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History of Tim Drake/Red Robin
Jun. 15th, 2012 06:59 pmAs a young boy, Timothy Jackson Drake went to Haly's Circus the day that Dick Grayson's parents were killed. Tim got his picture taken with the Flying Graysons and was excited to see them perform-especially Dick's part. Tim witnessed the Graysons' fatal plunge and then watched The Batman comfort young Dick shortly afterward. For years Tim found himself plagued by the Graysons' accident in nightmares until the age of nine-he watched the Batman & Robin battling against the Penguin. Robin executed a quadruple somersault and, once seeing the move, Tim realized that Robin was Dick Grayson; Tim then took his findings about Dick being Robin to their eventual conclusion-Bruce Wayne was Batman. Since then, Tim followed the Dynamic Duo's careers closely. He found out when Dick Grayson became Nightwing and when Bruce Wayne had taken in Jason Todd; from there, he found out that Jason replaced Dick as the second Robin.
Tim then read about Jason's death in the paper, which meant that Robin was dead. Since then, Tim realized that Batman seemed to be going off the deep end. Tim observed and photographed Bruce's sloppiness in order to convince Dick that Batman needed a Robin. When Dick left the Titans for a while to find himself, Tim realized that Dick would've gone back to Haly's Circus after he'd broken into Dick's apartment. After he'd finished wrapping up a murder mystery, Dick ended up meeting the now 13-year-old Tim Drake once again and the former was convinced by the latter that Batman was in trouble. Tim's plans were thrown to the wayside when Dick refused to reclaim the mantle of Robin, though he promised that he would go to help Batman out. When Batman and Nightwing were trapped by Two-Face, it was thanks to Alfred's help that Tim, dressed as Robin, was able to come to their rescue. Once Two-Face was defeated, Batman reluctantly accepted Tim as Robin, but on a trial basis.
Alfred trained Tim for several months, showing him how things were done in The Batman's world. Batman then took it upon himself to train Tim just as hard as he did Dick and Jason. Afterward he sent Tim to Dick Grayson; only a former Robin could show Tim how to become Batman's partner. Dick not only supported and nurtured Tim's desire to become Robin, he helped ease Tim into the role. Dick also helped Tim deal with Bruce's then-distant manner. Tim's parents, Jack and Janet Drake, were rarely around; they had left their son at a Gotham boarding school. Bruce made arrangements to have Tim visit him frequently, during which Tim would train with Batman in secret under his watchful eye. Whether his parents should be told or not wasn't an issue-Tim's parents were captured by the Obeah Man, and though Batman went to rescue them, Janet died and Jack was left in a paralyzed coma. Tim eventually proved himself to the Dark Knight by rescuing him from the Scarecrow, at which point he was given a new, modified Robin costume and was allowed to travel to Europe to hone his talents. There, under the eye of Lady Shiva and a few other people, Tim learned certain skills that are now uniquely his own.
After the shocking events of KnightFall, KnightQuest and KnightsEnd, Bruce was still recovering from having his back broken by Bane. He requested that Dick temporarily take over as Batman after making the mistake of allowing Jean-Paul Valley to substitute nearly brought about the destruction of Gotham. Dick accepted, and formed a wonderful new partnership with Robin. Bruce eventually returned to Gotham to reclaim his role as Batman. As Tim tried to balance out his school life with his hero life, which wasn't always easy, Tim helped out various Teen Titans teams on a few occasions. Tim even founded his own superhero team-Young Justice, with Superboy and Impulse. Wonder Girl, Secret and Arrowette would soon join up a few missions later. Young Justice had their own amazing and harrowing adventures that were unique in their own way, and like other teams before them they went through numerous roster changes. Young Justice finally disbanded shortly after they'd tried to assist the Titans when it came to an android from the future, who unknowingly activated a Superman robot that caused the death of two Titans. From the ashes of Young Justice, Robin, Wonder Girl, Superboy and Impulse-now calling himself Kid Flash after their first mission as Titans caused him to get his kneecap shot by Deathstroke-formed a new team of Teen Titans along with older Titans Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy and eventually Raven.
