#batman 444

[timdrakeinorder]

Batman #444: Crimesmith And Punishment

Part One

Part Two

[superboy-tm]

Uh oh, Tim doesn't know where his parents are

Batman (1940) #444

Also, despite fanon (and some modernization in interpretations of female characters), it really seems like Jack Drake is the business man and Janet just travels with him as his wife. Alas, it was 1990.

[timdrakequotes]

Tim: I just don’t believe you. You don’t miss anything.

Bruce: You can train yourself to do the same, Tim.

--Tim Drake with Bruce Wayne (Batman #444 – Crimesmith and Punishment)

[phoenixkaptain]

I don’t want to get into a debate on whether or not Tim’s parents were actually abusive, but I do want to state outright that it doesn’t really matter, because Tim didn’t trust his parents.

What do I mean by this? Well, the beginning of Tim in comics is A Lonely Place of Dying (I’ve talked about it ad nauseum at this point) and one thing you may see people mention is what Tim says about his parents in it.

These are both from Batman (1940-2011) #441

Alfred asks, basically, “You do have parents, don’t you?” And Tim’s body language as he talks about them is strange to me.

Tim scratches his face. This is the only time Tim touches his face in these comics. And his eyes, he stops looking at Alfred, who he’s talking to, and looks at Dick, all the while changing the subject.

Is he lying? No. He’s uncomfortable. A part of this is that this interaction takes place before Tim tells them who he is, which Tim doesn’t want them to know. This is just the first time we see any hint of uncertainty on Tim. Interesting.

More interesting is, in the same issue

“I never told them, but for years I kept having the same nightmare over and over again.”

This is pretty clear cut. He doesn’t tell his parents things. He doesn’t tell them important things. And, well, it’s probably because he doesn’t talk to them very often

These two are from Batman (1940-2011) #444

First things first, Bruce brings up the subject. This isn’t the first time, post his introduction, that we see Tim and Bruce talking. They talk in #443. But Bruce has to broach the subject.

And Tim is avoidant. He says they don’t call often, and he isn’t bothered by it, or he doesn’t appear bothered by it. He doesn’t say what they’re fighting about, nor does he actually say what they’ll do if the trip doesn’t help. He’s very offhand about the whole thing. He almost treats it like he isn’t talking about his parents, but just two people in some circumstances he happens to know about.

Tim cuts Bruce off by pointing out the computer. He doesn’t want Bruce to finish, he doesn’t want Bruce making a promise he ultimately won’t keep, he doesn’t want Bruce to focus on him.

Tim’s relationship with his parents, especialy his father, is, from what I know, always presented in this detached way. Even in Young Justice, when Tim talks to his father, he does so through a newspaper. He doesn’t make eye contact, which is a strange thing because Tim always makes eye contact.

(That’s part of why Tim is a bit unnerving in his introduction. He is always making eye contact. Always.)

Tim doesn’t trust his parents. Why doesn’t he? Because they’re busy. Busy with work, busy with fighting, busy with each other. He doesn’t tell them things. He doesn’t tell them about his nightmares, he definitely didn’t tell them about his vacation week roadtrip, and he doesn’t tell them about Bruce.

Does that make them abusive? I guess not. Not in these issues, anyway. Down the line, I think his father especially crosses the line, but at this point? They’re mutually ignoring each other. Tim talks about his parents in a detached way, as though it doesn’t effect him. And, maybe it doesn’t. This was 1989, not exactly the pinnacle of mental health awareness with proficient knowledge of how absent parents effect the children they’ve not been raising.

Or, Tim used Batman and Robin as a proxy for affection, which is why he feels so strongly towards them and why he tells Alfred they mean everything to them and why Tim is unafraid in the face of his own death but panicky in the face of Alfred’s death. Batman and Robin are just his hyperfixation, something to obsessively focus on and keep track of to keep his head above the water, something he’s been obsessed with since he was three and saw Batman for the very first time, something he says himself he’s followed since he could read to the point that he listened to news reports on the off-chance Batman and Robin might be mentioned at the age of nine.

