There is a comic book called Batman: Urban Legends. It’s an anthology comic featuring different stories by different creators. In issue #6, Tim Drake, the third character in the Batman mythos to take on the role of Robin, Batman’s sidekick, gets asked on a date. By young man, not a young woman. Tim Drake accepts. This means he’s gay or bisexual.
Has Tim Drake dated females? I think so, but I’m not really sure. Dating the opposite sex doesn’t mean you’re not gay. I’ve personally known gay men who dated women before they came out. I knew one who was married to a woman before he came to terms with his sexuality. It happens. Human sexuality can be difficult and complex.
I have no problem with Robin realizing he’s gay. It seems perfectly natural to me. I’m just sorry it had to happen in a book like Batman: Urban Legends. This looks like a book just waiting to get canceled. The art looks second-tier. I don’t know how old Tim Drake and his love interest are supposed to be, but their faces were drawn as though they are young children. They remind me of how Todd McFarlane used to draw young children, only not as good.
I’m not an art critic, so what do I know? I only know what I know, and in my opinion, this artwork looks… amateurish. It’s not something I want to spend money on. Then again, that’s something I find myself saying about a lot of comics these days.
Now that Robin’s gayness has been established, I think DC needs to introduce more male gay characters. In a fictional world where costumed superheroes are commonplace, I think gay superheroes should be more common. Many gay men place importance on physical fitness and their physique. Gay men also tend to dress better than their straight counterparts. The TV show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy featured a group of gay men who would take a straight slob of a man under their wings and teach him how to dress and groom himself better. It made for good TV.
The last time I heard, Batwoman is gay. That’s good, but I think there need to be more gay male characters in superhero comics. I think a good many gay men would gravitate to the lifestyle of costumed vigilantism. I think we should see that in the comics.