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Nevermind.
[QUOTE=Godlike13;4848344]Right, but who is listening to Lobdell in the first place. Thats what says Harras to me. Didio positions himself as a lighting rod, but Harras is the EiC. Things like Ric and the day to day story directions is under his and his editors purview.[/QUOTE]
Yup. Just because Didio is leaving doesn't mean things are going to magically get better. There's a chance, but it's far from certain.
What is the best outcome for Dick?
This afternoon when most of comics twitter was talking about DiDio's firing, Devin Grayson tweeted a gif of Nightwing (from YJ) looking up and smiling.
Interpret that as you like. [video]https://twitter.com/Gothamette/status/1231033972123037697[/video]
[QUOTE=AmiMizuno;4848676]What is the best outcome for Dick?[/QUOTE]
Dido leaving was that
So which one of you put a curse on Dan? Come on, admit it.
[QUOTE=yohyoi;4848963]So which one of you put a curse on Dan? Come on, admit it.[/QUOTE]
It was Zatanna. She and Dick used to date in Young Justice.
You guys think Nightwing will be better since Dan is good? What stories haven’t they told that should be told ? I also wonder should any of the elsewhere stories be cannon for nightwing?
With the possibility that their could be no comic books in say 5 years as this market continues to wither away it become very important to support your favorite character in other media, say Titans for example
[QUOTE=AmiMizuno;4849420]You guys think Nightwing will be better since Dan is good? What stories haven’t they told that should be told? I also wonder should any of the elsewhere stories be cannon for Nightwing?[/QUOTE]
As I said in the previous answer, I like a story that makes sense with characterization and progression
Nightwing doesn't enjoy being Batman or secret agent, both jobs he takes because he has to, so it makes sense for him to leave the mantle and go off on his own again. Especially with Batman Incorporated's purpose, defeating Leviathan is done, and Bruce can return as Batman of Gotham instead of being an international manager.
Next, his preferred place. It's been established that he likes being among the people he wants to save, so whichever town he chooses, he will stay in a cheap apartment close to the seedy neighborhood.
So there's your groundwork. Pretty simple, but Dick is a pretty simple character. Like Superman, he wants to help people, he wants to be with people.
So with a simple character like that, the outside environment is the one that has to be complex. Whether the Court of Owls keeps trying to turn him, Blockbuster going after the people he wants to protect, cleaning BPD that's not as easy as beating up villains, Dark Web and Mr. Minos trying to mind his head for superhero information... they've even add love troubles, falling in love with the wrong sorts, allies turned on him because he's a target of villains...
but those are the ones they already did
So at least they need to add new villains that's enough of a threat for him and if not him, the people he cares about.
Also, there needs to be enough time for him to hang out with the civilians in his environment. He says he wants to be with people but often authors are too focused on the villains. It will build enough empathy with reader so when the likes of Joker come you're actually gonna be worried.
In Dixon's run, Dick is known and friends with the whole apartment, but I need to see that happening in real-time, not just to build a rep. I think Higgins did it better by making Dick hang out with his Chicago apartment-mates? I forget.
The threat can range from the mob to villains to meta. Don't be afraid to use a meta. Go big and wild. He's governing a town almost as big as Gotham. Don't be limited to just alleys and streets. Snyder sent a Kaiju on Gotham, Higgins made him fight an Acheron demon, Seeley a boatload full of villains, and Percy an internet monster. I don't mind if he has to fight a sea monster, he's been fighting aliens and demons since he was a teen.
Also, actually call his friends when he actually needs them. Don't go with [I]I need to do this alone[/I]. Draw the difference between Nightwing and Batman by allowing a super or even a capable civilian to actually help him. If friendship, counseling, and mentorship is his strength, then let him use it. Don't be a macho solo. Establish that it's not a weakness to call for help when you need it.
