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When Tim Drake goes out as Robin in Tis the Season to be Freezin’, a rare gift and a supervillain show off his true talents.
From the beginning, two factors defined Tim Drake — his intelligence and his empathy.
In the storyline, “Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying,” Drake showed up almost literally on the Wayne Manor doorstep to reveal he knew Batman and the first Robin were Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. The teen had figured it out based on his recognition that a Robin maneuver matched exactly a trapeze stunt that Dick Grayson had done as a child in the Flying Graysons. Once he had that piece, Drake built from there, deducing the only reasonable candidate for Batman.
“Dying” took place shortly after the death of Jason Todd, an event that left Batman shaken and rageful. The Dark Knight’s relationship to Grayson, Nightwing by that point, had also been strained. Again, through observation, Drake discerned that Batman was in a bad way. Moreover, he theorized that Batman needed a Robin for balance. Without a bright, more optimistic partner, it became too easy for the Caped Crusader to grow cynical and violently reactive.
While he was able to impress Grayson with these conclusions, Drake could not convince Nightwing to return to the role of Robin. Thus, Drake enacted the only other solution that came to him. He volunteered for the job. If Batman needed a Robin, the Gotham needed a Robin. If Gotham needed a Robin, Tim Drake would take on the mantel; his own safety be damned.
Since this debut, Drake’s abilities have been a source of discussion. How did his empathy and detective skills compare to the Robins? To all the members of the Bat-family, including the Dark Knight himself.
In Tis The Season to Be Freezing, the new DC holiday special, the tale “Window Shopping” — from writers Alan Burnett and Paul Dini, artist Jordan Gibson, colorist Monica Kubina, and letterer Josh Reed — finds a new way to answer that question. Drake, out for some last-minute Christmas shopping, finds himself in that most classic of superhero situations. Just outside the storefront, Mr. Freeze has arrived to make the season even colder.
A short scuffle ensues, but Freeze stops the conflict in an unusual act of warm empathy. The below zero baddie then reveals to Robin that his mission was one of nostalgia, not crime. When the Gotham police arrive, Freeze turns himself in without a fight, his walk down memory lane evidently satiated.
In the story’s final act, readers get confirmation of both of Drake’s most prominent talents. First, his gift wows Bruce. Batman, perhaps the world’s largest Grey Ghost fan, opens a package to find a model of the TV pulp hero. However, what really impresses is that even The Detective was unaware of this toy’s existence. Only the diligent deductive dexterities of Drake unearthed it.
As this happy scene unfold, readers also see Freeze a package. Inside the Christmas paper, he finds a single framed photo. It depicts the Winterland display, the rare source of happiness in the villain’s life when he was a child. Seeing how the memory affected Freeze, Robin made sure to show the antagonist a bit of seasonal happiness. An empathetic gesture to, perhaps, give a touch of warmth to a man far too used to cold comfort.
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