Robin, Vol. 2: Triumphant

Robin (1991, 1993-2009) #2

by Chuck Dixon, Tom Lyle (Artist), Bob Smith (Artist)

Presenting Tim Drake's first adventures as the Dark Knight's partner by legendary comic creators CHUCK DIXON (NIGHTWING), TOM LYLE (STARMAN) and BOB SMITH (CATWOMAN)! Tim Drake is the latest teenager to take up the mantle of Robin, and now he makes his debut as the Caped Crusader's crime-fighting partner on the streets of Gotham City! He must confront the return of his first major adversary, King Snake, who is trying to build a drug empire in Gotham. Luckily, he has both Batman and the mysterious Huntress to aid him. But the Boy Wonder will have to face his greatest challenge alone, when the Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum and the Dark Knight is nowhere to be found. The Clown Prince of Crime will be Tim's baptism by fire-will it end in tragedy or triumph? TRIUMPHANT collects in chronological order for the first time ever BATMAN #465, 467-469, ROBIN II #1-4, and ROBIN III #1-6.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

356 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.

His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.

In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.

His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.

He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .

While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.

In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.

On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off with a fantastic story from Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle where we see Robin's first night out in the costume. Then Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle take over for the rest of the book. Lyle needs to learn how to draw hair. He gives Huntress something of a mullet. Starts off with the Ghost Dragons coming to Gotham and starting a turn war in Chinatown. Then Robin meets the Joker for the first time. I wasn't sold on Dixon's version of the Joker. He'd just make bad puns as he hurt people, without any real menace. In the third story, Robin teams up with the Huntress to stop the KGBeast and some Russian counterfitters. Meanwhile teachers at school have noticed Tim's bruises with fighting as Robin. This all gets built up but never really resolved with the school. All in all, some decent stories, if a bit dated.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This feels like if Doug from Nickelodeon's "Doug" was Robin. Like, this is very solid 90s highschool sitcom territory.

Dixon makes some jokes that were so dated I had to take a minute afterwards. A joke about "talkin' 'bout my generation" and there's a later reference to "Can't Buy Me Love." Some of this comic was written before I was born and it shows.

Aside from the bad 90s outfits, the horrible 90s hair and Tim's giant block of a computer, this book is just okay for me. I tried so hard to put my finger on just what it is about Tim as a character that really doesn't work for me. It couldn't be the condescension, because I adore Damian Wayne (he's hands down my favorite Robin) and he can be quite condescending. During this book and the last, I think I've come to realize that it's not that Tim's condescending, it's that he legitimately believes he can boss anyone around.

I've watched him lecture fully grown adults, both strangers and guardians. He lectures Bruce, he's a dick a few times to Alfred in this and he's every rude teenage son in a Coming of Age film in the scenes with his father. He tells everyone what to do and just expects them to listen and, as condescending as my son Damian has been, Damian at least listened to Dick, Alfred and Bruce. It's about respect and Tim just rubs me the wrong way because I've watched him be a bossy, controlling, condescending and patronizing jerk towards Stephanie Brown, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Tam Fox, his father, Alfred and pretty much everyone he's been on a team with.

Despite him handling some credible threats in later books, his attitude never really changes. If I had to describe him, I'd say he's Baby Batman, if Batman was a prick.

So, while I'm curious about what happened in the time frame between Jason's death and his return, I don't think I'll be continuing with Tim's books. However, I wanted to read about Stephanie Brown's introduction, so I can't exactly avoid him.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this book is about Tim Drake as Robin and is a collection of stories from his early days. The first is his first night out as Robin, the next is a story about Batman and Robin dealing with King Snake wanting revenge on Robin, the third is about Joker and Robin confronting each other while Batman is out of town and the final story is about Robin and Huntress teaming up.

I really enjoyed the stories in here. As a collection of stories thee wasn’t any part of the book that was particularly weak and it stayed consistantes good. I personally like Tim so I enjoyed seeing him get the spotlight and it was interesting to see him and the Joker face off after what happened with Jason.

