There's been rumblings over the changes being made to Tim Drake for a couple months now. The New 52 has been about change and updating characters. Many have remained the same and only experienced minor tweaks. Since TEEN TITANS #1, there hasn't been too many changes but now we're seeing what exactly has changed.

In many ways, Tim Drake is still the same character. He's still the same former sidekick of Batman. How he got to where he is today is what has changed.

There will be some spoilers for TEEN TITANS #0. Make sure you read that issue to get the full details of what has changed and to find out the complete story of Tim's journey.

Olympic Level Gymnast

Tim excelled at everything he did. He was on his way to becoming an Olympic gymnast. He had a lot of encouragement and support from his parents. Tim's goal was to be the best at everything. This also plays a part in Tim wanting to become Batman's partner. For every accomplishment he reached, he was constantly setting more goals for himself. Both Batman and his dad were aware that Tim was meant for bigger things.

Batman Was Aware of Who Tim Was

In the pre-New 52, Tim Drake figured out who Batman and Robin were. He made his deductions and when he felt Batman needed a Robin after Jason died, he made his way to Batman and revealed what he knew. The way it's set now is rather than Tim stumble across the deduction of who Batman is, he set out to try to find out. Tim's determination and search for answers put him on Batman's radar. This makes sense in Batman should be aware if anyone was digging into his life, trying to put the pieces together.

Tim's Parents

We previously mentioned that Tim's parents are alive and in the witness protection program. It is possible that within the time they entered the program and today, they could have been killed. It's more likely that they are still alive and hiding due to Tim's messing around, trying to draw out Batman. His parents were alive when he originally became Robin but it's looking more like there's a possibility they will return at some point since we're seeing this play out in the zero issue.

Batman Brings Tim In

Originally Tim showed up on Bruce's doorstep after he figured out who Batman was. That isn't the case anymore. When Tim's parents' lives were in danger, they asked Batman to look after Tim. They knew he needed and deserved more than a life of "anonymity in the middle of nowhere under an assumed name." It isn't exactly clear if they asked Batman or Bruce Wayne but appears as if they asked Batman. Assuming they would still try to keep up on Tim's life after they relocate, they could easily figure out that Tim has a connection now to Bruce Wayne, which means they also know who Batman is.

The Name Change

We've heard that Tim was never actually called Robin. In the New 52, he went immediately to calling himself RED Robin. When he first arrived at the Batcave, he made it clear that he wouldn't be wearing the same design in costume "out of respect for Jason." He also came to the decision to call himself "Red Robin" instead of Robin.

The main thing that wasn't quite so obvious was the narration from Batman about Tim's name on the very last page. That definitely changes things and you'll have to read the issue for yourself to see what that's all about.

I think is quite possible that Tim's parents are death as the issue says: 
         

@Psycho_Soldier: Not necessarily. In Nightwing Dick talks about being Batman for a while hinting that Bruce had "died" and the majority of the Red Robin comics happened right after Bruce's death. So Tim still could have gone out and looked for Bruce, but some of the details of the book would have changed of course.

Strange, the article starts out with saying; Still pretty much the same...yet from all that follows it appears its only in visual and name there's any connection between the two.

I thought that the biggest thing here was that Batman said, "his name was Tim Drake now" at the very end. I'm completely fine with everything else. I'm extremely curious if there might be a huge reveal in the future about who Tim really was, as in, might we find out about an uncle or a brother or something like that down the road that might shock us. Something like, Tim's real last name is Nigma or Dent or something crazy like that.

Batman mentions that Tim was a classically trained athlete from a long line of acrobats.

Um... re-read the scan, dude... he said that about Dick.

The whole situation with the Robin's is crazy and stupid. Dick should have been with Bat's for around 10 years, at least 5 by himself....but now to make Bruce young they have sacrificed the robins and crammed 4 into a very short time frame. So very dumb.

I can't believe DC would screw up a chance like this...

