#if you consider that dick was 18 when jason had just became robin (at 12) you find out that dick is 6 years older than jason which makes

[leoleolovesdc]

This is even funnier if you remember that DC continuity makes no sense and since Dick’s parents died when he was 8 Tim wouldn't have been even born by that time

tim: I feel guilty that I didn't save your parents I feel like I could've done something it's all my fault-

dick: you were Three.

[ectonurites]

In Tim original he was there when dick parents die and he look like 4-5 and that make me confused bc shouldn’t Tim be more younger than that when dick parents die ? ( I mean the age gap between dick and Tim Probably 8-10 )

OKAY lets take a look at this!

All of this is obviously not currently canon because the New 52 changed things and honestly even before that things could be very inconsistent, but we can try to approximate what Tim, Jason, and Dick's ages and age differences were based on that 1987-1989 era of canon to try to make sense of 'how old Tim should have been when Dick's parents died' (Then I know you didn't bring up Jason but considering how linked Tim's origin is to him he's relevant, so he's in here too)

So in Batman #416 (the issue Dick & Jason first meet), Dick brings up two things relevant to talk about here:

From this we know:

Dick was 19 when Bruce fired him from being Robin

Dick & Bruce were partners for 6 years, meaning Dick was approximately 13 when he began as Robin (I believe other comics reference him being around 12 at the time of his parents' death/becoming Robin, so it could be more like it was 6 full years and dates just don't line up exactly, and he did actually start at 12. This could also be explained as the training time, as later in Lonely Place of Dying Tim mentions there were a few months between the death of Dick's parents and Robin's debut, meaning it could be more like his parents died when he was 12 -> he trained the rest of the time he was 12 -> he properly debuted as Robin at age 13)

For the purposes of working out this logic I'm going to treat these things as happening when Dick was 12

Now the DC Wiki cites that Jason was confirmed as 12 when he met Bruce/became Robin in a letters-to-the-editor type 'bat-signals' page included in Batman #413, however all the scans of that issue I've been able to find don't include those pages (they're often not included in scans of older issues), so I'm not currently able to confirm/deny that. However logistically it makes sense, that way he had a few years in the role before his death, considering we do know he died at age 15 from a few sources including his Death Certificate in the Batman Files:

For the sake of 'needing a number' I'm going to assume that age 12 start time is true.

We then know that Bruce met Jason not too long after he fired Dick based on Batman #408. The start of the issue shows the incident/reason that Bruce fired him (he got very injured by the Joker and Bruce decided he couldn't work with a partner anymore), then it says some weeks (an unspecified number of weeks, but they use the term 'weeks' not 'months' to describe it) passed:

Which brings us to the anniversary of Bruce's parents' death which is when he first meets Jason in crime alley.

So, based on all that so far we can conclude:

Dick's parents died and he became Robin when he was around 12/13

Dick was fired from being Robin after they worked together for six years, at age 19

Soon after Dick became Nightwing (also at 19 I believe), and Jason was taken in by Bruce at age 12 and became Robin after training

(Jason and Dick don't meet for a while though, as it's not until 18 months after being fired that Dick approaches Bruce again (in Batman #416 as referenced earlier), when he and Jason would have probably been around 20/21 and 13/14 respectively)

Jason was killed at age 15, when Dick would have been approximately 22 if we consider this three years after he was fired/Jason met Bruce

Then let's get to Tim! We know that Tim was 13 during Lonely Place of Dying, which takes place not too long after Jason was killed

(Batman #441)

Which gives us that 'Jason is about two years older than Tim' age difference that is commonly used

Now taking that stuff also into consideration:

Jason died at age 15, when Dick would have been approximately 22, and Tim would have been about 13 (theoretically he actually should have been 12 at the time of Jason's death because Jason died in April and Tim's birthday is in July, and Lonely Place of Dying is supposed to be like a few months after Jason's death and we know he's 13 at the time of the story, however I'm almost certain Tim's birthday hadn't been determined yet when the story was written so it definitely didn't factor into the logic when they were writing it. So we should treat it as him being 13, but my brain would yell at me if I didn't at least address that)

So, we can then approximate Tim & Dick's age difference at around 9 years, implying Tim should have been about 3 at the time Dick's parents died, when Dick was 12. Most people usually assume Tim is older than that at the time though, in the 4-5 (or even 6) range like you suggested, based on the art and the fact that Tim has strong memories from that day (of the deaths themselves, and the thing that lets him figure out that Dick is Robin: that the Ringmaster had said only three people could do that quadruple somersault)

However frankly it is possible to have memories from being 3, like it's less common sure and is about the earliest that is average to have, but especially considering it was something he had nightmares about for years afterwards that impacted him, I wouldn't be that surprised by details sticking with him even if it was from when he was that young. Also comics are not ever consistent about drawing people the ages they are so I really don't think that can count as proof of age or anything.

