10 Changes That Totally Ruined Comic Book Characters

7. Robin

After the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd, it was determined to give Batman a third Robin. Tim Drake came from the same social class as Bruce Wayne and when he was a child, watched the Flying Graysons (and Dick Grayson, who would become the first Robin) at the circus. At the age of nine, Tim noticed that an acrobatic move performed by Robin was identical to one performed by Dick Grayson in the circus, then further deduced that if Dick Grayson was Robin, that meant Bruce Wayne must also be Batman. Noticing Batman€™s increased recklessness following the death of Jason, Tim intervened and eventually became the third Robin after the death of his mother.

As Robin, Tim proved himself to be a genius detective. But with the New 52, this origin was completely changed. Now, not only was he never Robin (but instead always just Red Robin), but he was also never Tim Drake. And the connections to Dick Grayson were completely removed. In the new origin, Tim was simply a talented athlete and computer genius who only came close to discovering Batman€™s identity but could never decipher it completely. After being rejected by Batman, Tim decides to hack the Penguin€™s bank account, making him and his family bait for Batman to come to him. After being rescued, Tim€™s parents are put into the Witness Protection Program and Tim is adopted by Bruce when he€™s given the name Tim Drake.

Tim Drake was always portrayed as a brilliant detective and a level-headed young man, but this revised origin removes all that. Now, Tim is not as smart as he once was and it also transformed into a reckless youth willing to put his family in harm€™s way so he can audition to be a sidekick.

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Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com