*waits until eventual enemy figures out that athlete level Tim Drake is Red Robin (from live footage? recognizing his body language?) then becomes a threat to the entire Bat-clan so Tim gets himself a new arch-enemy*

@MuyJingo said:

The whole situation with the Robin's is crazy and stupid. Dick should have been with Bat's for around 10 years, at least 5 by himself....but now to make Bruce young they have sacrificed the robins and crammed 4 into a very short time frame. So very dumb.

I can't believe DC would screw up a chance like this...

Ok, this is seriously the worst argument about the New 52. Either you make changes to their backstories, or you cut out Damian, Tim Drake, and probably Jason Todd. You can't have it both ways. If Bruce had Dick Grayson as his Robin for ten years after five years as Batman, Batman would be in his mid-40's at the very youngest, probably closer to 50 if not older. And that's assuming Bruce is currently around 30.

The issue was a good read for me. Thou this article has the first part wrong and Tim isn't from a long line of acrobat it clearly states Dick was, Tim just pushed himself to be a great acrobat. It does make sense he never figured it out thou since Alfred told Bruce that Tim was on his trail. Misdirection is a powerful ally. When you think about it he was calling himself Redbird for a while whenever he had contacts and used his tech skills. Even Jason Bard called him Redbird due to his robin costume being red. I'll see how it plays out for now. Not bad thou

Real name: John Blake

i really enjoyed this issue and im okay with the changes made and like some have stated i hope something more is made of his actual name

@mpierce2690 said:

@MuyJingo said:

The whole situation with the Robin's is crazy and stupid. Dick should have been with Bat's for around 10 years, at least 5 by himself....but now to make Bruce young they have sacrificed the robins and crammed 4 into a very short time frame. So very dumb.

I can't believe DC would screw up a chance like this...

Ok, this is seriously the worst argument about the New 52. Either you make changes to their backstories, or you cut out Damian, Tim Drake, and probably Jason Todd. You can't have it both ways. If Bruce had Dick Grayson as his Robin for ten years after five years as Batman, Batman would be in his mid-40's at the very youngest, probably closer to 50 if not older. And that's assuming Bruce is currently around 30.

An older Batman isn't a bad thing. Perhaps saying Batman "needs to be" in his 30s is the worst argument for the new 52.

@soduh2 said:

An older Batman isn't a bad thing. Perhaps saying Batman "needs to be" in his 30s is the worst argument for the new 52.

But do we want a Batman in his 40's? Do you really want Batman to feel like a Bruce Willis movie? I don't. He's just a human, he should be written in his prime, because that's the only chance he's got to be the kind of hero we would want our Batman to be.

So, I haven't read this, but... did it say why Tim didn't go with his parents into Witness Protection? Because, I'm not sure it makes any sense to me for them to have left their son behind...

The parents and the name change I'm not too concerned about.

It's the Batman recruiting Tim part I have a problem with. Tim's deduction of Batman's identity and persistence of becoming Robin made him unique. Now he's barely any different than Jason or Dick.

I've gone from mad to sad to just disappointed. I'm slowly giving up on DC more and more.

@Aspirant said:

Real name: John Blake

Thats my guess too

@mpierce2690 said:

@soduh2 said:

An older Batman isn't a bad thing. Perhaps saying Batman "needs to be" in his 30s is the worst argument for the new 52.

But do we want a Batman in his 40's? Do you really want Batman to feel like a Bruce Willis movie? I don't. He's just a human, he should be written in his prime, because that's the only chance he's got to be the kind of hero we would want our Batman to be.

Different people age differently. Someone of Bruce Wayne's physical shape isn't likely to experience the detriments of age in his forties. Heck, he could be in his fifties and still feel like he's in his 30s (and still be realistic). I personally know a 60 year old body builder, who is one of the healthiest people I know (compared to younger guys). Regardless, an older Batman can easily lay claim to the "prep-master" status because of experience. Even late 30s could have worked better than early 30s (but that's just splitting hairs).

@mpierce2690 said:

I thought that the biggest thing here was that Batman said, "his name was Tim Drake now" at the very end. I'm completely fine with everything else. I'm extremely curious if there might be a huge reveal in the future about who Tim really was, as in, might we find out about an uncle or a brother or something like that down the road that might shock us. Something like, Tim's real last name is Nigma or Dent or something crazy like that.

