Tim Drake

* Civilian
* Robin

"*You need help. I want to be the next Robin.*"
—Tim Drake to Dick Grayson[src]

**Timothy "Tim" Drake** (born c. 2004-2005) is a resident of Gotham City. He is a former delivery boy for the Excellent Gotham Golden Noodle House and a Batman fan who wishes to become the third Robin, and later became a member of the Titans. After joining the team in Metropolis, Tim meets and shortly after enters a relationship with Bernard Fitzmartin, a director at S.T.A.R. Labs who gifts him a bo staff. In his journey to becoming the next Robin, Tim is trained by his teammates and allies, and eventually awarded his own Robin suit by Dick.

## Biography

### Early life

"*I was there. At the beginning. At the end.*"
—Tim Drake to Dick Grayson[src]
Tim witnessed the deaths of John and Mary Grayson at a very young age.

### Death of Robin and Red Hood

Tim was reading a book about Batman who is his idol. Then officers were patrolling the streets and interrogated him regarding what he is doing at the moment. Then he went back to the restaurant which is run by his family and discovers in the news that Robin is dead, much to his sadness.

Tim was at the restaurant, video calling with Stephen Chen, when an unknown man arrived at the the store and shot his dad, leaving him bleeding as Tim urged Stephen to call the police.

### Meeting Dick Grayson and Death

"*I want... to be Robin.*"
—Tim Drake to Jason Todd[src]
At some point, Tim discovered who Dick Grayson identity and found him at Wayne Manor, asking him to be the next robin but is turned down and takes Tim home.

As they arrive at Tim's home, Tim reveals that he saw Jason the night his father was shot; prompting Barbara and Dick to track Jason down. Tim eventually followed Dick to help, but is turned down. Attempting to follow Jason, Crane spots him and shoots him as he runs away. The Titans discover him and call an ambulance.

### Afterlife and resurrection

Tim succumbed to his gunshot wound. He later found himself in the afterlife aboard a train. He soon found himself refusing to stay aboard and quickly made his way to the back to jump from the train. On his way, he encountered Donna Troy, who informed him that he had died. In denial, Tim leapt from the train, with Donna following after him. After their escape, the two were chased down by ghouls, who intended to take their souls.

They were quickly cornered, but soon saved by Hank Hall, who arrived in a car to save them. Tim and Donna entered the vehicle and the three made their way to safety. On the road, Hank explained to them that he had heard about a bridge that led back to Earth. Hank explained to them his plan to return to the land of the living and the three made their journey to Hank's safe house. Soon after they were attacked, with Hank's friend Malcolm being taken by the ghouls. In a panic, Hank managed to summon two pistols and kill the ghouls.

The three then made their way for the bridge. Upon their arrival, the three were attacked by more ghouls. As the bridge broke apart, Donna and Tim managed to escape as Hank held off the remaining ghouls, telling them to tell Dawn that he loves her.

After his resuscitation in hospital, Tim found Gotham City to be consumed by the chaos caused by Jonathan Crane and Red Hood.

### Becoming a member of the Titans

A few days after the Titans saved Gotham, they took a rest stop to go bowling together. While there Dick receives a call from Bruce and the Titans, including Tim, protest at the idea of going back, only to find out they're going to Metropolis near by instead. Arriving at S.T.A.R. Labs in Metropolis, Tim explains the history of the place and what it is to the others, and quickly becomes infatuated with their host, the Director of Special Projects, Dr. Bernard Fitzmartin. Tim was present when Gar first tested out his new suit, made by Bernard, and witnessed the chaos that followed with Gar destroying Bernard's lab in three different animal forms. He, Dick and Conner tell Gar which animals he turned into, and couldn't remember what an Armadillo was called. At the end of the day, before the Titans left to go back on the road, Bernard stopped Tim as he was getting coffees for Kory and other Titans to give him his number and a bo staff to be trained to use.

