Having Read A Bunch Of Comics Now (though Lets Be Honest, Not Nearly Enough And I'm Still Working Through

And so we continue! Part Two:

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Robin II (1991)

Tim Drake vs. The Joker! I can only assume they created this set of comics to prove that Tim Drake is better than Jason.

AHHH! Finally I get to see some examples of Normal-90s-High-School-Boy (TM) Tim Drake lol! I am so excited to see Tim as this like "TOTALLY NORMAL NERDY RELATABLE BOY" even though that gets stripped away over time. Having read some modern comics, Tim Drake is NOT a normal boy and considering some of the hijinks I've heard about I refuse to believe he was ever a Normal Boy.

As part of his relatability he plays DC's version of D&D. But also he's got a way cooler fit & hair compared to his equally nerdy friends. God your shonen protag vibes are showing, Timmy!

Maybe I am gushing too much but this is such a fun civillian dynamic to have! Why don't I see this in fanfics!! Tim who is being courted by the popular crowd and refusing them. Fuck peer pressure Timmy! I know this is 9th grade. I am sure his high school experience evolves but still... I have ideas now for fics!

He does like coffee!

Hmmm.... don't love that. I heard about this aspect of Tim's character. Gonna keep my eye on this thread.

So I guess people don't realize there are multiple robins huh? Thats fun!

I know stories are happening in between Robin I and Robin II in the Batman & Detective Comics series where Tim is working with Batman. And both Robin I and Robin II are fairly early in Tim's run, but it is interesting that the boy who volunteered, who insisted that Batman take him on is so filled with self doubt. It gives an interesting characterization of Tim. Tim Drake is a boy who doubts himself but can't stomach not trying anyway. Or maybe...Tim Drake is a boy with a gut of steel and a heart full of fear.

Alfred is really holding it down! I love his relationship with Tim. He is Tim's mentor just like Bruce. <3

Ah Tim! You little GENIUS! Bruce is out of town and Tim is afraid the Joker will realize the Batman isn't there to keep things inline. So he makes a hologram of Bruce to scare small time criminals and keep the Myth of Batman going! What a smart cookie! He's truly the Robin with The Plan!

Aw man, the hologram fell apart and Joker realized Tim isn't Jason. What will happen next!!

Politicians such and these old geezers suck a lot. Learning more about the political system and the cops in gotham, Gordon doesn't really strike me as a model cop -- especially considering modern standards. He's very much that 90s cowboy of a cop. Obviously, a victim of the time period. Thats why i maintain the only decent rewrite of Gordon I want is a Gordon who was a former Internal Affaris investigator who witched to officer just so he could become a Commandor who pours most of the budget into Internal Affairs to get rid of corruption in the GDPC and reform the cops!

He and Buffy should meet! I think they'd have a lot to bond over.

Dick where are you! Your little brother needs you! For real though its interesting to me that Joker is around and Batman is out of town and neither Alfred or Tim are like "We should call Dick to help so Robin is facing the Joker alone." Of course i know its to get the Timmy vs Joker show down we want and prove Tim can outsmart the Joker! Like comics are always ready to manufactor that drama. But taking it at face value, how poor is Dick and Bruce's relationship in the beginning of Tim's time as Robin that Tim doesn't think he can rely on Dick despite admiring Dick and Dick helping Alfred convince Bruce to keep Tim as Robin in Batman #442!

Woo! He beats the Joker in the end. It takes a lot out of him but his plan comes together and he wins! So proud of you Boy Wonder!!!

Robin III (1992):

Okay we've skipped some time ahead (note to self go back and figure out when Tim's Dad woke up!) and Timmy is back with the Drake's, shit is going down in gotham with gang wars galore and he's struggling to balance that Superhero-Civilian lifestyle

I get why people write Jack Drake as jealous of how close Tim and Bruce are in fanfics.

The Drakes being neighbors means we get cool shit like this:

Why isn't this in more fanfics!! Thats cocol as hell!

WOOO! King Snake is back in town!!

Also Tim has lied to Bruce in like every comic I've read about him except his intro and Robin II (where he couldn't lie to Bruce because Bruce was out of town lolololol). Tim you king

OOOO! I didn't realize this plot happened! Thats awesome! Again WHERE ARE THE FANFICS!

