Warning: contains spoilers for Batman: Urban Legends #10!
In a startling move, events of Fear State, and it falls on Tim to pull him back from the edge. The issue is on sale now in print and digital.
Unlike other former Robins Nightwing and Red Hood, Tim Drake was not an orphan taken in by Batman, but instead deduced Bruce Wayne was Batman. The Dark Knight was initially reluctant to take Drake on, especially so soon after Red Hood’s death. However, Tim persevered, believing that a sidekick was essential to stop Batman becoming too misanthropic, and eventually earning his place as the third person to bear the Robin mantle. Tim became a fan-favorite character but was sidelined at the start of the New 52 era, his time as Robin wiped away. However, the events of Infinite Frontier have restored Tim Drake’s time as Robin, and the character has begun reasserting himself, attempting to figure out his role in the Bat-Family, as well as embarking on a relationship with new boyfriend Bernard Dowd. 'A Carol of the Bats,' written by Meghan Fitzmartin, with art by Alberto Albuqerque Jimenez, colors by Nick Filardi and letters by Pat Brosseau, readers learn Tim was able to succeed where Nightwing failed.
Fear State is over, but the people of Gotham, Batman included, are just beginning to heal. Batman feels he has failed the city, but Tim is trying to convince him otherwise. In a flashback sequence, Tim and Nightwing team up against Tusk, and once they are done, Nightwing senses Tim wants to talk. Tim tells him that Batman is depressed and rapidly approaching the edge; he wants to pull him back, but Nightwing tells him not to bother, that he tried many times but was only successful for a few weeks before Bruce was back to his usual gloomy self. "I've done everything I can to bring Bruce back from the edge, time and again," Dick explains. "We can't make him be happy." Back in the present, Batman confronts an angry mob of citizens, and instead of fighting, he hugs one. Batman tells the people he has failed them but will do what he can to help. Readers then see Batman and Tim Drake helping at a soup kitchen.
The end of the story makes it clear that Tim was able to pull Batman back from the brink of darkness - something Nightwing itted he gave up trying to do. Nightwing has also itted Tim is likely the best Robin in recent issues of his own series, and the fact Tim was successful at saving Batman from the edge proves this. Batman is an intense and driven hero, and he feels his failures more than others. His belief that he failed the citizens of Gotham during Fear State may be somewhat founded, but the truth is Gotham still needs him - a fact Tim convinces Batman of.
Yet why was Tim successful where Nightwing failed? Both are incredibly level-headed heroes, but what advantage does Tim have? The answer lies in why Tim sought out Batman in the first place: he saw the Caped Crusader succumbing to the darkness after losing Jason Todd and stepped in to keep it from happening. Tim’s purpose has always been to save Batman from himself, and he fulfills that purpose here again. Nightwing and Tim Drake are former Robins, and thus have deep insight into Batman’s psyche. Yet Tim Drake understands it better than Dick Grayson, and was able to do what Nightwing could not: save Batman.