Also, the way he speaks in the flashback to the moment during Batman Year 3 (so before Lonely Place of Dying, because in the LPoD flashbacks we don't actually see him talk at all at this age) feels much more to me like how a preschooler (typically about 3-4) would talk than a kindergartener (typically about 5-6), just as someone who has worked with both age groups before.

(Batman #436)

But I mean i'm not an expert on childhood development stuff like that, so take my opinion there with a grain of salt. I'm more just trying to point out that him being significantly younger than most people assume he was there is definitely possible. I usually only see people point to the parts in LPoD and gloss right over Batman #436 in these discussions.

But yeah! So there's obviously guesswork thrown in here, and comics just in general are not consistent about ages like these things are fluid and do change, but my best guesses based on stuff from that late 80's period (+ the death certificate from later, I know him being 15 is mentioned in other places too but off the top of my head I could not remember and the death certificate is just easiest to find) are:

Tim was about 3 when Dick's parents died

Dick is about 9 years older than him

Jason is about 2 years older than Tim/ 7 years younger than Dick

I hope I worded this in not too confusing of a way, and I'd again like to reiterate this is in no way a definitive thing (there just is no definitive answer, because basically all this kind of stuff gets contradicted at various points) it's just what makes most sense to me after reading through these comics from this era!

[forestlingincorporated]

How old is the Batfamily (in New Earth)?

These are my personal calculations. Comics are bad at continuity, I’m sure we’re all aware. 

I use Tim as my north star in my calculations because we have a couple sure fire ages for him, unlike people like Dick or Bruce whose continuity is less concrete. Tim was 3 when the Graysons died, 13 after Jason died, and he just turned 16 shortly before Jason turned 18. 

Tim’s birthday is July 19th, and Jason’s is August 16th. Since Tim turns 16 the same year Jason would turn 18, Jason is exactly 1 year, 11 months, and 3 days older than Tim - almost 2 years. Jason’s death certificate says he died April 27, at 15 years old; this means Jason was turning 16 that year, and it also means when Tim arrives at 13, it’s not yet summer, so Tim is turning 14 soon. Batman #436 confirms Jason was with Bruce for 2 years, making him 13-going-on-14 when Bruce adopted him, and Tim the same age when he comes in behind him. 

Dick has multiple dates presented for his birthday, so exact age is a no go. In 1940, Dick was 8 years old when he became Robin. That is impossible now, if Tim attended Haly’s Circus when he was 3, and Jason was between them as Robin. In Final Crisis, Dick’s depicted as 12 when his parents die. This would make him about 9 years older than Tim, and 7 years older than Jason. That would mean when Jason was adopted, Dick would be 20, and he’d be 22 when Jason died, and 26 when he became Batman. 

Tim is 9yo when he realizes Robin is Dick Grayson. That makes Dick about 18yo. Two years later, Jason is Robin for another two years, take 6 months for his training. These ages fit together nicely. 

Bruce was 25 when he finished his Batman training. Batman: Year One is probably a full year, and The Long Halloween is DEFIANTELY a year, so let’s say Bruce adopts Dick (Dark Victory) two years after returning to Gotham - 27yo. This makes Bruce 15 years older than Dick. This works for their fuzzy awkward family dynamic, where Bruce is something between a big brother and a dad, getting more parental as Bruce gets older, and grating on Dick’s growing independence as he’s being given MORE restrictions as he ages, not less. It makes Bruce 22 years older than Jason (35yo when he adopts him), a more reasonable age gap for a parent and child, which plays into Bruce’s more immediately parental relationship with Jason (and thus Dick’s jealousy over it). It then makes Bruce 24 years older than Tim (37 after Jason’s death and upon meeting Tim). Bruce’s birthday is Feb. 19th, early in the year, so its not as awkward to juggle months into the equation. This makes Bruce 41 at the end of New Earth; I was honestly surprised, it’s a pretty reasonable age for a fit man to be Batman-ing, if there is ANY age considered reasonable to be Batman-ing. 

Cassandra Cain is already 18 when Jason turns 18, and her birthday is January 26, so Cass is exactly 6 months and 21 days older than Jason. 

Early on, Stephanie says she’s “older” than Tim, though I don’t know how she’d know that at the time. Later, Stephanie’s attending freshman year of college when she first becomes Batgirl, so I think it’s safe to say she’s about 1 year older than Tim, making her 15 when they meet when Tim is 14, and 18 when Tim is 17 at the end of the New Earth run. 

Damian... I feel like someone told me Damian was slightly hyper-aged as a toddler, but I can’t find that information r/n, and also I don’t care, so I’m moving forward as if Damian was born naturally, and not artificially altered at all. I’m convinced the more we see Damian drawn to look more like Thalia, the more we’re just casually being asked to kindly forget about the racist “genetically modified to be perfect, i.e. look more like Bruce” Thing. So I’m gonna. 

