating a device that depowers ninety percent of the super powered population. This builds to a future where super powers are outlawed and any super powered being must take inhibitor medications or be contained and studied should the medications not work on them. In the year 2040, Tim's retired from his Red Robin days and is now raising his three children. When Dick becomes a fugitive after it's discovered his son Jake had superpowers, Tim uses his computer skills to help Dick locate Jake. Tim believes that Dick made the right choice in depowering the population.

In other media

See also: Robin in other media

Television

• Tim Drake appears as a supporting character in Young Justice: Invasion, voiced by Cameron Bowen. This iteration's Robin costume is similar to his "One Year Later" costume with some modern influences, and he uses a bo-staff as a weapon like in the comics. He is introduced in the episode "Happy New Year" as the third version of Robin. In the episode "Satisfaction", he is seen observing Jason Todd's memorial. Tim is shown as initially hesitant to take on leadership roles, something he feels is somewhat forced on by Nightwing. Despite this, the two are shown to have a brotherly connection to one another. This familial relationship also extends to the more experienced Batgirl. Like Dick Grayson in season one, Tim is forbidden from revealing his secret identity to the team (wearing concealing sunglasses when out of costume). He shares a brief moment of interaction with Stephanie Brown during the episode "Before the Dawn". In the finale "Endgame", it is shown that he is in a relationship with Wonder Girl after Kid Flash's demise gave Wonder Girl the courage to kiss him. Due to the large cast of this show, Tim's role was mainly as a background character and was only highlighted on certain occasions. His detective skills were imperative in helping the Blue Beetle overcome control by the Reach.
• Tim Drake's Robin costume from The New Batman Adventures appears as an easter egg in Justice League Action in the episode "Play Date".

DC Animated Universe

Tim Drake as Robin in The New Batman Adventures

Tim Drake makes his animated debut as the second incarnation of Robin in the DCAU, initially voiced by Mathew Valencia (Robin in The New Batman Adventures and Superman: The Animated Series) and later by Eli Marienthal (Robin in Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman) and Shane Sweet (Robin in Static Shock), alongside Dean Stockwell (adult form in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker). His younger self in "Return of the Joker" is reprised by Valencia in a flashback.

• Robin's characterization in The New Batman Adventures is blended with Jason Todd's. His Robin costume looks identical to Dick Grayson's Robin costume from Batman: The Animated Series as well as Tim Drake's Robin costume from the comics, but with black sleeves, gloves and briefs with red leggings (similar to the costume Tim would adopt in the comics following Infinite Crisis). A central character, he assists Batman and Batgirl against Two-Face in "Sins of the Father", helps Batman in fighting the Joker in "Holiday Knights", almost a victim of Mr. Freeze's monotone revenge in "Cold Comfort", prevents Batman from murdering the Scarecrow in "Never Fear", almost killed Clayface for a girl he wanted to help in "Growing Pains", assists Batman with a problem involving Etrigan the Demon in "The Demon Within", almost was a victim in Barbara Gordon's nightmare in "Over The Edge", assist Batman and Batgirl against Farmer Brown in "Critters", bonded with Nightwing in "Animal Act" and "Old Wounds", helps to foil Poison Ivy's scheme in "Chemistry" and assists Batman in tracking the Creeper in "Beware The Creeper".
• Robin also made guest appearances on other DCAU productions, teaming up with Superman on Superman: The Animated Series and Static on Static Shock, has a supporting role in stopping Batwoman's vengeance-fueled rampage in the 2003 animated film Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, and makes cameo appearances in the Justice League animated series.
• In the 2000 animated film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Robin is kidnapped and tortured by the Joker to force Batman's secrets out of the boy to the point of insanity. As the demented "Joker Jr.", he kills the Joker and then suffers a complete nervous breakdown, leading to Bat-family's break and retirement. After being helped back to sanity, he is not allowed to resume his Robin role, and eventually leaves to make the right decision for himself and becomes a communications engineer with a wife and two children. During the future, the 53-year-old Tim Drake transformed into the Joker's new form via stolen genetics technology containing the villain's mind, memories and DNA. He is finally free when the Joker's genetic chip gets destroyed by the new Batman (Terry McGinnis) and Tim being fully recovered in the hospital with Tim reconciling his relationship with Bruce.

Film

• Tim Drake appears in Lego Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite, with Charlie Schlatter reprising his role.
• The Red Robin makes his animated debut in Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts and Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. This version does not remove his mask. He is only ever called "Red Robin" once and as his original codename every other time in Animal Instincts but is constantly referred as his current codename during Monster Mayhem. However, Alfred Pennyworth does once refer to him by his real name, confirming this version of Red Robin is Tim Drake. In Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants, he is mentioned by Damian Wayne.
• Three boys named Dick, Jason and Tim appear in Batman: Gotham by Gaslight trying to rob a couple before being stopped by Batman.
• A Feudal Japan version of Red Robin appears in Batman Ninja, voiced by Kengo Kawanishi and Will Friedle in Japanese and English respectively.
• Tim is mentioned by Damian in Lego DC Batman: Family Matters.

