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starfire

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if for example you have read all of batgirl but only a couple of issues of impulse, select: read both (partially)

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oh the queer metaphors of a secret identity

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tim drake's rules brain

I did promise I'd use this account for long form analysis of Batman characters' psychological problems. Something I was talking about on twitter the other day was that to me, one of Tim's primary drivers is his sense of duty -- his need to figure out the correct action and take it. This comes out either in family/social obligations ("I have to quit Robin because my dad said so and he's my dad") or in broader obligations he takes on ("I have to become Robin because Batman needs someone, and nobody else is doing it").

This trait of his is super compelling to me because it's both a strength and something that backfires on Tim constantly -- it's a big source of crunch. On twitter I called him the world's worst utilitarian: he will identify a need and then do pretty much anything short of murder to fill it, even if it tramples over things like his happiness or other people's boundaries.

It's pretty popular in fandom right now to frame his origins like: Tim figures out Batman's identity young, then spends years running around Gotham at night taking photos of Batman and Robin. This is fine!! This is a fine story! Have fun!!

But to me the compelling thing about his intro in A Lonely Place of Dying is that it goes more like: Tim figures out Batman's identity young, and doesn't do anything with this other than keep up with Batman news. While at boarding school he see Batman go apeshit when Jason dies, decides he has to fix this, and during his next week off from school he goes to Gotham and stalks Batman, Nightwing, and Starfire to figure out what's up, makes a plea to Nightwing to come home (without ever telling Nightwing his name because that's not relevant to the task!), and then finally takes on Robin because someone has to do it and he's the closest candidate (while firmly believing he's just a temp substitute!).

The compelling thing is how fast he goes from nondescript eighth-grader to stalker to Robin as soon as he convinces himself he has to do it.

And he does this constantly. My boy sees the world through the lens of rules/obligations/correct actions.

Like I said above, he quits Robin when his dad tells him to, because he needs to respect his dad.

He learns to skateboard (and builds a rocket-powered skateboard) because his dad sells his car and he needs to find a way to get around. Is he a 1990s teenager who just wants to skateboard? Yes. But he has to find a way to make it an obligation.

His conflict in Young Justice 98 is a conflict of obligations! Batman told him he isn't allowed to tell anyone his identity, while his YJ teammates can't trust him because he won't share his identity. Tim repeatedly asks Batman for permission and is bitter about getting a negative response, but won't go behind his back: he needs to respect his duty. (He's super relieved and gleeful when a villain reveals his identity to the team -- it's out of his hands! oh no! what a pity!!)

When Bruce tells Stephanie his identity he's furious at Bruce for the breach of trust and giving Steph more info than he wants her to have, but also specifically for breaking their contract -- they have an agreement and they need to follow it. Tim follows it! Why isn't Bruce??

Throughout the 90s, Bruce's failures to Tim are framed by Tim basically as breaches of contract. It isn't "this isn't a just or kind way to behave to someone in your life," it's "we had a deal and you need to follow it." Batman's 16th birthday present to Tim is two weeks of psychological torture in the form of a fake time-travel mystery; when Tim figures out it was a test, he's furious Bruce for the breach of trust and quits, but he returns within a week because 1) all his friends are capes and he'll never see them again as a civilian and 2) someone needs to protect Gotham. (His loneliness/desire for companionship is another Big Tim Trait imo. but that's another over-long tumblr post.)

Battle for the Cowl is not a good arc but I do think it's significant that in it Tim is the one who lets Jason out of prison, because in a way they're family, and you need to give family a second chance. That's the deal with families.

There's a point in 90s Robin where Tim builds himself a mobile computer system and teaches himself to type on a one-handed keyboard because he needs to find a way to look stuff up in the field without Oracle. Like the skateboard thing... he doesn't actually talk about just wanting to be a keyboard guy. Lots of people have fun building keyboards as a hobby, Tim. No. He has to invent an obligation about it.