[QUOTE=AmiMizuno;4848676]What is the best outcome for Dick?[/QUOTE]
Best outcome? Harras leaves. Maybe Jim Lee too, though I don't know enough about the man's business acumen or opinions to say whether he'd be good for Dick (or DC) on his own or not. Harras definitely needs to go though.
From there, one of two things; either the Bat office is told to stop their BS and treat Dick like a solo property instead of as part of Bruce's supporting cast, or Dick needs to be sent to the Super office, with the same warning about handling Nightwing as a solo IP. Bendis seems like the guy who's really in charge over there, and I think he'd do right by Dick, or at least ensure that Dick ends up in the hands of writers like Fraction and Rucka. Between the Bat office and Super office I feel like the Super one is run better right now so I'm partial to that option, but it's not gonna happen.
Whoever ends up in creative control of Dick needs to be at least a fairly popular and reliable creator, and they really need to cook the pitch and direction until it's done, crafting a status quo that is unique to Nightwing and plays to his strengths as a character and his history (not just Gotham, but his whole history). And then that creative team needs to be left alone to build and establish a world around him. It's unlikely Nightwing will jump up the sales rankings immediately (not without a huge name attached and maybe not even then) but consistently solid quality world building will win in the end, every time, and bear much sweeter fruit than a three month spike caused by some stupid shock value gimmick.
Giving Dick a leading role in a big event wouldn't hurt either, but given the "empty calories" of most events I don't think it's strictly necessary either.
But just because Didio is gone doesn't mean any of this will happen of course. Maybe someone takes over but feels the same way Didio did. Maybe someone from WB gets pulled in, knows nothing about DC, looks at the sales and reviews for Nightwing over the past 12 months, and cuts the book. Or maybe someone takes over and thinks Dick could make more money for the company, and all our dreams come true. This is why I'm saying we have to be vocal right now. Didio leaving means the higher ups are paying a bit more attention than usual. That halfway fixes one problem we've had; that Didio's bosses were too far above comics to notice or care. There's this theory in business and politics that if one person writes a letter or otherwise makes their voice heard, there's a hundred (or a thousand) who feel the exact same way that you're not hearing. So if we few make ourselves heard now, it may be assumed that we represent a lot more (and Dick's popular, so it's not just us few here on CBR) and that'll raise the odds of Dick getting his due.
Honestly the best outcome these days is probably that WB gets serious about wanting to do a Nightwing movie. In turn making the comic guys then get on the same page when it comes to the character and his brand. Leading to them investing better support, and actually trying to grow and strengthen the brand.
Someone told me in a preview Dick has a gun. Why does he need a gun?
That’s not Dick, but the older clone looking Nightwing.
[QUOTE=Godlike13;4849927]Honestly the best outcome these days is probably that WB gets serious about wanting to do a Nightwing movie. In turn making the comic guys then get on the same page when it comes to the character and his brand. Leading to them investing better support, and actually trying to grow and strengthen the brand.[/QUOTE]
This is likely the most likely way to get DC to put any effort into Dick, but that's not in the hands of anyone at DC. Didio leaving doesn't really impact this too much. I mean, the comic guys can try to encourage the movie division, or whoever the hell makes these decisions, but I doubt they have much power there. They get to consult on the movies WB decides to make, but I don't think it goes much further than that.
'Bleeding Cool now understands that yes, DiDio was fired this morning by Warner Bros at 10.30am PT in their Burbank offices and he left the building straight away. I am told by sources close to the situation that he was fired, for cause, for 'fostering a poor work environment'
[url]https://www.bleedingcool.com/2020/02/21/why-dan-didio-leave-dc-comics/[/url]
I’m curious what State would make sense for Bludhaven to be in?
Same one as Gotham, it's not meant to be very far away. Just a bridge separating them (same as Burnside, the place Batgirl called home for a while). Tim Drake went abroad, came back to find Gotham on fire. His plane was diverted to Bludhaven. Which is like a plane headed for Heathrow getting redirected to Gatwick (both are in London).
