@Reaganfan78 is not making this easy on me but here is a partial history of the animated Tim Drake. From what I could find, Tim Drake’s first animated appearance was in The New Batman Adventures premiering in 1997. This was a continuation of Batman: The Animated Series and his first appearance were in the second episode of the series Sins of the Father. He is voiced by Mathew Valencia. In his first adventure, he goes up against Two-Face, voiced by Richard Moll. Unlike Dick Grayson’s first appearance in Batman: The Animated Series, we get an origin story for Tim Drake. Also, unlike Dick Grayson’s costume, Tim’s costume is all red with no green. I did enjoy how he just decided he was going to be Robin without Batman’s approval. I will be honest, I am not the biggest Batman fan and I don’t think I have read anything with Tim Drake as Robin. I am not sure how close he is in the cartoons and am unable to compare his comic book counterpart. I can say that he often reminds of Jason Todd, in that he is brazen and often appears fearless. This is especially true when comparing him to Dick Grayson who seems to be more levelheaded. This episode premiered on September 20, 1997.
The next episode to be watched for the DC Animated Club is Growing Pains and this debuted February 28, 1998. This is a Robin heavy story as he tries to protect a girl he met who as amnesia. I rather enjoyed this episode. There is a twist that I did not see coming! As far as Robin’s stories, this is one of the better ones.
This is our first Nightwing sighting and what a sighting it is! In Old Wounds, we get a history lesson in the animated world versions of Dick Grayson, Babs Gordon and Dick’s relationship with Bruce/Batman. I think now would be a good chance to give some advice, when you are on a date with your girlfriend or significant other don’t leave early saying you have to clean out the fridge at your dorm. Smooth, Dick. Very smooth. A highlight of this episode is hearing Alfred tell Babs that he is Batman when Bruce brings her into the Batcave. I do think Dick and Bruce remained friends, the fact is that Dick was growing up and needed to forge his own way. Being under Bruce Wayne, let alone Batman, he would never be able to spread his wings. For more background on Dick Grayson growing up, I cannot suggest the first 40 or so issues of Teen Titans and then Judas Contract. This episode debuted on October 3, 1998.
In our next episode, Legends of the Dark Knight we are treated to an anthology of Batman stories as kids tell them. I never thought I would see Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns translated to a kids cartoon but I have and I am a better person for it. In many ways, this is the prototype for the DC animated anthology Gotham Knights. There are different animation styles throughout the episode. This episode debuted just one week after Old Wounds on October 10, 1998.
The next episode for DC Animated Club is from Superman: The Animated Series. The episode Knight Time debuted on October 10, 1998. Was it Robin day on The WB? Robin is doing his thing in Gotham and Superman helps out during the crime spree. However, because Superman can’t be Superman in Gotham he dresses up as Batman. It is cool seeing Superman go up against the likes of Bane, Mad Hatter and Riddler.
After The New Adventures of Batman, we wouldn’t see Tim Drake in an animated form again until Young Justice: Invasion (season 2). For the most part, he was a background character. His outfit was a variation of what was seen in The New Batman Adventures.
Okay, maybe this wasn’t a complete animated history of Tim Drake but I have a feeling that this will not be the last time we see him. Please keep in mind, one of the movies he was in was Lego Batman: The Super heroes Unite which was created from the cut scenes from a Lego Batman game.
I still need to watch all of the Batman animated movies to see if Tim Drake shows up there. He does also make an appearance in the Batman Unlimited movies Animal Instincts and Monster Mayhem which has the most drastic costume change!
Tim Drake also appeared in the movie Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman. This was in the New Batman Adventures universe.
I am sure I have missed something with my animated history of Tim Drake.
Oh, snap! I am getting the comics out of the way tonight as well! My favorite comic was issue 19. There was something nice about how lighthearted this was. Once again, Alfred proves why he is in the Batfamily. Also, I am a sucker for a good Babs and Nightwing story. They were perfect as they were trying to cheer up Tim.
