Death And Return Of Tim Drake Red Robin – DC Rebirth

Ok lets start with Tim Drake’s disappearance. In detective comics 934, a mysterious group of highly trained soldiers resembling Batman wearing full on tactical gear wages a war against anyone they see as a threat, heroes and villains alike. They first got to Azreal. Batman, knowing that he cannot take on these soldiers alone, partners up with Katherine Kane. The two then recruits a new team consisting of Stephanie Brown Spoiler, Cassandra Cain Orphan, Tim Drake Red Robin and Basil Karlo Clayface – former villain turned hero. The team eventually discovers that it is none other than Batwoman’s own father, Colonel Jacob Kane who is pulling the strings behind these elite soldiers. As a final act for his personal war on crime, Colonel Kane equips hundreds of drones with bombs and sends them towards Gotham City targeting anyone and everyone suspected of terrorism. This would have leveled Gotham city causing untold collateral damage. Tim Drake, being the genius detective that he is, hacks the drones and sends all of them towards him. The drones all converge on Red Robin blowing him up to bits.

Tim Drake Taken By Mr. Oz

Instead of dying, Tim Drake finds himself in a cell speaking to a man we know as Mr. Oz. He says: You are reconnecting threads that could not be reconnected. You’re so loved, so deeply intertwined. It became crucial that we take you off the field. And that’s where you are, tim. Off the field.

So as of this video, Mr. Oz’s identity has been revealed in Action comics Issue 987. I wont spoil it for you but if you do want to know who he is, I recommend checking out Arden’s video on his identity revealed.

Mr. Oz has powers that are currently undefined. He managed to teleport tim into a prison cell, take the powerful Doomsday and hold him captive and even manages to imprison Mr. Mxpiclick. Then he finds a way to stretch into a possible future by taking an aged Tim Drake from the future’s end timeline.

Even though Mr. Oz’s secret identity is already revealed, we are left with more questions than answers. Tim Drake is locked away in a prison cell with two other glass doors. Is Doomsday to his right and the cell belonging to Mr. Mxyzptlk to his left? Or is it occupied by Tim Drake’s future self? There is also a theory that one of the 3 jokers is in one of the cell or Ray Palmer the Atom but there isn’t enough evidence to back either of them up.

Speaking of Ray Palmer the Atom, in the DC Rebirth one shot, we discover that Ray Palmer is trapped in the microverse and he sends a distress call to his protégé the next Atom Ryan Choi.

In the message, we see Ray in the center surrounded by large bricks, kind of resembling the walls to a prison cell. Now the kicker is that Ray Palmer teaches at Ivy University where Ryan Choi is currently enrolled. Well before Tim Drake was taken, he was ready to quit being Red Robin to attend Ivy University. He was already accepted in but he only told his girlfriend Stephanie brown. Steph eventually shows the letter to Batman which brings them both into tears. BTW guys, I haven’t had the feels in a comic book like this since Superman All Stars. If you haven’t done so yet, please check out Detective comics issue 934 to 940.

So anyway, back to what I was saying. Could Mr. Oz take Tim Drake to stop him from attending Ivy University where he would have met up with Ryan Choi, the next Atom? Mr. Oz does have some sort of precognition or time manipulation abilities or he wouldn’t have been able to take Tim Drake from Future’s end.

Tim Drake And Stephanie Brown Reunite

Or could he have taken Tim Drake to keep red robin away from Stephanie brown due to the fact that they were starting a relationship together much like their pre new 52 versions? Remember guys, Mr. Oz says: You are reconnecting threads that could not be reconnected. This could mean anything so it’s just a wild guess as to why Tim Drake was taken.

But the awesome thing about the character of Tim Drake is that he is a brilliant detective who could put Batman’s detective skills to shame. He was the only one who believed that Batman wasn’t dead pre new 52. His knowledge on robotics, engineering and computer science gave him the ability to hack something that is un-hackable – Of course I am referring to the Bomb Drones meant to kill suspected terrorists in Gotham.

So that would mean that no jail can hold Tim Drake for long. And then Detective Comics issue 947 rolls around showing Tim Drake using the tech in his Red Robin suit to create a device that allows him to break free. This is where the story gets really interesting. For someone that is as intelligent as Tim Drake, there wont be much that can surprise him and yet, after looking down the hallway, he says: That’s not possible. I don’t understand. What did Tim see that shook him that bad. Mr. Oz once again traps Tim back in his cell.

Fast forward to detective comics 962 – We are introduced to the Gnosis Sphere aka the god machine, an orb that reveals hidden truths. After giving the Gnosis Sphere to the villain named Ascalon, he reveals to Batman that Timothy Drake is still alive. All this time, Batman thought Tim was dead. If we know our Batman, he would be truly pissed at himself for not realizing this. And at the same time, when his son Damian Wayne died, he went to hell and back to get his son brought back to life. Batman didn’t do the same for Tim Drake so he must feel truly ashamed of himself. But that feeling is fuel to the flame. Now we know that Batman will do whatever he can to find Red Robin.

So now we are going to enter a bit of spoiler talk. The next story arc for Detective Comics will be titled ‘A lonely place of living’. The details for detective comics issue 965 reads – Where in the world , or otherwise, is Tim Drake? Red Robin faces a crossroads. Escape the most devious prison ever devised, or find himself abandoned beyond time and space for all eternity. Not much of a choice, right? But when he finds out just who is locked in there with him, Tim’s world will change in ways he never imagined.

So there you have it. Tim will have to choose to stay or leave. But why would that even be a choice? Well the reveal of who his cell mate is will cause Tim this dilemma. We recently got Mr. Oz’s identity revealed but there was a lot of hype surrounding the mysterious man. But we never got much coverage on who Tim’s cellmates are. Whoever this person is, it caused Tim to freak out during the scene when he temporarily escapes.

Then we get the cover art for Detective comics 966 where we discover that Tim escapes the cell. The promo reads – Tim Drake has been locked in Mr’ Oz’s fortress but now, he’s free roaming the prison while his captor faces off against the man of steel. But is he the only prisoner who’s been freed?

Superman is coming to Detective comics where it looks like he will battle it out with Mr. Oz and the other escaped prisoner is Doomsday. But he cant be the cellmate that shook Tim to his core.

Detective comics 967 promo reads – It’s a race to save the future of Tim and his team as Red Robin tries to escape his prison outside of time and find his way back to earth. The cover art shows someone wearing a bat cowl with a gun to Tim’s face. Is Tim and Batman at odds?

Then detective comics 968 will showcase the much anticipated return of Tim Drake back to Gotham city. But he didn’t journey alone. He brought someone with him. This someone will threaten the lives of everyone that he died protecting back in detective comics issue 940.

Ever since Rebirth started, there were a few key characters that have a direct effect on the grand story: Batman, Superman and Wally West to name a few. Tim Drake is another name thrown into the pile. So these are the characters that you wanna follow.