Short Review: Secret Origins #3

I saw the Tim Drake section online so just some thoughts on that story.

SPOILERS AHEAD



Lobdell wrote Tims' origins in Teen Titans #0 and like his Starfire story in Secret Origins 2 returns to what he wrote to flesh it out a little more. Unlike Starfire this doesn't focus on a couple particular moments and instead retells the same story with a different POV. The two most controversy things from that telling are also present here. "Drake" being a new surname for him after his parents go into witness protection, which was an editor add on. Tim states that it's actually his middle name--which I'm pretty sure was previously Jackson. The other is his refusal to be Robin (only going by Red Robin) to honor Jason. I don't have many issues with this although it seems odd to me that Tim wouldn't know who Jason was despite knowing Batman was Bruce Wayne. Maybe Bruce just assumes that but then again Tim never names the Robins.

The only thing that did bug me was the standard Bruce excuse for Jasons' death basically being "he had problems I tried to help (even though I was a crap parent) and it's his fault he died." Which is strange since Lobdell had a better handle on Jason when he wrote him. I never liked the victim blaming and erasing Bruces' responsibility to his adopted son. I wonder if Bruce hid the giant portrait of Jason after he returned.

Anyway people that hated the other story will still hate this but I don't think it's as horrible as it's made out to be. Things changed but what's important: Tims' parents are alive, he's resourceful/smart, respects Jasons' death, works with Batman--are kept. I also like it shows him failing a little since writers tend to pander how infallible Tim is. Not to mention this is supposed to be his first time doing something risky.