But I mean shouldn’t thr bridge bit far but also close? I keep going back and forth. I mean the fact is yea he was raised in Gotham but his personality doesn’t fit it. Most cities fit the characters. So shouldn’t Bludhaven be more a mix
[QUOTE=Digifiend;4851310]Same one as Gotham, it's not meant to be very far away. Just a bridge separating them[/QUOTE]
It’s a bit further than that - or was, anyway. Back in the days when Dick originally moved there he could get on his motorbike and get from there to Gotham in under an hour when the call for an all-books crossover and crisis went out. It’s been a couple of years since I last read through that period, so I can’t remember if it’s ever said explicitly, but I got the feeling it was about 30 miles away down the coast, which is far enough away to operate independently but also close enough for it to be plausible that Dick could hang out with Tim, Babs, Bruce and Alfred in Gotham at the same time as he was having independent adventures of his own.
Different maps put the cities in different places. Sometimes Metropolis is in Kansas, sometimes it's in a East coast state. Gotham is likewise put in different places, though it's almost always East coast I believe.
I imagine Gotham is in New Jersey, simply because it seems fitting to me thematically. Bludhaven is somewhere near there, maybe also in Jersey, maybe in New York or wherever.
The city is established as being very close to Gotham, but I think Dixon put it way too close. You could drive from Gotham to Bludhaven faster than you could drive from one end of Gotham to the other end, and that doesn't sit right with me. Might as well make Bludhaven a neighborhood in Gotham if it's that close. I like to think of Bludhaven as being a few hours away; close enough for Dick to get there if there's an emergency (or just to visit) but far enough for Dick to still stand on his own outside of Bruce's shadow.
The one thing I often wonder is maybe how much crime should actually happen in Bludhaven? I mean often the city either looks like Las Vegas or something else. Maybe it should be something like it looks safe but it’s not. I often thing maybe it should be a big spot for film studios. To fit with Dick’s entertainment background. That maybe the city looks perfectly fit things look good it’s really at night
[QUOTE=Ascended;4851501]Different maps put the cities in different places. Sometimes Metropolis is in Kansas, sometimes it's in a East coast state. Gotham is likewise put in different places, though it's almost always East coast I believe.
I imagine Gotham is in New Jersey, simply because it seems fitting to me thematically. Bludhaven is somewhere near there, maybe also in Jersey, maybe in New York or wherever.
The city is established as being very close to Gotham, but I think Dixon put it way too close. You could drive from Gotham to Bludhaven faster than you could drive from one end of Gotham to the other end, and that doesn't sit right with me. Might as well make Bludhaven a neighborhood in Gotham if it's that close. I like to think of Bludhaven as being a few hours away; close enough for Dick to get there if there's an emergency (or just to visit) but far enough for Dick to still stand on his own outside of Bruce's shadow.[/QUOTE]New York seems unlikely, because the New Teen Titans, who became pariahs when their tower was destroyed, lived there, so if that's where Bludhaven was then they wouldn't have liked having Nightwing around.
I mean generally, in most cases it's New Jersey for Gotham and New York for Metropolis However, it has changed from time to time. Where I think Gotham was in Delaware. I mean what would be the pro and cons of having Dick not being in the same State? He is still close but far away. I mean looking at the map he could easily live in Pen sate, Maryland. They are close yet their own thing. We also have conn
[QUOTE=AmiMizuno;4851846]I mean generally, in most cases it's New Jersey for Gotham and New York for Metropolis However, it has changed from time to time. Where I think Gotham was in Delaware. I mean what would be the pro and cons of having Dick not being in the same State? He is still close but far away. I mean looking at the map he could easily live in Pen sate, Maryland. They are close yet their own thing. We also have conn[/QUOTE]
There's really no benefit to establishing these cities in any particular location or state. Between zeta beams, Boom Tubes, Batmobiles, super-sonic flight, etc., any distance can be crossed in no time at all. And that's assuming you even care enough to track that sort of thing, and comics usually don't. If they don't worry about why Batman is in a full body cast in Justice League, lost in the Amazon jungle in 'Tec, and losing his city to Bane all at the same time, no one is gonna care how long it takes to drive from Bludhaven to Metropolis or Gotham either.
