WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Future State: Robin Eternal #1 by Meghan Fitzmartin, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas and Pat Brosseau, on sale now.
The Gotham City of DC's Future State is a very different and much darker place. Bruce Wayne is believed dead, vigilantes and masks have been outlawed and law and order is maintained by the totalitarian-like Magistrate. In Future State: Robin Eternal #1, Tim Drake fights back against the militarized operation, but even someone as smart as him has his hands more than full. Besides, the situation is getting all the more complicated as Red Robin goes into battle against the Magistrate's massive robot enforcers.
These robots pack an impressive punch and are difficult to put down. But that's only the beginning of Tim's troubles. Through his continuous fight against the Magistrate, he's been tracking one of the organization's new programs, which is developing a new type of robot -- a robot that ends up killing Tim Drake.
However, Red Robin lives on in Future State: Robin Eternal #1.
At the start of Future State: Robin Eternal #1, Tim Drake takes on one of the Magistrate's new prototype robots, which is made up of a new green compound that is supposed to make them unstoppable. Tim goes to great lengths to put the machine down, and he's only capable of doing it thanks to some unexpected help from Stephanie Brown.
The green liquid inside the new robots is actually called Lazarus Resin. It comes from the Lazarus Pits, which are rare and powerful mystical pools that can bring the dead back to life. The Magistrate seemingly has hold of one of these pits, and they are using its liquid to create a resin that is injected into their new robots. Therefore, if they are destroyed, the Lazarus Resin will simply bring them back, making the Magistrate's new robots truly unstoppable.
As soon as he figures out what the Magistrate is up to, Tim moves to stop the incoming shipment of these new robots from ever reaching Gotham. He gets some help once again from Stephanie Brown, as well as fellow "We Are Robin" teammate Darcy.
The trio attack the convoy and it isn't long before they are locked in battle with one of these new robots. Tim takes the machine on and he's able to damage it in the fight. The robot starts leaking Lazarus Resin just as it grabs Tim by the throat and slams him down on the ground. The impact is vicious and it horrifyingly breaks Red Robin's neck.
This brutal attack should be the end of Tim Drake but, thankfully, the Lazarus Resin from the damaged robot is all over him as he dies. Moments later, he is healed and brought back to life -- and he's ready to take his fight to the next level.
It was an extremely brief end for Tim, but he luckily caught a break. This shows just how powerful these new robots are, and what a very real threat they represent to Gotham and the vigilantes who are still willing to fight for the city.
Given that Tim is brought back to life, this gives an entirely new meaning to the series' title: Robin Eternal. At first, it seemed like a spiritual follow-up to 2014's Batman Eternal and 2015's Batman and Robin Eternal. But now, we come to understand that the title may be more literal than we thought. With the Lazarus Resin, Tim Drake could essentially become immortal. In this future, he could truly become Gotham's eternal protector.