Red Robin Anyone?
I had a minor freak-out upon reading RR#1, but have since moved on to wondering where they're going with Tim's emotional arc...
My freak-out had to do with the whole set up for Tim's going away. I had assumed, what with Tim's cryptic remarks about meeting the "new Robin" and telling Stephanie he was leaving Gotham, that the transition to Red Robin would be smooth: At 18 Tim is ready to be an adult superhero, tells Dick that he thinks Bruce is alive so he is leaving Gotham, and says he is doing it as a different identity. Dick, of course, agrees that it's time for Tim to make that choice. And that leads to Damian being considered.
Instead it turns out Dick tells Tim that Damian is now Robin, which Tim sees as having the only thing he has left taken from him, and as Dick choosing Damian over him. Damian waltzes into this discussion in costume (which I guess he's had since Alfred gave it to him in BftC? Should I assume Alfred was the first to think of this?) to throw in snotty remarks about why Tim's "still here" and getting better security in the cave to keep out the "riff raff" and suggesting to Tim that maybe the Batgirl costume's still available.
Tim smashes some things, stares at a wall, and then decides that Bruce is still alive. He takes the Red Robin costume because it's "already tainted" and doesn't trace back to Bruce or Dick (not sure what that means even if we forget Dick creating the costume in KC) and goes to find Bruce because he's "all he has."
Now, at first I was furious, thinking that Dick had just fired Tim for the dubious reason that if Damian's not Robin he'll just kill somebody again. (Way to let the kid rule you, guys!) Also Dick didn't much like having his own identity taken from him when it happened to him, so why would he do it to Tim? Doesn't he tend to have more respect for Robins' self-determination? Was it just so Tim could be even more broody, angsty and mad throughout his series? Does he have to be cut off from everybody? Do we need conflict in the Batfamily even if it's manufactured?
I was not happy. But looking at it again, I'm seeing what's hopefully at least a better idea. Tim makes a comment about things "getting in the way" of his search for Bruce and I think that's significant, because the search, despite Bruce really being alive, should I think be a McGuffin for Tim to find himself. (As cliche as that sounds, it's true.) So he should think a lot about his past while he's gone, and hopefully we'll get some more sides of this.
Reading the scene with Dick in that light, I note that Dick doesn't actually fire Tim--certainly not the way Bruce fired him in versions he did that. He still wants to work with Tim, he just considers him an equal partner and not a sidekick. Although it's surprising given Tim's recent focus on getting better, it's actually probably more of a kicking Tim out of the nest thing. Since Bruce is gone and Tim is feeling fragile he's wanting to cling to everything the way it was before, and that means being the kid, which in turn means being Robin. He is on the brink here between kid and adult. When he lets Damian's taunts get to him, he's being a kid--and Dick the big brother is annoying him by expecting him to be the adult (pulling him off Damian and telling him to back off when DAMIAN STARTED IT NOT FAIR!!!).
From Dick's pov he's actually giving Tim what he wanted--he's asking him to be an equal partner because he doesn't want Tim to feel disrespected or controlled etc. the way he did when he was outgrowing the role.
Since Dick is threatening that more familiar role Tim runs away to show them. This really is prompted by Tim being kind of childish. His jealousy and insecurity around Damian tends to do that to him. He puts it in terms of Dick choosing between him and Damian when Dick didn't choose between them--it was Tim who forced that choice. Had he stayed he could have been the senior partner with authority over Damian. He goes off to find Bruce who will put things right--he'll get Dad back and then everything will be like it was before. But along the way I think what he'll actually find is that his search for Bruce really is more about his own apprehensions about change than it is about real evidence that Bruce is alive. The "distractions" he has along the way will show that to him, until he realizes he actually has outgrown the role he left home to make Bruce give back to him.
I hope that the actual discovery of Bruce will be a family affair (even if Tim is the one to start it off). But I think he'll probably come home to accept the role Dick actually offered, that of equal. I remember a comic where Dick said to Bruce that looking back on his anger at him, Bruce had never forced Dick to be like Bruce; Dick had modeled himself on Bruce because Bruce was a great role model, and then got angry at Bruce for letting him do it. I think Dick was being a little magnanimous there, but I remember it here because I think there's a similar growth coming for Tim. That he'll come back realizing he blamed Dick for taking away his place when he was really offering him one that was better suited to him and respected him more or something. He might even wind up seeing his quest as him abandoning Gotham instead of the other way around. Not that I want him to be all mea culpa about that, but I think he could see that without it being all about berating himself. It was a journey he had to take etc. And I could get behind that arc.