Tim's life soon went through a major emotional upheaval. Fully recovered from his coma and trying to reestablish their father/son bond numerous times, though it wasn't easy due to Tim's night job, Jack Drake soon discovered Tim's dual identity; he forced Tim to give up the role of Robin for a brief time. He tried to adapt to civilian life for a while and accomplished it pretty well-until the events of Batman: WarGames took place, in which Tim reclaimed the now vacant mantle of Robin for a second time. This time Tim told Jack what he'd done and Jack accepted it after Tim convinced him that even though Bruce trained him, he learned the more important stuff from him. As Jack came to terms with it, he was senselessly murdered by Captain Boomerang not too long after Tim's girlfriend, Stephanie Brown, also known as Spoiler, had died during the end of the WarGames. Tim was now like Bruce and Dick, having lost both his parents to violence. (In Tim's case, it was after he'd become Robin and not before.) Tim wasn't about to quit being Robin again, but couldn't allow himself to become detached like Bruce had. Tim felt that there were 'too many ghosts in Gotham' and moved to Gotham's neighboring city Blüdhaven in order to become the new protector there. He didn't go alone as nearly 5 days had passed before Batgirl, known as Cassandra Cain, showed up as the city's second protector. They worked together during this one mission that involved the Penguin, but afterward they split up to protect separate parts of the city their own way. Tim and Cassandra still trained and learned from each other regardless, and when Tim went out to patrol his part of the 'Haven, he would naturally discover that Cassandra stopped by to use his shower and eat his cereal.
Thanks to the events of Infinite Crisis, Tim and Cassandra's city was destroyed, and Tim suffered loss once again-within the Teen Titans, as his best friend Superboy, known as Conner Kent, was killed due to saving the world from destruction. Tim, Dick and Bruce spent a year traveling the world in an attempt to redefine the first journey that Bruce took to become Batman-this time, he wasn't going alone. When Tim came back to Gotham, he changed his costume: it now adorned the colors of red and black, to honor Conner's colors. Tim naturally rejoined the Teen Titans as their leader, and Bruce Wayne officially adopted Tim as his son. Robin engaged in more than his fair share of adventures in Gotham and in San Francisco with the Titans, but persevered; sadly, Tim suffered more loss as his other best friend Bart Allen, who had finally earned the mantle of The Flash, was killed by the Rogues & his evil clone Inertia. The Titans honored Bart at his funeral, and even celebrated his life back at the Tower. Not too long afterward, Tim suffered a loss that he just doesn't seem to be able to accept-The Batman, otherwise known as Bruce Wayne seemingly died at the hands of Darkseid while saving everyone from certain destruction after the events of Batman: R.I.P. caused the Dark Knight to vanish and end up in Darkseid's destructive clutches. Despite all these losses that were seemingly back-to-back, Tim was determined to continue his career as Robin.
That’s when Gotham’s bad guys seemed poised to make a statement since Batman’s disappearance. Nightwing & Robin both left their respective teams, the Titans and the Teen Titans, to focus on protecting Gotham for the time being. Things hadn’t gotten any better; if anything, they seemed to grow worse. Nightwing called on help such as the Birds of Prey, the Knight and the Squire. They were called the Network. Robin realized that the citizens of Gotham needed a hero to look up to -they needed Batman. But Dick was against taking on the mantle of Batman. Tim informed Dick that someone else had beaten them to it-someone good, someone that they both knew. Tim decided to take matters into his own hands, taking one of Batman’s old suits and heading out to confront said individual-not as Robin, but as Batman. Tim eventually found a hidden Batcave beneath the city and was taken aback-he realized that he was right about his suspicions, and that Jason Todd had stolen his father’s legacy. Catwoman ended up following Tim and saving him from being seriously hurt. Jason returned home, knocked out Catwoman and ended up facing Tim in a third encounter. (Their first confrontation had been somewhere mid-Infinite Crisis, when Jason had faced Tim at Titans Tower. The second, when Jason had attempted to take control of Gotham’s gangs. That plan fell short thanks to an individual known as Red Robin, a name that Jason himself had used once.) Tim momentarily lost control during that battle and beat Jason with a crowbar, unexpectedly being stabbed with a Batarang. Thankfully, the armor in that Batsuit saved Tim from a possibly critical injury-which meant Tim just had to deal with minor cuts instead of one big one. Tim ended up being saved by the Squire and Damien Wayne, his foster brother, before the cave was destroyed. Shortly afterward, Tim was fired from the ‘job’ of Robin, with Dick Grayson becoming Batman and passing the Robin legacy to Damian.