Fucking Teenages Man! Even when they know the right answer, they don't do it!!

Okay thats enough for this run. I will continue in part 3!! I am excited to get to Robin 4 :D

In honor of messy bitch Tim who deserves a maneater era after his womanizer era in the 90s. Here is a fic concept:

Bernard wants to get engaged young. 22-23. The minute he’s done with school he wants that ring on Tim’s finger.

Tim — allergic to commitment outside of the cape — is like “nope!” And it’s their biggest fight. It actually ends with them taking a six month “break” which Tim reads as a “break up” and proceeds to enjoy a voluminous ho phase, slipping in and out of the clubs of Gotham and Metropolis with Kon, Bart, and Dick as friends/guides.

It’s during this time period that Tim starts sleeps with Kon. They might have experimented when they were younger (no homo was said at some point because that closet was made of glass). A part of Tim, the part that has been in love with this boy even if he hadn’t had the language for it just yet, wants to cling to Kon with all the spite and terror of a bat. But the other part, the same part that ran away from Bernard, knows he won’t be satisfied if he ties himself to Kon just yet. There’s so much more to explore, to experience. He’s a researcher at heart after all. A scientist and an archeologist. He wants to experiment.

And Kon… Kon wants. And if this is how Tim will have him, he’ll enjoy it. He’s a “life is for living” kind of guy. If it becomes something more, Kon would be delighted. But he’s lasted this long as one of Tim’s best friends by meeting him where he’s at. And it’s fun. The sex and the partying and experimenting. Tim and Kon make it fun.

(Dick is happy to be Tim’s guru on all things safe, sane, and consensual. Honestly, Tim’s crisis of the week is small potatoes compared to most of the family DRAMA Dick deals with.)

And then Bernard comes back into the picture. After six months of licking his wounds and realizing he’d rather have a part of Tim instead of nothing at all, asks for another chance. He even suggests keeping an open relationship, as long as Tim doesn’t say “I love you” to anyone else and agrees to a date a week. Bernard can live with it. He’s not… thrilled, exactly. It’s not his first choice but he’d take some of Tim instead of none.

Tim introduces Bernard to Kon three months after settling into the new arrangement. They hadn’t met before then because Tim had no way to explain their connection out of the capes. Now Tim can say, “Bernard, this is my most frequent partner, Kon. He’s been my best friend since I was 14.”

And so the messiness commences!

Doomed Siblings Core

Are there any fanfics where Tim is feeling out of step with his family (maybe going through depression) after finding Bruce and getting mad at Bruce for “abandoning” him (how much is it in Tim’s head and how much is it Bruce’s seesaw parenting) and instead of quietly bowing out and avoiding the family, gets mad and demands Bruce’s attention.

Maybe Bruce casually suggests Tim go to therapy because he’s noticed how angry Tim has been even with everyone. And Tim starts screaming how dare they think he’s broken after all he’s done for them. How he’s saved Bruce’s life and he at least deserves their respect if he can’t have their love.

Extra angst points if all his siblings are there and he points out how all of Bruce’s other kids left him to rot in the time stream, that everyone said he was crazy even though he was right.

Extra extra angst points if he gets a very nasty dig at Damien that he immediately regrets because Tim knows Damien is an insecure child who was desperate to ensure his spot in the family the only way he knew how (and after spending time with the league he knows how fucked up that environment is for a kid) but he’s too angry to stop.

Extra extra extra angst points if he brings up how he kept Bruce from killing himself or someone else after Jason died and it’s the first time Jason hears about it.

I get this might be totally OOC but I think angry cruel Tim crashing out and hurting the people around him and having to make amends while they also try to take care of him would be fun.

~ Detective Comics (1937)

Once again, we get Bruce's parenting technique of letting his kids get their anger out on him. He is even encouraging Tim to let it out, even if he is being yelled at. He is not even fighting Tim or arguing with him, he explains why he acted like he did and he is accepting Tim's anger and emotions.

And sad batblob is back at the end. Sad that one of his babies is in pain, and he cannot just take it away

Hey so actually I might be a little obsessed with how Tim is Dick’s only real brother.

Like hear me out. HEAR ME OUT!

