Tim's first trip to Hong Kong - pt. 1

[whitesycamore]

Since Tim will be travelling to Hong Kong again in the next issue of Red Robin, I thought it might be nice to post an old story that also took place there. This is from one of Tim's early Robin miniseries, before the title became an ongoing. Although the story ends with Tim preventing an outbreak of bubonic plague in Hong Kong, the first issue is set in France.



The story begins with Bruce telling Tim that he's now ready to begin active duty as Robin. However, Tim worries that he's not yet "street tough" enough to be Batman's partner. For some reason Bruce refuses to tell Tim where HE trained to become so badass, so Tim does a little research and decides that the best thing to do is travel to Paris and meet up with the Rahul Lama - a Tibetan mystic said to be a master of a now near extinct form of martial art, as well as an expert in ancient healing methods.

When Tim gets there he is shocked by the shitty apartment the Lama lives in. "Can I at least clean this?" Oh ffs shut up, Tim. Anyway, he starts his training under the Lama, but is somewhat dispirited by Chi kicking his ass constantly.




Chi takes Tim out for a night on the town. Chi is obviously intended to be a bit of a jerk, but I can't help being irritated by Tim here. Wasn't he himself only just complaining about the dump the Lama lives in? How can he fault Chi for wanting to use his knowledge to his own advantage and earn some cash?




Surprise surprise, Tim doesn't like the club. He gets approached by a girl called Ling, and they decide to go outside for a stroll and a chat.
This may be the first instance of what became a well-known pattern with Tim - a girl comes on strong, he gets all flustered and makes whatever excuse he needs to defuse the situation (Ra's has recently sent a shadowy someone to rob the Boy Virgin of his purity... I can't help wondering if that plot point might surface again in Red Robin #17). Luckily for Tim, Ling's charming boyfriend Billy turns up just in the nick of time.





Billy drags Ling off, and Tim decides that he needs to go after them to make sure she's ok.



When he tracks them down, he finds the rest of their gang beating up a captive man. Being the hero that he is, Tim naturally dives in to save the guy. While he's fighting, he notices that Ling isn't running away... Obviously it's because she's paralysed with fear! Yeah, that's probably it. Definitely not because there's anything sinister going on. Nope.



So the guy he saved is called Clyde Rawlins, and Billy's gang are working for someone named Dorrance. But who is that mysterious woman watching Tim from the shadows? (Ok, ok - it's Lady Shiva).




Join me later this week for part 2, in which you'll see Tim continue his quest to become street tough, learn more about Clyde Rawlin's past, and be groomed by Lady Shiva in an incredibly creepy way which puts Talia's interactions with Jason into swift perspective.

Comments

[jarodrussell]

Great post! Poor Tim without any plugs for his computer. How will get onto AOL now?

[whitesycamore]

Oh I know, my heart bleeds for him :). There's a lot of.. background references to Tim's wealth and privilege in this, and I'm not sure what the intent is. He's presented as being a bit unaware about how lucky he is in that regard, which is one of the reasons I sometimes find him a bit off-putting.

[jarodrussell]

I could be wrong...I only read Dixon's Robin for a short time, so...yeah...but I get the feeling here the intent is pretty much that Tim wants a plug for his laptop. Didn't he used to be something of a hacker himself?

[whitesycamore]

I wasn't talking about this scene by itself as much as some others which come later. I think I was a bit put-off by how visibly unimpressed by the apartment he was. The "can I at least clean this" line just struck me as very snobbish and rude (particularly since he knows that Chi knows how wealthy he is - Tim paid a lot of money to train under the lama).

Tim uses his laptop loads in this series! It's definitely from the his hardcore hacker period. in fact in the first pages he complains that Batman needs him to be more than just a hacker based back at the cave.

[icon_uk]

Being rude would have been saying "Would you get someone to clean it for me" or worse "Would YOU clean it for me." Tim's question seems relatively polite. The room IS a pigsty, but he's checking that it's okay to clean it up by himself, in case it's kept like that for a legitimate reason.

[whitesycamore]

"Can I clean this?" is a polite question. "Can I at least clean this?" is a snide one.

[icon_uk]

Sorry, nope, not getting snide out of that no matter how I stress it.

[icon_uk]

Actually I like it about him. It's not really a background reference either, we've always known up front that he IS from an upper class (or upper middle class) family.

Plus he hasn't seen much of the world, that's part of the lesson he has to learn in order to become Robin, to see how people live elsewhere as well as how to adapt to areas outside his comfort zone. And he's also a computer geek, so to him his computer is as much essential luggage as anything else.

[whitesycamore]

I like his naivety too, but I feel that he come off as a bit of a Boy's Own hero under Dixon's pen sometimes.

By "background reference" I meant that it's not directly important to the plot, just kind of there to remind us who he is.

[aelflar]

Aw, I`m all squishy and warm and thinking of Tim`s old adventures when the world was simpler. I miss the old red and green outfit sometimes...

[icon_uk]

Getting rid of Tim's red and green costume, for the "red, black and yellow half-Bat thing" was a half-assed move I still think was a ridiculous mistake.

[whitesycamore]

Ditto!

His original costume was great, but I suppose red and green are colours too festive to angst in.

[cloud_wolf]

I guess they were going for a DCAU Tim aesthetic but it really didn't work that well, did it?

[cloud_wolf]

The red sweater with the white shirt underneath truly is the item of clothing the Robin boys wear most often, no? It would've been cool if Steph ever wore it.