The following day, Tim saw the news reporting Conner's arrest for the murder of Lex Luthor and rushed to let the other Titans know.
While Dick and Kory were visiting Conner in prison, Tim was mentored by Gar Logan in tracking. The Titan laughed after deliberately scared Tim, in jest, by stalking him through the woods to demonstrate how to track and tail, and either not be detected or be believed to be coming from a completely different direction. Tim tried to follow Gar after he started behaving oddly but was unable to keep up with Gar's speed and lost track of him, he later found Gar passed out on the forest floor.

### Becoming Robin

Tim asked Dr. Espenson about updates on Bernard but was unable to visit him due to ongoing tests. Dick entered carrying with him a large suitcase and informed Tim that he was being sent back to Gotham, which Tim mistook for Dick sending him home. Dick corrected him, giving him a mission to find a man at Harbor by the name of "Venta" who used to work for The Organization and had information they needed. Tim was reluctant, wanting to stay near Bernard, but was convinced after being told that staying at the labs wasn't going to help Bernard and reassured that were there any changes with Bernard he would be informed. As he prepared to leave for his mission, Tim questioned the suitcase Dick had left behind and when Dick shrugged and told him to open it, Tim stared in shock at its contents.

Tim arrived in Gotham and, wearing his new Robin suit, and confronted two thugs, announcing himself as a friend of Dick's. He fought the thugs but after being disarmed of his bo staff Tim faltered and took cover behind a car when the thugs began shooting at him. Tim was rescued by Red Hood who when seeing Tim chuckled and asked who he was supposed to be, to which Tim responded with *"I'm Robin."* In the morning, Jason brought then Tim to his base and after turning down the request to team up, asked Tim how long he had been Robin. Tim admitted it was his first night as the vigilante and after dismissing Jason's warnings about the role and Gotham, is offered a place to stay which Tim accepted. Tim noticed a cipher Jason was working on and erased most of it, telling Jason that he had gotten one thing right but the rest was off. He then correctly decoded it, impressing Jason.

While Tim spun his bo staff and complained that no one at Harbor knew who "Venta" was, Jason slyly said that the man must be in deep cover and then asked if Tim knew how to use his staff. Tim challenged him to a spar to prove himself yet was immediately disarmed, and was criticized for relying too much on the staff and the good faith of his opponent. Tim then spends the day intensively training and learning how to fight effectively both with and without the staff. Some time later, Jason ended the sessions and told Tim to suit up and meet him downstairs. Tim did so and as he looked for Jason he noticed a security breach alert for the building, and was confronted by a group Shimmer's thugs. This time after being disarmed, Tim was able to beat them all by utilizing different items in his surroundings as impromptu weapons and using hand-to-hand combat. He's dismayed to find out that Jason had been watching the entire time and had purposefully led Shimmer's thugs to their location, all in order for Tim to learn by active experience rather than being *"coddled."*

The following morning Tim was kicked out by Jason, who joked that he had a 24 hour rule about fish and new Robins, and Tim thanked him, needing to get back to Metropolis anyway. Tim admitted to Jason that the trip was worth it to meet him, to Jason's surprise, and in return was advised to hide behind Raven or Starfire if things got bad. Jason tossed him a set of keys and at the base of the stairs Tim found a motorcycle, which he used to return to Metropolis.

## Personality

"*All I ever wanted was to be a hero. Like you. Instead I froze. And then I ran. I died a coward. That's why I have to go back. What happened down there, that can't be my story.*"
—Tim Drake[src]
Tim Drake is an optimistic and persevering young man. He is a big supporter of superheroes and deeply desires to become one of them, specifically the third Robin.

