Warning: SPOILERS for Young Justice #8
Tim Drake‘s time as Batman’s sidekick couldn’t be more over, now that he is finally ditching his strongest connection to Bruce Wayne. For the past few years he’s remained in the family with the title Red Robin, but now he’s got a name all his own.
It’s a character twist that Young Justice writer Brian Michael Bendis has been teasing for months, as delays and changes in story lines pushed Tim’s new superhero identity further into the future. But that’s all old news in the face of Tim Drake’s brand new costume, and at long last, fans know which name will almost certainly become his new moniker. Goodbye Robin… Hello Drake.
This massive, coming of age moment in Tim Drake’s story was first teased back in April, but the context and explanation surrounding the new name and costume can finally be read by fans in the pages of Young Justice #8. After leaping through the Multiverse in an attempt to get back home, the young heroes come face to face with their younger selves. Take a look:
While heroes like Wonder Girl, Superboy, and Impulse immediately fly into superpowered combat against these Earth-3 doppelgangers–the resident teenage heroes of the reality from which the infamous Crime Syndicate hails–Tim Drake is delivered an old-fashioned greeting by his nearly identical self. The crop of red hair may make this version of Robin look more like Jason Todd than a direct copy of Drake, but it isn’t his appearance that fans will be focusing on. It’s his name: Drake. As he points out, “It’s who I am.”
The mere fact that Drake’s first words to his heroic duplicate are asking about his superhero identity speaks to a shared history living under Batman’s wing (presumably the fate of all Multiversal Tim Drakes). It’s possible that on a world formerly ruled by the Crime Syndicate the use of a codename that isn’t, you know, also his actual surname poses fewer risks than the main DC Universe. But what makes this small difference between Tim and Earth-3’s Ginger-Tim is the current Red Robin’s response…
The point being that Tim Drake instantly approves of the moniker, seeing the simplicity and independence it embodies. Not to mention Drake’s claim that it’s “one of the most dangerous birds” (which may or may not be true on Earth-3, as opposed to “drake” referring to a standard male duck on our normal Earth). But pairing this name with the brown and yellow superhero suit Tim will be donning in the pages of Young Justice in coming months, it appears a more duck-like energy will be exuded by Drake sooner rather than later. Which may not be worse or better than Nightwing, but it’s certainly a style that is all Tim’s. How the fans respond to it… remains to be seen. Take a look at the official details and plot synopsis below, and pick up your issue today:
- YOUNG JUSTICE #8 (2019)
- Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
- Art by: John Timms, Gabe Eltreb
- Cover Art by: Eltreb
- Variant Cover by: Jonboy Meyers
- Lost in the Multiverse! The heroes of Young Justice must stay together as they fight to find their way home. Too bad they’re about to cross paths with their own evil look-alikes! Plus, the secrets of Jinny Hex are revealed in a special sequence illustrated by Elena Casagrande! Get set for some of the craziest stuff you’ve seen in years! (Spoilers!)
Young Justice #8 is available now from your local comic book shop, or direct from DC Comics.