Overall a very solid collection of stories about Tim Drake but this is definitely only for fans of Robin or if you’re a Batman fan exploring the Bat family.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

He didn't create Tim Drake but writer Chuck Dixon is the one who really brought him to life. This is a collection of some of the earliest Tim Drake as Robin stories and it stands the test of time. Admittedly, the art gets pretty wonky in places, especially penciler Tom Lyle's later work, but it doesn't distract too much from the writing. Unsurprisingly, a quartet of issues starring the Joker is one of the major highlights of the book. Good stuff, probably better than you'd expect.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The early days of Tim drake as Robin. Some corny ass moments mixed with heartfelt moments. Lots of 90s cheese but somehow entertaining throughout. Worst story was joker.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time Drake is a solid character. He relies on his wits more than anything else, has to manage familial ties, and is conscious of how his actions affect the world around him. It is easy to see how readers, who hated Dick Grayson being replaced by Jason Todd, accepted and rooted for Tim.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

If any character could replace Dick Grayson as Robin, it was Tim Drake. Yet, this was only accomplished by the superb writing of Chuck Dixon. This book series allowed the fans to get to know Tim Drake, and assuage our fears that he was going to be another Jason Todd. It is well written, and well worth your time, especially for the Batman fan.

[Paige Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joker in this one (skimmed all but the first cuz library is out). He’s shocked Robin is “still alive” (though it’s Tim Drake) but captures a Dr/computer programmer to play w/ city funds and grids.

It’s supposed to be the coldest night ever in Gotham yet nobody is even wearing gloves, haha. Nice to see Alfred so much while Bat is away and Robin has to hide this lest it embolden Joker. It is funny like a ‘90s show sometimes. Joker’s scarf is neat.

That fight with such lead-up lasted two pages and the big move was basically just tripping? Lame though a fun ride.

[Al Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, how Robin stories are supposed to be, Dixon does an excellent job with his two arcs.

[Liz.Loki · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I preferred the arc about Joker than the one about Huntress, but overall still both very good reads to learn and understand more Tim Drake as a character. He's a bit of a loser (affectionately) but I love him.

[Nico D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the first volume we got to watch Tim Drake, boy genius, get a foothold as Robin and get some vital firsthand experience with the deadly crime empire of King Snake. In this second volume, Tim continues to get accustomed to the role of Robin, has yet another team-up with a dangerous badass lady, goes toe-to-toe (solo!) with the Crown Prince of Crime, and faces off King Snake once again. Perhaps even more importantly, the realities of a dual-life between high school student and night-time vigilante become very real for Tim, who has no clear idea on how to properly handle himself.

Written by both Alan Grant and Chuck Dixon, Tim’s character is consistent and believable. He wants to do so much, but he hasn’t learned the meaning of “burn the candle at both ends” just yet. He’s got a good heart and plenty of drive, not to mention being fiercely smart, but his lack of experience causes him to make mistakes, and the juxtaposition of intelligence vs experience causes him to (justify) oscillate between having an over-inflated sense of ego and a lowered sense of self-worth. Plus, Tim’s a teenager! He’s hormonal and moody and that would be enough for just about anyone, but Tim’s also decided to run Gotham rooftops at Midnight and still report to AP History the next morning.

Watching Tim fumble through the usual new superhero shenanigans is fun, and I was completely engaged for his personal failures as much as his victories. He’s got a lot to learn, and if the Bat is any indication, that education is a lifelong process.

The volume begins with Tim, as Robin, engaging with the criminals of Gotham alongside Batman (in a story fittingly titled “Debut”). The dynamic between the Dynamic Duo (mwahhh) really sells the idea that Tim put forth to get the role originally: Batman needs a Robin. We see it on full display. With Robin attached, Batman is as effective as ever, but goes about his duty in a much more emotionally composed way. He’s compassionate and cautious, and even a little good-humored. After reading several stories recently of Bruce post-Jason, it’s great to see a man who is actively working on healing. I’m totally sold on the bond between these two, and I now see just how criminal it is that so many modern fans (and writers) are quick to undermine the importance of Tim and Bruce’s relationship in favor of Damian (don’t get me wrong, we love Damian, but his very existence has been rough on Tim from a meta standpoint from the beginning).