Who knows? ¯\ _(ツ)_/¯

[librarylexicon]

same energy

Early Tim was very eager to learn...

[comicbookbrain]

Zatanna and Batman - Detective Comics 444, Julky 2008

[stealingyourbones]

DPXDC Prompt Masterlist #401-450

401. Bat Tutor

402. Time to Give an Old Friend a Call...

403. Wes Weston, Reporter for the Gotham Gazette

404. Unwanted Heirloom: The Ghost King's Contract

405. Danny: CCPN Photographer

406. Danny: Gotham Biochemist

407. New Management and Better Ghost Gear

408. Ancient Flowers for Poison Ivy

409. Fix and Unthaw (Dr. Freeze)

410. Sam finds Injured Jason

411. Dangerous Feedback (GL)

412. Batman took Ghost Drugs

413. Wes Weston finds Jason Todd

414. Magic and Monster Fucker (John Constantine)

415. Glow In The Dark Eyes (Wes)

416. Constantine meets Clockwork

417. Ghostly Wing AU

418. Do Not Enter: Radiation Hazard (DP)

419. Eldritch Dreams and Nightmares

420. Danny is Terry's Dad

421. Jason's Aunt: Sam Manson

422. Jason Watches his Death Again

423. GZ Out of Sync with Reality (Fav Prompts)

424. What a Tall Woman

425. Jason Time Swap AU (Fav Prompts)

426. Jason Rewatches the Titan Tower Incident

427. John Constantine Saves Danny

428. Only Liminal People can see Ghosts. Tim isn't Liminal

429. Danny Possesses Jason's Motorcycle.

430. Killer Moth's Sidekick

431. Impaired Speaking Jason with Ghost Speak (Fav Prompts)

432. Jason and Jazz go to the same Gym

433. Oracle meets Jazz Fenton

434. Danny thinks GL's are Ghosts

435. Maddie is Friends with Jim Gordon (Fav Prompts)

436. Danny owns a DC Character's Soul

437. Tech Disaster

438. Dani meets Dick Grayson.

439. Dick Mistakes Jazz as Babs

440. Billy's Twitch Chat Rants

441. Kwan works in the Wayne PR Dept.

442. Ra's tries to Clone Tim. Instead Teleports Dani

443. Danny meets the Ghost of Robin

444. Twinsies! (Damian and Danny family bonding)

445. Damian gets Revived. Wakes up in GZ

446. Danny is Wayne's Personal Pilot (Fav Prompts)

447. Tim Drake's Secretary: Daniel Fenton (Fav Prompts)

448. Golden Age Superman Meets Danny

449. Dan Phantom and Jason Todd are Bros

450. The Speedforce rejects the GZ

[fancyfade]

I have in read nowhere near every batman comic so there could be more but

Bruce sure gets framed for murder a lot

Batman 225 he is framed (as batman) for the murder of TV personality something jory. In tec 444 or 445 he's framed for talia and ras' murders (as batman again). And in Bruce v wayne murderer he's framed for the murder of vesper(as Bruce this time)

I know batman has thousands of comics and there are going to be repeat ideas but batman 225 and tec 444 were not published that far apart

[gretahayes]

Batman (1940) #444

is this not the same kid you told to piss off last issue. bruce it has been just a week max and you said alfred would train him for a while. bruce.

[timdrakeinorder]

Batman #444: Crimesmith And Punishment

Part One

Part Three

[dailytims]

Batman (1940) #444

[aingeal98]

hiii. while you're thinking about Al Ghouls do you have any comic book recommendations for them? I want to know more about Ra's and Talia without the post 9/11 narrative. Or more about the LoA in general.Tha k you!

Absolutely! I know there's a few reading guides out there for Talia that can probably give a better overview with a more filtered and streamlined guide. Such as this one here, which features Talia at her best:

Other than Son of the Demon, when I refer to LexCorp era Talia and her old character, these are usually what I'm referring to. This is who she was right before she got tortured into being evil. For a deeper dive into Talia's history, this reading list is really well put together:

If you're looking for something even longer, with the full history and context of Batman and the al Ghuls, here's pretty much everything I've read for the al Ghuls starting from the beginning. I'm not an expert by any means so I may have missed some relevant story or mixed up the order of a few different single issues, but there's enough here to offer a coherent timeline. If you can't afford to buy the comics, all of these should be available to read for free by typing them into a search engine and adding "read online" at the end.

