Comic To Read This Week: Red Robin #12

  Two years ago Bruce Wayne was declared dead, but only one person didn’t believe it.  Tim Drake has been traveling the world trying to find any trace that Bruce is still alive, and he has been making a mess along the way.  In Mark Waid’s dystopian epic, Kingdom Come, he introduced a hero known as Red Robin.  In the future, Dick Grayson had taken up this mantle to become is own hero outside of Batman.  Years later in the comic series 52, Jason Todd also took on this identity.  To separate his current actions from Batman Tim dropped his identity of Robin and has taken up the costume of Red Robin. 

For twelve issues Tim has been walking a fine line, even as far as to team up with Ra’s Al Ghul to try and find what really happened to Bruce.  In the process Tim has made a dent into Ra’s League of Assassins, which something Ra’s is taking personally.  After finding the proof he needed Tim has returned to Gotham City, but so as Ra’s, and he’s looking to kill anyone related Tim and Batman.

Issue #12 has Red Robin confronting Ra’s about trying to kill his loved ones, but things don’t go according to plan.  Ra’s almost beats Tim to a pulp, but Tim has an ace in the hole.  Ra’s thinks he can use the villain Hush to take control of Wayne Industries because Hush currently looks like Bruce.  However, before he disappeared, Bruce left his controlling interest of Wayne Industries to his adopted son; Tim Drake.  In his anger, Ra’s pushes Tim out the window, but luckily Batman is there to catch him.  Ra’s now believes he has found someone who is a worthy heir to his throne aside from Bruce.

Ever since 2004’s Identity Crisis Tim Drake has been a great character to watch.  Within a few years he lost his dad, his two best friends, and then his surrogate father.  In between it all he also hooked up with is dead best friend’s girlfriend.  Tim has been through a lot lately, and being the only person in the DC universe that believed Bruce wasn’t dead only made him that much more of a bold character.  Writer Chris Yost ended two years of Tim Drake in a great place.  The twist at the end of this issue puts Tim right up front in the Batman comics, and has me wondering what plans Ra’s has for young Timothy.

Everyone knows I favor Superman more Batman, so I have no interest in the upcoming The Return of Bruce Wayne comic coming out.  But the last two years I’ve loved reading about Dick Grayson as the unsure Batman, Damien Wayne as the defiant Robin, and Tim Drake and the loner Red Robin.   If I had it my way Bruce Wayne would not return for a very long time.