And so Batman’s iconic right-hand man, Robin, has come out as part of the LGBTQIA community.
The reveal – part of the increasing number of LGBTQIA representation in comics – happened in “Batman: Urban Legends #6”, where Tim Drake (a.k.a. Robin), the third person to pick up the mantle of Robin, had a “lightbulb moment” after realizing his attraction to his friend, Bernard Dowd.
Tim Drake finally coming out is so inspiring, DC never wanted a queer Robin but after years and years of campaigning from writers and fans it finally happened
A big thank you to Meghan Fitzmartin, Belén Ortega and Alejandro Sánchez for making this moment so beautiful ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xb5YugEYd9
— Neb | 🏳️🌈 (@NebsGoodTakes) August 10, 2021
As written by Meghan Fitzmartin, Tim wondered to himself: “Ever have a lightbulb moment? Like something out in the ether has been taunting you, teasing you. Like you know you’re supposed to be on the same page as your brain but not everything made sense. People keep asking me what I want. But I couldn’t grasp it. Whatever it was. It always felt just out of reach. Until now. Until right now.”
Tim then meets up with Bernard at his home to discuss his new feelings; Bernard asks him out on a date, and he accepts.
In an interview with Polygon, Fitzmartin stated that they will not put a specific sexual label on this version of the Boy Wonder. Instead, “I wanted to pay tribute to the fact that sexuality is a journey.”
This is because Tim also has a close relationship with another (female) character, Stephanie Brown/Spoiler. “To be clear, his feelings for Stephanie have been/are 100% real, as are his feelings for Bernard,” Fitzmartin said. “However, Tim is still figuring himself out. I don’t think he has the language for it all … yet.”
Fitzmartin confirmed, nonetheless, that the comic has a coming-out story for the hero.
