Old look, new hero.
Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we're going to explore the comic book origins of Red Robin,
as portrayed by Tim Drake.
Just like Batman, nobody messes with Tim Drake.
Except Two-Face.
Yeah, I guess my old man took something that belonged to him.
As with most comic book characters, there are often reimaginings and different versions to a character's past.
We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline which unfolded in 2009's Red Robin, issue #1.
With Batman supposedly dead and Dick Grayson serving as the new Caped Crusader,
Tim Drake's tenure as Robin had finally ended.
Since Grayson saw Drake as an equal,
it was the young Damian Wayne who secured a spot as the new Boy Wonder instead of him.
Now left to his own devices,
Tim Drake felt wholly dissatisfied with the events surrounding Batman's demise
and was convinced that his mentor, friend, and father-figure was still alive and well.
Saying his goodbyes, he hopped onto his motorcycle and sped off on a seemingly fruitless mission
to find Bruce Wayne.
Taking on the name "Red Robin,"
he soon took Paris by surprise and exploded onto the scene.
Although others had used this name and costume for less heroic deeds in the past,
Drake decided on the Red Robin mantle because it had already been tarnished.
That way, he would be separate from the reputations of Batman and Robin back in Gotham
and would be free to act outside of their moral constraints.
Using all of the skills he picked up from his days tutoring under the Dark Knight,
including weapon proficiency, martial arts, and, of course, stealth,
villains soon found a new face to fear in the night.
Through many heroic deeds, Drake quickly proved that the mask doesn't make the man.
The Red Robin was a hero again, one who had an honorable purpose.
Taking a cue from Batman himself,
Red Robin would come to the aid of anyone in need,
but it never swayed him from his ultimate goal of finding Bruce Wayne.
And, with villains like Ra's al Ghul eyeing his every move in the hopes of finding Batman as well,
Drake had little choice but to be on his best behavior.
Please, Master Timothy, not the explosives.
While the story of Tim Drake as Robin was well established in the 1980s,
DC's New 52 reboot saw a retelling of his origins.
The events of his first encounter with Batman are newly recounted in a Red Robin prequel comic.
Here, he was no longer the scared witness to the tragedy that occurred
during a circus performance of the Flying Graysons, where Dick Grayson's parents died.
In this reboot, Tim Drake was now a circus performer himself,
and a computer genius.
After nearly discovering the identity of Batman,
he tries to coax the Caped Crusader out of hiding by hacking into the Penguin's bank accounts.
When the Penguin's goons show up to exact revenge,
Batman arrived to save the day.
With his parents now in Witness Protection,
they decide to leave their son in the care of Bruce Wayne,
who decides to accept Drake as his new apprentice.
This new origin story for Tim Drake better exemplifies all of his skills and abilities
that he would later refine as Red Robin.
Although this new origin makes it seem like he never took on the Robin persona in the first place,
opting instead to immediately become Red Robin,
Tim Drake's legacy as Robin will still stand as one of the greats.
But, like Nightwing before him, it was time for him to move on,
face his own unique challenges, and blaze his own trail.
Form up! Blue, you have our six!
BLUE BEETLE: ¡Sí, hermano!
Now that Batman has returned to the fold, it's time to see where else Red Robin will go.
He's already taken up the leadership of the Teen Titans, after Wonder Girl stepped down.
He also made his video game mark with the DLC from Batman: Arkham City,
the handheld LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes,
and in Young Justice: Legacy.
We hope to see more of this character in the future,
but, for now, there's always the Red Robin comics.
Are you a fan of the relentless Red Robin?
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Oh, no.