Nightwing #31 preview

[Frontier]

I just find the idea of Dick needing "his own city" to protect or "his own rogues gallery" to be an archaic way to look at comics. Dick should just be a DCU character. You have Gotham or the Titans (though I find the Titans franchise to be garbage) to serve as a home base if you want Dick to have one. There is just nothing in Bludhaven valuable enough to have Dick keep coming back to it and pretend it is his home.

He doesn't need to be anchored to a city. If you want to write a story about Dick going off into space to be a Green Lantern for a while then do it, or have him go team up with the Amazons for some reason, or run around with Cyborg to help him defeat someone, or travel in time or another dimension with Wally, or even serve as a spy to take down Deathstroke in Russia. There are endless possibilities where the whole DCU can be his playground instead of just sticking him in some city where he is all by himself.

Ideally it would be better for him to have some structure like what Spyral provided that still allowed him to go anywhere and he a hero full time, but there are other ways to do that as well. Have him work for the JL in some capacity that doesn't require him to be an official member (since I don't think he will ever be one), join ARGUS or another agency that lets him be a hero full time, or even create his own team that isn't garbage like the Titans.

I feel like Dick is a character that would benefit more from being in the Marvel universe where it is so much easier for him to be connected to everyone. Unfortunately DC doesn't have an Avengers equivalent and that is the type of place where Dick's character would thrive I think.

I wouldn't want Dick in the Marvel Universe. All the constant team-ups these days just kind of annoy me, but I prefer more traditional hero status quo's like having a city and Rogues Gallery rather then constantly teaming-up with new heroes instead of developing your own heroes personal life/world .

Not that I think a city is stopping him from playing in the DCU playground if writers want to showcase him there. I mean, just a few arcs ago he went through a variety of different Supervillains and basically teamed-up with the Clock King of all people.

[WonderNight]

dick can have both just have BludHaven be home and ARGUS his job. it sound like dick grayson and new52 steve trevor did to swith roles lol.

nightwing as the liaision for the JL and argus? his own team7 of wonder woman, nightwing, steve trevor, huntress, tiger, ravgner and deathstorke? yes and yes plz .

[Badou]

I wouldn't want Dick in the Marvel Universe. All the constant team-ups these days just kind of annoy me, but I prefer more traditional hero status quo's like having a city and Rogues Gallery rather then constantly teaming-up with new heroes instead of developing your own heroes personal life/world .

Not that I think a city is stopping him from playing in the DCU playground if writers want to showcase him there. I mean, just a few arcs ago he went through a variety of different Supervillains and basically teamed-up with the Clock King of all people.

Except it is. Rebirth forced Seeley to put him back in Bludhaven, so it is taking away from other potential stories as we have to spend so much time beating a dead horse in Bludhaven. There has never been a Bludhaven story that has been more than average, imo. I've read years and years of stories set there, or similar cities, and I have yet to be convinced that it is worth it. I've waited so long for that "killer" story to make Bludhaven work and it hasn't happened.

Also the problem is that Dick's personal life/world is nothing but heroes. That is his life. He has no interest in being anything other than a hero and doing hero things. He has no interest in a normal job, school or any kind of business. So trying to put him in a traditional hero box where he is stuck in a city with nothing in it is regressive for him.

Also with that arc that you mentioned they had to drag those character into Bludhaven to use and once the arc was over they are gone and irrelevant. Constantly having to find ways to bring in more interesting villains to a city devoid of them is a waste of energy. It does nothing but show that the city itself is incapable of producing them or being their home.

dick can have both just have BludHaven be home and ARGUS his job. it sound like dick grayson and new52 steve trevor did to swith roles lol.

Why is Bludhaven his home though? What value does he get out of it if he is working for ARGUS or some other agency that lets him be a hero full time?

[WonderNight]

I don't know, but maybe he likes the entertainment side of it and the city reminds him of haly's circus plus not to far but not to close to gotham for so downtime when he's off work.

[Frontier]

Except it is. Rebirth forced Seeley to put him back in Bludhaven, so it is taking away from other potential stories as we have to spend so much time beating a dead horse in Bludhaven. There has never been a Bludhaven story that has been more than average, imo. I've read years and years of stories set there, or similar cities, and I have yet to be convinced that it is worth it. I've waited so long for that "killer" story to make Bludhaven work and it hasn't happened.

Well, we're definitely coming at this from a different perspective because I've enjoyed several stories in Bludhaven and don't see it as the weight around Dick's neck that other fans do.

Considering other characters are allowed to have adventures outside their city's I don't think Dick should be hurting on that front.

Also the problem is that Dick's personal life/world is nothing but heroes. That is his life. He has no interest in being anything other than a hero and doing hero things. He has no interest in a normal job, school or any kind of business. So trying to put him in a traditional hero box where he is stuck in a city with nothing in it is regressive for him.

I think Dick is definitely very entrenched into the world of heroes but I also enjoy seeing him try and carve out a civilian life or some kind of normalcy and how difficult that is for him. It's not something I think he has absolutely no interest in.

But I'm someone who wishes we saw more Bruce Wayne then Batman these days, so I'm probably biased.

Also with that arc that you mentioned they had to drag those character into Bludhaven to use and once the arc was over they are gone and irrelevant. Constantly having to find ways to bring in more interesting villains to a city devoid of them is a waste of energy. It does nothing but show that the city itself is incapable of producing them or being their home.

I don't see how they were dragged into there, Seeley just found a way to integrate them into his story and used them well.

