Tim Drake is now an OMAC-Infused Version of Batman

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Detective Comics #979 by James Tynion IV, Philippe Briones and John Kalisz, on sale now.

Two very different futures are the outcomes for a tale of two very different Tim Drakes. The modern-day Tim has long optimistically envisioned the idea of The Belfry, the Bat-quarters set in the heart of Gotham established to watch over and protect the city. His alternate future counterpart, however, comes from a grim timeline where Tim has assumed the role of Batman – a dark, dystopic world that he cites Batwoman as being to blame for creating.

Present-day Tim's vision became somewhat tainted, though, when his idea of The Belfry literally fell apart after Clayface's monstrous and unfortunate transformation resulted in its destruction. Conversely, the dark reality of future Tim seemed somewhat brightened as Batwoman and her father's operation The Colony has been shown to be less villainous than Tim believed.

In James Tynion IV and Philippe Briones' Detective Comics #979, part four of "Batmen Eternal," those two futures seemingly begin to converge -- although not in the way either incarnation of Tim necessarily ever expected.

Tim Drake – OMAC?

Jacob Kane's former ally Ulysses Armstrong, who now calls himself The General, had tried to convert present-day Tim to his cause by showing him what the future otherwise held for him. Failing to do so, Ulysses took a more drastic and direct approach at the end of last issue, by beginning to transform Tim into an OMAC using Brother Eye's nano-technology, while Batman, Batwoman and Jacob fight off a group of OMACs at the shuttered Kane Manor.

Timely intervention by Batwing neutralized the OMACs by disrupting the nanites cohesively bonding their shells. As the issue begins, Tim is subject to horrific future visions, but still fights Ulysses' attempts to control him. Fed up with Tim's resistance, the General completes his transformation of Tim, converting him into a different kind of OMAC altogether.

The result is a grotesque Batman/OMAC hybrid, built with Brother Eye tech but one who still claims to be Tim. The transmuted Tim then initiates a new protocol called Pax Batmana. The code causes the OMACs previously neutralized by Batwing to reactivate, but instead of re-engaging the Bat-team, they and countless other OMACs depart for the center of Gotham. Their intent? To converge and create a new central structure to serve as OMAC-Tim's base of operations. That's right – Tim's idea of The Belfry 2.0 has come to realization, but far from the way he had intended.

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We thought we had a clear image of Tim Drake's plans for the Belfry 2.0 -- but we were wrong.

In issue #974, in the aftermath of Clayface's death and The Belfry's destruction, Tim himself coined the term "Belfry 2.0," which he again refers to it as here. Two issues later, Tim professes in his argument with Batman that The Belfry is part of something bigger and that what happens to him is incidental. While Tim's transformation seems forced upon him by Ulysses, does he possibly see this transformation as a means to his end, and instead of resisting it, actually allow it to happen?

If so, with his Pax Batmana protocol, Tim very well might have made the visions of both his present and future self into a simultaneous reality. While Brother Eye's technology has allowed Tim to realize his vision, it's still, well, Brother Eye's technology – hardly known for the kind of benevolence intended by Tim. While Tim alleges that he's in control of his new form – and may very well believe that he is – he likely is at least corrupted by Brother Eye's influence, if not outright taken over by it.

And if Brother Eye is in fact in control of Tim, then that certainly also brings the notion of his future self's darker reality closer to fruition. Neither realization is exactly what each envisioned, but the essence of their respective visions is maintained. If a Brother Eye-controlled Belfry is what will be overseeing the citizens of Gotham, then Batwoman and The Colony would certainly stand against him – exactly what future Tim stated would happen.

Pax Batmana Redux

If the whole "Pax Batmana" phrase sounds familiar, that's because it was used not long ago as the story title for last year's Batwoman #6 – co-written by Tynion. That issue featured the future Batwoman – aka Commander Kane – with The Colony under her command as she fought against Batman is a familiar-looking dystopic Gotham. That Batman, of course, was Tim Drake, and this was the future that he had come back to the present to warn the Gotham Knights in "A Lonely Place of Living." So there's a predisposition that the Pax Batmana protocol will usher in a future that definitely not a fun place to live.

Are both today's and tomorrow's Tim's futures now aligned, bringing both their visions to pass? Is this future the "same" future that Tim of Tomorrow warned of, or does his remain as only an alternate timeline? And will this development make present-day Tim rethink his goals for a Belfry 2.0? With only two issues remaining on Tynion's run, there will be a lot of ramifications to explore in a very short time.

Unless, of course, these ramifications at some point extend beyond the boundaries of Detective Comics. Given the far-reaching scope of the recently-concluded Dark Nights: Metal, events surrounding Batman now have convincing precedent to impact other parts of the DC Comics Universe.

However far these events reach, Detective Comics #980 goes on sale May 9, regardless.

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