Robin (1991) #1
"Big Bad World"
writer: Chuck Dixon
pencils: Tom Lyle
inks: Bob Smith
letters: Tim Harkins
colors: Adrienne Roy
editors: Dan Raspler and Denny O'Neil
creator: Bob Kane (well that's just completely wrong)
grade: B-
To sum up
the brief history of Tim Drake up to this point, the second Robin was killed, and Warner merchandising panicked because the then upcoming Tim Burton film had a Robin in it, so they forced O'Neil to create a replacement Robin, and after Marv Wolfman did so, Tim Burton cut Robin from his film.
To further complicate the matter,
nobody liked Tim Drake. Marv Wolfman presumably left the Batman franchise in protest over what was being done with the character (note: he returns to the Bat titles this month, JUST as Tim is removed from them for this solo adventure), and Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle had pushed for a different Robin and therefore presumably had no love for this one (also note: they never even mention Tim in the upcoming Batman #428, even though he JUST became Robin). And fan reaction to Tim Drake becoming the third Robin was mixed at best.
So, with the established creative teams having no love for Tim, with the movie franchise cutting Robin out and leading a new generation of fans to believe that Batman works best as a solo act, and with fans who had already been reading Tim's appearances having a mixed reaction to him at best, it would seem the most logical thing to do would be to push the character out of the main Bat titles (where no one wanted to write him, and only a minority wanted to read him) and give him his own try-out title to see if he could win fans over with a solo act.
Intended or otherwise, this was the start of a long term tradition in which Tim rarely worked side-by-side with Batman, more often functioning as a solo hero and (later) member of the Titans. Of course, his final argument to Batman about why Batman needed a Robin was that it sent a message to the Joker and to others that the Robin identity could not by killed/defeated. So, even as a solo act, he's able to live up to that rationale. However, the original concern that motivated him throughout A Lonely Place of Dying was that Batman was somehow becoming unhinged without a Robin. In that sense, his working largely as a solo act really doesn't make any sense at all, nor does Batman's cool, supportive, fatherly approach in this story, but we'll get there in a few moments.
So, with no established Bat creative teams wanting to touch Tim Drake, relatively unknown writer Chuck Dixon was brought in. It's hard, in hindsight, to consider a time when Chuck Dixon was ever relatively unknown, but he had little mainstream work under his belt at the time; Robin was where he built his legacy.
That being said, this first outing with Tim Drake does one thing really right and two things really wrong.
What Dixon did right: The first part of this story feels like a thoughtful exploration of how differently a young Bruce Wayne would have felt if, instead of going out on his own path, he was learning in the shadow of a great mentor with expectations. Tim is clearly trapped by this shadow, realizing both that copying what Bruce did to train would be inauthentic, and also that taking a different route and failing at it would be utterly humiliating. In a sense, Tim isn't trying to become a sidekick; he's trying to become
as good as Batman himself. I find that fascinating and incredibly well done here, especially as Tim was completely lacking in personality until this moment. Now we know who he is -- Young Bruce Wayne, but constrained by the shadow of an older, already accomplished Bruce Wayne.
What Dixon did wrong, p.1: Though this story continues only minutes after the events of
Batman #457, it completely contradicts much of it. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is that the story begins with Tim standing there in full costume, confused and forlorn, while Bruce says "How does it feel, Tim? You've stood there the longest time and haven't said a word," even though the final panel of Batman #457 was:
Much as I respect what Dixon was trying to do with Tim, there, you can't just contradict the big moment that ANYONE reading this issue read and paid careful attention to just last month. I suppose it's likely #457 wasn't done when Dixon wrote this story and that O'Neil and Raspler simply fell asleep at the continuity wheel, of course. That would explain that particular continuity guffaw in this story.
Of course, Tim goes on to ask, "Why me? Why did you pick me?" when anyone who'd followed Tim's exploits up to this point could easily tell you TIM picked BRUCE and practically forced him to make Tim the next Robin. And, as mentioned earlier, Tim's entire initial motivation for becoming Robin throughout A Lonely Place of Dying was that Bruce was becoming mentally unstable and taking unnecessary risks without a Robin, so what's with the cool and collected fatherly Bruce Wayne in this story who calmly advises Tim to take whatever path suits him best? That's not something Dixon could have missed just by not reading the script for the most recent issue; this was a major recurring theme for Batman throughout late 1989/early 1990.
What Dixon did wrong, p.2:The bulk of this story is as generic and cliche as possible. Essentially, it's the Karate Kid, with Tim learning from an unassuming impoverished old man and taking on a gang of martial artists because he feels the girlfriend of the gang leader is mistreated and deserves better. All that's missing is Rahul Lama having Tim "wax on, wax off." The "sweep the leg" moment might well still be coming.
Also, the modernized offspring of the mentor who doesn't appreciate the old ways and is looking to sell out, and only the wise white newcomer can truly respect what the sensai has to offer? Seen that a billion times before, most recently in the "Shaman" story in Legends of the Dark Knight #1-5.
So this is not a story with which I'm particularly enamored, but I'll likely read the rest, just to make sure nothing significant happens that is worthy of mention here.
Important Details:
- Robin commences his solo training (initially under Rahul Lama)
- Robin's initial weapon choice is the sling (not the better remembered quarter staff)
- First look at Jack Drake since the Rite of Passage storyline, in which he received a near-lethal dose of poison and is since completely paralyzed and in a hospital.
- 1st appearance of Lynx (unnamed)
Minor Details:
- Why did Bruce never study under Rahul Lama? Did he only become aware of him after already having become Batman?
- The inking on this story is clumsy and far too thick. It reprints poorly and makes for bad visibility.
plot synopsis in one sentence:
Tim is unsure he is worthy of being Robin and worries he will let Bruce down, Lady Shiva is looking to take down Richard Dragon (I assume this will become significant in later issues), Tim travels to Paris to study martial arts under Rahul Lama, the Lama's son is aggressive and does not respect his father's ways, Tim quickly has a run in with an evil martial arts gang, deciding to confront them when he doesn't like the way the gang leader treats his girfriend, so Tim tracks them down as Robin and stops them from beating a guy named Clyde Rawlins, and the issue ends with the two of them fighting the entire gang with someone (I think that's Shiva) watching them.
