Among all the Robins that Batman has ever had, Tim Drake (the 3rd Robin) is undoubtedly one of my favorites. Part of the reason being he has more of a father-son relationship with Batman than most of them. It’s likely why between the original three; Damian, who’s the fifth and Batman’s actual son, is anything but cordial with him and has actually tried to fight him several times with the intent to kill him.
Tim has demonstrated to be immensely skilled and intelligent. The original Robin, Dick Grayson, has mentioned that Tim is a great Robin and would likely make an even greater Batman once the time comes. Batman himself said the following: Dick saw being Robin as a thrill, that’s probably why he grew out of it. Jason saw it as a game. It’s likely 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 one day. Ra’s al Ghul, one of Batman’s greatest enemies, has even acknowledged him as Batman’s potential successor by calling him “Detective”, a title he has only called Batman by. And in several alternate universes, Tim has actually adopted the title of Batman, and even Batman Beyond at one point.
But there is a major problem with Tim currently. And that is that Tim has yet to create a proper legacy for himself. Dick would eventually abandon the title of Robin and would grow into Nightwing. Upon his resurrection, Jason would take on the title of the Red Hood; slowly redeeming it and himself, becoming closer to an anti-hero and mending his relationship with the Bat-Family. Tim has acknowledged that he doesn’t want to be Batman but he can’t be Robin forever. The closest thing that he went to distinguish himself was by fully taking on Jason’s previous title of Red Robin (yes, Red Robin).
In recent comics, Tim has acknowledged this after encountering an evil alternate version of himself. Even with the Red before Robin, he hasn’t fully distinguished himself. So, he had then taken on the title of Drake. Drake because as his evil counterpart has mentioned, it’s the most dangerous bird. Tim even mentions how he had never thought to simply use his last name as a code-name and cites how “brilliant” it is. Admittedly, it’s not that bad of a name but it sounds rather lazy and not as intimidating as one would might think. Just using his last name as a code-name makes it seem like rather lazy writing. And after first hearing him deciding to call himself Drake, I kept playing nearly any catchy Drake song in my head; from In My Feelings to Headlines. Admittedly, it’s not that intimidating of a name; as a drake in terms of ornithology (study of birds) is a male duck. Yes, very, very scary. I could joke about the awkwardness that is the name of Drake but that would be a waste of time. What I’m saying is that he could have taken up a different mantle from any Bat-Family member or come up with another one altogether. He’s not going dark that he would call himself The Savior like his evil and older counterpart but a new title that demonstrates he’s coming into his own yet affiliated with Batman. And here’s some of the most notable that he could have taken up.
Miscellaneous
Orpheus: This was used by a previous ally named Gavin King who used a hi-tech stealth suit to help defend Gotham. He had taken up the name of Orpheus from Greek Mythology; as Orpheus had ventured into the Underworld to rescue his wife Eurydice. Gavin King wouldn’t last long though as he would be killed by Black Mask due to Tim’s girlfriend Spoiler (Stephanie Brown) messing up Batman’s plan which had involved him in the first place. Tim could take on the name as Gotham and Batman himself tends to evoke several biblical themes surrounding the Devil and Hell in particular. Although, a lot of his overall themes, such as being a strong role-model for young African-American children, could be given to either Luke Fox/Batwing or Duke Thomas/The Signal. Heck, it might be better for one of them to take on the title of Orpheus.
Black Bat: This was briefly used by the fourth Batgirl and close friend to Tim himself; Cassandra Cain. Cassandra used the names The Nothing, Mist/Kasumi and Batgirl before taking up the title of Orphan; which clearly evokes her status as one; given that her mom (Lady Shiva) essentially abandoned her and killed her own father who had the title before her. While it could work for any other female member of the Bat-Family, there’s no reason to stop Tim from using it himself. It would be a way to help distinguish himself as well as a way to maintain relations with the Bat-Family. Even if it does make him sound a little bit edgy.
Red Talon: Also sounds edgy but bare with me. Red Talon was the name of a member of the League of Assassins who would become employed by the Penguin. Although, she wouldn’t last long and would die in a strange story involving a deranged manipulative psychologist and kids trained to be “Robin”. While the name is synonymous with the highly trained assassins of the Court of Owls, Batman has his own Talon who had joined up with him named Calvin Rose. Dick would briefly used the title himself in his brief time with the Court of Owls. It wouldn’t be the first time that a villain’s name is used by a heroic character and redeemed it somehow, that was the point with the Red Hood, which was initially used by the Joker. It could be brief but would help Tim distinguish himself a bit with Calvin possibly coming to use the name himself to distinguish himself from the Court of Owls.
Raptor: Now this is a dangerous bird! This was used by a man who shared a past with Nightwing’s mother. Nightwing would team up with him before turning on him realizing that he was EVIL. Raptor would eventually die but not without revealing his own name; thus implying that Nightwing was named after him. A raptor is a dangerous bird which could also be associated with a dinosaur but a bird nonetheless. Edgy-sounding as it is, it would demonstrate how Tim is coming into his own and redeeming a name that was associated with an enemy. It might not have been his enemy but an enemy nonetheless.
The Insider
Kind of a weird option but bear with me. The Insider was a title that Batman himself briefly used to freely explore Gotham and assess the state of things that occurred during his absence after Final Crisis. The suit enables the wearer to mimic a selection of super-abilities through the use of high-powered technology, although the suit’s power is limited; requiring a recharge-time after the usage of each ability. While agile enough for gymnastic maneuvers, the suit has enough armour to protect the wearer from sword strikes or even take a missile blast. This suit has a myriad of abilities that would enable the user to access superhuman abilities such as camouflage to actual flight.
Tim having the suit and title of the Insider would make a great deal of sense. Tim works often enough with his girlfriend Stephanie Brown a.k.a Spoiler. The Spoiler and the Insider. Think about it.
Wingman
The title of Wingman was initially taken up by a Swedish man by the name of Benedict Rundstrom and had joined the Batman of All Nations which would later become Batman Incorporated. But Benedict would grow jealous and resentful and betrayed the team, only to be killed by his accomplice.
Jason Todd had taken up the title from time to time in an effort to impersonate Rundstrom and repair his relationship with Batman, and as an alternative to the Red Hood. No one had taken up the title up until Jason’s dad Willis, who had done so to look after and protect him without revealing himself to his son.
This is a title that Tim could use to strike out on his own while still maintain a close relationship to the Bat-Family. He’d also be one of three people in the Bat-Family with “wing” in his name. Nightwing, Batwing, Wingman. Eh??
