Tim Drake or Terry McGinnis

So, Superman/Batman # 22-23 are the first appearances of Batman Beyond in DCU continuity… But is it Terry McGinnis or Tim Drake? On the printed page it says “Tim,” but at the 2007 Wondercon DC panel, they say it’s an “error” and it was meant to be Terry. It clearly states both in the Essential Batman Encyclopedia and on Wikipedia that it’s Terry. In the DC Comics Encyclopedia, it says that it is Tim. There is a lot of speculation on this. What is the truth? Is it Terry or Tim?

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I haven’t seen that WonderCon panel, but I believe, whether intended that way or not at the time, it was Tim in the suit. Later issues of Batman Beyond years after have addressed this discrepancy by having Tim take up the role briefly before Terry resumed his duties.

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@HubCityQuestion It doesn’t matter if they tried to fix a problem misprint by making Tim take on the role in the New 52. The thing I want to know is if Jeph Loeb made a mistake, wrote “Tim” instead of “Terry” out of confusion and meant for it to be Terry. If Jeph Loeb says he meant for it to be Terry, then that’s it…it’s Terry. I just wanna know Jeph Loeb’s take on it or an official statement from DC stating it is, in fact, Tim or Terry. DC hasn’t publicly discussed the issue since the DC panel at Wondercon 2007 where they clearly, 100% state that it was meant to be Terry and the printed “Tim” was an error. The problem is collectors, either, aren’t respecting the public clarification or don’t know about it and they are still acting like it’s Tim.

I think what matters here is the nature of “canon.” Authorial intent is one thing, but it’s only one of the factors which goes into establishing official continuity. Whether it was an error or not, the fact that he’s addressed as Tim in those issues and it has never been corrected or contradicted in a comic means that it is Tim.

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That is a very good point. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what DC’s official stance is on the topic. Deep down, I felt like Tim taking on the role in the New 52 just felt like a corrective grab but it’s their Universe, so if DC says it’s one or the other, I guess the community just has to roll with that.