Dick Grayson may have been the first young man to put on the mask and fight side by side with The Batman as his sidekick, Robin, but there have been many to follow in his footsteps since he left the shadow of The Bat and struck out on his own. One of the many that followed in the wake of Dick’s absence was none other than Tim Drake.
While Tim may not have come along first, he certainly put in the work and made a name for himself as Robin and later Red Robin (followed more recently by Drake). These young heroes both worked closely with the world’s greatest detective and took the lessons he taught them into their careers outside of their sidekick positions. However, which of these Robins was the better Robin? And which grew into the better hero?
10 Patient - Tim
Though Dick is the more experienced of the two brothers Robin, Tim in a lot of ways is much more capable than Dick. For starters, Tim is likely the member of the Bat-family that is the most like Bruce himself. Tim has a lot of strengths, but perhaps one of his greatest is the fact that he is just so incredibly level headed and patient.
Tim, much like Bruce himself, is rarely caught off guard. This isn’t because of some superhuman ability to know what’s going to happen, it’s the fact that Tim takes his time understanding the situation before jumping in. Tim knows that careful planning is a crimefighter’s greatest ally and he’s rarely caught without a plan.
9 More Physically Capable - Dick
Tim is often considered to be one of the most intelligent members of the Bat-family (more on that later), however, Dick is one of the most physically capable. While Jason Todd is one of the greatest martial artists in the DC landscape, Dick is highly regarded as the greatest human acrobat in the DC universe.
He is the only person capable of doing a quadruple backflip (formerly one of three before the death of his parents), he’s able to carry over a thousand pounds and he can sprint up to thirty miles an hour. Dick is a natural athlete and there are very few people, if any, that can stand on equal footing with him in that regard.
8 Likely The Most Intelligent Member Of The Bat-Family - Tim
While Dick is the original Robin, the first young man worthy of the mantle, it seems that over time the requisites for those hoping to don the mantle have only become steeper and steeper. Especially after the death of Jason Todd. However, Tim is likely the only person who could’ve brought the reeling Batman out of that slump.
Not only did Tim manage to deduce Batman’s true identity, a feat which he would repeat with many others among the superhero community (including The Flash and Superman himself), but Tim is highly regarded as the most intelligent member of the Bat-family. Batman himself has stated that Tim is likely his intellectual superior.
7 Interpersonal Skills - Dick
One of Dick’s greatest strengths is the fact that he’s just so damn personable. Dick, unlike Bruce, has not been tarnished by the traumas of his past and, in fact, has used those traumas as a way to better connect with the people around him. Dick knows true loss. He understands true suffering. But most importantly, Dick knows that there is a way through that pain and suffering.
Dick has a near-superhuman level of empathy and understanding when it comes to those around him, which not only makes him better able to understand those around him, but it makes him better prepared to help them when he is needed.
6 Great With Tech - Tim
While Tim’s extremely intelligent mind has already been mentioned, what’s more important than his intelligence is how Tim uses that intelligence for both fighting crime and helping those in need. Tim has dedicated his time to becoming one of the greatest detectives on the planet, perhaps someday even greater than Batman himself.
Tim has studied many different fields, but perhaps one of the most valuable has been his study of the computer sciences and hacking. Tim is nigh unapproachable in this avenue, not only in the Bat-family but in the DC landscape as a whole.
5 Better Than The Bat - Dick
One of Batman’s greatest callings, at least when it comes to his proteges, is making sure that they turn out better than him. Not only are they meant to be smarter, tougher and more capable of seeing the mission through, but he’s done a lot to ensure that they are all able to live a life that he never thought possible for himself. With that being said, Dick is probably his greatest achievement to date.
Yes, Tim may be more naturally intelligent than Dick (and possibly Bruce himself), but Dick has taken the lessons Bruce taught him and evolved beyond even what Bruce could’ve hoped for. Not only is Dick an exceptional hero, leader, and partner, but he’s also a truly kind, thoughtful and loving human being.
4 Found Batman By Himself - Tim
This kind of goes along with Tim being the most naturally intelligent member of the Bat-family, but it deserves to be highlighted nonetheless. Tim’s deductive reasons skills are so profound that not only was he able to deduce the identity of Batman well before ever becoming Robin, he’s done the same with heroes such as Superman, The Flash, Huntress, and many others.
Tim is a nearly unstoppable force when it comes to his deductive reasoning, which is likely among the many reasons Ra’s al Ghul deemed him worthy of the title of “detective”.
3 Raised By The Bat - Dick
Though Tim was already a talented genius before ever reaching out to Batman, he still lacked a lot of training that he would have otherwise received had he been raised by Bruce.
The fact that Tim was actually raised by his parents in relative happiness may have helped him avoid the trauma that many of the Bat-family have had to endure. However, the fact that he spent that time training on his own rather than training under Batman certainly doesn’t give him a leg up.
2 Had To Be Taken Off The Field By Mr. Oz - Tim
Yet another testament to Tim’s outstanding detective skills is the fact that during the events leading up to Doomsday Clock. While Tim had sacrificed himself by programming missiles to target himself rather than the groups of possibly innocent civilians that they had previously targeted, he was seemingly teleported out of thin air by Mr. Oz and held captive.
When asked why he had done it, Mr. Oz simply responded "reconnecting threads that could not be reconnected. You're so loved, so deeply intertwined, it became crucial that we take you off the field. And that's where you are, Tim. Off the field”.
1 A Better Leader - Dick
Though Dick and Tim have both had ample time leading a team (Dick leading the first iteration of the Teen Titans when he was very young and Tim heading up the Teen Titans and, later, Young Justice), it’s easy to see that Dick takes the advantage when it comes to leading a team.
Not only has Dick gone on to lead even the Justice League, but if any fans need evidence of Dick being the better leader, all they’d need to do is take a peek at who the rest of the Bat-family defaults to (possibly with the exception of Jason) when Batman is absent.