Feeling betrayed and furious, Tim took up the mantle of Red Robin –the last owner of the title had tarnished it, so Tim felt it would be a good choice; that way, nothing would come beck to Bruce or Dick- and began a global-wide search for Bruce, who he believed was still alive. Tim would gather evidence which supported his claim and revealed that Bruce was in reality, lost in time. (Tim’s search had been put on hold when Batman and Robin called him back to Gotham to deal with the Blackest Night event –Dick and Tim’s deceased parents had been brought back to life as Black Lanterns, and facing their killers who were also Black Lanterns, Captain Boomerang and Tony Zucco respectively, Tim and Dick’s combined rage drew all other Black Lanterns in Gotham to them. Only a timely appearance by Deadman who had possessed Etrigan’s body saved them.) Tim also led the League of Assassins for a time while simultaneously bringing them down from the inside. This caused Ra’s al Ghul to target Gotham, which meant Tim was going home. He couldn’t save the day all by himself, so after a small disagreement he teamed up with the new Batgirl –formerly Spoiler, Robin for 5 minutes- Stephanie Brown. At the same time, he was successfully able to arrange the various targets Ra’s had on his list to be protected by his friends. (Barbara Gordon, known as Oracle and Stephanie’s mentor, was able to protect herself, to Wonder Girl’s surprise.) Tim confronted Ra’s in his hideout but that in itself was a smokescreen to give Lucius Fox time to sign documents which made Tim the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. (It was in name only, as he would defer to Lucius’ expertise; Damian, out of jealousy, spite or anger, has filed 17 motions with the Board of Directors for a vote of no confidence.) Tim reestablished his bonds with the Batfamily once the ordeal was finished.
Personality:
Tim's known to occasionally make wisecracks as either himself or as Robin since that seems to be the standard way to counter Batman's brooding, cynical nature. He's smart, since he was able to do what no one else has been able to do-deduce Batman's secret identity, and does his best to maintain the life of a normal teenager. That hasn't gotten easier as he's gotten older. Tim doesn't even have it easy when it comes to girls, even though he's been involved with a number of them-Ariana Dzerchenko, Stephanie Brown-aka, the Spoiler and once Robin herself-Darla Aquista, Cassie Sandsmark-aka, Wonder Girl-and recently, Zoanne Wilkins. Tim even jokes around with his friends on Young Justice and the Teen Titans, though he knows when to stop the wisecracks and get down to business. Tim makes a few wisecracks these days as Red Robin, but those are few and far between.
Before and after, living with Batman has given Tim his own Bat-like persona even if he wouldn't acknowledge it. Tim was adamant on not becoming Batman, a point that was marred slightly when Tim saw himself in the future at two different times-as Batman. Tim's strengths are his hacker abilities, his skills as a crime fighter and is able to think of his way out of any type of situation that's thrown his way. If Tim has any type of weaknesses, it's that he seems to blame himself for any and all deaths that happen under his watch-no matter whether he's with the Titans or patrolling the streets of Gotham. Tim's a very capable leader, as shown during his Young Justice/Teen Titans tenures. He led both teams and did what he could to preserve the lives of his teammates and friends.
