Tim Drake: Robin is a 2022 ongoing comic book series written by Meghan Fitzmartin.
The third of Tim Drake's solo ongoing series following Robin (1993) and Red Robin, and second in which he's using the costumed name of Robin. The first arc continues a literary themed mystery started in the final pages of the DC Pride: Tim Drake Special.
The book ended in June 2023 with the publication of Tim Drake #10.
Tropes in this comic:
- Ascended Extra: Bernard played a fairly small role as one of Tim's high school friends in Robin (1993) and mostly disappeared from canon after Tim changed schools, appearing only once. Since being reintroduced in Batman: Urban Legends, he's become Tim's love interest.
- Cardiovascular Love: Following his date with Bernard, Tim is depicted walking home with hearts floating around his head as he thinks about their relationship.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Bernard spends their date in issue 1 telling Tim about his theory that Batman is a Demigod-Demogorgon hybrid.
- Domino Mask: Darcy's mask is the extent of her secret identity, since she wears normal clothes even while on the case.
- Flies Equals Evil: A close up of a fly crawling on a body's mouth is shown as Tim determines the victim was murdered rather than dying in an accident as those first on scene had assumed.
- Guns Are Worthless: Detective Williams shoots at the orangutan manifestation in issue 1 when it attacks. The bullets have no effect.
- Houseboat Hero: Since leaving Wayne Manor, Tim has taken up residence on a boat that, according to Darcy, "looks like a murder shed."
- Internal Homage: Four of Dan Mora variant covers for Tim Drake: Robin are a reiteration of the other Robins' debut covers, with Tim in the place of Robin and the Robin whose debut cover is being homaged in the place where Batman was on the original cover.
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Tim's neighboring boat in the marina is the home of Tammy and Lauren, a lesbian couple with one muscular butch partner and one dress wearing femme partner.
- Mistaken for Cheating: At one point, a neighbor walks in on Tim changing and, noticing pieces of the Robin costume in the background, pointedly asks if Bernard knows what Tim and Robin are doing.
- Off with His Head!: When Cam and her mother are murdered Cam is found decapitated with her head nearby.
- Promoted to Love Interest: Bernard was originally just Tim's friend, but has since been upgraded to Tim's boyfriend.
- Series Continuity Error: In issue #8, there's an attempted Continuity Nod where Batwoman mentions breaking Harley Quinn out of Arkham Asylum, a reference to Harley Quinn Vol. 4 #14. However, Harley was held at Blackgate Penitentiary in that issue, not Arkham.
- Sherlock Scan: Robin picks out the most important pieces of evidence at crime scenes with a simple glance around the area.
- Shout-Out:
- Tim is briefly dismayed to realize he's quoting Sherlock Holmes in his inner monologue.
- When he finds orangutan fur at a murder Tim realizes the literary inspired criminal from the DC Pride: Tim Drake Special is back, this time pulling from Edgar Allan Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue.
- Tim quickly goes over finding a projected elephant rampaging in a reference to Mark Twain's mystery The Stolen White Elephant in DC Pride: Tim Drake Special to catch readers up on his previous experience with strange semi-intangible beasts inspired by famous mystery stories.
- When Tim and Darcy go to the library to peruse famous mystery stories while investigating the literary inspired murderer/thief Tim dismisses Raymond Chandler as the author of the story they're currently looking for after some reading. They also come across the James Gelsey Scooby-Doo Mystery series which Tim quickly dismisses.
- The next fiction reference by the villain, however, is Chandler's Goldfish.
- Speech-Bubble Censoring: The bloody stump of Cam's neck is obscured by a speech bubble after she's decapitated.
- Targeted to Hurt the Hero: The villain of the first arc has figured out the identities of the Robins and uses this information to target Tim Drake, trying to give himself a nemesis that will give him a big name as a super-villian. Part of his plan involves him kidnapping Tim's boyfriend Bernard.
- Variant Cover: Each issue has a Dan Mora variant, usually homaging an earlier DC cover.
- Working with the Ex: Tim and Steph used to date and he asks the Batgirls to help him with the case in the first arc in an effort to prevent any more murders, as Stephanie's ability to figure out hints and clues and Cass' fighting skills make them a perfect aid in the case.