Video games

• Robin appears in Batman: Dark Tomorrow, voiced by Jonathan Roumie.
• Robin appears in Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, voiced by Scott Menville.
• Robin appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Wil Wheaton.
• Robin appears as a playable character in Young Justice: Legacy, voiced again by Cameron Bowen.
• Robin appears in Infinite Crisis, voiced again by Cameron Bowen.

Lego DC series

• Robin appears in Lego Batman: The Videogame, with vocals provided by James Arnold Taylor.
• Tim Drake appears as two separate playable characters in Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes, voiced by Charlie Schlatter. Robin appears primarily, while Red Robin also appears in the game's Nintendo DS version.
• Robin appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, again voiced by Charlie Schlatter. He serves as one of the main story characters.
• The Tim Drake incarnation of Robin appears in Lego Dimensions as a non-playable character, voiced by Scott Menville. He is one of three characters, the others being Frodo Baggins and Metalbeard, to be taken by Lord Vortech.
• Tim Drake as Red Robin appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains.

Batman: Arkham

Tim Drake as Robin in a promotional image for Batman: Arkham Knight

Further information: Batman: Arkham

Tim Drake appears as a recurring character in the Batman: Arkham series. He is the current version of Robin for the majority of the games within the series and is also shown to be in a relantionship with Barbara Gordon. The producers describe this version of the character as grittier and darker, to fit the tone of the series. Robin's costume has also been radically redesigned, incorporating the traditional red and yellow colors, and he shows a more muscled appearance with a short buzz-cut (similar to Robin's hairstyle from Batman & Robin).

• Robin first appears in Batman: Arkham City, voiced by Troy Baker. He makes a brief appearance in the main story of the game, where he rescues Batman from several League of Shadows assasins, one of whom Batman is following to find Ra's al Ghul. After all the assasins but one, who runs away, are defeated, Robin reveals that he was called by Alfred to assist Batman on his quest in Arkham City, but Batman declines his help and gives him a sample of the Joker's infected blood that the villain has injected him with, tasking Robin with analyzing it and look after Gotham in his absence. Robin makes no further appearances in the main story, but later returns as the main playable protagonist of the "Harley Quinn's Revenge" DLC campaign, where he, assisted by Barbara, rescues Batman after he was captured by Harley Quinn in Arkham City, shortly after the Joker's death at the end of the main story. Robin is also a playable character in all of the challenge maps, and has two additional costumes: his Red Robin costume from the comics, and Dick Grayson's Robin costume from Batman: The Animated Series.
• Robin appears as a boss in the mobile game Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, a prequel for Batman: Arkham City, set shortly before the events of that game. While in Arkham City for unknown reasons, Robin was captured by Poison Ivy and placed under her mind-control. He was forced to fight Batman when he arrived to apperhend Ivy, but Batman ultimately defeated both of them and released Robin from the mind-control.
• Robin appears as one of the main characters in Batman: Arkham Knight, voiced by Matthew Mercer. Through the game, both him and Barbara try to convince Batman to allow him to help with taking down Scarecrow, but Batman declines and tasks Robin with finding a cure for the people infected with the Joker's toxic blood, which is slowly turning them into the Joker themselves. After Harley Quinn learns of this, she and her goons attack Batman and Robin's secret hideout at the abandoned Panessa Studios, forcing Batman to temporarly abandon his quest for Scarecrow and come to Robin's aid. Batman and Robin work together and manage to defeat Harley and recapture all the infected people, but one of them, Henry Adams, who pretended to have been sane all along, kills them and then commits suicide, after learning that Batman is also infected with the Joker's blood. Robin locks Batman up for his own good and leaves to stop Scarecrow on his own, but Batman escapes from his containment and locks Robin up instead, for his own safety, when he returns to check on him. At the end of the main story, Scarecrow captures both Robin and Commissioner James Gordon and forces Batman to surrender to him, unmasking him in front of the world on television, but Batman is able to overcome Scarecrow's fear toxin and defeats the villain, while also mentally resisting his transformation into the Joker and erasing the villain from his mind for good. At the end of the game, Batman seemingly commits suicide to protect all his loved ones now that his secret identity has been revealed, leaving Robin to continue crime fighting in Gotham to maintain his legacy alive; Tim also proposes to Barbara and the two get married. Robin later appears in the "Batgirl: A Matter of Family" DLC campaign, which is set several years before the events of the series' first installment. In the DLC, Robin works with Barbara during her days as Batgirl to rescue her father, James Gordon, from the Joker and Harley Quinn, who have taken over an abandoned amusement park located on an oil rig and threaten to kill him if Batman intervenes. Robin also serves as the playable protagonist of the "A Flip of the Coin" DLC mission, where his honeymoon with Barbara is cut short after Two-Face escapes from prison and takes over Hell's Gate Disposal Services, forcing Robin to come and try to apperhend him back. With Barbara's aid, Robin is eventually able to defeat Two-Face and return him to custody, before deciding to cancel his honeymoon with Barbara and return to Gotham to continue fighting crime. Robin was later added as a playable character for the game's challenge maps, with four alternate costumes: his original, New 52, and One Year Later appearances, as well as Dick Grayson's Robin costume from the classic 1960s Batman TV series.
• Robin makes a brief appearance in Batman: Arkham VR, voiced by Tom Austen. He is captured and later killed by Killer Croc in the sewers, despite Batman's efforts to save him. However, it is revealed at the end of the game that everything was just a nightmare that Batman had under the influence of the Joker's contaminated blood inside him, taking place shortly before the events of Batman: Arkham Knight.

