Warning: this article contains spoilers for Tim Drake: Robin #4!The latest interaction between Tim Drake's Tim Drake, the middle-child Robin, he'd rather hang out with the Batgirls than the other birds in the nest.
Tim Drake has a complicated history with the Bat-Family. Having practically forced himself into the role of Robin, Tim didn't begin from the same place of trauma as Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, and has claimed many times that he doesn't intend to remain a superhero forever. Tim has also had to fight to keep the Robin mantle. There were years where DC retconned Tim as 'Red Robin,' making it so he'd never held the original title, and he was even almost murdered by Damian Wayne when Bruce's biological son coveted his place in Gotham. However, Robins aren't the only of the Bat-Family, and Tim's most stable relationships have always been with the Batgirls.
Robins Don't Mix With Robins, But They Do With Batgirls.
In Tim Drake: Robin #4 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Riley Rossmo, Robin finds himself in too deep as he struggles to solve the marina murders before another victim is taken. Instead of continuing to work at it alone, risking more lives, Tim seeks the assistance of the Batgirls. Unlike Batman, Robin knows when to ask for help, even itting that there isn't anyone he trusts more than the Batgirls - not the Teen Titans, not Nightwing, and not even Batman himself. The Batgirls aren't simply allies to Tim, they're his closest friends.
Following the death of Jason Todd, the position of Robin became a major area of insecurity, as it proved that Batman's sidekicks were both expendable and replaceable. For Tim, this proved tragically true, and he was replaced twice as Robin: once by his own girlfriend, Stephanie Brown - a betrayal on Batman's part - and later, he was forced out of the role by Damian Wayne - this time, a betrayal from Dick, who took on Batman's mantle and effectively dropped Tim as his sidekick. In contrast, that tension has rarely been present in Tim's relationship with the Batgirls. During his early years as Robin, Tim had a relatively healthy relationship with Stephanie Brown, and frequently worked alongside Cassandra Cain when she became Batgirl. Unlike Dick, Tim was much more empathetic towards Cass, likely due to their shared understanding of wanting a place in the Bat-Family rather than having it given to them.
While it's the dream of many comic book readers for the Bat-Family to all be close, their history together simply doesn't allow it. Even if Tim and Jason - or Tim and Damian - aren't at each other's throats right this second, their positive on- moments are few and far between. The Batgirls are Tim's allies in the way most people would actually want; friends who can be counted on to have his back without competition or resentment, but when it comes to his fellow Robins, Batman has built a toxic family where bad blood is all but impossible to escape.
Tim Drake: Robin #4 is now available from DC Comics.
