Tim Drake being Robin in Gotham Knights is important for telling the story WB Games Montreal wants to tell with this game. Despite the game not taking place in the Arkhamverse, Gotham Knights still seeks to address how the Bat Family moves forward in the wake of Batman's death. In this respect, Tim's backstory and reason for becoming Robin in the first place are good thematic undercurrents for the story - if Batman does indeed need a Robin, what is Robin without Batman?
Tim Drake was first introduced in the pages of Batman #426 in 1989, later becoming the new Robin in Batman #457 in 1990. What set the character apart from past Robins was his ability to intellectually keep up with Batman, walking right into the Batcave after deducing Bruce's secret identity on his own. While the Batman: Arkham games would completely overthink Tim as a character, WB Games Montreal appears to have a more streamlined vision of the character in line with the comics.
In an interview with Gamespot, Gotham Knights narrative director Ann Lemay explains that the team decided to go with Tim because his backstory and motivation for being Robin fits more with the kind of story Gotham Knights will be telling. Batman is gone, and the rest of the Bat Family needs to learn how to move on. So having a Robin that - more than the other three - exists in direct relation to Batman helps reinforce that narrative. Now that just leaves the question of what will be done with Tim.
It may not be a sequel to Arkham Knight, but Bruce Wayne is dead all the same in Gotham Knights, and every member of the Bat Family will have to deal with that in their own way throughout the game's narrative. Considering that the latest Gotham Knights trailer shows Robin being even better than Batman in a lot of ways, one potential conclusion is Tim actually assuming the mantle of Batman at the end of the game. Batman, in the comics, has stated on multiple occasions that - while Dick, Jason, and even Damien will eventually find their own ways - Tim will be the next Batman. If WB Games Montreal really wants to stay more in line with the comics, there's no better way than by making good on the promise the comics never truly can.
There are other options, of course. Tim could become burnt out from the responsibility thrust upon him, especially if - given his similarities to Bruce - the rest of the team starts treating him like the leader before he's ready. Considering that Gotham Knights' Gotham is the largest it's ever been, it can potentially become too much for one or all of them. He could even assume different mantles like Red Robin, which he used throughout the mid-to-late 2000s.
There are many different directions this story can go in with Tim given its premise of assuming the role of the team's dead father figure. Whichever direction Gotham Knights ends up going in, it's clear that using Tim isn't just WB being scared to move the Batman mythos forward. Tim Drake really did need to be Robin this time around.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/2LplOcH