[Tim Drake Fake Uncle Scam Arc Goes Here]

Red Robin is entirely about Tim deciding he needs to achieve a series of increasingly ridiculous goals. He needs to prove Bruce is alive. He needs to keep Wayne Enterprises solvent. He needs to take out the League of Assassins. If this ends with him as 1) the boy-king CEO of Wayne Enterprises 2) missing a spleen 3) obliged to pretend to have two broken legs for a year 4) the target of multiple real and fake assassination attempts 5) out of contact and on the outs with his family for months he'll do it. because he needs to.

As a counterpoint to the above, if he doesn't feel an obligation he'll do absolutely whatever. He lies to Batman constantly if it isn't something he feels Batman needs to know.

I could keep going. I'm forcing myself to stop here. This is too long.

Tim isn't "the smart Robin." Tim is the Robin who has weaponized the feeling of I Just Gotta so hard that he can use it to take down Ra's al Ghul. And watching himself either get trapped in an obligation or make one up so he can do what he wanted in the first place is part of what makes him so interesting to me!! ok thanks.

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The day that DC lets Owen and Bart know that they're brothers the sun will explode.

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SINESTRO: You’ll see things my way one day, Jordan… if it’s the last thing you do.

THE RIDDLER: Riddle me this, Batman—when is a door not a door?

REVERSE FLASH:

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a batkid would vent to cass about their personal life but her ass is Not Listening so after like an hour she goes "will someone die?" and the batkid goes "no youre right im overthinking this, thanks cass you always put things in perspective" and cass is vaguely disappointed that she doesnt get to go fight someone and then goes back to thinking about muay thai or some shit. and thats how she ends up with a completely unearned reputation for being the most emotionally mature bat

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Oh. this is such a good call back to her original Batgirl run too. Because several times when Cass had a near-death experience in that run, she would hallucinate Steph.

the casual implication that if Cass were dead Steph would go to hell and back to resurrect her and Cass knows this. stephcass nation are we coping are we crying are we screaming

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Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #18

KRYPTO MENTION!!! 🫵🎉

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tender loving care

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fake cover

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Since you guys like the first one, here’s the set! I didn’t like the one on the right as much which is why I didn’t include it in my original post!

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The "Sassy" Core 4 are my babies. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY ARE WELL BEHAVED?

Nah, these 4 are little shits 🐛

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i keep thinking to myself, god we have got to put tim drake in a time loop. but also time loops just feel so perfectly like speedster bullshit, yknow? therefore lemme just smash these thoughts together like particles at cern aaannddd--

let's put tim in a time loop that bart accidentally caused. a tim loop, if you will :) specifically, tim loop where kon dies at the end and bart just kind of subconsciously went nope! and "if anyone can fix it it's tim right?" bc bart has. a normal amount of faith in his friends but also a normal amount of feelings about himself being useless to save kon bc he couldn't in infinite crisis.

and bam suddenly tim is having the worst tuesday of his life like 20 times in a row. yippee! it's bart-powered but he doesn't even know. he did it on accident. bart in the loop doesn't know what's going on. it just resets every time the ending is something bart can't accept (kon dies again). tim tries to sacrifice himself to save kon once but somehow that doesn't break the loop either (bart refuses to accept that). how long can tim go through a time loop before he goes completely bonkers bananas insane? only tim(e) will tell.

and, worse: how many times can tim watch kon die? how many times can he beg kon to value his own life, to get it through his head that being a hero doesn't mean he needs to die for the world, that there must be another way? how many times can he watch kon sacrifice himself to save others and know that if he stops kon, those people might die?

how fucked up would he be if he ever actually found out just how suicidal kon has been his entire life?

extra fun: cassie takes one look at him every time and instantly clocks that he's feeling like shit, but every time she forgets why, because the loop resets. tim is being perceived but it never lasts. this will drive him crazy so fast. he's gonna start acting out and snapping at her for being concerned because what's the POINT of talking about his feelings if everything resets ANYWAY. this will definitely not come back to bite him in the end or anything, right?

(kon-el dead wife giggling in the sunshine and playing under the sheets montage plays over and over for both tim and bart. this probably means nothing.)

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duke thomas sighting / batober

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Mission: befriend robin

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XS by Jared Cullum