Tim's underestimated by most of the villains in Gotham, most of them stating that they 'wanted the Bat' when they come across him instead. That's normally when he's able to prove that he's just as cunning as his mentor. That hasn't always worked, as during an encounter with the Clock King Robin was virtually unable to land a single hit on him as the Clock King's precognitive abilities allow him to know what's going to happen 4 seconds in the future. Despite everything that's happened to him, Tim's a fairly optimistic character. He continues to push on and turn to those he cares about when he needs them the most-whether it's Dick Grayson or Cassie Sandsmark, Tim will approach them when he feels he can't handle things on his own. As Red Robin, Tim’s deemed by Catman as a ‘sidekick,’ though he’s far outgrown that role by now.
Tim then read about Jason's death in the paper, which meant that Robin was dead. Since then, Tim realized that Batman seemed to be going off the deep end. Tim observed and photographed Bruce's sloppiness in order to convince Dick that Batman needed a Robin. When Dick left the Titans for a while to find himself, Tim realized that Dick would've gone back to Haly's Circus after he'd broken into Dick's apartment. After he'd finished wrapping up a murder mystery, Dick ended up meeting the now 13-year-old Tim Drake once again and the former was convinced by the latter that Batman was in trouble. Tim's plans were thrown to the wayside when Dick refused to reclaim the mantle of Robin, though he promised that he would go to help Batman out. When Batman and Nightwing were trapped by Two-Face, it was thanks to Alfred's help that Tim, dressed as Robin, was able to come to their rescue. Once Two-Face was defeated, Batman reluctantly accepted Tim as Robin, but on a trial basis.
Alfred trained Tim for several months, showing him how things were done in The Batman's world. Batman then took it upon himself to train Tim just as hard as he did Dick and Jason. Afterward he sent Tim to Dick Grayson; only a former Robin could show Tim how to become Batman's partner. Dick not only supported and nurtured Tim's desire to become Robin, he helped ease Tim into the role. Dick also helped Tim deal with Bruce's then-distant manner. Tim's parents, Jack and Janet Drake, were rarely around; they had left their son at a Gotham boarding school. Bruce made arrangements to have Tim visit him frequently, during which Tim would train with Batman in secret under his watchful eye. Whether his parents should be told or not wasn't an issue-Tim's parents were captured by the Obeah Man, and though Batman went to rescue them, Janet died and Jack was left in a paralyzed coma. Tim eventually proved himself to the Dark Knight by rescuing him from the Scarecrow, at which point he was given a new, modified Robin costume and was allowed to travel to Europe to hone his talents. There, under the eye of Lady Shiva and a few other people, Tim learned certain skills that are now uniquely his own.
After the shocking events of KnightFall, KnightQuest and KnightsEnd, Bruce was still recovering from having his back broken by Bane. He requested that Dick temporarily take over as Batman after making the mistake of allowing Jean-Paul Valley to substitute nearly brought about the destruction of Gotham. Dick accepted, and formed a wonderful new partnership with Robin. Bruce eventually returned to Gotham to reclaim his role as Batman. As Tim tried to balance out his school life with his hero life, which wasn't always easy, Tim helped out various Teen Titans teams on a few occasions. Tim even founded his own superhero team-Young Justice, with Superboy and Impulse. Wonder Girl, Secret and Arrowette would soon join up a few missions later. Young Justice had their own amazing and harrowing adventures that were unique in their own way, and like other teams before them they went through numerous roster changes. Young Justice finally disbanded shortly after they'd tried to assist the Titans when it came to an android from the future, who unknowingly activated a Superman robot that caused the death of two Titans. From the ashes of Young Justice, Robin, Wonder Girl, Superboy and Impulse-now calling himself Kid Flash after their first mission as Titans caused him to get his kneecap shot by Deathstroke-formed a new team of Teen Titans along with older Titans Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy and eventually Raven.