It's nice to have a vague, ballpark idea of where the cities are, just for the nerdy fun of it, but it's really a non-issue. If they establish a city as being "a few hours from this other city" that's good enough for me. I'm far more concerned with the quality of the story than small details like this.
True. It should be how Bludhaven works. How similar and should it be. Any idea? My idea is everything happens at night. That it’s not wanting to lay out it’s crime in daylight. They make sure to clean any blood or body
Man just give Bludhaven to tim or cass or something, Bludhaven show the problem with nightwing. Still to close and the same as the bigger ip it spinning out from.
Nightwing needs to be different from batman. Right now nightwing is as different from batman as bludhaven is from Gotham meaning just the same lesser cheap version.
Nightwing should be more and bigger than that. Listening to some nightwing fans makes me think they just want nightwing in bludhaven with the batfamily, nothing more than just one of batman's many sidekicks and supporting character's.
So what's the point of him being nightwing just have him be Robin again then.
So the best thing would be changing things. What if he was a PI? He gets to travel a lot . He gets to fight crime. The only issue and it’s still a issue he still needs a stable living Situation. So Bludhaven doesn’t have crime. He just lives there and travels to fight crime
[QUOTE=WonderNight;4852093]Man just give Bludhaven to tim or cass or something, Bludhaven show the problem with nightwing. Still to close and the same as the bigger ip it spinning out from.
Nightwing needs to be different from batman. Right now nightwing is as different from batman as bludhaven is from Gotham meaning just the same lesser cheap version.
Nightwing should be more and bigger than that. Listening to some nightwing fans makes me think they just want nightwing in bludhaven with the batfamily, nothing more than just one of batman's many sidekicks and supporting character's.
So what's the point of him being nightwing just have him be Robin again then.[/QUOTE]
On the list of things that make Nightwing seem like batman lite bludhaven is no 1052.
On the list of things that lead to him being treated like a batman supporting character 'The actual root of all the characters issues and the thing that holds him back' bludhaven isn't even a factor.
Bludhaven makes zero difference to him being close to the Bat Ip. Nightwing a non-powered costumed hero is always going to share to similarities with Batman.
All the Bat characters are pretty much Batman lite including the metas and the 'anti heroes'
Red Robin doesn't have a city yet it's more batman like than Nightwing has ever been
The city isn't the issue.
Nightwing is.
Agent 37 was the sweet spot but I don't know how marketable in the long term that is.
The city nor Nightwing is the problem. The creative vision is. Bludhaven is a symptom, not a cause. It exists to felicitate a traditional format that makes it more convenient for them to produce quick and easy content in a factory like manner.
[QUOTE=dietrich;4852200]On the list of things that make Nightwing seem like batman lite bludhaven is no 1052.
On the list of things that lead to him being treated like a batman supporting character 'The actual root of all the characters issues and the thing that holds him back' bludhaven isn't even a factor.
Bludhaven makes zero difference to him being close to the Bat Ip. Nightwing a non-powered costumed hero is always going to share to similarities with Batman.
All the Bat characters are pretty much Batman lite including the metas and the 'anti heroes'
Red Robin doesn't have a city yet it's more batman like than Nightwing has ever been
The city isn't the issue.
Nightwing is.
Agent 37 was the sweet spot but I don't know how marketable in the long term that is.[/QUOTE]I want saying it's bludhaven that makes nightwing into batman lite (it doesn't help). I ment was that bludhavens problems are the same as nightwing's to close and similar to what its spinning off of.
Yes nightwing and batman will have similarities and they should, batman WAS (not is) his mentor. But being similar and too similar.
Just have him be agent 37 as nightwing. Meaning agent 37 style missions and tone but as nightwing.