Also please note that you don't have to read all of these. Some of these particularly in the 70s/80s contain repetitive story beats. Ra's has a scheme to make Batman his son in law, Talia helps him out. Batman opposes it, Talia helps Batman but doesn't fully abandon her father. That's the pattern writers fell into after the initial establishing of Ra's and Talia as characters. Some stories are better than others, and some break the mold entirely or put a fresh spin on it.

This is going to be LONG and I apologize in advance. I like to ramble about things. Tis a key part of this blog.

The 70s, aka the beginning of it all

Note: In all of these the al Ghuls feature in the main storyline, not the side stories such as Robin or Batgirl unless noted otherwise.

-Detective Comics 411: Into the Den of Death Dealers

Bruce and Talia's first meeting. Written by Denny O'Neil, Talia and Ra's creator. Batman fights a bull. It's very charming in the way only this era of Batman can be.

-Batman 232: Daughter of the Demon

Ra's and Bruce's first encounter, featuring Dick getting kidnapped, Bruce fighting a leopard, and Ra's attempting a ridiculously elaborate overprotective dad scheme.

-Batman 235: Swamp Sinister

-Batman 240: Vengeance for a Dead Man

The one where Batman and Ra's dynamic takes a turn for the worse, where Batman realizes that Ra's has a very different set of morals to him and can be ruthlessly evil.

-Batman 242-244

Introduction of the Lazarus Pits. Some racially insensitive moments that are on par for the 70s.

-Batman 257: Hail Emperor Penguin

-Detective Comics 444-445 and 447-448

Ra's framed Bruce for murder long before David Cain stole his idea. I think Cain did it better but this is still fun.

-Black Lightning 2: Merlyn Means Murder

A non Batman related Talia appearance.

-Batman: Where Were You on the Night Batman Was Killed?

4 part story where Batman's rogues thinks he's dead and come together to figure out who did it. Not massively important for the al Ghuls but Ra's being the judge in this trial is so funny to me.

-DC Special Series 15: I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife!

The one where Ra's gets fed up of Batman refusing his son in law offerings so he just knocks him out and drags Batman to the wedding ceremony. Not my favourite by a long shot but the "marriage" is important for Damian's conception, since in Son of the Demon Batman hilariously enough doesn't want to sleep with Talia out of wedlock until she reminds him that they're technically married if you stretch the law by a whole lot. After that he's all for it.

-Detective Comics 485: The Vengeance Vow + Detective Comics 490: Requiem for a Martyr

Not a huge fan of this issue considering it fridges Kathy Kane and uses a brainwashed Bronze Tiger to do so. It's included a lot in reprints of the al Ghul storylines and does give us a look at the inner workings of the League of Assassins, but I could do without it. Also DC having two master martial art old men called Sensei who look very similar with one being good and the mentor of characters like Richard Dragon and Shiva, while the other is Ra's al Ghuls father and evil, is very confusing. You could tell how much they REALLY loved Kung-Fu based characters in this era of comics.

-The Brave and the Bold 159: The Crystal Armageddon

The 80s, aka seeds of Character Development and Plot!

-Batman 330-335

The start of Dick and Talia's dislike of each other. Also featuring the most terribly racist Fox family plotline I've read. It makes me glad Jace Fox gets to be Batman in the future even if I didn't like that comic either. He deserves to be Robin and Nightwing too as compensation for this storyline.

-Batman Annual Volume 1 Issue 8: The Messiah of the Crimson Sun

I enjoy this story because rather than have Talia working with Ra's and switching sides halfway, she's firmly opposed to her father from the start here. We start to see the beginning of character development compared to the regular pattern of the old comics.

-Detective Comics 526: All My Enemies Against Me!

