Tim Drake - Publication History

Publication History

Tim Drake was named after Tim Burton, director of the then-upcoming Batman 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. 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. Mike Mullins on Newsarama has stated:

Throughout, 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.

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