Wait so he isn't even Tim Drake at all??

Question, everyone thats saying the reason the New 52 went with the 5 years ago time span is so they could de-age batman why do you think that is? In Pre-52 we see Batman unage while Dick goes from a 12 year old kid to his mid to late 20's? Also why do so many people hate the new 52 I loved the Pre-52 universe and yes I miss Steph, Cass, Wally, and others but I also appreciate the new stories we're getting now. Of course there's going to be differences from the pre-52 otherwise why retell a story everyone knows? I personally see this as just an alternate earth (Earth 0 to be specific) seperate from Earth Prime or Earth 1 or whatever the pre-52 was. It mirrors itself but it also has its own distinctions as well. And being a huge Tim Drake fan him being Red Robin to begin with is pretty cool for me. It gives him a sense of uniqueness and makes his relationship with Batman a little different. As Bruce said Batman for Tim was just a means to an end. Kind of like how Dinah (pre-52) would have been a hero in her own right even without Wildcat.

This is cool and all, but if I had kids and I had to go to Witness Protection, NO WAY would I ask Batman of all people to look after my kid. I get that the circumstances led to that but still!

@Mbecks14 said:

The parents and the name change I'm not too concerned about.

It's the Batman recruiting Tim part I have a problem with. Tim's deduction of Batman's identity and persistence of becoming Robin made him unique. Now he's barely any different than Jason or Dick.

I've gone from mad to sad to just disappointed. I'm slowly giving up on DC more and more.

This.

There are things about the New 52 that I adore (Swamp Thing, Animal Man, and Frankenstein, to name a few), but Tim Drake is--or was--my favorite character. With these changes, it just feels like they've taken the things that made Tim unique and special away from him. The only Robin to have deduced Batman's identity (thus making him the best detective)? Gone. That honor now belongs to Dick Grayson. Super-genius on a computer? Gone. The Tim Drake I knew would NEVER have gotten caught, even if he would have chosen to steal money from Oswald Cobblepot (and I'm not sure he would've chosen to do so). Now he seems like just another kid in a Robin--sorry, Red Robin--suit.

Lobdell spent lots of time telling us (through Batman) that Tim was great. But the Tim he showed us is just ordinary. If I were Batman, I'm not sure I would have given this kid a second look. That's just sad, in my opinion.

Even though I dropped Teen Titans, I am tempted to get this issue when I go back to the comic book store

If Tim can deduce who Batman is, even if they were planted clues by Batman, and hack into bank accounts it seems highly unlikely that the Penguin would be able to trace it back to him because he should be able to cover his track much better than doing it and having the goons show up five minutes later.

Well at least he is still a leader...

Getting this. And It its gonna go great with my collections of Tim Drake comic books...

Why won't they just make a solo red robin series already?

@timdrakerules said:

@Mbecks14 said:

The parents and the name change I'm not too concerned about.

It's the Batman recruiting Tim part I have a problem with. Tim's deduction of Batman's identity and persistence of becoming Robin made him unique. Now he's barely any different than Jason or Dick.

I've gone from mad to sad to just disappointed. I'm slowly giving up on DC more and more.

This.

There are things about the New 52 that I adore (Swamp Thing, Animal Man, and Frankenstein, to name a few), but Tim Drake is--or was--my favorite character. With these changes, it just feels like they've taken the things that made Tim unique and special away from him. The only Robin to have deduced Batman's identity (thus making him the best detective)? Gone. That honor now belongs to Dick Grayson. Super-genius on a computer? Gone. The Tim Drake I knew would NEVER have gotten caught, even if he would have chosen to steal money from Oswald Cobblepot (and I'm not sure he would've chosen to do so). Now he seems like just another kid in a Robin--sorry, Red Robin--suit.