We get Pre Crisis aka Earth One Jason Todd's origin while also getting Talia and Catwoman helping Bruce, Babs and Dick fight all the other rogues. I really, really love this issue and I can't fully explain why. It just ticks all the boxes for me.

-Batman 400: Resurrection Night!

Another comic I really enjoy, with Talia teaming up with Robin!Jason to help Batman and Catwoman foil Ra's latest scheme.

-Batman: Son of the Demon

Damian's origin. A must read. The tragedy of what could have been and how loved he was by both parents kills me every time.

The 90s aka we're getting darker and edgier now. Also featuring character regression and Bane for some reason.

-Batman: Bride of the Demon

Classic shenanigans but featuring Tim as Robin this time.

-Batman: Birth of the Demon

Ra's al Ghul origin story time! Trigger warning for sexual assault. Definitely not the tone a 70s era Ra's comic would have but not bad in my opinion.

-The Batman Adventures 13 + 17

Set in the Batman The Animated Series universe, it shows this universe's version of Talia and Ra's and is a pretty faithful adaption! Shocking I know.

-Azrael Issues 5-9 + 29-30

Azrael meets the al Ghuls and Ra's considers making Azrael his heir instead. Basically a classic Ra's Talia and Batman story with Azrael there instead of Batman. Not my favourite, it feels like it belongs in the 70s instead of being 90s al Ghuls.

-Batman: Brotherhood of the Bat + League of Batmen

A future elseworld story starting Tallant Wayne, son of Talia and Bruce. Clearly inspired by the baby in Son of the Demon, who would grow up to be Damian in main continuity.

-Batman: Legacy Volume 1 + 2

A sequel to Batman: Contagion, where a deadly virus spread through Gotham and even infected Tim. This time Ra's is in charge of the spread of the second round of the virus, Talia is back under his thumb and seems miserable about it. And also Ra's is considering making Bane his heir and Talia's husband, which probably contributes a fair bit to her misery. Character regression for Talia compared to how much she went against Ra's in the 80s, but one I personally find realistic. Main drawback is that a lot is written by Chuck Dixon and Talia is weirdly sexual at times. An understandable deal breaker for many, but it's the biggest 90s al Ghul story so I felt it important to mention.

-The Batman and Robin Adventures #10

Set in the comic version of the Batman The Animated Series universe, so if you're a fan of that cartoon you'll probably enjoy this.

-Batman Chronicles Volume 1 #8

Talia centred story that sums up her internal conflict between her father and Batman. Gets to the heart of why Ra's, despite his love for her, is not a good parent at all. Would recommend.

-Batman & Spider-Man: New Age Dawning

Crossover goodness for any Spiderman fans out there.

-Batman No Man's Land #0

The Talia cameo here is good imo. It shows layers to her and Bruce's dynamic that we haven't fully seen before. Plus we get to see Helena becoming the Bat of No man's land.

-Batman: The Chalice

One shot that doesn't fit in NML continuity despite being published at the time. I'm adding it anyway because I enjoy how it portrays Ra's and Talia. A nice break from their most toxic era so far (relationship wise).

The early 2000s aka The Brief and Glorious Talia Independence Era

-JLA: Tower of Babel

The tipping point. Ra's goes too far in messing with Batman, and Talia leaves him. It should have been her permanent break from Ra's and his cult, but if you ignore everything from Death and the Maidens onwards and live in denial like me, it still is!

(This comic also had the unfortunate consequence of giving the most insufferable "Batman solos fiction" fans more fodder. But tis a small price to pay for Talia finally freeing herself from Ra's suffocating grip on her life.)

-Batman Chronicles 22

You get good short stories for Shiva, Steph AND Talia in this issue, exploring more of their character without any of the usual entourage around to hog the spotlight

-Detective Comics 750

Talia is so delightfully done with both Ra's and Bruce. She's sick and tired of their shit and doesn't want to be dragged into it any more. If Tower of Babel was her gaining independence from Ra's, this is her gaining it from Bruce.

-Action Comics 772-773

The start of Talia's LexCorp era.

