Tim Drake's Robin Origin Proves He's Batman's Opposite

At his most basic level, DC Comics' Batman is an expression of fear, one that his third Robin, Tim Drake, stands in direct opposition of in his origin story. This element of fear has made Batman an endlessly compelling protagonist, as he struggles to use his trauma and inner darkness for heroic purposes. However, in doing so, Bruce Wayne upholds a terrifying persona that invites fear instead of admiration. And while this specific relationship with fear is explored most often in Batman comics, Tim Drake's Robin offers a much more evolved vision of Batman's core themes, one that makes the Boy Wonder a better hero than the Dark Knight himself.

After the shocking death of the second Robin, Jason Todd, at the hands of the Joker, Batman was reticent to take on another sidekick. He put Jason's costume in a glass case in the Batcave as a memorial, serving as a reminder of his failures as both a father and mentor. By the time Tim Drake came around as the next potential Robin, Bruce forbade him from even considering suiting up, as he still felt tremendous guilt for having let his former sidekick die. Still, in the issues leading up to Tim's debut as the third Robin in Batman #457 from Alan Grant, Norm Breyfogle, and Steve Mitchell, he demonstrates all of the qualities that make him an outstanding hero. In Batman #457, when the Dark Knight goes missing at the hands of Scarecrow, Tim fights the urge to put on Jason's costume and rescue his mentor. Instead, he puts together a makeshift disguise and takes on Scarecrow himself.

Related: Tim Drake Becomes Batman in DC's Future

Tim Drake's origin as Robin is centered around how he doesn't need fear in order to be a hero like Batman. Instead, it reveals that the main obstacle to Tim becoming Robin in the first place was fear. Batman was afraid of losing another sidekick, while Tim worried that he didn't have the skills and training necessary to live up to the Robin mantle. But, as Tim's fight with Scarecrow shows, fear isn't so much a weapon as it is a distraction from underlying problems.

The distinction that makes Tim Drake's Robin more heroic than Batman is that his character is built on an impulse to memorialize, rather than to fear. Instead of drawing power from a sense of helplessness in both himself and others, like Batman regularly does, Tim respects legacy without losing sight of his own best qualities. This is why he is such an essential character–his heroism is of his own making. Within the context of the death of Jason Todd, Tim Drake's debut as Robin was a powerful rejection of the idea that heroes can only be born out of immense tragedy. 

Tim Drake's Origin Is The Opposite Of Batman's.

Overall, Tim's debut as Robin enriches the Batman mythos because it reverses the core elements of Bruce Wayne's origin. Armed with only his smarts and the basic martial arts training that he had received from Bruce, Tim takes on Scarecrow and his goons in order to save his father figure. Here, instead of the child being a passive victim of violence, Tim takes an active role in stopping it, thereby changing his relationship to fear.

Related: Batman isn't Gotham's Most Important Hero, and Fear State Proves It

This distinction is important because Tim effectively refuses to be shaped by the same force that created Batman. After Scarecrow exposes him to a dose of fear gas, Tim lies immobile on the ground, where he sees visions of Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. They tell him, "Don't fight it, Tim! Live with it! Confront it! It's nothing to be ashamed of. But just because you're afraid–doesn't mean you can't act! You don't need the suit! You don't need the mask! It's in you! You make yourself a hero!" This is a dramatic departure from Batman's origin in Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, and Richmond Lewis, where Bruce selects the image of the bat as a vessel for his fearsome superhero identity. For Tim, invoking fear in others or himself isn't necessary for becoming a hero.

Tim Drake Memorializes The Costs Of Being A Superhero.

In the issues leading up to Tim's debut as Robin, some fans were critical of the fact that Batman was already poised to take on another sidekick after Jason's death. Adding Tim as Batman's third canonical Robin would solidify the role as a legacy title, presenting a question of how Tim would differentiate himself from the Dark Knight's prior wards. Batman #457 doesn't shy away from the fact that Tim was stepping into a legacy role, with Bruce asking him if he was "afraid" of Jason's Robin costume. Tim says, "No. It isn't fear. It's more... the suit carries so much history."

Related: Batman Reveals His Greatest Fear, And It's Sadder Than You Think

This highlights all the reasons why Tim Drake made such an effective Robin for Batman, because he doesn't let himself get defined by a sense of fear. Instead of being characterized by a reaction to something like Bruce, Tim is motivated by a desire to act, even though he knows how dangerous being Robin can be. Unlike Batman, fear isn't what shapes Tim Drake as a character. He isn't shaped by anything except himself.

Origin stories provide the template for a character's motivations, values, and obstacles. Tim Drake's origin story establishes him as Batman's opposite, as a young person who has a much healthier relationship with fear and life as a superhero. While the course of Bruce Wayne's life was changed by the actions of a violent man, Tim Drake made an active decision to risk his life and save his mentor. This evidences how Tim's actions as Robin are wholly his own, while Batman's are rooted entirely in vengeance.

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While Tim Drake may be an under-appreciated Robin, he is essential to unpacking some of Batman's greatest weaknesses. Because Batman's superhero identity was shaped around fear and loss, Bruce Wayne is left vulnerable to his own feelings of helplessness when faced with immense adversity. By wearing a costume that is a symbol of his personal fear, Bruce Wayne is incapable of escaping his own darkness. In contrast, Tim Drake's origin shows the strength and bravery that comes from his refusal to be defined by fear. For Tim, the Robin suit will never be an object of fear, despite the dangers that it has seen, because it represents a selfless desire to do good in the world. Even though Tim Drake's Robin was Batman's sidekick, he demonstrates qualities that the Dark Knight could learn immensely from.

Next: Batman Secretly Met Dick Grayson Long Before He Became Robin