The story is simple in execution, a nice little one-off establishing adventure that does well providing some payoff for Robin’s previous solo training adventure and setting the groundwork for the status quo going forward. The one gripe, and it’s pretty yikes, is one character, Chico, who I think is supposed to be Hispanic, who is drawn with literally gray skin. Like early-days Hulk. It’s… troubling, honestly.

The next arc sees the return of King Snake and his gang working out of Gotham’s Chinatown. King Snake hasn’t forgotten his defeat at the hands of Robin and Lady Shiva, but he mistakenly has conflated the two into being solely Robin’s actions. So, now under the belief Robin maliciously tried to murder him, King Snake is obsessed with getting revenge. While he’s doing that, shirtless and ponytail for the world to see, Lynx is running his daily (nightly?) operations in her ridiculous Mad Max red-and-blue Colgate outfit. It’s hard to say how much staying power these two will have, but Lynx has been an entertaining recurring antagonist, and I appreciate the creation of new villains for Tim to test his mettle against.

Batman and Robin’s partner faces its first real strain when King Snake’s gang leave ominous messages threatening a personal vendetta against Robin around the city, And by “ominous messages” I mean things like corpses dressed in the Robin uniform and literal robins being left for our heroes to find. This, understandably, concerns Batman to the point he puts Robin on the bench for the time being. It’s the time honored “must protect my sidekick” schtick, but it works well here for a few reasons. First, Jason Todd happened. That alone justifies any number of overly protective measures Batman may enact to keep Tim safe. Second, Tim hasn’t been Robin very long. Time in DC is relative, but he seems like he’s fourteen or so now. It’s been maybe a year, if that, of training and that’s about it. He’s a child, in the superhero game and literally.

Tim, naturally, doesn’t take well to this and does the normal teenage thing of sneaking out. Except, now his dad is finally home, though confined to a wheelchair, and is taking issue with Tim’s poor performance in school and frequent time spent at Wayne Manor. There’s a lot of interpersonal drama there. I like Jack. He originally was a bit of a rich braggart, married to the job but with a sense of adventure, and now he’s lost so much and trying to find his place in the world, and not only does he have to reconcile with the fact that he wasn’t a very present parent, but that he’s powerless to really do anything to stop Tim from potentially endangering himself. He doesn’t seem to know how to be a dad, and the conflicts that arise from that add extra levels of stress to Tim on top of everything else. From my read, Jack is a decent dude who is doing his best. He's made mistakes, but he’s also suffered heavily, and he really does love his son. There’s also this interesting similarity in how Jack tends to deal with stress when compared to Tim. While Tim seems overall softer as a person, they both have a snappish, “you’re not my supervisor” streak that’s got to be hereditary. It’s Drake learned behavior, ya’ll.

Because I’m that guy, if I was Jack my concern would be that the much older playboy Mister Wayne is having an affair with my preteen son. I know, I know. I went there. But all that time alone with a strange adult I don’t know? I’d be rightfully concerned too. #jackisvalid
I haven’t mentioned it much, but the art in these segments is so very early 90s.

Wedged between the King Snake plots is an unexpected, but highly anticipated, meeting between Tim and the Joker. The story opens with the Joker escaping Arkham through the ol’ Joker-Gas-In-the-Bible-Trick (if the Joker is asking for anything ever but especially a holy book, then maybe just… don’t… give it to him? It’s a trick? It’s always a trick) and then we cut to Robin, on his first solo outing in Gotham. This is really the best kind of caper to cut your teeth on. Jim Gordon and Tim get to work together throughout the story, forming their own sort of tenuous alliance which I really dig. Meanwhile, Tim is getting driven around in a non-descript van by Alfred which is kind of hilarious. It’s very “drop your son off at crime alley, pick him up at six”.
This story also contains a cameo by pre-BtaS Mr. Freeze. He looks so ridiculous. What a gem.