-JLA Secret Files and Origins 3

Flashback story giving more insight into Talia's POV during Tower of Babel.

-President Luthor Secret Files and Origins #1

-Batman Legends of the Dark Knight 142-145

Like the Birds of Prey storyline of this time, these issues make no attempt to stay in continuity with the rest of this era. It's more a generic 90s story than one that fits where the characters are timeline wise at the date it was published. Only reason I'm adding it to the list is because you get Talia shooting the Joker and leaving him for dead. Batman has to dip him in the Lazarus Pit to stop him from bleeding out.

-Superman Volume 2 Issue 170 (cameo)

-Batman: Our World's at War Issue 1

-Superboy Volume 4 #89

-Suicide Squad 2001 #2 (side role)

-Superman: The Man of Steel 120

Talia is trying to take down LexCorp from the inside meanwhile Superman is like "I stopped the evil stuff you were doing!" and she's like "Congrats you destroyed the evidence of LexCorp doing evil stuff in the process." He still doesn't realise she's on his side, which to be fair is part of her whole antihero deal at the minute.

-Adventures of Superman 600

-Superman: The Man of Steel 122-125

Plot starts in 122. Talia appears in 123 onwards.

-Superman Volume 2 Issue 190 + 194 + 198

Batman: Hush Issue 4. (brief appearance) and Issue 9.

Decent Talia characterisation to me, not so decent Lady Shiva appearance. Torn between amusement and disappointment that Talia manages to beat her by hitting her with a chair. (Yes, really.)

-Superman/Batman #6

Batman informs Lex that Talia has bankrupted him and sold the LexCorp building to Bruce Wayne. Sucks to suck, Lex.

After this, there was so much potential. You had a solid basis for Talia as an independent anti-hero, using her connections to team up with villains only to double cross them when the time is right and take them down from the inside. A master at espionage in the making. Instead Death and the Maidens happens. You might as well skip to Robin: Son of Batman and fill in the blanks however your imagination deems fit. It's probably better than what DC came up with.

[superboy-tm]

Bruce runs sooo hot and cold--he was just telling Tim he'd do whatever to help with Tim's parents, now he's yelling at Tim to get him info and go home (back to school).

Batman (1940) #444

[taliaalghulhub]

Detective Comics (1937) Issues 444, 445 and 448

Ok this is another comic I don't think a lot of people know about

Batman responds to an armed bank robbery and on confronting the person in charge she reveals herself to be Talia, after hearing the police entering Talia runs and Batman appears to shoot her in the back though he claims to have never pulled the trigger

He's accused of murder by Jim Gordon who claims there was nothing wrong with the gun and the fact that he loved her but hated her father was a valid reason he might have done it. Gordon tries to arrest Batman but Batman escapes leaving Scrag Donovan tied up to the bat signal

In Detective Comics 445 Jack Ryder shows that Batman is wanted for murder on the news. Alfred also askes Bruce is he murdered Talia to which he denies immediately

Batman then takes a prison guard uniform and disguises himself as a guard to go and visit Ra's Al Ghul in his jail cell.

Ra's then admits that he was the one who actually had Talia murdered and Batman framed for it, he then shoots himself and says that nothing is to precious to sacrifice in return for revenge agents Batman. As he dies he throws the gun towards Batman

He's seen by guards who then try to arrest him again, he's almost caught as a person he put in jail holds him through the bars but using gas manages to make his escape leaving only his cape behind.

Detective comics 448 opens with a shot of Gaston St. Lucifer's circus and Bruce disguised with a goatee and a fringed jacket, here we see multiple characters introduced including Sireena "The Sensuous Snake Charmer" , Grobo "The Smallest Strongman", Shondu "The Human Corkscrew" and Slapleather Smith "The Most Devastatingly Accurate Sharp Shooter"

Batman notices that Grobo is spying on him and attempted to follow him before he can go alert anyone he might be working with but he looses him. He finds himself near a house of mirrors and decides that that must be where Grobo is hiding.

