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Robin comes out as bisexual in 'Batman: Urban Legends', fans hail 'bi wonder'

DC has for years championed Batwoman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy as LGBTQ, but they've had minor roles in the comics until very recently

In a big win for the LGBTQ community, there's a beloved comic character joining the ranks of diverse heroes. Tim Drake, aka Robin, has opened up about his sexuality for the first time in the latest 'Batman' comic. The huge reveal was made in the sixth installment of 'Batman: Urban Legends" which was released on August 10. The news comes 81 years after the character was first introduced by DC comics, which spurred plenty of speculation about his sexuality in the intervening years.

Of course, Robin isn't the first major superhero to come out, over the years numerous DC and Marvel heroes have been labeled as LGBTQ. For example, Billy aka Wiccan is a well-known gay character in Marvel lore, and his appearance in WandaVision had people speculating if that arc would make its way to the MCU. We did however get our first on-screen confirmation of LGBTQ in the MCU when 'Loki' revealed the titular character was bisexual. That moment came two years after 'Avengers: Endgame' director Joe Russo promised Marvel would announce an openly gay character "soon". 

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While both Marvel and DC have been slowly, but steadily embracing LGBTQ representation on screen, the source material has since fallen behind. Of late, both comics have failed to introduce several new LGBTQ characters and passed off many lower-level characters as gay. Earlier, Marvel announced a gay version of Captain America in March 2021. But then again, that wasn't Steve Rogers. DC has for years championed Batwoman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy as LGBTQ, but they've had minor roles in the comics until very recently. 

Robin comes out as gay

Given the lack of central LGBTQ characters, Robin's revelation is big news. The moment was made possible by writer Meghan Fitzmartin and artist Belén Ortega who are at the helm of this installment of the 'Urban Legends' series. The sixth installment ends with Tim saying yes to a date with Bernard Dowd, a gay character. The moment went viral after it was shared by one Twitter user, who said, "Tim Drake finally coming out is so inspiring, DC never wanted a queer Robin but after years and years of campaigning from writers and fans it finally happened A big thank you to Meghan Fitzmartin, Belén Ortega and Alejandro Sánchez for making this moment so beautiful."

The story will resume when the seventh installment of the series is released in December 2021. The moment makes Robin the first new LGBTQ member of Batman’s immediate family in 15 years, since Batwoman. It's also long overdue, as writers have for decades made the character a target for innuendos and jokes. While writers hinted that he could be gay, DC comics always maintained that Robin was straight. 

in an interview for Polygon, Fitzmartin said, "We (Fitzmartin and her editor) talked about where Tim Drake has been vs where he was at the time and came to the conclusion that it needed to be a story about identity and discovery." She added, "I wanted to pay tribute to the fact that sexuality is a journey. To be clear, his feelings for Stephanie have been/are 100% real, as are his feelings for Bernard. However, Tim is still figuring himself out. I don’t think he has the language for it all... yet."

Social media celebrates Drake's coming out

The revelation was quick to take the internet by storm. "Hey. Robin the Bi Wonder," one person tweeted, offering a pun on Robin's popular nickname. One person said, "So, Tim Drake, the best Robin, is also in the process of coming out as Bi!!! HECK YEAH!!!!!!" Another user said, "Congrats to Tim Drake on coming out as Bi. Still my least favorite Robin but at least he’s more interesting."

"Tim Drake, king of Robins, top of my DC faves, is canonically Bi. Here for you; here for this," one person said. Another tweeted, "Lunch break reading. Delighted to learn that DC went through with it after a few months of hinting and Tim Drake is bi now. I'm here for queer Robin."

Before Robin, DC's flagship LGBTQ character has been Batwoman for years, and occasionally Wonder Woman. Both of those characters are yet to have their sexualities translate from the page to the screen, but Tim Drake might get their first. Actor Jay Lycurgo will play Tim in the live-action 'Titans' series for HBO Max. While it may be too late for his sexuality to be a part of season 3 (coming August 12), it could become a part of season 4.