Lobdell spent lots of time telling us (through Batman) that Tim was great. But the Tim he showed us is just ordinary. If I were Batman, I'm not sure I would have given this kid a second look. That's just sad, in my opinion.

totally, doing this is like saying the kents didnt raise superman its one of the core elements of the character! this also makes tim out to be totally useless against the all powerful bat god,i love batman but really gettin a lil sick of him.DC ,the new 52 did it ur making money,stop with these stupid changes, ur making money at least keep us Happy!! wats all that crap abt him not being tim drake he was refered to as tim throughout the whole issue unless he had a different last name. even that wld still be crap.

@Vincie_Pooh said:

Getting this. And It its gonna go great with my collections of Tim Drake comic books...

yup, all families have that one ugly relative.

@mpierce2690 said:

Ok, this is seriously the worst argument about the New 52. Either you make changes to their backstories, or you cut out Damian, Tim Drake, and probably Jason Todd. You can't have it both ways. If Bruce had Dick Grayson as his Robin for ten years after five years as Batman, Batman would be in his mid-40's at the very youngest, probably closer to 50 if not older. And that's assuming Bruce is currently around 30.

Batman could be about 40. If he had Grasyon for around 8 years, Jason for say 2, Tim for 4 and Damien for 1....that's 17 years of Robin's. Batman started being Batman around 25 (he was 25 when he returned in Year One IIRC) that would make him 40/41.

Which is fine. Why make Bruce 25 - 30 AND try to cram in all the robins?

Having the Robins for the short time periods tries suspension of disbelief...at least to me. And yes, I know this is comics.

Still doesn't mean I have to like it regarding the Robin to Red Robin name change and disregarding the former. Just shows there's clear inconsistency in what the creators behind New 52 have had going for the new order.

I actually like the changes made to Tim, my favorite Robin, er, Red Robin!! It makes him stand apart even more!

HHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEE the new 52 and the changes. I guess I am a typical fan boy.

Hum, people were complaining so much about the "has never been Robin" thing...DC, you got us again hehe.

Never Robin, always Red Robin.

Btw, I liked this issue.

I've personally made up my own timeline for the new 52. I've never really liked the idea that he didn't spend equal time training each of the Robins (Tim included), with the natural exception of Jason, of course, due to his death. It probably doesn't make a lot of sense given a lot of other things, but put in a vacuum and extracting stories I don't like (concentrating solely on the Robins), it goes as so:

22-Batman's debut solo year

23-trains Dick for a year

24-Dick debuts as Robin

25-Babs makes her own debut as Batgirl

26-Dick becomes Nightwing, Bruce begins training Jason

27-Jason makes his debut as Robin, but is killed by The Joker by the end of it. Babs is also shot and paralyzed by Mr. J.

28-Batman's Robin-less year. Jason is resurrected by Talia and begins training with the All-Caste.

29-Bruce begins training Tim, Jason begins gathering his resources to try and take down both Bruce and The Joker.

30-Tim makes his debut as whatever Robin you prefer to call him

31-Jason makes his debut as The Red Hood

32-Damien becomes Robin

If Bruce and most of the rest of the JLA are still only around 29 or 30 like I think they've mentioned, my timeline only bumps them up two years or so. But whatevs, it's just what I do to make sense of it all.

Now THIS Tim Drake I like.

@mpierce2690: @soduh2 said:

@mpierce2690 said:

@MuyJingo said:

The whole situation with the Robin's is crazy and stupid. Dick should have been with Bat's for around 10 years, at least 5 by himself....but now to make Bruce young they have sacrificed the robins and crammed 4 into a very short time frame. So very dumb.

I can't believe DC would screw up a chance like this...

Ok, this is seriously the worst argument about the New 52. Either you make changes to their backstories, or you cut out Damian, Tim Drake, and probably Jason Todd. You can't have it both ways. If Bruce had Dick Grayson as his Robin for ten years after five years as Batman, Batman would be in his mid-40's at the very youngest, probably closer to 50 if not older. And that's assuming Bruce is currently around 30.

An older Batman isn't a bad thing. Perhaps saying Batman "needs to be" in his 30s is the worst argument for the new 52.

i totally agree with soduh2. I have no problem with him being older. it makes the continuity make a whole lot more sense and it could have added a new dynamic with the rest of the Justice League. his age would make him edgier and he would have been shown to have fully perfected his methodology. (not that he hasnt but it would have added the feel of "ive been doing this a lot longer than you so shut up").