Since I think the fathers day comic between Tim and Bruce occurs before we meet Damian, and father’s day is in June, and his birthday’s in July, I’m going to assume Tim is 17 when he meets Damian for the first time, who is described as 10. This means Damian is 7 years younger than Tim, 9 years younger than Jason, 16 years younger than Dick, and 31 years younger than Bruce. This is particularly interesting, because Bruce and Dick’s age gap is about the same as Dick and Damian’s age gap, which draws more of a parallel between Bruce and Dick’s awkward pseudo-big-brother/actual-adopted-dad relationship and Dick and Damian’s pseudo-dad/actual-big-brother relationship. 

And then there’s Barbara. What to do with Barbara. Barbara's got de-aged over the years to make her a more palatable ship for Dick (no hatin’, just true). It’s cute for a teenage boy to have a widdle crush on his adult friend/big sister figure who’s old enough to have a doctorate, and then have him fall in love with an alien girl closer to his own age, but when they decided they wanted this ship to be viable, they had to close that 8-10 year age gap, or Babs was gonna look like a creep. Detective Comics 871 aged her all the way down to Dick’s exact age, having them go to prom together, but you can make Barbara anywhere between 26 and 36+ by the end of New Earth and I’m not sure anyone can say you’re wrong. I have Much Fear they’re going to try to de-age her again, though, with this potential Jason romance hanging in the air. 

And Alfred... look, man, I don’t know, he was 18 when he joined the British military, and that’s the extent of my understanding of how old Alfred is. 

And, you know, Duke didn’t exist in New Earth, and the Prime ages are all fucked to hell. Usually, I make Duke about a year or two younger than Tim, just because it kinda sounds right. 

tl;dr: By the end of New Earth, the Batfam is probably: Alfred (???), Bruce (41), Babs (26-36+), Dick (26), Cass (19), Jason (19), Steph (18), Tim (17), and Damian (10). 

[our-happygirl500-fan]

You know something? I absolutely hate comic ages and timelines because they keep on switching round and changing and some characters are allowed to age and some characters aren’t so when I try to figure out the age difference between characters I’m just like does this work? Does this work? 

For example Dick’s been allowed to grow into adulthood yet Bruce isn’t allowed to be a day past 45 at most unless we’re looking at a future timeline like the Dark Knight Returns or Batman Beyond.

Damian became 13 with DC Rebirth so he could have his own Teen Titans team yet Tim, Steph and Cass have somehow aged backwards. Like Cass is supposed to be the same age as Jason (a few months older than him in fact), Steph was in college before the reboot and Tim was nearly 18 yet Tim, Steph and Cass have all been aged down to be 16 or the same age as Duke which is confusing (like there is not a three year age difference between Damian and Tim, Tim would have died in their first meeting if that was the case)

Dick’s age when his parents died has been switched around to be somewhere between 8-12, the later making more sense considering that Tim was supposed to be 3 when he met Dick at the circus and if he had met Dick when Dick was 8-9 there would have been a 5-6 year age difference which wouldn’t work since Jason met Bruce when he was 12 and Dick had just gone off to college making the age difference between Jason and Dick 5-6 years.

So to make sense of the ages let’s say that Dick became Robin at 12 Bruce in his early to mid 20′s when he takes Dick in, Dick is Robin for six years goes off to college, becomes Nightwing, drops out, moves in with Titans ect, Bruce is in his late 20′s or early 30′s at this point he meets Jason at 12-13 Jason is Robin for around three years and dies and Bruce is in his early to mid 30′s at this point.

Makes sense so far right? Right? Wrong!

Because we’re bringing Carrie Kelly into this!

A popular thing to do in fanfiction is have Carrie Kelly be the baby that Steph gave up for adoption as it’s a cool thing to do to tie Carrie into the Batfamily and also saves the trouble of making an OC yet it’s not actually possible to have Carrie be Steph’s daughter as the Dark Knight Returns is supposed to take place ten years after Jason’s death and Jason is two years older than Steph and Steph had her baby when she was 15 (got pregnant at 14) meaning that there’s about a 17 year age gap between Jason and Steph’s baby and Steph’s baby would have been around 8 at the time of the Dark Knight Returns and both Carrie and Bruce’s ages are clearly listed as 13 and 55 respectively which means that there’s a 12 year difference between Carrie and Jason.

That makes sense but Bruce being 55 during the Dark Knight Returns means that Bruce was supposed to be 45 when Jason died! Which means he was like what pushing 50 by the time Damian showed up? Which alright that I can give my parents were turning 50 when I was like 11 it happens but still wow, Bruce needs to retire and let Cass be Batman.

