Sometimes it's tough to be a bird(boy)

[icon_uk]

This is from Robin #12, by Chuck Dixon and Phil Jimenez (Apologies if there are issues with the images loading, my livejournal scrapbook is acting very strange this afternoon)

This little teaser scene has nothing to do with the story I'm relating here, but it's kind of adorable. In the midst of the Prodigal storyline so Dick is Batman and Alfred is AWOL, and Tim is commenting to him on how complicated his life has been since he started seeing Ariana;



Tim and his then girlfriend Ariana are having a night out at the movies, where their enjoyment of a movie (Some sort of  testosteron-y sequel involving a shoot out, an 18 wheeler on fire and a rather OTT motorcycle)... Sadly, in the DCU as in real life, there's usually a couple of loudmouthed idiots spoiling the fun... In this case a couple of hecklers in the row behind making fun of the the fact it's a sequel and the actor is just saying the same thing as last time... Tim, movie buff that he is, is not happy....



Oh yeah, this is going to end well.....



Round two's a coming... but not in a good way. This delightful pair of mouthbreathers are indeed waiting outside, and Tim finds he has something of a dilemma, what with a secret identity to protect....



At this point, whilst manfully reminding himself that "The secret" has to be come before all else, a couple of security guards break up the beating.

Tim isn't that bothered about himself (or so he claims), but is feeling pretty humiliated since "The Secret" meant he couldn't protect his own girlfriend....

I should mention again that this is in the middle of the Prodigal storyline, so it's Dick as Batman.



Tim acknowledges that Dick is right, and Dick, pulling the cowl up and, as Batman, adds "I can relate".

I had to make a few trims more than I'd have liked in order to include this little gem of a double page spread. The colours are a little over-bright for my taste, a little muting would have helped it a lot. and I was never a huge fan of Jimenez giving the Bat-cape the shoulder-points, but it's a nice little encapsulation of a typically "quiet" night in Gotham City.



But Tim still doesn't feel THAT much better... because...



Dick comments that he always felt bad for Bruce having to pretend to be Bertie Wooster, and that he never really tried too hard to be Dick Grayson which was in his eyes, the easy way out. (To be honest I have no clue what Dixon meant there, though Dick had to dial down his skills in earlier years too, he's never maintained that much of a distance between his two ID's, even Dixon mentions this later in a NML story, essentially Dick Grayson is NIghtwing is Dick Grayson) He notes, to the now so-tired-he's-fallen-asleep in the BatmobileTim, "But you were never the kind to take the easy way on anything, were you Tim?"

This is also the issue which introduced Dana, Jack Drakes physical therapist and eventually to be Tim's stepmother. And Tim decides to go and see Ariana again...



Tim's eyes look very odd here, I think it's trying to sort of convey the Robin mask, but it looks like he's got two very badly bruised eyes (Which he had before, but the last page doesn't show), on the other hand I love Tim's gleefully evil little smile as he spots the flaw in the bullies thinking...





Ninja training... sometimes it's the coolest thing ever!

char: robin/red robin/tim drake, char: batman/dick grayson, creator: chuck dixon, creator: phil jimenez, title: robin

Comments

[rhythmbandit]

Oooooooooh... knee to the crotch, Tim? That's dirty, even for bad guys.

I know it's just comics, but that whole "I can't fight back or they'll suspect" thing always bugs me. You live in Gotham, dude, saying you take Jujutsu or something would be totally believable. Still a good Tim story, though.

[icon_uk]

Agreed that some street skills would be in keeping with Tim (Who had studied some martial arts before he met Batman) The problem would probably be that it would be hard to hide how naturally good he is.

[iesika]

I think part of the point, too, is making himself appear as unlikely to be a superhero as possible. It's why Clark Kent is a dweeb, why Bruce Wayne is an airhead playboy, etc. It's not a matter of plausible deniability - you want the idea of that connection to be as ridiculous as possible.

[jlbarnett]

honestly he could probabl take them out with just a couple of punches and fancy stuff would be totally unnecessary.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

I thought it was a knee to the back/inside of the guy's thigh, myself.

--LBD "Nytetrayn"

[benicio127]

Hmm. I hadn't read the early Robin stuff. I kind of don't like how finally beating these guys up is how Tim feels better about himself.