Batman takes of his disguise so that he's in his armour and fights a group of henchmen in the house of mirrors. After leaving he runs after Grobo again then finds two guys playing cards in a caravan so he dresses as Ra's and confirms that Ra's is in fact behind everything he then also takes out the two men in the caravans before being taken down by one of the clowns at the circus.

He wakes up in the main tent with the ringleader of the circus sat on a chair and Sireena the snake charmer standing next to him, I'm sure you know where this is going,

Sirenna then reveals herself to be Talia in a blonde wig, she asked Batman to join then who says no then her pet snakes start to try and attack Batman

Batman is then attacked by the sharpshooter from earlier but he throws an arrow into the barrel of the gun jamming it

He fights the contortionist then it turns out the the clown from earlier was Creeper. He tries to then go after St Lucifer thinking that he's Ra's but it turns out that Ra's has disguised himself as Grobo

Something falls in the tent and it sets on fire, Batman takes Talia and leaves the tent as Ra's just burns to deaths

Gordon is outside and Batman shows him Talia but then Gordon "shoots" Batman in the back but it does nothing because it's Batman and they just wanted a good cover for the comic. Batman explains how everything worked I won't type it all out so I'll put the explanation at the bottom of this post.

Batmans name is cleared and Bruce drops an epic diss on Ra's by calling his life an "a monumental waste of genius"

[beheadable]

Shamelessly sharing my letterboxd again

[androxys]

Tim in Training (Tim Drake - The Eras Tour Part 2: Batman #443-454 & Detective Comics #610-#617)

Welcome back to the Tim Drake: Eras Tour! You may have forgotten about this series, but I can’t. To recap, last time we talked about his point of origin in A Lonely Place of Dying. He’s the plucky kid detective who figured out Batman’s secret and sought out Dick Grayson to become Robin again after the death of Jason Todd. A Lonely Place of Dying ends with Bruce tentatively giving Tim a conditional thumbs up to begin training to maybe be Robin… eventually.

This brings us to the Tim In Training Era, which I think is one of the most fascinating and under-explored time periods for young Mr. Drake. Both his parents are alive yet absent, leaving Tim either in boarding school or in Wayne Manor. Tim isn’t Robin, but is actively being trained for the role. Breakdown below.

(Batman #443)

This page is from Batman #443, the comic published immediately after the final issue of A Lonely Place of Dying. It establishes the current status quo for Tim with regards to Bruce and Alfred. He’s currently at Wayne Manor, receiving Bruce’s philosophy/verbal teaching on the way to be Batman or Robin. However, Bruce makes it very clear that this is staying philosophical.

Tim: “So when do I get to go out with you as Robin again?”

Bruce: “You don’t. Not for a long time.”

When Tim tries to argue, Bruce continues:

“You proved you have the makings of a good partner. That’s not the same as being one.”

This page also suggests that while Bruce is talking with Tim, Alfred is conducting a good portion of Tim’s other training, and Bruce is withholding himself. Alfred is also the one taking him back and forth from school and Wayne Manor, suggesting that while Tim does see Bruce, he’s seeing as much—if not more—of Alfred.

(Batman #444)

(Batman #444)

These next two panels show Tim in the Batcave, doing two different types of training with Bruce. At first, Bruce is walking Tim through detective work and reasoning, training Tim for the mental tasks ahead. Then they switch, with Bruce encouraging Tim to do more of the physical training too. Still, this doesn’t look like vigilante training, exactly. Tim’s working on the parallel bars, which is a far cry from Bruce teaching him how to fight or parkour across rooftops.

Another very important part of these panels, though, is Tim talking about his parents. Obviously, Jack and Janet Drake are absent for Tim to be spending so much time at Wayne Manor. We know from A Lonely Place of Dying (and from the last issue) that Tim goes to a boarding school. Here, Tim straight-up confirms the distance between himself and his parents.

Bruce: “Tim... have you spoken to your parents about your being here?”

Tim: “Actually… I don’t know where they are now. My dad’s a corporate exec and they go all over the world. They haven’t called in a while.”

Bruce: “Do they do that often? Not call?”

Tim: “It’s no big deal. They’re so busy. I guess they forget.”

