Despite the dominance of the superhero genre in TV and movies, the comic books from which these stories are drawn have only a fraction of the audience that the on-screen adaptations get partly because for decades there was no move to broaden their appeal. The development of Robin’s character is particularly significant given that comics until how have overwhelmingly been written as white-cis-male for decades, even as other cultural formats have increasingly diversified and adapted to modern audiences. The comic then ends, post-rescue, with Drake back in his street clothes going out with Bernard. As they take on the Monster together, Bernard confesses his feelings for the suddenly absent Drake and his wish, should he survive, to get another chance at love. When Bernard is kidnapped by the comic’s current baddie, Chaos Monster (just go with it), it necessitates a rescue by our titular hero, now in Robin costume. That follows the same trope as most traditional love interests in the comics, like Batman’s Vicki Vale or Superman’s Lois Lane. (Batman may eternally be Bruce Wayne, but his sidekick position has been held by multiple people since the Robin character was introduced in 1940.) This particular anthology run is a Robin-centric story featuring his circle of acquaintances, including Bernard, a longtime friend who nonetheless has no idea of Drake’s secret identity. In the new comic, the current Robin’s alter ego is Tim Drake.
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