[greenmask]

Shen Chi has a good look! So does Billy, actually.

[whitesycamore]

I think Shen Chi is pretty hot in a ridiculous way. There's a scene I didn't include where he hits on Ling and she completely burns him. I guess his punk stylings just can't hold up against Tim's manly collared-shirt-and-sweater combo.

[greenmask]

See, Ling, I just don't get you.

Go for the punk, not the vigilante! Pshhh.

[icon_uk]

Given who Li turned out to be....

[greenmask]

Mm, fair point.

[benicio127]

This is great! I can't wait to see the Lady Shiva grooming moment. Should put things into very interesting perspective. (Not to mention Ivy has tempted the young Robins, too, not just when they are of a *consenting age*...)

[bradhanon]

Oh, man, this takes me right back. There are aspects of this series that are pretty embarrassing, but there's so much that's so cool. I still cite it when explaining why Tim is hella badass.

[icon_uk]

How can he fault Chi for wanting to use his knowledge to his own advantage and earn some cash?

Quite easily. Chi is, from the outset, putting monetary gain ahead of commitment to the pure form of the art that his grandfather has dedicated his life to. Plus Chi says he plans to completely ignore the healing aspect of the form because it isn't profitable and doesn't interest him, when the sensei has IIRC taught that learning one without the other is missing the point of them both.

Tim is, at least, striving to learn both to help others.

[whitesycamore]

From the outset of what? I don't see any indication that Chi is morally corrupt apart from the fact that he *dresses* like a stereotypical Batman punk and that he thinks Tim is a bit boring.

His grandfather has dedicated his life to the pure art form and they have ended up living in dire poverty and hardship. Sorry, but I really can't get behind Tim of all people judging someone for putting a priority on monetary gain.

And if Chi wants to ignore the healing arts because people have doctors for that, then the boy has a point. I can't fault anyone for being sceptical about ancient mystical "healing arts". : /

[icon_uk]

From the outset of what? I don't see any indication that Chi is morally corrupt apart from the fact that he *dresses* like a stereotypical Batman punk and that he thinks Tim is a bit boring.

I don't understand your question here, "from the outset" means that Chi has a fixed POV on his future.

His grandfather has dedicated his life to the pure art from and they have ended up living in dire poverty and hardship. Sorry, but I really can't get behind Tim of all people judging someone for putting a priority on monetary gain.

Except his grandfather really isn't living in poverty because he has no other choice, as he takes large sums of money to train others. The fact he chooses to live as he does because he doesn't need anything more, suggests that he sees the world a little less materially than most.

I have no problem with Chi wanting to be comfortable, but everything about his outlook is aimed at making him rich, and forget everything his grandfather actually stands for.

And if Chi wants to ignore the healing arts because people have doctors for that, then the boy has a point. I can't fault anyone for being sceptical about ancient mystical "healing arts". : /

Except they're not "mystical", it's made clear that they are simply another aspect of the fighting technique, using skilled manipulation of nerves and muscles to ease pain, rather than inflict it. Acupressure is not mystical.

Chi is, for wont of a better comparison, asset stripping the technique, with no interest in expanding it or developing it, in any way other than to make himself wealthy.

[whitesycamore]

Except his grandfather really isn't living in poverty because he has no other choice, as he takes large sums of money to train others. The fact he chooses to live as he does because he doesn't need anything more, suggests that he sees the world a little less materially than most.

If the Lama indeed IS poor by choice then he's certainly a lot less materialistic than Tim, judging by his reaction to the man's home. And yes, also less materialistic than Chi too. However I didn't get the impression that he was poor by choice - at least not living in squalor by choice.

Acupressure is not mystical

Yes, I suppose it is more of a pseudoscience.

[icon_uk]

If the Lama indeed IS poor by choice then he's certainly a lot less materialistic than Tim, judging by his reaction to the man's home. And yes, also less materialistic than Chi too. However I didn't get the impression that he was poor by choice - at least not living in squalor by choice.

So what do you think he was doing with Tim's fee?

Yes, I suppose it is more of a pseudoscience.

It's an alternative medicine certainly, but the likes of chiropractice is more accepted.

[xammax]

Seriously... is Tim ever getting laid?

[icon_uk]

At the point in time this story comes from he's 13, so I would except the answer to be a resounding "NO!"

[xammax]

I meant more in a general overall sense. That kid has it thrown at him and I have never seen him voice some moral objection yet... he remains card unpunched.

[icon_uk]

Hey it took over 45 years for us to have a sex life for Dick confirmed (and he had been Nightwing for some time), Tim's only been around for about 20 years now...

[jarodrussell]

Tim and Stargirl should start a club.

[icon_uk]

There'd be one rather obvious way to drop the membership numbers to zero in no time at all.

[irrelevant]

He's said before that he's waiting for the time and the situation and the person to feel right. He's also said he's not in a hurry to lose his virginity. He's only 17.

Also, in many ways, he reads as a biromantic asexual. It would be really nice if more people would stop making it sound like there's something really wrong with him for not having sex. It's pretty offensive.

[whitesycamore]

I would absolutely love it if Tim turned out to be a biromantic asexual, and you're right, there is a ton of support for that reading. I joke about Tim losing his virginity but I really don't see his disinterest in sex as a problem, and I'd be more than happy for him to continue that way.

[silverzeo]

SO many bad hair-cuts...

[morgana006]

....Those clothes are all awful.

Yes, Tim, I am including you.