Robin is one of the greatest ideas in comics. Batman was popular, but back in the day, comic publishers didn’t think that children could relate to adults. So, they created young Dick Grayson, a boy around the same age as many of the readers, as an audience insert. It worked, too. Robin became massively popular and has been a part of the Batman mythos ever since. Dick Grayson is a pop culture icon; from the ’40s to the early ’80s, Dick was the Robin that everyone grew up with. However, he graduated to the New Teen Titans (and on Earth-Two took over for Batman after he retired, wearing an awesome mixture of the Robin and Batman costumes; seriously look it up), and there was a new Robin, Jason Todd. Jason was far from the last of the new Robins, but out of all of them — Dick, Jason, Tim, Carrie, Stephanie, and Damian — only one of them actually earned it: the third Robin, Tim Drake.
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The Bat-Family has full of great heroes, but Tim is something special among all of them. Sure, Dick Grayson became his own hero in Nightwing, has led teams, and even became the best Batman. Jason died, came back as the Red Hood and found the popularity that was denied him earlier. Carrie (from The Dark Knight Returns, for those who don’t know) became Batman’s second in command in his war. Stephanie wasn’t the best but her costume was cool. Damian was raised to be the ultimate vigilante, and earned the love of his father. However, Tim is the one who personified everything that Robin should be.
Tim Drake Actually Wanted to be Robin
To understand why Tim Drake is the perfect Robin, the only one who earned it, we have to go back in time. The death of Jason Todd is one of the biggest moments in Batman history and changed the Dark Knight. He got much darker and more violent, believing that his mission was cursed and hopeless. Young Tim Drake noticed this. He noticed that Batman had changed and he figured out why — the lack of Robin. So, Tim decided that he would he become Robin, to help bring the light back to Batman’s life. In order to do this, he decided to present himself to Batman. The only way he could do this was to figure out who Batman was. So, he did. That’s honestly kind of amazing.
Batman isn’t Superman; his costume is made to keep his secret and he’s worked hard to make sure no one figured it out. This was post-Crisis DC; in post-Crisis DC at the time, barely anyone knew who he was. This would be retconned in the ’00s, but back then, it was basically just Superman and a very few others. Tim was a civilian with no in to the superhero community, yet he was still able to figure out that Batman was Bruce Wayne. When he confronted Bruce with this discovery, he earned Batman’s respect and became Robin. Tim’s time as Robin was pretty hype. Fans of the ’90s loved Tim so much he was the first Robin to get his own series. Tim was an amazing Robin, and he only got better over the years.
Dick is considered the best Robin because he transcended being Robin. Jason has been said to be the best fighter of the Robins, and Damian is probably the most generally skilled. However, Tim was great at everything. He was by far the best detective — again, he figured out Batman’s identity on his own — but he was also good at everything else. He was a leader, leading Young Justice and the Teen Titans. He was a great fighter, having taken down the Joker on his own. When he lost his own father, he finally understood what Dick and Bruce did about loss and the price one paid for the life. Tim’s popularity helped make DC go all in on teen heroes again. Tim Drake has had a bad time since Damian came along, but that can’t change just how important he was to the history of Robin. Tim did exactly what he set out to do — he brought the light back to Batman’s life, and he showed him that Robin was still a good idea. That’s how amazing Tim is. Dick set the bar, Jason tripped over it, but Tim vaulted over it, setting the bar higher than any other Robin. Younger fans make fun of Tim (especially on Reddit), but they weren’t there and didn’t see how great Tim truly was.
Tim Drake Made Robin Cool Again
Tim Drake is about to become the main Robin again, joining the cast of the newest volume of Batman. For older fans, it’s the return of a legend. Tim Drake is a special case in the history of Robin. All the other Robins, in the mainline universe at last, sort of lucked into it. Tim wanted it. Batman made Tim earn it, and that never ended for Tim.
Tim walked into what seemed like a cursed mantle, and made it great again. Fans hated Jason Todd — pre-Crisis Jason was just a Dick redux and post-Crisis Jason is the mouthy nu-metal dude we all know and love — but Tim was able to get the fans on his side. He made Robin a big deal again. He truly earned it.
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