Warning: contains spoilers for Batman: Urban Legends #6!
DC has confirmed that Tim Drake, the third person to bear the mantle of Robin, is bisexual. In part three of 'Sum of Our Parts,' appearing in Batman: Urban Legends #6, Tim rescues an old friend from the clutches of the Chaos Monster, and readers learn their friendship is blossoming into something more. The issue is on sale now in print and digital.
Tim Drake is the third - and many fans say best - Robin, following Dick Grayson (now known as Nightwing) and Jason Todd (now the Red Hood.) He first appeared in 1989’s Batman #436 and was created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick. Batman brought him on as Robin not long after his debut, but made him undergo a much lengthier training process than his predecessors. Tim would go on to have a distinguished career as Robin, but was ultimately a casualty of the New 52, which retconned his time as Robin as if it never happened. However, with history resetting itself in the Infinite Frontier era, Tim Drake’s time as Robin has been reinstated into continuity. Tim has been questioning not only his role in Batman’s army, but also his life in general. In previous issues, Tim met Bernard, an old friend, for dinner, but Bernard was captured by the Chaos Monster. The story is written by Meghan Fitzmartin, with art by Belen Ortega, colors by Alejandro Sanchez and letters by Pat Brosseau.
In Batman: Urban Legends #6, Tim has tracked the Chaos Monster to his lair, and just in time as the villain is about to sacrifice Bernard. Tim hurls smoke bombs at him, creating enough chaos and confusion to run in and free Bernard. Tim fights off the Chaos Monster’s henchmen, and much to his surprise, Bernard takes a few out too - he tells Tim he has "been training." Bernard also says, "I wish we could have finished our date," and Tim smiles. Later, after the dust has settled and the threat of the Chaos Monster gone, Tim Drake goes to Bernard’s house. Tim tells him he has been rethinking much about his life, and he hopes to "figure it out." Bernard then asks Tim out on a date, and Tim accepts.
Tim Drake's relationship with Stephanie Brown - the superhero Spoiler, later Robin and Batgirl - has been his most famous in the comics so far, and this budding relationship with Bernard is the first to confirm his bisexuality. The revelation of Tim’s bisexuality comes at a time in his life when so much of it is up in the air. Tim has been struggling to find himself, and where exactly he fits in, both in the fictional city of Gotham and in a publishing environment where it seemed no-one knew quite how to have Drake graduate from being Batman's sidekick like the Robins before him.
Now, after being sidelined from the "Bat-Books" for most of the decade, Tim Drake has returned in full force, with writer James Tynion IV revealing the character is heading for increased exposure. Revealing Tim Drake's bisexuality, and still forming identity, is of course a win for LGBTQ+ representation, and hopefully a sign of DC's renewed commitment to the Robin who has been most sorely missed in the role.