In my mind I truly believe nightwing has the potential stand side by side the trinity.
Nightwing being the face/lead of DC's espionage corner. Grayson showed that it works for dick, just have him do grayson but as nightwing instead of agent 37.
I just don't see nightwing reaching his potential as someone else's supporting character.
[QUOTE=AmiMizuno;4852091]True. It should be how Bludhaven works. How similar and should it be. Any idea?[/QUOTE]
SOOOOOooooooo many ideas. I humbly suggest taking a look at the "pitch a direction" thread, for more of my ideas than anyone wants, as well as a remarkable amount of genius from many of our fellow wingnuts.
[QUOTE=dietrich;4852200]
Agent 37 was the sweet spot but I don't know how marketable in the long term that is.[/QUOTE]
Exactly as it was, without the "Nightwing" name or costume, with everyone thinking Dick was dead? Probably not very marketable long term. But a few minor tweaks to the Spyral status quo, where Dick hasn't faked his death and is still somehow using the superhero code name and costume? Now you've got Nightwing: DC's premier Super Spy. And that is, I believe, a very marketable premise in the long term. More marketable than Black Widow or Nick Fury, easily. Just take a look at what Young Justice season 3 did with Dick (especially early on), that's not too far off the mark of what such a direction could be. And that seems very popular.
Bludhaven is a big problem. Even setting aside the issues with how it forces writers to write him as some Batman-lite city protector character it isn't this harmless thing that people are making it out to be. It is actually a very damaging place that brings negative value to Dick's character and stories. How it does this is first by isolating his character. It forces him out of the DCU and puts him in a place that has no value. Even having him just operating out of Gotham give his character far more utility, imo. It is going on 25 years now since Bludhaven has been created and it has failed to produce anything substantial across many different writers. Probably more than 150 issues set there and not one thing from those stories has been able to become something readers can point to as being vital to Dick's character. That isn't some fluke.
Continuing to force him and his stories to be set there severely limits what writers can do because you are forcing them to write in a setting that they have to fight against to produce a good story. They have to format it to fit in this place that brings no value to the table. Now isolation isn't necessarily bad. If Bludhaven was this amazing place (it never will be) then I'm all for wanting more stories there, but it isn't. It also doesn't even protect Dick's character from being dragged into Justice League or Gotham events, and no events or bigger stories are coming from Bludhaven. No writer looks at Bludhaven and is excited to write about it when there are so many more interesting things in DC.
It doesn't matter how you dress it up. You can make it an even darker Gotham or as bright as Las Vegas. You can give Dick any number of careers there too. It doesn't matter. That is just putting a fresh coat of paint on a house with a rotten foundation. It will never work because the setting is fundamentally broken. 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years from now Bludhaven will still be exactly what it is now with readers arguing over how it should be "fixed", but it will never be fixed because it can't be.
I've said this many times, but it needs to be repeated because of how important it is. Dick wasn't born in Bludhaven, he wasn't raised in Bludhaven, none of his family is from Bludhaven, he didn't create any of his superhero identities in Bludhaven, none of his major love interests are in or from Bludhaven, none of his friends or allies are in or from Bludhaven, no organizations or teams he is part of are from Bludhaven, and he doesn't have any long running career that ties him to Bludhaven. There are probably even more I am forgetting. I can't think of another major character from the Big Two publishers were they are forced into a setting for years and years where all these major things are completely absent as well. It is insane to me how people cling to it as a setting when all these vital things that are at the core of superheros and superhero stories are completely missing from it.