Tim then goes on to allude to the marital problems that his parents have been having, and how he thinks this trip is their attempt to save their marriage. Not a picture perfect home life for the up and coming Boy Wonder at all. Thankfully, Bruce is saved by the bell before he has to have an actual emotional moment with the boy.

(Batman #445)

Bruce is a presence in Tim’s life, for sure, but it’s definitely not as if he’s any sort of immediate father figure for Tim. Bruce is an emotionally distant professor, for Tim, which is emphasized by the ways that he does or doesn’t tell Tim things. Such as the fact that Bruce has completely left the country—Tim learns that from Alfred. Here too, Tim reiterates that he has no idea where his parents are, and that his own father also doesn’t tell him much. Something something the parallels.

As a side note, I’m transfixed by the way early comics had no idea what Jack Drake and his company did. He’s a corporate exec, he does business, he does archeology, he passes out medical supplies, whatever. I know the Doylist answer for this is that the details were likely still getting ironed out, and/or Jack Drake’s precise activities were subject to the flexible facts of comic books, spread across different writers. But there an interesting Watsonian perspective that would have Tim just know… literally nothing about what his parents do. He could be completely wrong about medical supplies, or he could be right. The fact that he has uncertainty speaks volumes about Tim’s relationship with his parents and their lives. Anyways.

(Batman #448)

Eventually, Bruce gets back from Moscow, and in Batman #448 we see Tim in the Batmobile. He’s still in training, but now he’s accompanying Batman into the field, so we’re getting a sense that he’s progressed a good ways in his training. As Bruce said back in Batman #443, he’s not going to put Tim out until he thinks he’s ready. While Tim still hasn’t earned Robin, he’s obviously been putting in the work.

(Detective Comics #616)

Over in Detective Comics, right after Batman #448, we get another glimpse of Bruce’s top notch communication skills. Believing that the Joker may have resurfaced—he has been presumed dead since Bruce crashed a helicopter with him in it during Death in the Family—Bruce immediately freaks out and gets Alfred to send Tim away.

Here is some really good Bruce characterization, I think. He cares deeply about this boy, who is not his son, but who he has been spending time with. He knows that Tim wants to become Robin, to wear the suit that his own son died in. Bruce has been creating an emotional distance from everything that entails, and the moment he gets a sign that something could really go wrong for Tim—in fact, the same danger that killed Jason—he immediately ramps up that distance. He provides no explanation, closes Tim off, and simply tries to send him away. Because to Bruce, he’s making sure that Tim is safe without any of the messiness of dealing with those emotions at face value. So he has Alfred take Tim out of the city, Alfred who Tim has been spending time with, who Tim was encouraged by in A Lonely Place of Dying—someone who I would wager Tim likes, trusts, and sees as a respected authority figure.

(Batman #450)

Ultimately, it wasn’t the Joker in Detective Comics #616, though he was soon to return to the Batman comics. Joker returns in Batman #450, which Bruce handles by paying for Tim’s entire class to get on a plane and get out of Gotham. Bruce is responding to the threat of the Joker in the same way as he did previously, but to an even more exaggerated extent. He questions whether or not it’s a good idea for Tim to be training for Robin at all, though he certainly doesn’t seem to remember that Tim hasn’t been very good at letting Bruce stop him.

Tim will be away for the entirety of this story, with Bruce wrestling with his role in Jason’s death and his reluctance to let another child end up that way… though he also doesn’t dispute Tim’s fundamental truth that Batman does need Robin.

So Tim is in this limbo space where he’s being trained for a role that he wants, and is getting ever more prepared for, but which Bruce can’t quite convince himself to give. At this stage, Tim is being held at an arm’s length by just about everyone, since neither his parents nor Bruce are demonstrating great communication skills. Tim takes this as normal, for better or worse, which is its own commentary on his home life before he started weekending at Wayne Manor. Still, Tim seems to be sitting on the edge of becoming Robin, just waiting for that last push. Tune in next time for that little push: Tim’s Rite of Passage and his bout against the Master of Fear.