Robin III Part 23: Robin #1 (of 5) (January, 1991)

Tim gets his own (mini)series as he continues his training overseas.

I have this issue in the Robin: A Hero Reborn Trade Paperback.

Tim has the suit, but lacks the street smarts Robin needs to have Batman’s back. To gain that edge, he heads off to Paris to learn an obscure Tibetan martial art from the last known living master. He meets the Rahul Lama, an extremely old man who teaches Tim ancient healing arts, and Shen Chi, the teacher’s only other student and grandson who teaches Tim how to get his ass kicked.

Later, Shen takes Tim out to a club and they meet Ling, a young woman who hits on Tim. Other members of her gang show up and one of them hits Tim before dragging Ling away. Fed up with getting knocked down, Tim follows them to their hideout. He goes back to the Lama’s place to get his suit, and Robin returns to the hideout to find a man getting beaten by the gang. Not liking the odds, Tim makes his entrance and winds up facing the entire gang with his newfound friend.

Notes of Interest:

1) This takes place immediately after Batman #457.

2) Tim’s unique take on violence shows here, when he picks the sling as his weapon of choice.

3) Tim is very uncomfortable around women.

WTF? Moment: Right on the first page, Tim questions why he was chosen to be Robin. I gotta call bulls#!t on that. Tim’s spent the better part of a year and a half learning the ropes while facing (or defeating) Penguin, Anarky, Scarecrow, Two-Face and Ra’s al freakin’ Ghul! Ra’s al freakin’ Ghul! He can have his doubts…and be afraid of letting Batman down…but he wouldn’t be wondering why he’s in the suit and not somebody else. He’s earned it goddamn it.

WTF? Moment #2: Tim says goodbye to his parents on the way to the airport. First his mother in the cemetery, then his father in the hospital. All in less than a page.  That there is excellent storytelling by writer Chuck Dixon and artist Tom Lyle. Speaking of which…

WTF? Moment #3: There are some wonderful connections in comics between artist and character, like Frank Miller with Elektra; John Byrne with Puck; and Barry Windsor-Smith with Aric of Dacia. Lyle’s take on Tim is how he should always look.