Bludhaven is not a conscious being. Its not what isolates him, its their chosen setting in which they have chosen to isolate him in. Its not what is forcing him out of DC. Bludhaven is there to facilitate more convenient production. It doesn't matter where they put him to tell traditional gotta protect my city or neighborhood directions. Created and made famous with the likes of Batman and Superman. No matter where they put him, they stick to same traditional formats he gonna come off like other traditional superheros. Bluhaven is just the result of DC's desire to do the bare minimum with Nightwing. Its silly to inherently blame Bludhaven for boring traditional stories, by boring traditional creators. Bludhaven lasted one creator before the next one tried to do a Born Again. Bludhaven was ok at first with Dixon, cause it was the first time we seen a solo Nightwing, but that wore off by the second creator trying a Born Again like attempt. Even when it comes to Seeley's run, he made Bludhaven more interesting to look at, but it was clear he wasn't really interested in that traditional format. So its not that Bludhaven is the problem causing this, not that its isn't a trap, but even Bludhaven is just a direct result of how DC views Nightwing and there limited creative vision for the character.
[QUOTE=Badou;4852504]Bludhaven is a big problem. Even setting aside the issues with how it forces writers to write him as some Batman-lite city protector character it isn't this harmless thing that people are making it out to be. It is actually a very damaging place that brings negative value to Dick's character and stories. How it does this is first by isolating his character. It forces him out of the DCU and puts him in a place that has no value. Even having him just operating out of Gotham give his character far more utility, imo. It is going on 25 years now since Bludhaven has been created and it has failed to produce anything substantial across many different writers. Probably more than 150 issues set there and not one thing from those stories has been able to become something readers can point to as being vital to Dick's character. That isn't some fluke.
Continuing to force him and his stories to be set there severely limits what writers can do because you are forcing them to write in a setting that they have to fight against to produce a good story. They have to format it to fit in this place that brings no value to the table. Now isolation isn't necessarily bad. If Bludhaven was this amazing place (it never will be) then I'm all for wanting more stories there, but it isn't. It also doesn't even protect Dick's character from being dragged into Justice League or Gotham events, and no events or bigger stories are coming from Bludhaven. No writer looks at Bludhaven and is excited to write about it when there are so many more interesting things in DC.
It doesn't matter how you dress it up. You can make it an even darker Gotham or as bright as Las Vegas. You can give Dick any number of careers there too. It doesn't matter. That is just putting a fresh coat of paint on a house with a rotten foundation. It will never work because the setting is fundamentally broken. 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years from now Bludhaven will still be exactly what it is now with readers arguing over how it should be "fixed", but it will never be fixed because it can't be.
I've said this many times, but it needs to be repeated because of how important it is. Dick wasn't born in Bludhaven, he wasn't raised in Bludhaven, none of his family is from Bludhaven, he didn't create any of his superhero identities in Bludhaven, none of his major love interests are in or from Bludhaven, none of his friends or allies are in or from Bludhaven, no organizations or teams he is part of are from Bludhaven, and he doesn't have any long running career that ties him to Bludhaven. There are probably even more I am forgetting. I can't think of another major character from the Big Two publishers were they are forced into a setting for years and years where all these major things are completely absent as well. It is insane to me how people cling to it as a setting when all these vital things that are at the core of superheros and superhero stories are completely missing from it.[/QUOTE]Amen brother! Also look at outside media, people talk about titans and young justice etc. There not story's of him in bludhaven no there story's of nightwing with other heros fighting thought out the dcu.
I mean just because he wasn't raised in Bludhaven doesn't mean he can't make connections in that city. Clark was raised in Kanas but moved to Metropolis. In one way maybe Dick should just be a Private Detective. He travels a lot or he joins a circus. They still exist but these are acrobats. The only issue is stable for the environment. So the Cirus will have to work. Or somewhere he travels a lot. Now sadly the issue becomes still we need to put him in a Batman comic so he can be traveling. He needs a job that can let him travel and be flexible so a PI is good. He doesn't need to be in Bludhaven. He can have an APT but he isn't in there but doing other things.
[QUOTE=Badou;4852504]Bludhaven is a big problem. .......
