Warning: Spoilers for DC Pride: Tim Drake Special #1!
The third Robin of Batman’s ever-growing Bat-Family, Tim Drake, has been going through a lot lately, and in a special DC Pride one-shot that reprints a collection of recent Tim Drake stories as well as a new one, this Boy Wonder’s identity crisis is really messing with his outlook on life.
Part of DC Pride: Tim Drake Special #1, the story titled “Sum of Our Parts Part 2”, by Meghan Fitzmartin and Belen Ortega, sees Tim on the trail of a new cult specializing in chaos and pain. Soon taken captive by the cult, Tim uses this opportunity to see what they’re up to while also figuring out how they tie into the various missing people in Gotham; Tim’s friend and new love interest, Bernard, included.
While waiting on the cult’s roof for the next part of his mission to play out, Tim begins to question himself and what he’s doing not just as Robin but as plain old Tim Drake too. Having already been asked by his captors what he wants only to reply, “How’m I supposed to know that?” Tim runs with this thought as his identity crisis plays out in his head in real-time.
Mulling over the ideas of what scares him most as well as why he’s punishing himself by taking part in the pain cult, Tim admits to himself that “hidden under all of this is the real question — Who am I if I’m not a Robin?” Having a hard time finding his place in the Bat-Family after Damian Wayne became the “main” Robin of the Bat-team, this story sees Tim directly addressing this question, while also telling fans that his identity issues run deeper than not being able to settle on a proper codename.
Something that’s been clear to fans for some time now, DC hasn’t always known the answer to Tim’s “Who am I if I’m not a Robin?” question as Tim has bounced around from hero identity to hero identity, complete with random costume changes along the way, only to revert to a sort of middle ground every time. Explaining in his narration that since he’s always been Robin, always seen himself as Robin and that every important moment in his life has happened while he’s been Robin, Tim doesn’t truly know what or who he is (or can be) without Robin being part of the equation.
In the past, Tim has thought about abandoning his sidekick role, wanting the mantle of the Bat, going to college, and leaning into his newly addressed bisexual nature, but nothing seems to stick. And now, finally, Tim Drake has realized that he needs to focus on what he truly wants, but if he isn’t careful, his identity crisis will throw a wrench into things in ways that even Tim being Robin can’t solve.