King Snake, despite looking like an 80s action movie reject, is a credible threat, but with the Joker facing down Tim the stakes feel higher than ever. This is the monster who murdered Tim’s predecessor, an act which is the impetus behind Tim’s ascension to the role of Robin. The first moment Joker sees Tim-as-Robin is probably my favorite bit in the whole story.





The last story involves Tim teaming up with Helena Bertenelli, the Huntress. And my god does she look like a Motley Crue-themed stripper. Her look is so bad. I love Huntress’ look pre-New 52, but this is just all kinds of oof. Her outfit looks like a one-piece with an ample cleveage window. It’s such a cheerful lavender and it clashes with her massive blue cape (Edna does not approve). Her hair is the worst: it’s super shaggy to the point it looks heavy. I wanted to laugh every time she was on page, and it wasn’t from her snappy dialogue (though that wasn’t bad). Helena, girl, get yourself to a stylist to fix your… everything. It’s bad. Bad times.

Thankfully, the story isn’t bad. Helena and Tim work well together, because Tim has a thing about working with older women who could kill him. Helena takes on a sort of cool-aunt role to Tim, treating him with respect but also cognizant of his well-being. She doesn’t baby him the way he (perceives) Batman to, and they gel well together despite her penchant for jumping into trouble without a plan. Tim’s relationship to women is interesting, because he tends to mentally assume all women are innocent and in need of protection, which is a weird sort of normal-teen-boy sexism that is portrayed well. Of course, he continually gets shown that it’s not the case, and has encountered women who are good, bad, and everywhere in between, with varying levels of agency and competency. Even so, the moment he meets a new pretty girl he’s back to his old ways, wanting to white knight where it’s not always needed. It’s annoying, but I enjoy watching it blow up in his face.

I love the kid, but he’s got to learn one of these days.

By the end of the volume Tim has successfully thwarted a Big Bad all on his own, established connections with the GCPD and Huntress, failed to maintain a work-life balance, and reached a stalemate in his ongoing war with King Snake and Lynx. He’s grown as a character and is starting to form a supporting cast (most notably Earlene Hollingsworth, the intimidating guidance counselor who’s relentless questioning on Tim’s frequent tardies and bruises, who is treated as an obstacle despite her completely legitimate concern) and establish a status quo. He’s works great off other characters, bouncing off as the less-experienced but earnest hero to Batman, to the still-less experienced, but somewhat more focused lead with Huntress, and can hold his own solo stories with flying colors.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Drake the new Robin must face the Joker alone. Good stuff.

[Lilian · Rating 4 out of 5]

the joker’s wild and cry of the huntress were pretty fun and also I liked how it went from juggling tim’s civilian life to being robin. also I did not know the huntress was a school teacher with that line where she’s like “doesn’t this kid know it’s a school night” 😭😭😭

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I read more and more comics, I'm finding myself to not be the biggest Alan Grant fan, but I did really love Debut, #465, which opened the volume. It's written from Batman's perspective and it's kind of emotional and the faces were really expressive.

Batman on the rooftops with Tim/Robin: This is a night I never thought I'd see again... A night I thought I'd never allow myself to see.
But he's doing well, and I'm feeling good about it... almost as if some part of me had been missing...

OMG <3

The rest of story is fun. There's a crazy lady who thinks soap operas are real while Robin's on the case as Bruce Wayne gets caught up in the crazy lady's shenanigans at a gala. And Gordon turns on the bat-signal to tell Batman Sarah and Jim got engaged. So cute!
Also, Robin has these old tech gadgets, which read like tin cans on a string compared to what he has these days & it's a real trip.

And in total opposition to what I wrote above, I usually love Chuck Dixon, but I didn't love Shadow Box, issues #467-469. Bummer.
I did find the art (by Tom Lyle & Andy Mushynsky) better than #465, but I'm a little tried of King Snake and the Ghost Dragons and Lynx. Even for only three issues.
There were some good Robin & Batman moments, but on the whole, I'd love to see this storyline wrapped up already.

