writing this post without a working shift key took twenty minutes
So Newsarama published an interview with the new Red Robin writer, Fabian Nicieza. His observations on Tim's character match superbly with mine! Huzzah.
-- "He is “the smart one” of the Bat-family, the thinker and planner. I mean, of course Bruce Wayne/Batman is what he is, and Tim isn’t quite there yet, but Tim at 17 has a more developed intellect than Bruce at 17 did. That’s not to say Dick Grayson or Barbara Gordon are dumb, of course they’re not, but Tim’s level of thinking is a bit... thicker... than theirs. For me, Dick is about superior reflexive thinking, Barbara about superior operational thinking and Tim is about superior comprehensive, or all-encompassing, thinking.
What I love about Tim is that he shares some of the strongest traits of various Bat-family members. The intellect and detective skills of Bruce, the ability to lead others and be a friend to others like Dick has and even the ability to make cold, harsh decisions like Jason does."
-- "The plan is for Tim to spend some of his time in Gotham and more of his time doing international operations.
As far as how Red Robin’s approach is unique in comparison to the others you cite, well, our first arc is called “The Hit List” and it plays off themes I’d touched on in my last Robin arc with the “Search for a Hero” story, specifically, how much can Tim control of the actions and reactions that create the supply and demand dynamic of crime in Gotham? If you create a literal hit list of targets you want to proactively go after, can you fashion a system of organized chaos that allows dominos to topple smartly from one to the next and create a pattern of success? Can the planning used to capture Lynx lead directly into bringing down Scarab, which in turn gets corrupt detectives Cavallo and Wise arrested and results in reporter Vicki Vale getting thrown off the trail of the Bat-family’s secret identities?
Most other Gotham characters, except for maybe Oracle, and superheroes in general, tend to be reactive to metahuman criminal activity rather than proactive. Even Batman tends to react a bit more. Tim’s method of operation will focus on his meticulous planning."
And then there's the bit that keeps making me laugh at inappropriate times in public: Nicieza revealed that Tim's ever-threatened virginity will now be a plot point. I should put together a post of scans showcasing how, like, half of DC has tried and failed to wiggle a hand down Timothy "Permanently A Celibate Nerd" Drake-Wayne's tights.
-- "He is “the smart one” of the Bat-family, the thinker and planner. I mean, of course Bruce Wayne/Batman is what he is, and Tim isn’t quite there yet, but Tim at 17 has a more developed intellect than Bruce at 17 did. That’s not to say Dick Grayson or Barbara Gordon are dumb, of course they’re not, but Tim’s level of thinking is a bit... thicker... than theirs. For me, Dick is about superior reflexive thinking, Barbara about superior operational thinking and Tim is about superior comprehensive, or all-encompassing, thinking.
What I love about Tim is that he shares some of the strongest traits of various Bat-family members. The intellect and detective skills of Bruce, the ability to lead others and be a friend to others like Dick has and even the ability to make cold, harsh decisions like Jason does."
-- "The plan is for Tim to spend some of his time in Gotham and more of his time doing international operations.
As far as how Red Robin’s approach is unique in comparison to the others you cite, well, our first arc is called “The Hit List” and it plays off themes I’d touched on in my last Robin arc with the “Search for a Hero” story, specifically, how much can Tim control of the actions and reactions that create the supply and demand dynamic of crime in Gotham? If you create a literal hit list of targets you want to proactively go after, can you fashion a system of organized chaos that allows dominos to topple smartly from one to the next and create a pattern of success? Can the planning used to capture Lynx lead directly into bringing down Scarab, which in turn gets corrupt detectives Cavallo and Wise arrested and results in reporter Vicki Vale getting thrown off the trail of the Bat-family’s secret identities?
Most other Gotham characters, except for maybe Oracle, and superheroes in general, tend to be reactive to metahuman criminal activity rather than proactive. Even Batman tends to react a bit more. Tim’s method of operation will focus on his meticulous planning."
And then there's the bit that keeps making me laugh at inappropriate times in public: Nicieza revealed that Tim's ever-threatened virginity will now be a plot point. I should put together a post of scans showcasing how, like, half of DC has tried and failed to wiggle a hand down Timothy "Permanently A Celibate Nerd" Drake-Wayne's tights.