@Mbecks14 said:

The parents and the name change I'm not too concerned about.

It's the Batman recruiting Tim part I have a problem with. Tim's deduction of Batman's identity and persistence of becoming Robin made him unique. Now he's barely any different than Jason or Dick.

I've gone from mad to sad to just disappointed. I'm slowly giving up on DC more and more.

I'd say this makes Tim more like Dick, and therefore less unique. An Olympic level athlete is really similar to a Circus prodigy.

Total pap. He is so brilliant that he is 100 percent wrong when it comes to working out Batmans identity. After being told to leave it and go home, his master plan to get Batman onside is to use his whole family as bait by pissing of the Penguin and just wait for Batman to rescue them. This is not Tim Drake (literally it would appear). Tim was my favorurite Robin, he took the character of Robin from someone the majority of fans wanted dead to a successful ongoing book. I think I would have preferred DC to have just Wally Wested Tim than let Scott Lobdell run amok with him.

@soduh2 said:

@Mbecks14 said:

The parents and the name change I'm not too concerned about.

It's the Batman recruiting Tim part I have a problem with. Tim's deduction of Batman's identity and persistence of becoming Robin made him unique. Now he's barely any different than Jason or Dick.

I've gone from mad to sad to just disappointed. I'm slowly giving up on DC more and more.

I'd say this makes Tim more like Dick, and therefore less unique. An Olympic level athlete is really similar to a Circus prodigy.

There was hardly any mention of his olympic level athlete. He is an overachiever, he is good as sports, great at studies and a master detective.

Dick and Jason were neither smart nor great at sports.

Jason is a street thug, Dick is a circus performer.

It also makes sense because Tim had only 1 year or so with Bruce. Maybe 2. Its impossible for a really smart kid to fly around buildings and swing around buildings. He needs to be athletic and it makes sense. In the old continuity, Tim had lots of training, but it is like in a span of say 4 years. Even so, its not enough for a non athletic person to do the crazy stunts and face villains with guns and bombs. The old universe did not make sense, the new one tries to make sense outta it.

But anyways, its pretty fun to see the meltdown you people are having. LOL

I still don't like the fact that his parents were the one to get a hold of Batman and the Gotham Police Department were ok with them giving up their child to a vigilante...

@Aspirant said:

Real name: John Blake

Was totally thinking the same thing at the last page of the issue

@sethysquare said:

@soduh2 said:

@Mbecks14 said:

The parents and the name change I'm not too concerned about.

It's the Batman recruiting Tim part I have a problem with. Tim's deduction of Batman's identity and persistence of becoming Robin made him unique. Now he's barely any different than Jason or Dick.

I've gone from mad to sad to just disappointed. I'm slowly giving up on DC more and more.

I'd say this makes Tim more like Dick, and therefore less unique. An Olympic level athlete is really similar to a Circus prodigy.

There was hardly any mention of his olympic level athlete. He is an overachiever, he is good as sports, great at studies and a master detective.

Dick and Jason were neither smart nor great at sports.

Jason is a street thug, Dick is a circus performer.

It also makes sense because Tim had only 1 year or so with Bruce. Maybe 2. Its impossible for a really smart kid to fly around buildings and swing around buildings. He needs to be athletic and it makes sense. In the old continuity, Tim had lots of training, but it is like in a span of say 4 years. Even so, its not enough for a non athletic person to do the crazy stunts and face villains with guns and bombs. The old universe did not make sense, the new one tries to make sense outta it.

But anyways, its pretty fun to see the meltdown you people are having. LOL

What do you mean "you people?" lol

Atheltics aren't "just sports", physically Tim and Dick have similar backgrounds in the reboot because they are already accustomed to such activity. In the previous storyline Tim was just a smart kid, while Dick had an athletic background. I'll admit that it makes more sense, but it doesn't make him more unique. Jason probably gets that title now, being a street thug with really nothing to offer to becoming Robin (though his tenure was the shortest).