Robin: "You do believe that King Snake is alive. You're keeping me out of it to protect me.... I used to worry that you'd be too concerned for my safety to be effective out there. That you were actually better off on your own. But look at you. You can hardly lift your arms.
You're reckless without me. As long as you're looking out for me, you're thinking of yourself. You need me there to keep your feet on the ground and watch your back."
Batman: "So the student becomes the teacher."
<3
Got to love Tim.

The story ends in contention as Robin disobeys Batman's direct orders to not interfere with King Snake. Robin saves Batman's life but at the cost of going against his orders...

(P.s. Batman's comments in #468 about Hong Kong transferring to Communist China "in six years" were just WILD. I love reading old comics for this type of stuff!)

And "speaking" of old comics, Mr. Freeze (in Robin II, issue #1) looks ridiculous in his robot/machine get-up. That's all. Just wanted to get that down in my review.

Robin II opens with Batman out of town, leaving Tim home alone and torn in a million different directions (to the point where he uses a Batman hologram to help him out on patrols). Joker has escaped Arkham and Robin needs to be driven around town in a van by Alfred. Oof, baby Robin. <3
There's an amazing page where Tim comes face to face with the Joker for the first time & Joker FREAKS OUT at Robin. "I killed you! I killed you! You're dead! Dead! Dead!"
Creepy and psychotic and really good.

Tim is exhausted. He's sleeping during class, ignoring his friends, and finds himself a step behind the Joker's plans, which turn out to be city ruin (surprise, surprise) at the hands of technology. It's a great idea but reads a little lame on-page from a 2022 perspective...(deducting money from police paychecks, firing firefighters by letter, giving people so many parking violations they get arrested, etc.). Using his computer skills (and a nod to DnD), Tim tries to go up against the Joker, and the computer genius he's holding hostage, but he's just not good enough.

Tim: "All my friends are worried about their grades and dating and fitting in. Normal teenager stuff. I've got all that and the burden of being the boy wonder.
I try to remember that I wanted this. But I never thought of how lonely it would be."

But, in the end, Robin goes toe to toe with the Joker and wins. He's good enough! He solves the case and saves the city. Just in time for Batman to return home. :)

Robin III, City of the Huntress I think is my favorite story of the volume. I love me an opposites attract team-up between angry Helena and boy scout Tim. <3

The story opens with Tim trying to be a good friend, or at least a present friend, again. He goes to his friend Ive's, birthday dinner where he meets Ariana Dzerchenko (his future gf!).
Tim's dad is awake from his coma and housebound. Which is a blessing for Tim, but also another complication in his life. His dad wants him to spend less time at Mr. Wayne's house, and like, do his homework. Tim sneaks out in uniform...and runs into the KGBeast!
Annoyingly, Lynx is back (go away, please!) and so is Sir Edmund/King Snake, but then happily we get Helena, and I'm so ready for our Huntress/Robin team-up!

Helena to Robin: "He's never mentioned me? Not once?" LOL

Robin is so bruised and banged up from his run-in with KGBeast & Lynx, the school counselor suspects Mr. Bruce Wayne must be beating him & Tim can't think of anything on the spot to correct her. *Awkward*
Tim is a terrible lier, and well, it's just super cringe. Leading to Tim's Dad thinking Bruce is doing bad things to Tim too, and I totally get why Tim is upset and exasperated by everyone getting in his way, but I'd be worried about Tim too if I were an adult in his life. :-/
Tim's angry (he thinks Ariana was killed) and is pushing everyone in his life away. Even my love, Alfred. :( He's in the Harry Potter, book 5, section of his teenage years. Angry and yelly. Lucky for Tim, I liked book 5.
And lucky for Helena, even though he's an angry (and mourning) teen, Tim doesn't give up on the mission. This time it's a true Helena/Robin team-up. He saves her life and pulls one over on King Snake, messing up the Euro counterfeit machine King Snake and KGBeast were fighting over. (This was years before the Euro went into circulation.... I love old comics!)
Also, Tim discovers Ariana was alive as well, and he rescues her from KGBeast. Yay, Tim!

