Warning: Spoilers for Batman #149
Summary
BatmanneedsRobin, and no Robin has known that better thanTim Drake. After a series of identity crises, Bruce Wayne is still recovering. Insecure in his stability and his divestment from Zur-En-Arrh, Bruce must return to Zur’s bunker, but he’s wary. Unsure what might trigger him, Batman brings along the Robin who will best be able to tell if his identity wavers: Tim.
To rescueZur’s version of Robin, who is a rapidly aging clone of Bruce, Batman and Robin head to Zur’s Batbunker to scavenge equipment and data inBatman#149 by Chip Zdarsky, Steve Lieber, and Michele Bandini. But this newly familial Bruce is still in the process of absorbing and integrating Zur-En-Arrh’s memories, and it’s made him understandably nervous about the state of his own mind —a fear he shares only with his trusted Robin, Tim Drake.
As Bruce explores the hideout, he feels the emotions and experiences the thought processes behind Zur’s abhorrent choices, and he recognizes himself at the heart of it all. Walking into Zur’s lair, where Damian discovered theAmazo bots that will soon plague the Justice League, is a risk to Bruce’s tenuous mental health. To face this risk,Bruce trusts the protégé who knows best what a stable Batman looks and sounds like, and that’s Tim.
DC’s Tim Drake vs. Damian Wayne Robin Rivalry Is Finally Put to Rest in a Fight You Need to See to Believe
DC’s two Robins Tim Drake and Damian Wayne prove they’ve finally moved past their rivalry to take down a mutual enemy: An evil Boy Wonder!
Batman Trusts Robin Tim Drake to Know Him Best
Created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick, Tim Drake Debuted inBatman#436
In this issue,Batman faces his own mortalityin a literal manner by watching his own clone age to death at an accelerated pace. In his efforts to prevent and mitigate this horror, Bruce has to retread the steps of the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. As his memories reintegrate, Bruce looks over places and things he remembers, but he has never seen himself. This whole process renders him vulnerable, andhe notably turns to Tim as something of a “babysitter” instead of his other Robins, including Damian Wayne.
Tim’s introduction in 1989 saw him as the unusually intuitive child who rescued Batman from his own guilt-ridden rampage.
This dynamic won’t surprisefans of the third Robin. Tim’s introduction in 1989 saw him as the unusually intuitive child who rescued Batman from his own guilt-ridden rampage. But Tim is also an authority on the distinction between Zur-En-Arrh and Batman. While Damian has been to Zur’s lair,Bruce doesn’t need help with the investigation, just with reality.During Zur’s turn as Batman, Damian was the most successfully fooled of the Bat-Family. But while talking to the Justice League earlier in the “Dark Prisons” arc, Nightwing and Batgirl Barbara Gordon expressed that they weren’t sure if the mind in the Failsafe body was Bruce’s or not.
Batman’s New Status Quo Keeps Tim Drake at the Family’s Heart
Is Tim a Contender for the Cowl?
Nursing his aging clone through his hastened life gives Bruce something close to the closure he’s always needed. Having frank conversations about the validity of memory, the importance of experience, and the impossibility of immortality, Bruce seems to find a lot of peace talking to himself. His discussions with the clone lead Bruce to be comfortable enough withabandoning Wayne Manor in favor of finding a new home in Gotham City, where Tim has, of course, been invited to live.
At the outset of his struggles with Zur-En-Arrh, a presumed “pure” Batman, Bruce broke through Zur’s mental control to declare Tim his son and prevent Zur from allowing Tim to be killed by Failsafe. For a Batman plagued by mental insecurity, Tim Drake is a north star. As Bruce considers his legacy and the people who carry on his mission, Tim will stand out as a clear future contender for the cowl. By choosingTim Draketo supervise his behavior, Batman secretly confirms the oneRobinwho knows best whatBatman’sbehavior should be.
BATMAN #149 (2024)
Robin
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
