One year after Robin had his first comic-certified boy crush, the acrobatic bat boy is taking his representation status to new heights.
We’ve covered the allyship in the recent WB Games title Gotham Knights before. They added a new WeHo-esque gayborhood to Gotham, put a lovely rainbow mural in a sidequest, and even reinstated Nightwing’s beloved backside (it’s allyship to us!).
It doesn’t stop there, however! Recently canonized (y’know, made canon) bisexual Tim Drake gets a storyline with his love interest that has fans rejoicing.
We’ve known for some time that the game would make reference to the character’s sexuality, as confirmed by Narrative Director Amy Lemay on the game’s official discord.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Related: Holy heartthrob Batman! Robin just came out of the closet.
“Tim is bi in the comics, therefore Tim is bi in the game,” she wrote. “It’s not a huge plot point – it’s just a part of who he is and this comes up in the character interactions we have in the Belfry within the scope of how normal conversations would bring this up.”
Indeed, multiple cutscene conversations between the bat-siblings concern Tim’s developing crush on his friend Bernard. In an early conversation, he admits that a guy asked him out and he said yes, to which Batgirl responds, “That’s great! It’s been a while since you and that last girl broke up.” Bicon confirmed in ten seconds flat!
One YouTuber supercut the cute, quippy convos together:
Bernard first asked this iteration of Robin out in Batman: Urban Legends issue #4 back in 2021 to much fanfare — as well as the expected amount of homophobic comic bro meltdown.
Now, the couple are taking their visibility to a new level. The cover of the upcoming sixth issue in the Tim Drake: Robin series finds the two in a loving embrace, sharing a kiss as Robin’s cape billows around them.
All while backlit by a glittery Gotham skyline…
There’s always been something of a link between this particular sidekick and the gays.
The old-timey “sky’s out, thighs out” Robin outfit (and Batman‘s overall camp) had folks in the ’60s wondering if he weren’t a little light on his feet, and Chris O’Donnell’s Robin kicked off a million gay awakenings in the ’90s. It being made official has just made sense!
Related: Superman and Robin came out as queer and achieved super-strength
bachy
Robin is not only gay, but if I recall correctly, he’s also into BDSM. Let’s not forget all the TV episodes where he was tied up and writhing/squirming orgasmically against the ropes…
John
Can ya’ll stop using “gagging” as a positive? It’s cringe.
SFMike
Yeah this “trending” word needs to go.
DuMaurier
Like rock ‘n roll I’m afraid it’s here to stay.
(I certainly haven’t gotten used to it yet)
RIGay
Oh, for the love of Mike, it’s a COMIC BOOK. For the absolute majority of the adult, human population, we don’t give a stinky one about it. Look! I can draw some iconic character and make them [big reveal!] GAY!!! In my youth, I had a FLOOD of comic books that took iconic characters and made them gay; there was a whole series of Star Trek ones where Kirk and Spock were lovers.
Then I grew up.
When they can bring an iconic character to the screen and tweak it into a believable premise, then I’ll listen. Seeing Chris O’Donnell strutting in his tights on the big screen did, admittedly, make me swoon. Seeing a comic book drawing does not.
Ronbo
Queerty editors demand that we call you a ‘gripeXer’, to minimize you as both a person and thinker. It’s another use of their very successful method dividing and separating the Latino population from the Democratic party.
Varika
….honey, you do realize that the comic books are the SOURCE MATERIAL for O’Donnell prancing around on screen, right? Therefore, the premise IS “believable,” because it’s not a PREMISE, it’s an CANONICAL FACT.
This isn’t some fan-art production, this is the ACTUAL DC Comics. Get over yourself, get informed before you make an idiot of yourself publicly.
Ken A.
The original Batman show almost got cancelled due to Burt Ward’s endowment. Apparently he was too big for his britches and a parent group complained so they had to alter his suit a bit to hide his appendage. He rescues dogs now.
Diplomat
That’s funny. They had the same issue w Brandon Roth in his Superman movie.
barryaksarben
Burt gave me wood squirming all tied up so I dont care what anyone says to me he was as GAY as I was which is pretty damned gay
Steve
Amazing! This would have made a huge difference in my life back when I was 13 in 1978, and I comically (no pun intended), thought I was the only gay person in the world growing up in a rural area outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin. I used to read comic books of super heroes with their flowing capes and bulging muscles and think, “I am the only boy in the world who is ‘interested’ in these superheroes.” I really like Robin a lot. Yes, as many others have admitted, I too was a huge Chris O’Donnell as Robin fan. I think I rewound and watched his barefoot with a mop training scene at least 100 times. By then, I was much older, and I knew I wasn’t the only gay person, but I still wished and longed for there to be honest, gay superheroes. Bravo to the brave souls who made this decision with the new Robin.