Hmm.

[toby_wan_kenobi]

Totally fits adolescent male psych, though. And he's supposed to be what, fourteen at this point?

[icon_uk]

Not hugely admirable perhaps, but entirely understandable, and he DID try taking his frustrations out on the criminal element first.

[elf]

To be fair--they may think twice about throwing a drink at the next guy in a movie theatre who asks them to shut up.

Robin is *supposed* to pound on bullying adolescent jerks and discourage them from growing up into bullying adult thugs with guns. There's just a bit of conflict of interest going on in this case; he can't be certain how much he wants to fight them because they're criminal thugs (assault & battery is a crime), and how much is because they hurt him in front of his girlfriend.

If he'd been patrolling as Robin and seen the guys beating up some kid coming out of a movie theatre with his girlfriend, he'd have no qualms about beating them up.

[book-of-daniel.livejournal.com]

I wish Phil would come home to DC.

[cloud_wolf]

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks Tim looks kind of adorable in those so-not-fashionable-anymore clothes? I know it's never just you but I need some assurance. XD

[icon_uk]

The camo gear and reversed cap, no, sorry, that's irredeemable. The purple undershirt, white shirt and waiastcoat though is actually kind of cool IMHO, which probably says a lot about my sartorial tastes than anything.

[mad]

I love looking at 90s comics for the fashion. It's so weird.

[sistermagpie]

Always loved this story because yeah, it really does get into the whole boy/Robin conflict. I don't think it's so much about beating people up, btw. It's frustrating having to pretend you suck at something you're proud of, I'd think. Bruce gets some sort of perverse satisfaction out of pretending to be an idiot, I think, but Tim's a normal kid who would like to be seen as someone who can handle himself, especially when he's worked so hard to be able to do it and admired the ability for so long.

Also one of my favorite Prodigal things is Dick doing the domestic work and handiwork and being the Bat who's the mini Alfred.

[mullon]

At first I thought Dick was jumping him.

[icon_uk]

Well, he does say that Tim is welcome to the opposite sex, so is probably reminding him of where the REAL fun is!

What? Oh... never mind...

[benicio127]

Also! Tim has a super creepy creep face going on!

[icon_uk]

At some points yes, but at others he's just plain adorable! :)

[lipsofpoison]

The Gotham handshake, Tim? That had to hurt.

[mad]

Better than a Shawinigan Handshake.

[jelly_ace]

I always like how Tim and Dick always interacted on a normal level even when they're in hero mode. Dick will always be Big Bwoder, while Tim is the rant-y Lil Bwoder.

And I love Tim's self-satisfied smile at the end.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I think what Dixon means is that Dick has never tried to establish 'Dick Grayson' as a totally separate character from Robin or Nightwing. He doesn't try to be a different sort of person out of costume; he's just himself, no matter what name he's using. Bruce, on the other hand, works very hard to establish 'Bruce Wayne' as being completely different from his actual character, i.e, something like Batman. The real Bruce Wayne is nothing whatsoever like the foppish bumbler that Gotham high society has come to know. The only time he's ever really being himself and being neither 'Batman' nor 'Bruce Wayne' is when he's lurking around the Batcave in civvies, tinkering with the Batmobile or looking up files on the computer. So you never really know Bruce Wayne unless you're privy to his private life, whereas Dick is always just Dick.

[icon_uk]

Which sort of implies that the secret isn't THAT big a deal, since Dick seems to have pretty much have ignored it.

[alienist]

...Am I the only one who kinda likes the cape points? I think they work for Dick.

[icon_uk]

I sort of want to like them, but can't quite manage it., they just seem a distraction from the Batman who could be... for wont of a better term; sleek.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

So, why is Dick Batman here? Not familiar with the storyline...

--LBD "Nytetrayn"

[sistermagpie]

Bruce broke his back (or Bane broke it). He left Jean Paul Valley as a replacement, but he went insane. Dick and Tim had to bring him down. Bruce wasn't quite ready to come back to work yet so he asked Dick to take over for a while until he did. Alfred also left for England for a while until Dick brought him back, which is why Dick is doing the cooking etc.