The volume ends with a sad little exchange between Tim & his dad. They both apologize to each other, and Tim promises him, he won't let anything get between them again. They hug, and behind them, glowing up in the night sky, is the bat-signal. Poignant.


Volume, on the whole, gets 3.5 stars.

[Dusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent '90's cheese with Tim Drake cutting his teeth as Robin... taking on the street gangs of King Snake and a head-on battle with the Joker. Its Tim figuring out his Robin gig... trying to juggle school with his nightlife as a hero. Reminded me of Spidey in some ways. The Huntress makes an appearance and helps take on KGBeast... she is always written with Batman issues. I wish Bruce would take her out to lunch or hug her or something.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin: Triumphant picks up where the previous volume left off, collecting Batman #465, 467–469, Robin II, and Robin III limited series. The trade paperback covers four stories: "Debut", "Shadow Box" and the two Robin limited series: "The Joker's Wild" and "Cry of the Huntress".

"Debut" is a one-issue story (Batman #465). It has Batman and his new Robin going on patrol. One incident that happened on patrol led Tim Drake as Robin to save Bruce Wayne's life at a charity auction and finally feels comes comfortable in the role of Robin.

"Shadow Box" is a three-issue story (Batman #467–469) reveals that Robin as Tim Drake learns that his adversary, King Snake, didn't die in Hong Kong as he thought (Robin limited series), and has come to Gotham City seeking revenge. Together, Batman and Robin try to stop King Snake, before he gets to Robin.

"The Joker's Wild" is a four-issue limited series that has Robin pitted against Batman's most infamous and dangerous foe – the Joker. Unfortunately, Batman is out of town and it is up to this newly minted Robin to handle the Clown Prince of Crime. The Joker has previously killed Jason Todd, a former Robin, but that's not going to stop Tim Drake to bringing the Joker to justice.

"Cry of the Huntress" is a six-issue limited series, which has the return of King Snake – a gang war has erupted in Gotham City and King Snake and the Ghost Dragons desperately try to hold their ground and it is up to Robin and the Huntress to stop them. This limited series re-introduced the Huntress as well as flesh out the background and supporting cast members that would appear in the ongoing Robin series.

With the exception of one issue, Batman #465, which was penned by Alan Grant, the rest of the trade paperback was written by Chuck Dixon. For the most part, I rather liked the storyline, it has Tim Drake facing off with King Snake as his Ghost Dragons not once, but twice and handles the Joker on his own. Also teaming up with the Huntress expands his supporting characters in his mission with Batman.

Again, with the exception of one issue, Batman #465, which Norm Breyfogle penciled, the rest of the trade paperbackwas penciled by Tom Lyle. For the most part, their penciling style complements each other rather well, yet still distinct, which makes the flow of the trade paperback somewhat smooth – artistically speaking.

All in all, Robin: Triumphant is a wonderful continuation to what would hopefully be an equally wonderful series.

[Nate]

More solid Robin stories. This volume is essentially split into three parts - four Batman issues plus the second and third Robin miniseries. We see Tim grow as a character across all three. I’m liking Tim a lot, and think he makes a great Robin.

Shadow Box. After a standalone issue showcasing Tim’s first night out in Gotham as Robin (plus Jim Gordon’s engagement to Sarah Essen), this storyline continues the Ghost Dragon arc from the first Robin miniseries. King Snake and his young warriors are emerging as Tim’s major foes so far. The highlight of these issues is Tim’s relationship with Bruce.

The Joker’s Wild. This one was just okay. Bruce is out of town, so it’s up to Robin to thwart the Joker’s latest attempt at plunging Gotham into chaos. It felt very by-the-numbers, and less exciting than I would’ve hoped for a Joker story. It was nice to see Tim really utilize his detective smarts, though.

Cry of the Huntress. Robin teams up with Huntress behind Batman’s back to bust a counterfeit money operation by Russian mobsters and KGBeast. Meanwhile, the Ghost Dragons work to boot the Russians off their turf. I loved this story: great action, an engaging plot line, and solid character development for Tim. There’s a big Spider-Man vibe here, what with Tim juggling school, friends, a suspicious parent, teenage hormones, and crime fighting. Good stuff.