Dick’s relationship with Jason is full of regret and guilt. They might be building something now but their past is full of inflicting rotting wounds (metaphorical and often literal) on each other. Dick started the pattern first when he rejected Jason as Robin. And later Jason raging against Dick after his return. Jason’s semi-valid villain crash out ending with Dick putting him in Arkham because Jason was a straight villain pre-rebirth. And even then it takes rebirth remixed canon to allow Jason some family bonding time. I say they have a handful of months — and even then how often did Dick visit! He didn’t start reconnecting with the BatFam until after the Killing Joke and Death in the Family — they got along before shit got worse.

Damian is Dick’s BABY! That is his firstborn! Dick might have had some adoption tendencies pre-crisis with Jason but they realized that shit with Dick’s (Second? Third?) time in the cowl. Dick saw this small murderous child and was like “I can do it better than Bruce” and did. And yes they might be settling into a brotherly role with Bruce stepping the fuck up.* But I promise you having witnessed siblings with a 10 year age gap — even when the parents are perfect and emotionally available — that older sibling quickly becomes a third parent. With Dick, he was the first second and third parent. No way Damian and Dick could ever just be brothers and I love that for them.

So that leaves Tim! The little baby brother he started calling little brother YEARS before Bruce ever adopted Tim.** Timmy, the freak who broke into his apartment to track him down and drag him back to Gotham. Timmy who Dick follows back to Gotham and — through his growing relationship with Tim — reconnects with his second family.

He spent his early 20s with Tim! He comes into his own as Nightwing with Tim as Robin. He literally grows into his adult self with Tim as his witness.

How many lows has Tim helped him pick up after? How many falls has Dick caught Tim after (metaphorically and literally)?

But that’s the sweet sappy shit.

Tim is the one brother Dick doesn’t have to be responsible with. He eats shitty pizza with Tim. He has movie nights and hang outs and poor-tasting inside jokes with Tim. They race each other across rooftops! They play fight in the streets. Dick booby traps his apartment so Tim can have fun breaking in.*** Dick complains about his messy love life to Tim while Tim mocks him!

THEY ARE BROTHERS YOUR HONOR!

With Jason there is too much pain. With Damian there is too much responsibility. With Tim, Dick gets to be his age and just hangout with his brother!

There is a reason Dick calls Tim his equal. Dick loves his brothers, he’ll always be there for them. But Tim is the one Dick doesn’t have to watch or monitor or hover over. Tim is his brother, not his regret or his child.

20 years in real time and 4 years of comic time put Tim and Dick through the ringer. No Man’s Land. Knightfall. The nuking of Bloodhaven. Contagion. Try to name a tragedy Tim and Dick haven’t witnessed and weathers side by side! But no matter how they fight or have to disappear for the mission, they always find each other and trust each other and believe in each other. Because they are truly brothers!

(So context… I’m very much reading the 90s and 2000s run. I’m like chronologically in 98. I’ve heard modern comics have dropped this FOR SOME FUCKING REASON (they forget Tim exists, I guess). But I refuse to believe that rebirth got rid of their brotherly bond. Just as Tim’s “friendship” with Kon-El transcends timelines so does Dick and Tim’s brotherly bond! They are family bonded through the fires of time and comic book bullshit!)

* How much this is true take with a grain of salt. I’m not reading modern yet. I’ve read some cause Damian just slaps and I love him. But there’s so much!

** Tim was adopted for like a year before being emancipated. WILD! What fatherless behavior!

*** What feral menaces! I love them!!! I just need to scream. Not important. Carry on. ^>^

• so we wander •

A Batman fanfic idea:

A “Tim gets adopted early” AU but Jason still goes to Ethiopia, still gets betrayed and captured and tortured and dies.

So Batman is losing it. It takes all of Superman’s strength and cunning to keep Batman from killing the joker. And it’s only his youngest son’s voice through the comms who calms him down long enough to be restrained.

But even then, Batman can’t control himself completely. He’s not drinking. He has a child to take care of and he’d die before he turns into the worst kind of father’s Gotham has to offer.

But Dick still hates him and Alfred’s quiet presence isn’t the balm it usually is — instead just reminding him how much he missed Jason’s noise and joy. Of course, little Tim isn’t handling the lose of his brother very well either, the quiet child turning inwards in his grief.

