As DC Comics kicks off its Infinite Frontier continuity, Batman scribe James Tynion IV has revealed that Tim Drake, the former boy wonder currently known as Red Robin, will play a sizable role in what is described as a new era for Gotham’s crime fighters partly influenced by the style of John Hickman’s X-Men reboot. Often put on the backburner in recent years, ceding the limelight to fellow former Robins Dick “Nightwing” Grayson and Jason “Red Hood” Todd, Tynion hinted at a storyline in the near future across the Bat-titles which will place Drake in the spotlight again.
Tynion’s work on Batman, begun in 2012, has seen him mastermind a series of great changes in Gotham City in recent years, including the death of butler Alfred Pennyworth, the loss of Bruce Wayne’s fortune and the current state of anti-vigilantism by the Gotham authorities that sets the stage for many of the titles. With a new status quo for Gotham where the heroes find themselves at odds with law enforcement, and a series of secret plots unfolding that signal dark tidings on the horizon, Tynion’s role in crafting the future of the character and his associate personalities has never been more important.
In recent postings on his blog The Empire of the Tiny Onion (published on Substack.com), Tynion related a few updates/anecdotes from sessions in the writers’ room at DC Comics, and confirmed that Drake will return to a featured role in an upcoming crossover event across the Bat-tites, saying “there’s some Tim Drake stuff coming that I am particularly thrilled about, and cannot wait for you all to read. Teenage Tim Drake fanboy James was cheering on his feet reading the outline for this upcoming story.” He added that Drake would not be the only sometimes-neglected Bat-character to receive the limelight, writing:
…For the last decade of working in Gotham City, there were so many times where people would ask about their favorite Bat-Family member and not be able to explain the weird internal politics that were acting as a barrier to seeing those characters get the spotlight they deserve… But right now? There’s a plan for ALL of them. Gotham City is a whole superhero universe in and of itself, and we’re all working together to build this exciting tapestry of superhero awesome that brings each of them forward and lets them shine.
Tynion had in a previous post drawn a comparison of his approach to Batman to that of Jonathan Hickman’s in his X-Men reboot, which has seen the X-franchise spin out into a wildly unpredictable, yet excitingly irreverent vision of the famed mutant adventurers in recent years. The prime ingredient for quality (if somewhat weird) storytelling, Tynion noted, was to “embrace the cacophony” wrought from the myriad of plot elements leftover by necessity from decades-long continuities. He noted his admiration in Hickman’s approach for “trying to move the whole franchise forward without shying away from the sheer breadth of the insanity of their sixty year publishing history,” and said he was attempting a similar overarching style.
I want to embrace the fact that we’re further down the timeline in Gotham than we ever have been before, while creating new entry point characters for new readers to jump in on the whole experience with. I want to embrace the insanity of living in a superhero universe, with a nightmare city full of colorful street ninjas fighting cyborgs and murder clowns.
Tynion’s remarks provide an interesting peek into the creative process of DC’s writers, as well as the overall storytelling direction within DC’s editorial department. Now a year removed from the shakeup at DC in 2020, which saw the company lay off a reported third of their editorial department, James Tynion IV gives credence to the solidity of DC’s current creative direction for where Batman and his associate characters, including Tim Drake, are heading, which apparently includes “a Halloween party with our good pal, Scarecrow.”
Sources: James Tynion IV/Substack.com, The Empire of the Tiny Onion Newsletter 26 “Who is Miracle Molly” & 27 “Throwing Stones in Nice Houses”