[Amna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huntress! So I'm actually not super familiar with this earlier version of Helena. Most of my Helena/Huntress knowledge comes from Birds of Prey and the few standalones we've gotten of her. At some point I plan on going back to the start with her, but for now it's fun seeing her work with Tim.

Speaking of Tim, glad we got to dive into his character a bit more. He's juggling the crime-fighting, the secret identity, school, his relationship with his father & Bruce. He's handling it all about as well as a 14 yr old does, which is to say, sometimes like a whiny teen boy. He's still getting his footing as Robin. To quote Alfred: "Is this the adolescent angst I read so much about in the Sunday supplements, Tim?"

The 90s art is on overdrive - the HAIR.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. It wasn't the best Robin story I've ever read, nor was it the worst. The stories are fun, and they move at a quick pace: Robin fights King Snake, Robin defeats the Joker on his own, and then Robin and Huntress team up to take on KGBeast and some Russian gangsters. It's a pretty standard run of superhero stories. Not going to blow your mind, but nor will it bore you to tears. Solid artwork. It's worth reading if you're here for the full Tim Drake experience, but if not, skippable.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Tim Robin comics exploring Tim's early days as Robin!

I read these way back when back in 2016-2017 when I was binging comic books instead of studying for finals during my final years of college.

I love this era of batfam characters so much, and a lot of that is owed to Chuck Dixon himself. That said, I dislike Chuck Dixon a lot for his views. Though if they've changed in recent years, I'm unsure. I understand a lot of the characters are absolutely divorced of him now / he's been blacklisted from comicbooks with reason.

[Luana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure that the second Robin miniseries featuring him having his first showdown with the Joker is supposed to be an EXCITING MILESTONE but honestly it seems like small potatoes after his globe-trotting first adventure with King Snake, Lady Shiva and Lynx? Good thing two outta those three are back in Robin v3 CRY OF THE HUNTRESS!

Also lol they make Huntress say MARONE cuz she's Italian American you see

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This concludes my 'pre- pre-Knightfall prep'. I believe Robin Volume 3 sits between Knightfall and Knightquest. Now it's back to Prelude to Knightfall.

This trade was good. Ive always had Tim Drake as my favourite robin and these arcs cemented that. These stories provided an interesting angle: Tim's struggle to keep his identity hidden while maintaining the illusion of a normal life for a teenager. The Huntress arc was my favourite. The interactions between Helena and Tim were great.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy, oh boy.

Tim is kind of ignorant to the point of being sexist, isn't he? I mean, I love him, but I'll be ecstatic once he outgrows this phase.

The overall lessons learned were interesting. The general feel of comics back then excuse some of the harder to believe elements.

Let the actual ongoing series begin next!

[ISMOTU · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of Tim Drake's earliest adventures as Robin. He faces his mentor's greatest enemy, the Joker, teams up with the Huntress against the KGBeast, and continues to encounter King Snake and Lynx from his first solo miniseries. Some solid early 90's superhero adventures that have modems, cellular phones, and the fall of the Soviet Union.

[ShaniGrim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tim Drake re-read: Part 3/?

A bit disjointed, being a collection of stories. Some are better than others, most of them are overall nice. A weird choice to not include Tim's father waking up from a coma and coming back home inside the issue. It means that such a big change happened completely off page, and it catches you off guard.

Also one of the worst Huntress outfit to ever exist.

[olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

SOOOOO PEAK!!!! Every story was so good (and much less racist than the first vol…) Tim is so goated I love him!! So many fun moments!! Even though it’s kinda ugly at times the writing makes up for it

[Justyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only got this book from the library to read joker's wild. I want to give that a 4 star rating.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joker's Wild gets 5 stars, Cry of the Huntress and the rest 4. Great stuff from Dixon and Lyle

[Sam Karanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read robin III, great Tim Drake story

[Robert Hanselman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't why, but I assumed this would only collect the second Robin mini series and I'm glad it had a lot more and I enjoyed every page of it.