Jack Drake

Jack Drake is the wealthy owner of Drake Industries and the father of Tim Drake.

Character History
A well respected businessman and archeologist, Jack Drake was a man who could never stay down in one place for long lengths of time. He stay in Gotham City long enough to meet a young woman named Janet, who would later become his wife. The couple became a strong team in business, expanding their company far and wide.As time passed, Janet gave birth to the Drake's first and only son, Timothy. Although the Drakes loved their son, business always seemed to take a higher priority; Tim was often left behind in a series of Gotham boarding schools while they traveled the world. When Tim was a still a young child, his parents took him to Haly's Circus. Worried that her son might be afraid, Janet was somewhat reluctant to attend, until Jack suggested that they have their picture taken with some performers. At that point, the headliners of the circus, the Flying Graysons, were passing by, and happily agreed to the photo. The youngest performer, Dick Grayson, who would later become the first Robin and later Nightwing, held young Tim in his arms and dedicated his performance to the small boy. Moments later, tragedy struck when the elder two members of the Flying Graysons were killed before the eyes of their son Dick, and an entire audience, including Bruce Wayne and the Drake Family. The Drakes immediately rushed their son out of the tent, but not before young Tim caught sight of Wayne offering Dick Grayson comfort. The Drakes, feeling sorry for Dick, would later mail the boy the picture that they had taken.

Tim had later discovered the identities of Batman and Robin when he was nine years old, after seeing Robin perform a trick only Dick Grayson could perform, on TV. As the Drakes continued their travels around the world, Tim continued to follow the lives and careers of Batman and Robin. As such Tim was aware of Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing and Jason Todd becoming the second Robin. When Jason Todd was later murdered, Tim grew concerned that Batman was slowly getting out of control due to the absence of Robin. And so Tim would later approach Dick and Bruce, in the hopes of becoming the new Robin. The Drakes' marriage began to sour at this point. During a trip over Haiti, the couple was captured by a psychotic holy man called the Obeah Man. The couple was held hostage for money, until the Batman came to save them. While Batman had arrested the Obeah Man, however, Jack and Janet were poisoned when they unknowingly drank some of the voodoo man's water before Batman was able to knock it out of their hands. Janet died instantly, while Jack was left in a coma. Batman brought Jack back to Gotham and cared for Tim. Some months after their return, Jack came out of his coma, but was left a paraplegic. This new handicap and the loss of his wife led Jack to desire to reconnect with Tim, who by now had become Robin. Tim's duties as the Boy Wonder and his close relationship with Bruce Wayne caused a greater rift with his father, although they did attempt to reconcile.

Second marriage
In time, Jack regained the use of his legs with the aid of physical therapist Dana Winters. Although Dana was considerably younger than Jack, the two immediately felt an attraction for one another and began dating. Dana's involvement in the Drakes' lives was a blessing, as she was able to curb Jack's anger at his son being so distant and help Tim feel more connected to his father. In time, the pair married. Soon afterward, however, Jack's company went bankrupt, and the family lost their mansion home. Jack fell into a deep depression, during which he began thinking more and more about his late wife, Janet. Jack eventually recovered with the aid of what is believed to be a fabled Valkyrie who came to him, urging him to move on. Upon learning that Tim had lied to him about trying out for the school's football team, Jack began searching his son's room, until at last he found Tim's secret storage closet of Robin gear. Furious and hurt, Jack confronted Bruce Wayne with a gun. Although Bruce took the gun away, the damage was done; Jack knew the secret identities of Batman, Robin and Nightwing. Not wishing to cause his father any more pain, Tim agreed that in exchange for his father's silence, he would give up the Robin mantle. This solution was short lived, however; when a massive gang war erupted in Gotham, and spilled over into Tim's school; where one of his classmates was the target of a rival mob family. Tim felt he had no alternative and returned to his life as the Boy Wonder. Although Jack disapproved, he realized that his son was too important to Gotham as Robin, and reluctantly allowed the boy to continue with his duties.

In other media
In DC Animated Universe, this version of the character was a small-time criminal named Steven "Shifty" Drake, who began his criminal career as a teen, and working for Two-Face before leaving Gotham City. In The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years and The New Batman Adventures, after learning Two-Face's plot of holding Gotham in ransom with a chemical weapon, Drake stole the weapon from his employer because he couldn't go through with the plan and hoped to stop Two-Face. He left a note to his young son Tim with a key saying "Sorry, Timmy, the heats on. I got to leave a while. Hang on to these for me. Dad." After finished writing it, he kissed his son goodbye, knowing that he will never see him again deep down, and commenting that he'd seen something special within the boy that he didn't have. He fled Gotham,but local gangsters killed him and threw him into the river. His body was later recovered in Metropolis's Hobs Bay, leaving Tim as an orphan under the custody of local businessman, Bruce Wayne.