Injustice series

• Tim Drake is featured in Injustice: Gods Among Us. His name is listed on a hit list during Deathstroke's outro, and the Red Robin is on an unplayable card in the game's iOS version.
• The Red Robin makes a cameo appearance in Injustice 2 in Cyborg's ending as one of the lost Teen Titans brought back by Cyborg with Brainiac's powers.

Collected editions

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. Starting in August 2009, Drake starred in a new series, Red Robin. He has also starred in some miniseries and one-shots. This material has been collected as follows:

Title	Material collected	ISBN
Robin, Vol. 1: Reborn	Batman #455–457, Detective Comics Vol. 1 #618–621 and Robin Vol. 1 #1–5	SC: 1-40125-857-3
Robin, Vol. 2: Triumphant	Batman #465, 467–469, Robin II #1–4 and Robin III #1–6	SC: 1-40126-089-6
Robin, Vol. 3: Solo	Robin Vol. 4 #1–5, Robin Annual #1–2 and Showcase '93 #5–6, 11–12	SC: 1-40126-362-3
Robin, Vol. 4: Turning Point	Robin Vol. 4 #6–13 and Showcase '94 #5–6	SC: 1-40126-587-1
Robin, Vol. 5: War of the Dragons	Robin Vol. 4 #14–22, Robin Annual #3 and Detective Comics #685–686	SC: 1-40127-512-5
Robin: Unmasked!	Robin Vol. 4 #121–125	SC: 1-4012-0235-7
Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood	Robin Vol. 4 #132–133; Batgirl #58–59	SC: 1-4012-0433-3
Robin: To Kill a Bird	Robin Vol. 4 #134–139	SC: 1-4012-0909-2
Robin: Days of Fire and Madness	Robin Vol. 4 #140–145	SC: 1-4012-0911-4
Robin: Wanted	Robin Vol. 4 #148–153	SC: 1-4012-1225-5
Robin: Teenage Wasteland	Robin Vol. 4 #154–162	SC: 1-4012-1480-0
Robin: The Big Leagues	Robin Vol. 4 #163–167	SC: 1-4012-1673-0
Robin: Violent Tendencies	Robin Vol. 4 #170–174; Robin/Spoiler Special #1	SC: 1-4012-1988-8
Robin: Search for a Hero	Robin Vol. 4 #175–183	SC: 1-4012-2310-9
Red Robin: The Grail	Red Robin #1–5	SC: 1-4012-2619-1
Red Robin: Collision	Red Robin #6–12, Batgirl Vol. 3 #8	SC: 1-4012-2883-6
Red Robin: Hit List	Red Robin #13–17	SC: 1-4012-3165-9
Red Robin: 7 Days of Death	Red Robin #18–21, 23–26 and Teen Titans Vol. 3 #92	SC: 1-4012-3364-3

Other collected editions

• Batman: A Lonely Place Of Dying
• Batman: Knightfall Vol. 2: Knightquest (New Edition) (Robin Vol. 4 #7)
• Batman: Knightfall Vol. 3: KnightsEnd (New Edition) (Robin Vol. 4 #8–9 and 11–13)
• Batman: Prodigal (Robin Vol. 4 #11–13)
• Batman: Contagion (Robin Vol. 4 #27–28)
• Batman: Legacy (Robin Vol. 4 #32–33)
• Batman: Cataclysm (Robin Vol. 4 #53)
• Batman: No Man's Land Vol. 2 (Modern Edition) (Robin Vol. 4 #67)
• Batman: No Man's Land Vol. 3 (Modern Edition) (Robin Vol. 4 #68–72)
• Batman: No Man's Land Vol. 4 (Modern Edition) (RobinVol. 4 #73)
• Batman: New Gotham Vol. 2: Officer Down (Robin Vol. 4 #86)
• Bruce Wayne: Murderer? (Robin Vol. 4 #98–99)
• Batman: War Games Vol. 1 (Modern Edition) (Robin Vol. 4 #121, 126–129)
• Batman: War Games Vol. 2 (Modern Edition) (Robin Vol. 4 #130–131)
• Teen Titans Vol. 5: Life and Death (Robin Vol. 4 #146–147)
• Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul (Robin Vol. 4 #168–169 and Annual Vol. 4 #7)
• Batman: Gotham Shall Be Judged (Red Robin #22)

See also

• Alternative versions of Robin
• List of Batman supporting characters
• List of DC Comics characters

External links

• DC Comics: Robin
• Tim Drake at the Grand Comics Database
• Timothy "Tim" Drake at the Comic Book DB
• Robin (Tim Drake) at the Comic Book DB
• Red Robin (Tim Wayne) at the Comic Book DB
• Tim Drake on IMDb
• Tim Drake's Bibliography
• Podcast interview with Robin comics artist Freddie Williams II

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