Tim's life soon went through a major emotional upheaval. Fully recovered from his coma and trying to reestablish their father/son bond numerous times, though it wasn't easy due to Tim's night job, Jack Drake soon discovered Tim's dual identity; he forced Tim to give up the role of Robin for a brief time. He tried to adapt to civilian life for a while and accomplished it pretty well-until the events of Batman: WarGames took place, in which Tim reclaimed the now vacant mantle of Robin for a second time. This time Tim told Jack what he'd done and Jack accepted it after Tim convinced him that even though Bruce trained him, he learned the more important stuff from him. As Jack came to terms with it, he was senselessly murdered by Captain Boomerang not too long after Tim's girlfriend, Stephanie Brown, also known as Spoiler, had died during the end of the WarGames. Tim was now like Bruce and Dick, having lost both his parents to violence. (In Tim's case, it was after he'd become Robin and not before.) Tim wasn't about to quit being Robin again, but couldn't allow himself to become detached like Bruce had. Tim felt that there were 'too many ghosts in Gotham' and moved to Gotham's neighboring city Blüdhaven in order to become the new protector there. He didn't go alone as nearly 5 days had passed before Batgirl, known as Cassandra Cain, showed up as the city's second protector. They worked together during this one mission that involved the Penguin, but afterward they split up to protect separate parts of the city their own way. Tim and Cassandra still trained and learned from each other regardless, and when Tim went out to patrol his part of the 'Haven, he would naturally discover that Cassandra stopped by to use his shower and eat his cereal.
Thanks to the events of Infinite Crisis, Tim and Cassandra's city was destroyed, and Tim suffered loss once again-within the Teen Titans, as his best friend Superboy, known as Conner Kent, was killed due to saving the world from destruction. Tim, Dick and Bruce spent a year traveling the world in an attempt to redefine the first journey that Bruce took to become Batman-this time, he wasn't going alone. When Tim came back to Gotham, he changed his costume: it now adorned the colors of red and black, to honor Conner's colors. Tim naturally rejoined the Teen Titans as their leader, and Bruce Wayne officially adopted Tim as his son. Robin engaged in more than his fair share of adventures in Gotham and in San Francisco with the Titans, but persevered; sadly, Tim suffered more loss as his other best friend Bart Allen, who had finally earned the mantle of The Flash, was killed by the Rogues & his evil clone Inertia. The Titans honored Bart at his funeral, and even celebrated his life back at the Tower. Not too long afterward, Tim suffered a loss that he just doesn't seem to be able to accept-The Batman, otherwise known as Bruce Wayne seemingly died at the hands of Darkseid while saving everyone from certain destruction after the events of Batman: R.I.P. caused the Dark Knight to vanish and end up in Darkseid's destructive clutches. Despite all these losses that were seemingly back-to-back, Tim was determined to continue his career as Robin.
That’s when Gotham’s bad guys seemed poised to make a statement since Batman’s disappearance. Nightwing & Robin both left their respective teams, the Titans and the Teen Titans, to focus on protecting Gotham for the time being. Things hadn’t gotten any better; if anything, they seemed to grow worse. Nightwing called on help such as the Birds of Prey, the Knight and the Squire. They were called the Network. Robin realized that the citizens of Gotham needed a hero to look up to -they needed Batman. But Dick was against taking on the mantle of Batman. Tim informed Dick that someone else had beaten them to it-someone good, someone that they both knew. Tim decided to take matters into his own hands, taking one of Batman’s old suits and heading out to confront said individual-not as Robin, but as Batman. Tim eventually found a hidden Batcave beneath the city and was taken aback-he realized that he was right about his suspicions, and that Jason Todd had stolen his father’s legacy. Catwoman ended up following Tim and saving him from being seriously hurt. Jason returned home, knocked out Catwoman and ended up facing Tim in a third encounter. (Their first confrontation had been somewhere mid-Infinite Crisis, when Jason had faced Tim at Titans Tower. The second, when Jason had attempted to take control of Gotham’s gangs. That plan fell short thanks to an individual known as Red Robin, a name that Jason himself had used once.) Tim momentarily lost control during that battle and beat Jason with a crowbar, unexpectedly being stabbed with a Batarang. Thankfully, the armor in that Batsuit saved Tim from a possibly critical injury-which meant Tim just had to deal with minor cuts instead of one big one. Tim ended up being saved by the Squire and Damien Wayne, his foster brother, before the cave was destroyed. Shortly afterward, Tim was fired from the ‘job’ of Robin, with Dick Grayson becoming Batman and passing the Robin legacy to Damian.