How it does this is first by isolating his character. It forces him out of the DCU
It also doesn't even protect Dick's character from being dragged into Justice League or Gotham events[/QUOTE]
I'm confused. Does it isolate him and keep him out of the DCU or not? :D
I don't get you and your hate for that city man. :p I feel like you're blaming a symptom for a cause. I mean, I get it, Bludhaven has suffered from the same lack of consistency and quality that has plagued Dick for years now. It has not been a well developed setting and Dick being the protector of a single city isn't exactly a novel concept. But it's not the problem. Dick's stories were no better when he was in Chicago were they? And after Infinite Crisis I think it might've been New York for a while right? Stories weren't better then either, as I recall. Dick was in Gotham for the New52, and the stories didn't improve because of it.
I mean, it's cool. I can't blame ya. I just don't get it.
WHat's bad about Dick being put in JL events? Almost every character has often been in JL events at one point already. And plus Dick is still important to Batfam. So he would kind of need to be put in certain events. I mean any trope can work. Bludhaven needs to match Dick completely rewritten or he would have to at least move to Gotham
In general, his city or anywhere Dick is living needs to have some elements dealing with the entertainment industry. I mean due to his background the area should be more well known its industry.
[QUOTE=Godlike13;4852527]Bludhaven is not a conscious being. Its not what isolates him, its their chosen setting in which they have chosen to isolate him in. Its not what is forcing him out of DC. Bludhaven is there to facilitate more convenient production. It doesn't matter where they put him to tell traditional gotta protect my city or neighborhood directions. Created and made famous with the likes of Batman and Superman. No matter where they put him, they stick to same traditional formats he gonna come off like other traditional superheros. Bluhaven is just the result of DC's desire to do the bare minimum with Nightwing. Its silly to inherently blame Bludhaven for boring traditional stories, by boring traditional creators. Bludhaven lasted one creator before the next one tried to do a Born Again. Bludhaven was ok at first with Dixon, cause it was the first time we seen a solo Nightwing, but that wore off by the second creator trying a Born Again like attempt. Even when it comes to Seeley's run, he made Bludhaven more interesting to look at, but it was clear he wasn't really interested in that traditional format. So its not that Bludhaven is the problem, not that its isn't a trap, but even Bludhaven is just a direct result of how DC views Nightwing and there limited creative vision for the character.[/QUOTE]
You are correct in what Bludhaven was created to be. It was meant to serve as setting for traditional hero stories and Dixon did a basic and fine job for a character that was was coming out of an awful Titans series and had never been a solo character before. There was nothing to compare it to, but we are 25 years removed from that. Many other creators have come in and written Bludhaven stories and none have been able to produce anything where it feels integral to the character. How many more writers have to come in and fail to do anything substantial before we are ready to move on and say that maybe Bludhaven is an issue and not the lack of effort by the creators?
It feels like a sunk cost fallacy to me. Readers have this attachment to this city because of the previous 150 issues and think that if you just change this, add that, and invest even more time there it will suddenly work, but it never will. You have all those major problems I mentioned previously, but this is where Bludhaven becomes not just a symptom but a negative asset or a liability to the character. Bludhaven isn't a setting that inspires creators to want to write there. No writer is excited to dip their toes into Bludhaven and explore it. It becomes an actual deterrent from attracting writers to the character if Dick is stuck and isolated in a setting that they don't have an interest in. That is a big problem. Maybe that is why we get such uninspired stories there.
I think we have already reached that point. You had Seeley who if given the choice would not have wanted to set his Nightwing run in Bludhaven, but he was forced to if he wanted to write Nightwing and some look at his run as the best Bludhaven run Nightwing had. Think about how much better his run could have been if he was allowed to use a setting that he wanted?
As Nightwing Dick's never had a setting other than Bludhaven for more than 20 something issues, right? So it isn't like they planted their flag anywhere else to really test to see if Bludhaven is a problem or not. I mean we both enjoyed the Spyral run and the spy setting. Had they explored that more even with Dick going back to Nightwing maybe that could have built into something interesting. Something where creators, maybe even prominent creators, feel like they want to sink their teeth into that world and write stories there, but I don't see Bludhaven ever being that.