The Thing and Robin

I was one of the fans who kind of rolled their eyes when Tim Drake, the third Robin, was introduced. I think the practice of having multiple characters take on the same heroic alias often runs the risk of diluting the characters. In this case, however, I must say that I was quickly won over. Tim Drake was presented as a very competent partner to Batman and had talents that made him stand out from Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. The writers also gave him an appealing personality (especially when compared to Todd) and it gave the Batman titles some much needed levity after years of stories featuring the ultra-grim Batman in the wake of The Dark Knight Returns. Now there is yet another Robin in Damian Wayne (not to mention a second Batman) and my concerns about Diluting the characters are back. Drake is now Red Robin and I feel is kind of being lost in the shuffle. It will be interesting to see how things shake out in the Batman family in the next few years.