Tim Drake is officially Robin again in Young Justice #18 after spending a few months as just Drake. Young Justice, a title which is part of Brain Michael Bendis’ Wonder Comics, has spent time answering the question of what happened to the pre-Flashpoint timeline in the DC Comics Universe. Along the way, Tim made a costume change in one of their earlier adventures. 

Young Justice is a DC Comics Rebirth Reboot of the late 1990s series. Young Justice focuses on the younger generation of heroes such as Superboy (Conner Kent), Impulse, Wonder Girl, and Robin. The recent version of the beloved series included new additions such as Teen Lantern, Jinny Hex, Spoiler, and more. Brain Michael Bendis’ Wonder Comics is an imprint that is part of the DC Comics’ lineup to give a spotlight to younger heroes. 

Related: Tim Drake Is The Smartest (And Most Dangerous) Robin

When Young Justice was announced, it was revealed that Tim, at the time Red Robin, would be going back to Robin. The costume design was based on the 1990s version of Drake’s costume. Tim would switch names once again on a multiverse-hopping-adventure, where he encountered an evil version of himself named Drake. Tim would then adopt the name Drake as his superhero name. Fans of Tim were not pleased with this sudden change of name. Young Justice #18 rectifies the identity-change with a quick line about Batman and Spoiler forcing him to become Robin again. 

Placing Tim Drake as Robin again feels like multiple steps back in character development. While the title Robin is open due to Damian Wayne leaving the role in a shocking issue of Teen Titans, Drake has moved past the Robin role. Tim became Robin in 1990, over 30 years ago. Tim left the Robin role in 2009, to take on Jason Todd’s old alias, Red Robin. This was the perfect chance to move on from Robin completely, and let Tim find an identity like Nightwing and Red Hood did. While the first two of Robin’s names are not exactly original, they have a bit more charisma to them. 

Tim has not had the easiest time during DC Comic’s Rebirth, after supposedly dying from a drone attack, his future-self wreaking havoc on Gotham, and finding out that there is another timeline of his life somewhere. Fans of Drake were rewarded though with a reinstallation of Drake’s original origin story from A Lonely Place of Dying and of course, the James Tynion's A Lonely Place of Living Tim Drake tribute. Drake has been a key-player in Rebirth, and it should be fascinating to see how long he lasts as Robin this time around. Young Justice will end in Young Justice #20, coming out on November 3rd.

Next: Tim Drake & Spoiler Will Finally Reunite in Young Justice