Tim Drake’s origin story is very different in Titans season 3, but still retains the best element of his comic book beginnings as Robin. Maintaining its impressive record of one Robin per season, Titans season 3 introduces Jay Lycurgo as Tim Drake – the third of Batman’s official full-time sidekicks in DC comics. Tim is a superhero super-fan and works at his family’s noodle house in Gotham City, but by using his own ingenuity and a few skills passed down from his ex-cop father, Tim investigates the identities and movements of local superheroes. After Jason Todd dies and Bruce Wayne disappears, Tim approaches Dick Grayson with a proposition to become the next Robin.
Titans‘ Tim Drake is broadly based upon the DC comic character – but some major changes are made along the way. Like Jay Lycurgo’s Tim, the original is a superhero fan who figures out Batman’s real identity, and the Titans scene where Tim reveals a signed picture of the Flying Graysons hails directly from the source material. So too does Tim making himself known (albeit to Batman rather than Nightwing) in the wake of Jason Todd’s murder. As you might expect, Tim fighting his way out of limbo with Wonder Girl and Hawk is Titans-original stuff, but probably the biggest change is the Drake family setup.
In DC comic lore, Jack Drake is the wealthy, globe-trotting owner of Drake Enterprises who, along with Tim’s mother, is accustomed to the high life. That’s a far cry from the humble Gotham City noodle house owned by the Drake family in Titans. Crucially, however, Titans keeps the most vital element of Tim’s journey to becoming Robin – parental disapproval. When Tim’s father discovers his son is fighting crime as Batman’s sidekick, he’s immediately dismayed – and not just because of the bright green tights. Fearful for his son’s life, Jack goes so far as confronting Bruce Wayne at gunpoint, forcing Tim to leave the caped crusading behind. Titans season 3 carries over this parent-son conflict into live-action. When the Drakes discover their son has built a superhero stalking hub in their basement – and that these activities probably resulted in his shooting – they’re mortified. The well-meaning Drake family assure Tim that his vigilante days are over… before they’ve really begun.
The clash between Tim Drake and his parent(s) is integral to his Robin origin story. For obvious reasons, it’s a dilemma Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson never had, while Jason Todd’s parents couldn’t care less whether he was fighting Penguin or feeding one at the zoo. The familial struggle puts a unique spin on Tim’s superhero journey, and Jack Drake gradually coming to accept his son’s calling helped make Batman’s third Robin his best in the eyes of many. Though Titans remixes the Drake family dynamic, it’s important that the tension over his superhero activity remains. It’ll certainly add higher stakes to Tim’s inevitable debut as Titans‘ new Robin.
Titans should perhaps follow Tim Drake’s comic story a little longer and have him suit up as Robin without telling his parents. The concept of a secret identity is more or less lost in Titans season 3, and it’s a minor miracle that the entirety of Gotham hasn’t figured out Dick Grayson is Nightwing by this point. Tim slinking out of his room to fight criminals injects some much needed youthful jeopardy into a Titans landscape that dropped its “teen” long ago.