@neiliusprime said:

I still don't like the fact that his parents were the one to get a hold of Batman and the Gotham Police Department were ok with them giving up their child to a vigilante...

@Aspirant said:

Real name: John Blake

Was totally thinking the same thing at the last page of the issue

Yeah, the idea that Batman would give Tim the job after he nearly got his entire family killed is ridiculous. I also feel a bit confused on the whole, "Your parents asked me to look after you," bit. Really? Did they just use the Bat Phone to call you up or what? Do they know about Tim's hunt to be Robin and therefore know Bruce's identity? Why isn't Tim going with his parents? Oh, and here is a thought that just occurred to me, HOW IS TIM HIDING AS THE SON OF THE MOST PROMINENT MAN IN ALL OF GOTHAM?

Lodbell...What. The. H***.

I'm calling him Jim Tim drake for now

Well that's pretty poor parenting to basically ask for your son to experience life and death experiences every day. Maybe just get him a scholarship at a prestigious science lab or an Olympic gymnast team? No let's ask Batman to look after him and take him under his wing, training him to be a crime fighter who may fall in the line of duty. Great idea honey.

Im changing the the name of the New 52. It's now called the Fuc*ing 52.

@Aspirant: that would be crazy!

i like the idea of tim being some golden boy, Olympic level athlete and computer whiz, it makes me wonder why you would pick anyone for a sidekick that wasn't extremely gifted in some aspect of their life. Bucky Barnes was a teenager that was highly trained by the U.S. government for combat, Dick Grayson was a highly trained acrobat. Dan Dreiberg was smart enough to not only figure out that Hollis mason was Night Owl, but also created most of his gear and his flying ship Archie. Mia Dearden was an ex-prostitute, you cant tell me shes gonna go win a relay race. Why would you not go for the best or brightest?

His parents going into the witness protection program was clearly just in line with the storyline, and it kept his parents alive at least as long as they were. I'm pretty sure that, like Jason's mom's pregnancy, is an element simply in the past; I really think people are grasping at straws here trying to find foreshadowing where there is simply a scene making sense.

So didn't Tim's parents die in Identity Crisis or whatever? and that sucked, so now is it implied that never happened?

@sethysquare said:

There was hardly any mention of his olympic level athlete. He is an overachiever, he is good as sports, great at studies and a master detective.

Dick and Jason were neither smart nor great at sports.

Jason is a street thug, Dick is a circus performer.

It also makes sense because Tim had only 1 year or so with Bruce. Maybe 2. Its impossible for a really smart kid to fly around buildings and swing around buildings. He needs to be athletic and it makes sense. In the old continuity, Tim had lots of training, but it is like in a span of say 4 years. Even so, its not enough for a non athletic person to do the crazy stunts and face villains with guns and bombs. The old universe did not make sense, the new one tries to make sense outta it.

But anyways, its pretty fun to see the meltdown you people are having. LOL

The first chunk of the book establishes him being an olympic level athlete. I'm ok with Tim having some skill prior to his time with Bruce, but coming from different backgrounds doesn't necessarily make a character unique unless they're written that way. Dick is now an acrobatic gymnast who Batman brought into the Robin-hood (ha). Bruce recruited Jason. Now Bruce recruited Tim for basically the same reasons as Dick. Now they are all black haired, blue eyed, white males who are gymnastic that Batman recruited. Which makes them less unique.

I don't think this origin makes any more sense than the last one. Realistically why would Tim not go into hiding with his parents? Tim was always athletic and I would say 4 years of training with Batman would be a good amount of time to get the skills to be a good Robin. The new origin isn't a bad origin per se, it just totally dismantles Tim Drake as a character we know and love.

@Vincie_Pooh said:

Getting this. And It its gonna go great with my collections of Tim Drake comic books...

go Great with them? you might as well start a new collection for this new Tim Drake because he's nothing like the real one.

All this f*ckery over Tim Drake, and no review of Batwoman #0? SERIOUSLY? I know the series' quality has been inconsistent, but that issue was pure genius! (no offence to Tim Drake fans, I just don't get it.)