Tim Drake. The third Robin. Why do we like him? I'm not going to tell you why. Instead, I'm going to let the characters of the DC-universe do the talking. Enjoy!
BATMAN/BRUCE WAYNE on Tim Drake
"Dick saw being Robin as a thrill. It's probably why he outgrew it. Jason saw being Robin as a game. It's probably what got him killed. But...Tim...I have to hand it to the boy...He wants to be the world's greatest detective. And from what I've seen so far...he will be someday."
(Batman in 'Batman 617')
"There are two things you need to realise about Tim. First, he's got an astonishing sense of duty. It drives everything he does."
"Tim's smart...smarter than me. And maybe even smarter than you. Take my word, Alfred. We'll end up working for him someday, once he does a bit more growing up."
(Batman in Robin 136)
Batman: "Nicely Done"
Tim Drake: "Thanks."
Batman: "You're becoming...everything I'd hoped.
Tim Drake: "As good as Nightwing was?"
Batman: "I see the potential in you...to be even better."
(Batman to Tim Drake in Detective Comics 818)
DICK GRAYSON/ROBIN 1/NIGHTWING/BATMAN 2 on Tim Drake
"Thank god Tim Drake won't have the same problem. Kids these days question more. He's already asking all the right questions. He respects Bruce. But he doesn't seem the kind who will keep silent if he thinks Bruce is wrong. Damn...I wish I was bright as he is at his age."
(Nightwing in New Titans 71 volume 2)
Riddler: "You're good"
Batman 2: "I get by"
Batman 2 thinking: "Thank God for Alfred and the Batcomputer. Tim was always better at this than me."
(Batman 2 talking about detective work in Gotham City Sirens 3)
ALFRED PENNYWORTH on Tim Drake
"When he first came to us, I dared entertain hopes that you might, through proximity, become more like him. Brighter and more optimistic. But I'm afraid exactly the opposite has occured. I'm afraid he's become more like you."
(Alfred Pennyworth to Batman in Robin 132)
FLASH/WALLY WEST on Tim Drake
"Robin's right. I can't tell if it's because Batman told him, or if Tim is just that smart. If he can read someone that well. He's so different from Dick. No pain or sorrow driving him. Just his own sense of right and wrong. I like that. I respect it."
(Wally West in Flash 210)
TIM DRAKE/ROBIN 3/RED ROBIN on himself
"I'll still be here to fight the good fight Bruce, I'm just not sure I want it to be as Batman."
(Tim Drake in 'Young Justice Sins of Youth: Batboy and Robin')
"Don't think for a moment I'm now like you, Bruce. I'm not about to let these losses turn me in another copy of you..grim and vengeful and closed off from most of what keeps us human."
(Tim Drake at his father's funeral to Bruce Wayne in Robin 132)
"I'm tempted to(...)just blisfully shut down for a while. Or I could become more like Batman and emotionally cut myself of from the world, at the same time I battle his most horrible aspects. But I choose a third way..the more difficult way.
I can't squander the sacrifices of mom, dad, Stephanie, Darla Aquisata and the others by turning my back on the struggle that claimed their lives. I'm never quitting again. They paid too high a price for me to simply "dabble" in superheroics. It's no longer a kids grand adventure.
At the same time I owe it to my dad to try to become the man he wanted me to be. He never let the tragedies in his life close him off from his joys. So I won't either. That's a promise dad, and I won't break this one. Time to grow up, Tim."
(Tim Drake in Robin 134)
"Ra's Al Ghul calls Batman detective. I remember...remember when I knew. Realizing that Dick Grayson was Robin...that Bruce Wayne was Batman. I had that same moment. I knew Bruce was alive. It was a theory. It was faith. The evidence was insane. The trail was cold. But I knew. And I wouldn't let go. Ever. Ra's Al Ghul calls Bruce 'the detective'. And as evil as Ra's is...I always liked that. I know I'm right. Bruce isn't dead."
