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robin v1 #1 (tim drake): a re-read review

(aka: reading tim’s comics all over again because i’m very unemployed)

Tim is about to officially take on the Robin mantle, and is suffering from major stage fright, which I do not blame him for. In fact, I’m pretty sure most if not all Robins have gone through some level of anxiety over not being able to live up to Bruce or their previous counterparts.

I know he’s being serious, but his pose makes this panel kind of funny.

And…is this Jason Todd shade? If so, funny as fuck. But I’ll also not stand for it. But also maybe I’m just being jumpy and over-protective. Us Jason Todd fans do seem to have that reputation.

Parallel to this, we have Lady Shiva looking lovely as always after beating up a horde of bodyguards to get to the “master of empty hand fighting” Koroshi. She finds him beat up in a wheelchair, having lost a clearly devastating battle against the “king snake” who “strikes from the dark”. Ominous.

This diva.

Checking back in with our heroes, we learn that Tim Drake does not know how to fold clothes.

He’s still mulling over the whole living up to Bruce’s expectations thing, but Alfred gives him some good comforting and advice.

These tender moments make the comics so much more enjoyable for me. Obviously its essential to get to know a character and their fears and motivations, but doing so specifically by showing these cute little interactions is vital to building a realistic atmosphere.

(Derail alert!! Skip this if you only car about the plot and not my shallow musings)

I can’t help but compare this comic, as sort of a re-introduction to Tim Drake, to the first Batman Annual story I reviewed here some time ago that tackled a re-introduction to Batman.

Obviously a lot changed in the comic book genre between the 50s and 90s; the length of each story is the biggest culprit for the lack of defined character arcs in older comics, but I still find it interesting to point out how, to me, what truly was missing back then was us being allowed to spend innocuous time with these characters. Sure, the old plots were kind of silly and definitely not as complex and high-stakes as they are today, but they could all have been improved without changing a single story beat just by allowing us more time to feel what the characters feel, and hear their reactions to the events of the story from their own mouths through actual conversation and not through a narrator monologue or an exposition-filled panel where the characters seem to be talking at you rather than to each other.

I feel like I’m saying something really obvious, but sometimes I sense a general distaste for “fluff”, and I feel like it’s important to note how even in these mundane interactions we’re are still building character relationships, and giving the readers exposition without it feeling like a lecture. From this page alone a first time reader is able to gauge a lot about Tim’s personality, his relationship with Alfred, and his motivations and character arc, all because he exchanged a few quips with the butler. It’s cute! It’s sweet! And it’s effective!!!

(ok, derail over)

Sorry for the ramble, let’s get back to the plot.

Tim goes to visit his mother’s grave and his father, who’s paralyzed in the hospital. I’ll leave the page here because I found it very touching.

He’s saying his goodbyes, as he’s traveling to Paris to train under Rahul Lama, a Tibetan…sensei? Whatever, I’ll let this one slide. As an asian person there are way worse things that have been done to us in Detective Comics history (and in this entire run tbh).

There, Tim meets Shen Chi, Rahul Lama’s grandson, who shows him around his filthy quarters. They don’t even have electricity, and our little computer nerd is not impressed. Shen Chi is the one in charge of actually teaching Tim, as the Lama doesn’t speak english. Shen, on the other hand, apparently learnt it from watching american movies, which to be honest is not holly unrealistic.

Tim goes through what I can only call a training montage, where he endures grueling lessons in ancient healing with the Lama and martial arts with the grandson. Basically he gets beat up a lot, and it’s not helping his impostor syndrome.

Chi takes Tim on a night out, and, as expected, Tim gets made fun of for being a huge loser nerd. Also, this is my chance to show you all Chi’s awesome haircut.

Still, Tim being a nerd has somehow never gotten in the way of him getting action, and he gets approached by a french lady who’s very into his americanness. Chi tries to get with her too, but since he’s an ass about it he gets rightfully stomped on the foot by some very lovely stilettos.

Tim and the girl, Ling, are taking a flirtatious walk outside when they’re surprised by a gang who seems to have it out for Ling. The leader of the gang, Billy, gets all up in Ling’s business, and Tim gets a boot to the face after trying to break it up.

Yeah this is pretty funny, though I’m sure not for the intended reasons.

Tim’s ego is just as bruised as his nose, so he decides to do the right thing and solve this mystery, Batman, or rather Robin style.

What a gentleman! He may be a white boy but he’s a cool white boy, so I forgive him.

He follows the gang into an abandoned building, and finds them beating someone up. He knows it’s risky, but steps in regardless, and Clyde, the man who he’s just rescued, warns him that he’s in major trouble. Tim and Clyde make their way through the gang members, but as more and more of them show up he’s faced with the realization that failing this mission could mean his demise. Still, all he can think of is the possibility of disappointing bruce. Awww.

They leave us on this cliffhanger, so I’ll see you all next time! Reading these stories takes less than 10 minutes, but compiling and writing down all my thoughts takes super long, and tumblr won’t let me add more than 10 images to the post so I keep having to over-explain some stuff. Let me know if this is even worth it. Sorry for any grammar stuff and bye!

#dc comics #batman and robin #batman #tim drake #dc robin #red robin #1990s comics

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