DC’s Titans season 4 has made a promising start in adapting Tim Drake’s bisexuality in the gritty live-action show. Tim Drake, portrayed by Jay Lycurgo, is the third Robin in the Batman comics. He aspires to take on the mantle of Robin in Titans following Jason Todd’s assumption of the Red Hood identity in Titans season 3. Tim Drake in Titans is an idealistic youth skilled at detective work but inexperienced with combat and eager to learn from Dick Grayson, now going by the moniker Nightwing.
While Titans has not yet shown Tim Drake in a romantic relationship, a couple of brief scenes in season 4, episode 1, “Lex Luthor” hint at a mutual attraction between him and a young man working at S.T.A.R. Labs. At the conclusion of a tour, the Titans’ guide, Bernard, singles Tim out and offers his phone number, supposedly in the event that the team has any questions. A momentary lingering of their gazes on each other during this interaction suggests the offer might be more than professional. Less than two minutes later, Tim asks Connor to take a picture of him with the retractable bo staff Bernard gave him (commissioned by Dick Grayson) and shyly its to Rachel and Gar that he wants the photo to send to Bernard. This scene makes the attraction between Tim and Bernard, or at least Tim’s interest in Bernard, more explicit.
How Tim Drake Came Out As Bisexual In DC Comics
After the end of a longstanding relationship with the Batgirl, Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake in DC Comics begins dating Bernard Dowd and comes out as bisexual. In the comics, Bernard is a childhood friend of Tim’s who reconnects with him as an adult. The comics' version of Bernard, however, does not appear to have a connection with S.T.A.R. labs, and the Titans version does not appear to have known Tim prior to their meeting in Titans season 4. DC Comics promoted Tim Drake’s bisexuality with the release of DC Pride: Tim Drake Special in 2022, a collection that pulls Tim’s storyline with Bernard out from Batman: Urban Legends.
Season 4 Improves Titans' LGBTQ+ Representation
Developing Tim Drake’s bisexuality in Titans would be an excellent way to advance the show’s LGBTQ+ representation. Thus far the many romantic and sexual relationships explored have all been heterosexual pairings. The DC comics version of Starfire has made statements leading many to conclude that she is polyamorous and pansexual, but these identities have not been confirmed by DC. A scene in Titans season 1, episode 1, “Titans” strongly implies that Starfire slept with a woman who works at the hotel she is staying at, but her pansexual or bisexual identity is not explicitly explored in the show and all of her confirmed romantic relationships in Titans are with men.
Of course, there is still room for DC to ruin their chance at depicting an authentic and nuanced bisexual or pansexual identity for Tim Drake. They could latch onto his relationship with Bernard and never acknowledge Tim’s interest in women, a mistake that would add to the problem of bisexual erasure in media. The speculated return of Trigon in Titans season 4 could present an opportunity to avoid that, as in the comics Trigon possesses Tim Drake, leading him to seduce the female hero Solstice. If Titans does not develop the connection with Bernard, or otherwise further explore Tim’s romantic interests, DC will be doubling down on the mistake they made with Starfire, teasing a bit of LGBTQ+ representation without any follow-through.