(Tim Drake in Red Robin 4)
BATMAN/BRUCE WAYNE on Tim Drake
"Dick saw being Robin as a thrill. It's probably why he outgrew it. Jason saw being Robin as a game. It's probably what got him killed. But...Tim...I have to hand it to the boy...He wants to be the world's greatest detective. And from what I've seen so far...he will be someday."
(Batman in 'Batman 617')
"There are two things you need to realise about Tim. First, he's got an astonishing sense of duty. It drives everything he does."
"Tim's smart...smarter than me. And maybe even smarter than you. Take my word, Alfred. We'll end up working for him someday, once he does a bit more growing up."
(Batman in Robin 136)
Batman: "Nicely Done"
Tim Drake: "Thanks."
Batman: "You're becoming...everything I'd hoped.
Tim Drake: "As good as Nightwing was?"
Batman: "I see the potential in you...to be even better."
(Batman to Tim Drake in Detective Comics 818)
DICK GRAYSON/ROBIN 1/NIGHTWING/BATMAN 2 on Tim Drake
"Thank god Tim Drake won't have the same problem. Kids these days question more. He's already asking all the right questions. He respects Bruce. But he doesn't seem the kind who will keep silent if he thinks Bruce is wrong. Damn...I wish I was bright as he is at his age."
(Nightwing in New Titans 71 volume 2)
Riddler: "You're good"
Batman 2: "I get by"
Batman 2 thinking: "Thank God for Alfred and the Batcomputer. Tim was always better at this than me."
(Batman 2 talking about detective work in Gotham City Sirens 3)
ALFRED PENNYWORTH on Tim Drake
"When he first came to us, I dared entertain hopes that you might, through proximity, become more like him. Brighter and more optimistic. But I'm afraid exactly the opposite has occured. I'm afraid he's become more like you."
(Alfred Pennyworth to Batman in Robin 132)
FLASH/WALLY WEST on Tim Drake
"Robin's right. I can't tell if it's because Batman told him, or if Tim is just that smart. If he can read someone that well. He's so different from Dick. No pain or sorrow driving him. Just his own sense of right and wrong. I like that. I respect it."
(Wally West in Flash 210)
TIM DRAKE/ROBIN 3/RED ROBIN on himself
"I'll still be here to fight the good fight Bruce, I'm just not sure I want it to be as Batman."
(Tim Drake in 'Young Justice Sins of Youth: Batboy and Robin')
"Don't think for a moment I'm now like you, Bruce. I'm not about to let these losses turn me in another copy of you..grim and vengeful and closed off from most of what keeps us human."
(Tim Drake at his father's funeral to Bruce Wayne in Robin 132)
"I'm tempted to(...)just blisfully shut down for a while. Or I could become more like Batman and emotionally cut myself of from the world, at the same time I battle his most horrible aspects. But I choose a third way..the more difficult way.
I can't squander the sacrifices of mom, dad, Stephanie, Darla Aquisata and the others by turning my back on the struggle that claimed their lives. I'm never quitting again. They paid too high a price for me to simply "dabble" in superheroics. It's no longer a kids grand adventure.
At the same time I owe it to my dad to try to become the man he wanted me to be. He never let the tragedies in his life close him off from his joys. So I won't either. That's a promise dad, and I won't break this one. Time to grow up, Tim."
(Tim Drake in Robin 134)
"Ra's Al Ghul calls Batman detective. I remember...remember when I knew. Realizing that Dick Grayson was Robin...that Bruce Wayne was Batman. I had that same moment. I knew Bruce was alive. It was a theory. It was faith. The evidence was insane. The trail was cold. But I knew. And I wouldn't let go. Ever. Ra's Al Ghul calls Bruce 'the detective'. And as evil as Ra's is...I always liked that. I know I'm right. Bruce isn't dead."
(Tim Drake in Red Robin 4)