And then I want a Red Robin/Nightwing team-up after Bruce gets back because they are the best. :-D
My freak-out had to do with the whole set up for Tim's going away. I had assumed, what with Tim's cryptic remarks about meeting the "new Robin" and telling Stephanie he was leaving Gotham, that the transition to Red Robin would be smooth: At 18 Tim is ready to be an adult superhero, tells Dick that he thinks Bruce is alive so he is leaving Gotham, and says he is doing it as a different identity. Dick, of course, agrees that it's time for Tim to make that choice. And that leads to Damian being considered.
Instead it turns out Dick tells Tim that Damian is now Robin, which Tim sees as having the only thing he has left taken from him, and as Dick choosing Damian over him. Damian waltzes into this discussion in costume (which I guess he's had since Alfred gave it to him in BftC? Should I assume Alfred was the first to think of this?) to throw in snotty remarks about why Tim's "still here" and getting better security in the cave to keep out the "riff raff" and suggesting to Tim that maybe the Batgirl costume's still available.
Tim smashes some things, stares at a wall, and then decides that Bruce is still alive. He takes the Red Robin costume because it's "already tainted" and doesn't trace back to Bruce or Dick (not sure what that means even if we forget Dick creating the costume in KC) and goes to find Bruce because he's "all he has."
Now, at first I was furious, thinking that Dick had just fired Tim for the dubious reason that if Damian's not Robin he'll just kill somebody again. (Way to let the kid rule you, guys!) Also Dick didn't much like having his own identity taken from him when it happened to him, so why would he do it to Tim? Doesn't he tend to have more respect for Robins' self-determination? Was it just so Tim could be even more broody, angsty and mad throughout his series? Does he have to be cut off from everybody? Do we need conflict in the Batfamily even if it's manufactured?
I was not happy. But looking at it again, I'm seeing what's hopefully at least a better idea. Tim makes a comment about things "getting in the way" of his search for Bruce and I think that's significant, because the search, despite Bruce really being alive, should I think be a McGuffin for Tim to find himself. (As cliche as that sounds, it's true.) So he should think a lot about his past while he's gone, and hopefully we'll get some more sides of this.
Reading the scene with Dick in that light, I note that Dick doesn't actually fire Tim--certainly not the way Bruce fired him in versions he did that. He still wants to work with Tim, he just considers him an equal partner and not a sidekick. Although it's surprising given Tim's recent focus on getting better, it's actually probably more of a kicking Tim out of the nest thing. Since Bruce is gone and Tim is feeling fragile he's wanting to cling to everything the way it was before, and that means being the kid, which in turn means being Robin. He is on the brink here between kid and adult. When he lets Damian's taunts get to him, he's being a kid--and Dick the big brother is annoying him by expecting him to be the adult (pulling him off Damian and telling him to back off when DAMIAN STARTED IT NOT FAIR!!!).
From Dick's pov he's actually giving Tim what he wanted--he's asking him to be an equal partner because he doesn't want Tim to feel disrespected or controlled etc. the way he did when he was outgrowing the role.
Since Dick is threatening that more familiar role Tim runs away to show them. This really is prompted by Tim being kind of childish. His jealousy and insecurity around Damian tends to do that to him. He puts it in terms of Dick choosing between him and Damian when Dick didn't choose between them--it was Tim who forced that choice. Had he stayed he could have been the senior partner with authority over Damian. He goes off to find Bruce who will put things right--he'll get Dad back and then everything will be like it was before. But along the way I think what he'll actually find is that his search for Bruce really is more about his own apprehensions about change than it is about real evidence that Bruce is alive. The "distractions" he has along the way will show that to him, until he realizes he actually has outgrown the role he left home to make Bruce give back to him.
I hope that the actual discovery of Bruce will be a family affair (even if Tim is the one to start it off). But I think he'll probably come home to accept the role Dick actually offered, that of equal. I remember a comic where Dick said to Bruce that looking back on his anger at him, Bruce had never forced Dick to be like Bruce; Dick had modeled himself on Bruce because Bruce was a great role model, and then got angry at Bruce for letting him do it. I think Dick was being a little magnanimous there, but I remember it here because I think there's a similar growth coming for Tim. That he'll come back realizing he blamed Dick for taking away his place when he was really offering him one that was better suited to him and respected him more or something. He might even wind up seeing his quest as him abandoning Gotham instead of the other way around. Not that I want him to be all mea culpa about that, but I think he could see that without it being all about berating himself. It was a journey he had to take etc. And I could get behind that arc.
And then I want a Red Robin/Nightwing team-up after Bruce gets back because they are the best. :-D