But anyway adding Carrie into the mix as well as the age differences we already know and taking into account that Steph is supposed to be nearly a year older than Tim and Cass is two years older than Steph as well as the fact that Cass is a few months older than Jason as she was already 18 when Bruce took her to Jason’s grave on Jason’s 18th Birthday and Jason and Steph’s Birthday’s are really close and Steph ‘dies’ a little later at 16. Also Damian is said repeatedly to be 10 during Steph’s Batgirl run “you’re a ten year old boy who doesn’t know how to have fun” and Steph is 18 in her first year of college and Tim is said to be 17 repeatedly in his Red Robin run which is furthur evidence that there’s around a one year age gap between Steph and Tim meaning there’s a 7 year age gap between Tim and Damian and an 8 year age gap between Steph and Damian. Damian is supposed to be 12 during Robin War and Duke is listed as 16 in the We Are Robin kid’s bios and we don’t really know if he’s turned 17 yet but let’s assume that there’s a 3-4 year age gap between Duke and Damian.

Barbara’s age is tricky because when she was first introduced she was already a grown up, as she was a librarian and already graduated college while Dick was still Bruce’s ward in fact Dick’s crush of Bab’s was originally supposed to be a sort of boy hood crush thing in her early appearances similar to Damian’s own crush on Steph but later on comics decided to make Barbara and Dick closer in age so they could set up a romance between the two and usually make Barbara around two years older than Dick since she went off to college before him. But then again Barbara’s age is funny especially since the reboot where it looks like DC wants to keep her young and they’ve always avoided saying her exact age unlike other characters but for the sake of simplicity let’s just say the age difference between her and Dick is two years. 

So if Bruce is 55 in the Dark Knight Returns then the ages in the Dark Knight Returns that means the ages of the Batfamily in the Dark Knight Returns is:

Bruce: 55

Barbara: 33

Dick: 31

Cass: 25

Jason: 25

Steph: 23

Tim: 22

Duke: 19

Damian: 15

Carrie Kelly: 13

Okay clear concise ages and age differences so going by these ages the ages of the Batfamily during every big event would be:

Day at the circus:

Bruce: 36

Barbara: 14

Dick: 12

Cass: 6

Jason: 6

Steph: 4

Tim: 3

Duke: 0

Damian: -4

Carrie Kelly: -6

Jason Dies:

Bruce: 45

Barbara: 23

Dick: 21

Cass: 15

Jason: 15

Steph: 13

Tim: 12

Duke: 9

Damian: 5

Carrie Kelly: 3

Tim becomes Robin at 13 and meets Steph less than a year later while Steph’s 14, Steph get’s pregnant and the quake happens she has the baby at 15 and Cass becomes Batgirl at 17. Steph ‘dies’ at 16 and spends 1-2 years in Africa while Tim and Cass move to Bludhaven, Jason comes back, Bludhaven blows up, Bruce Dick and Tim travel for a year while Cass gets brainwashed by Slade and then rescued by Tim and Cass gets officially adopted. Damian shows up and then Steph comes back to Gotham then Bruce ‘dies’ and Batman Reborn happens.

Batman Reborn:

Bruce: 50

Barbara: 28

Dick: 26

Cass: 20

Jason: 20

Steph: 18

Tim: 17

Duke: 14

Damian: 10

Carrie Kelly: 8

Dick is Batman for a bit, Damian becomes Robin, Steph becomes Batgirl, Tim becomes Red Robin, Cass becomes Black Bat. After a few months Bruce comes back and starts setting but Batman incorporated, Steph goes to English boarding school for a bit Dick goes back to being Nightwing when Damian is 11 and Damian starts working with Bruce and the Leviathan stuff with Talia happens.Damian is 12 and goes off with Goliath trying to atone from the year of blood and We Are Robin happens, Bruce looses his memories gets them back, Damian is 13 forms his own Titans and Duke joins the Batfamily. 

So currently what everyones ages SHOULD be in comics:

Bruce: 53

Barbara: 31

Dick: 29

Cass: 23

Jason: 23

Steph: 21

Tim: 20

Duke: 17

Damian: 13

Carrie Kelly: 11

Oh and before anyone says that Carrie appeared as a college student in the New 52 the New 52 continuity is a mess. Like Cassie, Connor and Bart all appeared in 2011 Teen Titans but then Bart and Connor disappeared and all three of them were reintroduced in Young Justice 2019. Raven’s age is a mess as well because she’s supposed to be Dick’s age but she kissed Wallace who’s only two years older than Damian and just you know it’s a mess I’m sticking to these ages this is like the third time I’ve tried to calculate this. I don’t even know where Terry or Helena’s even supposed to go.

But any way in conclusion Bruce is old and should retire and give Cass Batman