Workshop: "Writing Tim Drake (Robin III)" by Darkdanc3r

[jij]

From the moment we are introduced to Timothy Drake in Batman #436 as part of a flashback Tim Drake has been losing people. Over the course of years, Tim’s character goes through a series of obvious personality changes. For the most part these changes are not all that big, but they do have subtle effects on his character. Sadly, by the time we reach

Comments

[anonymous]

Yeah, Tim is a mess right now, the poor dear. I'm fervently hoping that the return of Chuck Dixon to Robin will at least make him make sense again, even if he's not going to be happy.

Just two comments: Tim started going to Brentwood a few years into his career as Robin. He was at home at the start of his tenure as Robin, but his parents were way, way, out of the way because they traveled. He frequently had no idea what country they were even in, and most of the parent-child contact between them was in the form of postcards.

Also, he and Superboy met in Gotham. Tim called him in to help with Metallo, and they tangled with Poison Ivy, who brought them to Hawaii.

Anytime I see a review of Tim's life, I kind of just cringe. That boy deserves some happiness!

[saavikam77]

Wow. O_O

Thanks for the great history here. So much I wasn't aware of (as usual).

What little bit of Tim!muse I have in my head seems to fixate on the ongoing conflict with Jason (though that's probably because *I* fixate on Jason :p), and is definitely a little more than effed up from losing so many people. *hugs him tight*

I also tend to see him as the one Bat that's been holding the clan together, as much as he's losing his grip. Putting a gun to his own head was one hell of a cry for help in that regard. O_O

Thanks again for this!! :D

[victoria_wayne]

Tim's current state of mind is a little iffy; I'm hoping it'll smooth over when the chaos dies down... if the crossover events will ever end.

I have a question; when Tim changes the costume to Superboy's colours, is that talked about at all? I didn't realize that was what he'd done until just now, but that totally makes sense. I guess I just thought they were going for something more stylistic and different from the original Robin costume; I didn't think about the timely colour scheme. Does Tim ever actually say Kon's death is why?

I hope so.

[victoria_wayne]

Nice, thank you. :D

[in_excelsis_dea]

As anonymous stated, Tim didn't attend Brentwood until Jack and Dana were together and in the middle of Robin. The school he attended before becoming Robin is never named, and I'm not even sure if it was stated in the issue if it was a boarding school or not.

Otherwise, I enjoyed your essay. Tim has been through an incredible amount of trauma and it's a wonder that he's still standing. I don't really feel that Tim is out of character in the recent issues, though. Everyone has been put through the ringer and it seems to have had more of a toll on Tim than most of the other heroes. He's breaking down, and his characterization shows it.

I'm also curious- when has Cyborg played a role in the recent Titan books? I was actually thinking about that the other day, and I can't recall him really being mentioned since TT 46.

*sigh* Tim's one of, if not my favorite DCU character, and I hate it that he's been through so much. Would giving him some happiness be too much to ask for?

Thanks for writing an interesting essay.

[in_excelsis_dea]

Ah, thanks. I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to read that particular issue.

[greeneyelove]

You are without a doubt the best person to write this essay. It was wonderfully done and has sparked some Timmy bunnies.

Bravo!!!