Tim Drake
Timothy Jackson "Tim" Drake is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick, he first appeared in Batman #436 (August 1989) as the third character to assume the role of Batman's crime-fighting partner and sidekick Robin. Following the events of Batman: Battle for the Cowl in 2009, Drake adopted the identity of Red Robin. In 2019, Tim returned to his original Robin persona and briefly used the mononym "Drake".
| Tim Drake | |
|---|---|
Tim Drake on the cover of Robin #0 (September 1994). Art by Tom Grummett and Ray Kryssing. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | As Tim Drake: Batman #436 (August 1989) As Robin: Batman #457 (December 1990) As Red Robin: (cameo appearance) Robin (vol. 2) #181 (February 2009) (full appearance) Red Robin #1 (August 2009) |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman (writer) Pat Broderick (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Timothy Jackson Drake |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Batman family Teen Titans Young Justice Wayne Enterprises Batman Inc. Outsiders Justice League |
| Partnerships | Batman Nightwing Spoiler/Batgirl Superboy Impulse/Kid Flash Sparrow Wonder Girl |
| Notable aliases | Robin Red Robin Batman Drake |
| Abilities |
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As a young boy, Tim was in the audience the night Dick Grayson's parents were murdered and later managed to discover the identities of Batman and the original Robin through their exploits. After the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd, and witnessing Batman spiral into darkness, Tim attempted to convince Dick to resume the role of Robin, stating that "Batman needs a Robin". However, Dick refused to return to being Batman's sidekick, and instead, Tim was appointed as the third Robin. Neal Adams redesigned the entire Robin costume specifically for Tim Drake's character, with the sole exception of the redesigned "R" logo by the Norm Breyfogle.
Subsequent stories emphasize Tim's superior detective skills compared to the previous two Robins, which make him more similar to Batman. He succeeded Dick as the leader of the Teen Titans, and later led his superhero team, Young Justice. He was briefly followed in the role of Robin by Stephanie Brown, and later for a longer period by Batman's biological son, Damian Wayne, during the time Tim operated as Red Robin. Tim has been shown to have a close friendship with Superboy (Conner Kent). He has had romantic relationships with superheroes Stephanie Brown and Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark), and more recently his former schoolfriend Bernard Dowd.
In 2011, Tim Drake was ranked 32nd in IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes. The character has been featured in various adaptations, including several animated television series set in the DCAU beginning with The New Batman Adventures (1997–99) and also in Young Justice (2010–2022), and the video game series Batman: Arkham. In 2021, Tim made his live-action debut starting in the third season of the HBO Max series Titans, portrayed by Jay Lycurgo.