## Abilities

"*I'm from Gotham. And when I was alive, I spent a lot of time thinking about you. Researching, finding out everything I could.*"
—Tim Drake[src]
* **High-Level Intelligence:** Tim is a streetwise kid who has managed to grow up on the toughest streets without losing his indelible belief in heroism. His easy-going demeanor is backed up by a near-genius mind, a natural detective with a perception of detail far beyond his years.
	+ **Expert Detective:** Tim's father taught him how to investigate. He figured out Dick Grayson was Robin, then Nightwing, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Jason Todd was the second Robin, Donna Troy was Wonder Girl, and Hank Hall was Hawk. When he saw Batman and the first Robin on the news chasing Penguin, Tim realized Robin did a one-handed meat-hook to scale a rain gutter, a trapeze move only two people in the world could do: Grayson and his father. When he kept tabs on the Titans, he noticed Nightwing also uses the same technique. Tim was smart enough to have copies of the evidence he presented to Grayson. He is also aware of the existence of the Batcave. Tim recognized Todd from across the street by his gait because he studied him, and he also knows about the tunnels used by Batman. He later found Red Hood and Scarecrow. He also knows about Starfire, Beast Boy and Superboy. He was able to decode Shimmer's cipher within minutes of entering Red Hood's base.
	+ **Bilingualism:** Tim is fluent in English and Cantonese.
	+ **Eidetic Memory:** Tim remembers every trapeze move Dick Grayson performed and recognized Jason Todd from across the street based on the way he walked. Though he struggled at first, he also remembered how he died.
* **Athleticism:** While not entirely at his peak, Drake is athletic to possess above-average strength, stamina, and reflexes.
	+ **Peak Human Strength:** Tim' strength is capable of lifting opponents bigger than his size or deliver one strike of impact to knock them down. As he effortlessly kicks a GCPD soldier on the ground and Scarecrow with one punch, including his training with Red Hood where he manages to flip the latter on his back even one of Shimmer’s gang members to the face.
	+ **Peak Human Stamina:** He is able to exert himself without building up fatigues, as Tim trains with Red Hood before Shimmer’s gang attacks him and he remains active enough to fight them off not tiring out of breath.
	+ **Peak Human Reflexes:** His reflexes are fast enough to react at incoming hits as his lessons in training with a Bo-staff taught him to pick up the pace of each delivering strike and Tim dodges the attacks from others.

"*You learn by doing. Not being coddled.*"
—Red Hood to Robin
* **Skilled Martial Artist:** Tim has learned some martial arts techniques from watching online videos. He delivered a flying kick to an armed GCPD soldier, knocking him down, and later knocked out Scarecrow with one punch. He impressed Nightwing, who offered to further train him. At S.T.A.R. Labs, Tim underwent some training in virtual simulations with his bo staff. When returning to Gotham, he is briefly able to hold his own against two thugs. After being trained by Red Hood Tim's fighting skills further improve and he is able to easily beat a group of henchmen alone. Along with taking down a couple of SWAT officers simultaneously with the Titans, and aids Nightwing fighting against Sebastian in the final battle. Tim’s skillset seems mostly of Brawling, Boxing, Judo, including Stick-Fighting.
	+ **Staff Proficiency:** Since becoming a member of Titans, Tim was gifted a Bo-Staff to use on missions. At first, he alongside Nightwing, hits one of Lex Luthor's ninjas from behind and manages to briefly hold him off until rescued by the latter, which urges him to further practice his proficiency with the weapon in virtual simulations at S.T.A.R. Labs teaching him to deliver multiple strikes. After Jinx’s spell to remove the snake out of Superboy’s body via Gar being a virus, it slowly slithers towards them only for Drake to swing at its neck which kills it. When returning to Gotham, he was able to throw a couple of blows at one thug with the staff until overpowered and was trained many lessons with Red Hood that demonstrated his skills in offense and defense with the weapon were better as he subdued many of Brother Blood’s henchmen including himself with Nightwing during the final battle.
* **Skilled Marksman:** Tim's father taught him how to handle and discharge a gun. As the new Robin he manages to throw one of his shurikens at Brother Blood’s arm accurately.
* **Skilled Cyclist/Motorcyclist:** Tim used a delivery bicycle for orders when he lived in Gotham. And is now able to ride a motorcycle.
* **Indomitable Will:** Tim is a persistent young man who desires to be Robin. He refused to accept his death and was brave enough to jump from a moving train as well as jump across a broken bridge, despite his fear. His courage was noted by Hank, and Donna later told him that she thought he would make a great Robin.