Feeling betrayed and furious, Tim took up the mantle of Red Robin –the last owner of the title had tarnished it, so Tim felt it would be a good choice; that way, nothing would come beck to Bruce or Dick- and began a global-wide search for Bruce, who he believed was still alive. Tim would gather evidence which supported his claim and revealed that Bruce was in reality, lost in time. (Tim’s search had been put on hold when Batman and Robin called him back to Gotham to deal with the Blackest Night event –Dick and Tim’s deceased parents had been brought back to life as Black Lanterns, and facing their killers who were also Black Lanterns, Captain Boomerang and Tony Zucco respectively, Tim and Dick’s combined rage drew all other Black Lanterns in Gotham to them. Only a timely appearance by Deadman who had possessed Etrigan’s body saved them.) Tim also led the League of Assassins for a time while simultaneously bringing them down from the inside. This caused Ra’s al Ghul to target Gotham, which meant Tim was going home. He couldn’t save the day all by himself, so after a small disagreement he teamed up with the new Batgirl –formerly Spoiler, Robin for 5 minutes- Stephanie Brown. At the same time, he was successfully able to arrange the various targets Ra’s had on his list to be protected by his friends. (Barbara Gordon, known as Oracle and Stephanie’s mentor, was able to protect herself, to Wonder Girl’s surprise.) Tim confronted Ra’s in his hideout but that in itself was a smokescreen to give Lucius Fox time to sign documents which made Tim the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. (It was in name only, as he would defer to Lucius’ expertise; Damian, out of jealousy, spite or anger, has filed 17 motions with the Board of Directors for a vote of no confidence.) Tim reestablished his bonds with the Batfamily once the ordeal was finished.
Personality:
Tim's known to occasionally make wisecracks as either himself or as Robin since that seems to be the standard way to counter Batman's brooding, cynical nature. He's smart, since he was able to do what no one else has been able to do-deduce Batman's secret identity, and does his best to maintain the life of a normal teenager. That hasn't gotten easier as he's gotten older. Tim doesn't even have it easy when it comes to girls, even though he's been involved with a number of them-Ariana Dzerchenko, Stephanie Brown-aka, the Spoiler and once Robin herself-Darla Aquista, Cassie Sandsmark-aka, Wonder Girl-and recently, Zoanne Wilkins. Tim even jokes around with his friends on Young Justice and the Teen Titans, though he knows when to stop the wisecracks and get down to business. Tim makes a few wisecracks these days as Red Robin, but those are few and far between.
Before and after, living with Batman has given Tim his own Bat-like persona even if he wouldn't acknowledge it. Tim was adamant on not becoming Batman, a point that was marred slightly when Tim saw himself in the future at two different times-as Batman. Tim's strengths are his hacker abilities, his skills as a crime fighter and is able to think of his way out of any type of situation that's thrown his way. If Tim has any type of weaknesses, it's that he seems to blame himself for any and all deaths that happen under his watch-no matter whether he's with the Titans or patrolling the streets of Gotham. Tim's a very capable leader, as shown during his Young Justice/Teen Titans tenures. He led both teams and did what he could to preserve the lives of his teammates and friends.
Tim's underestimated by most of the villains in Gotham, most of them stating that they 'wanted the Bat' when they come across him instead. That's normally when he's able to prove that he's just as cunning as his mentor. That hasn't always worked, as during an encounter with the Clock King Robin was virtually unable to land a single hit on him as the Clock King's precognitive abilities allow him to know what's going to happen 4 seconds in the future. Despite everything that's happened to him, Tim's a fairly optimistic character. He continues to push on and turn to those he cares about when he needs them the most-whether it's Dick Grayson or Cassie Sandsmark, Tim will approach them when he feels he can't handle things on his own. As Red Robin, Tim’s deemed by Catman as a ‘sidekick,’ though he’s far outgrown that role by now.