So Batman goes out and with each sunset becomes darker, more violent, more desperate. Sloppy. One night he takes two shots to the back after already tearing his suit. He has no backup. He can’t think of a back up plan.

Once again it’s Tim’s voice, warm and alive, over the comms that gives him the strength to get up and limp into the Batmobile. It’s Tim’s presence that gives him enough strength to come home.

Tim is waiting in the cave for him, refusing to leave as Alfred and Dr. Thompson dig the bullets out of his back and sew his skin closed. Tim holds his hand through it all, never turning those ice blue eyes, even when the tears come.

It’s the last night he’s Batman. He can’t do it anymore, can’t do it to Tim. He can’t make his last son an orphan. Not again.

He tells Alfred first. Then Superman who tells the league. Finally, he calls Dick and tells him the truth, not the lie he told Superman about injuries and rest or the story he spun Alfred about being tired, he tells Dick, “I’m not strong enough.”

Dick understands and Dick hates him for it.

Nightwing moves to Gotham. Dick Grayson-Wayne moves back to the manor.

Tim never becomes Robin. There isn’t a Batman to save anymore.

Bruce Wayne calms down after the death of his son, people say. He rarely leaves the manor these days and only when he’s accompanied by his sons. What a doting father!

Nightwing gets a sidekick called Black Bat. Batgirl returns with blonde hair. The underground speak of an all seeing eye coined Oracle.

Bruce Wayne never adopts another child after Tim Drake-Wayne.

Eventually, because of time and family therapy, Dick forgives Bruce. Nightwing never forgives Batman.

And three years after the retirement of Batman, Red Hood returns to the city that failed him.

by Bannai Taku

A Reverse Robins Au Idea:

I love Joker Jr! And I am in love with the idea that in a Reverse Robin AU where the second Robin always dies, Tim — breaking through the brainwashing for just a second — turns the gun on himself to keep from killing Batman. And Bruce has to watch his son commit suicide in front of him to save Batman’s life.

And when Tim comes back (maybe Talia or Ra’s or Superboy Prime idk), he’s not mad at Bruce. If the pit exaggerates your strongest emotion: where Jason ran hot with rage, Tim runs cold with logic. Tim has always been more reserved and non-confrontational. So the Tim that comes back is cold and calculating and focused on revenge.

Tim understands why Batman can’t kill. Tim is an idealist. He believes in Batman and Robin and the symbols they represent. To kill for Tim would be irrational.

But he still wants his revenge, his vengeance. After all, Tim is already a killer, right? What’s a few more?

The plan started with taking out the Joker but grows to destroying all gas based villains (PTSD. He can’t feel safe with gas based villains running around. But he rationalizes it. Just because he’s “cold and rational” doesn’t mean he’s lost his emotions.)

Tim is smart. He never reveals himself.

He’s aware of the third Robin, Jason. Batman needs a Robin. That’s why, after Damien left to spread his wings, Tim bullied Bruce into mentoring him. The city needs Robin. So he’s glad there’s a new Robin. He loves all of the Robins. So he can’t let this one get hurt during his revenge. He needs to keep Robin safe and Batman and Damian distracted.

So he kidnaps Jason and keeps him in a massive underground bunker (a coffin) he built in the caves under Gotham, modeled after the mazes the LoA favor with moving walls and puzzles (because you have to keep little wings entertained and Tim will never have the chance to train Jason properly so he might as well while he has the chance). In the end, the only way out — the answer all the puzzles lead to — is there no way out so Jason has to dig his way out.

All the while, Tim has been manipulating Bruce and Damien into capturing all the gas based villains in Gotham and sticking them in Arkham via puzzles and clues Tim plants around the city. The villains include Joker, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Mr. freeze, etc. And when the rogues are all safely tucked away in the cells Tim has ensured they’d be places in, Tim blows Arkham off the map.

BOOM

Batman’s symbol is intact and Tim is avenged. Tim’s purpose on this earth is complete. He’s determined to slink back into his grave. There is no reason to keep sticking around. What’s one more death after all that carnage?

And it’s Jason — who discovered Tim’s identity during the weeks/months he was held captive — who chases after Tim with Damian’s help (Damian so guilt ridden and desperate to fix all the wrongs he got right with Jason.) They’re going to bring their wayward bird home whether or not Batman wants it.

(Batman wants. He really really wants.)