## Equipment

* **Robin Suit:** Tim wears a protective suit whenever he is out fighting crime as Robin.
* **Bo-Staff:** Tim uses a retractable bo staff while fighting crime and fighting criminals with the Titans.
* **Shuriken**: Tim used specialized shuriken that was shaped in his Robin symbol and used it while fighting Brother Blood. They were capable of penetrating the concrete, making them strong weapons.
* **Smoke Bombs**: After gifted a new suit, Tim had also received smoke bombs. Most notably, using them against Brother Blood.
* **MotorBike:** Tim was gifted Jason's old motorbike after training with him.

### Former Equipment

* **Delivery Bike:** While working as a deliveryman, Tim used a delivery bicycle with two baskets: a yellow one on the front with a Batman symbol and the other on the back.

## Appearances

### Season 3

* "Barbara Gordon"
* "Lady Vic"
* "Home"
* "Souls"
* "The Call Is Coming From Inside the House"
* "Prodigal"
* "Purple Rain"

### Season 4

* "Lex Luthor"
* "Mother Mayhem"
* "Jinx"
* "Super Super Mart"
* "Inside Man"
* "Brother Blood"
* "Caul's Folly"
* "Dick & Carol & Ted & Kory"
* "Game Over"
* "Project Starfire"
* "Titans Forever"

## Trivia

* Tim was confirmed by Jay Lycurgo during an interview to be 16 years old, and has his school life referenced by his cousin. There has been no official statement on whether or not his age was retconned in season 4.
	+ This creates a timeline plot-hole, as Tim says he attended a Flying Graysons performance as a child, even though John and Mary Grayson died at least two years before his birth.
* His birthday in DC Comics is July 19th. It has yet to be confirmed if this is his birthday in *Titans* too.
* He had a best friend named Kaiya in the fourth grade, whom he accidentally wore the same green pinstripe pants as on the first day of the school year.
* His middle name starts with an "S", differentiating him from his comics counterpart whose middle name is Jackson.

## Behind the scenes

* In DC comics, Tim Drake is the third character to take the mantle of Robin. He later takes up the name **Red Robin**.
* Ryan Potter campaigned for the role in the DC Extended Universe, making a video showcasing him fighting with a bo staff, ending the video by referencing the comics: "Hey Ben, like Tim said, Batman needs Robin".
* In the casting call for Tim released in 2020, producers used the fake name "Daniel", leading some to believe the character would be Danny Chase.
* He is among three main characters who do not share their name with an episode. The others are Gar and Rachel.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nerds of Color: ‘Titans’ Star Jay Lycurgo on Representing and That Major Moment For Tim Drake
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pabst, Tom (writer) & Stovall, Larnell (director) (September 16, 2021). "Home". *Titans*. Season 3. Episode 8. HBO Max.
3. ↑ Hatem, Richard, Johns, Geoff (writers) & Banker, Carol (director) (August 12, 2021). "Barbara Gordon". *Titans*. Season 3. Episode 1. HBO Max.
4. ↑ Levy, Joshua, Srinivasan, Prathi (writers) & Gomez, Nick (director) (September 2, 2021). "Lady Vic". *Titans*. Season 3. Episode 6. HBO Max.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hatem, Richard (writer) & Mojsovski, Boris (director) (September 23, 2021). "Souls". *Titans*. Season 3. Episode 9. HBO Max.
6. ↑ Coggins, Stephanie (writer) & Banker, Carol (director) (October 7, 2021). "The Call Is Coming From Inside the House". *Titans*. Season 3. Episode 11. HBO Max.
7. ↑ Hatem, Richard (writer) & Copus, Nick (director) (November 3, 2022). "Lex Luthor". *Titans*. Season 4. Episode 1. HBO Max.
8. ↑ Hill, Bryan Edward (writer) & Copus, Nick (director) (director) (November 3, 2022). "Mother Mayhem". *Titans*. Season 4. Episode 2. HBO Max.
9. ↑ Gorenberg, Jamie (writer) & Copus, Nick (director) (May 4, 2023). "Project Starfire". *Titans*. Season 4. Episode 11. HBO Max.
10. ↑ Gorenberg, Jamie (writer) & Mojsovski, Boris (director) (November 10, 2022). "Jinx". *Titans*. Season 4. Episode 3. HBO Max.
11. ↑ The Illuminerdi - Titans Casting Call Details