In honor of pride month, let’s do a nice little analysis on Tim :)
Obviously Tim is usually known for his mind, but I want to take a moment to talk about his heart because the fact that he gets reduced to his smarts often is tragic. Tim is incredibly brave and has this unrelenting sense of duty and deep selflessness. His origin is full of these characteristics, Batman obviously needs a Robin for the good of him and the legacy and Gotham, Tim knows the identities so he decided he has to be the one to help. When Dick refuses to become Robin again, Tim decides he has to be the one to help. He saves Nightwing and Batman because someone needs to help them. Later, he graduates his training because he risks his life AND the opportunity to be Robin because someone has to save Batman from scarecrow, so Tim goes, no suit, no backup, and saves him, right after his mom died and his dad went in a coma! Tim then goes to France for more training but ends up solving a whole bioweapon thing because someone needs to help. Tim is also known for looking for Bruce after he died, all alone, because someone needed to save him. Still while he was looking for Bruce and having one long breakdown he comes back to help Dick when he asks and does what he can to save people as he goes. When Ra’s kicks him out of that window, Tim isn’t even upset, he’s helped everyone and saved Bruce, so it’s okay.
The batfamily is basically a study in all the ways one can care, they all do it so differently (and not necessarily in a healthy way or well) and the thing about Tim is he will always be the one to step up. All those times he thought “someone has to help” someone doesn’t. There are so many people in Gotham and even people who know who Batman is who aren’t helping, or who tried and gave up, there’s no reason that it’s Tim’s responsibility, but Tim cares so much that he can’t just watch bad things happen. He has just as big a heart as the other characters who are more known for that like Dick and it pains me that he isn’t more known for it. I think he tends to be misunderstood as an ambitious character, but he isn’t after anything, he just can’t not help, he can’t step aside or be passive when someone is in need. He’s sort of the embodiment of setting yourself on fire to keep others warm. Obviously he’s not perfect because no one is, and all good, interesting characters have their flaws. I just really think you lose a lot when you don’t examine Tim’s heart because he has a good one that can’t help but help.