I'm not sure why they need to be relevant past that and I doubt Seeley's intention in bringing them in was to liven up the lack of villains in Bludhaven. Heck, that whole arc was about re-introducing a new version of Blockbuster.

Why is Bludhaven his home though? What value does he get out of it if he is working for ARGUS or some other agency that lets him be a hero full time?

Why does he need to work for ARGUS? What if he doesn't want to do that or be a spy full-time?

[Badou]

Well, we're definitely coming at this from a different perspective because I've enjoyed several stories in Bludhaven and don't see it as the weight around Dick's neck that other fans do.

Considering other characters are allowed to have adventures outside their city's I don't think Dick should be hurting on that front.

Those other heroes have decades and decades of history within those cities and have built an actual life there. That is where those heroes were basically created and built their hero identity in. Dick did not do that with Bludhaven. He wasn't born there, he does't have a career there, and he didn't create a hero identity there. Writers try and paint Bludhaven as being super important and a place that he has a deep connection with, but it just feels hollow to me. Gotham actually means something to Bruce on an extremely personal level. Same with Metropolis and Smallville for Clark and NYC for Spider-man. I just don't feel that with Bludhaven and it has been years and years of stories there at this point.

And having adventures outside their city isn't the problem I am talking about. It is the waste of time of having to drag Dick back to Bludhaven time and time again that I am frustrated with. You are cutting your potential for good stories in half as I don't think Bludhaven is capable of producing good stories.

Why does he need to work for ARGUS? What if he doesn't want to do that or be a spy full-time?

I didn't bring up ARGUS first. He could just work for the Titans full time if he wanted as he has a gigantic Titans tower in NYC to live in like he did in the NTT days too. That is the thing. He can go and do anything and I don't get why you'd stick him in a city where there is nothing in it. I mean the idea of Dick actually having to look for a job so he can pay rent while in Bludhaven is ridiculous to me when at the same time he is basically the leader of a team with a gigantic tower in NYC filled with expensive equipment and resources. There is an obvious disconnect there.

But like you said, we are coming at it from two different view points. I'm guessing you are completely satisfied with where he is as a character. He is in the Titans, in a blue costume and running around on the rooftops of Bludhaven, so you think he is right where he needs to be. I don't feel that way and it is painful for me to see his character stagnate and regress, but I don't think either one of us will budge from our positions, lol.

[SpiderWing20]

I just find the idea of Dick needing "his own city" to protect or "his own rogues gallery" to be an archaic way to look at comics. Dick should just be a DCU character. You have Gotham or the Titans (though I find the Titans franchise to be garbage) to serve as a home base if you want Dick to have one. There is just nothing in Bludhaven valuable enough to have Dick keep coming back to it and pretend it is his home.

He doesn't need to be anchored to a city. If you want to write a story about Dick going off into space to be a Green Lantern for a while then do it, or have him go team up with the Amazons for some reason, or run around with Cyborg to help him defeat someone, or travel in time or another dimension with Wally, or even serve as a spy to take down Deathstroke in Russia. There are endless possibilities where the whole DCU can be his playground instead of just sticking him in some city where he is all by himself.

Ideally it would be better for him to have some structure like what Spyral provided that still allowed him to go anywhere and he a hero full time, but there are other ways to do that as well. Have him work for the JL in some capacity that doesn't require him to be an official member (since I don't think he will ever be one), join ARGUS or another agency that lets him be a hero full time, or even create his own team that isn't garbage like the Titans.

I feel like Dick is a character that would benefit more from being in the Marvel universe where it is so much easier for him to be connected to everyone. Unfortunately DC doesn't have an Avengers equivalent and that is the type of place where Dick's character would thrive I think.

So something along the lines of Brave and The Bold

[Frontier]

So something along the lines of Brave and The Bold

One of these days they're going to revive that book .

[WhipWhirlwind]

I just don't know why Nightwing always needs a "fresh start" when he is so entrenched in the DCU as a whole.

For those who are for Bludhaven, if a character asked Nightwing "Why do you live in Bludhaven?" what would Dick's answer be?

[Frontier]

For those who are for Bludhaven, if a character asked Nightwing "Why do you live in Bludhaven?" what would Dick's answer be?

Well, it would probably depend on the writer to some extent, but I imagine his answer would be it's a city he feels he made his own as Nightwing and where he was able to learn and gain experience as his own hero and do good without the shadow of Batman following him.

[Godlike13]

Because he wants to.

Bludhaven is to help with the serialized nature of comics, and make it so Nightwing doesn't need a "fresh start" whenever a new creative team jumps on board. Though i kind of like fresh starts. Anything gets boring after a while, and Nightwing battles with complacency.

[WhipWhirlwind]

Well, it would probably depend on the writer to some extent, but I imagine his answer would be it's a city he feels he made his own as Nightwing and where he was able to learn and gain experience as his own hero and do good without the shadow of Batman following him.

I think I would be more okay with Bludhaven if he had his memories back, and saw it as a second chance. As it is now I have trouble accepting your answer but I understand there's still "something" there for him that he "remembers".

Because he wants to.

Bludhaven is to help with the serialized nature of comics, and make it so Nightwing doesn't need a "fresh start" whenever a new creative team jumps on board. Though i kind of like fresh starts. Anything gets boring after a while, and Nightwing battles with complacency.

True, but I feel like Grayson is so adaptable that repetitive fresh starts kind of work for him, which is why I like the idea of him having a home base (gotham, NY) that doesn't need any foundation added to it. It allows the writer to just go with whatever they want to do.

[badcaffeine]

did anyone else have a problem with Helena smacking around Dick? It left a really bad taste in my mouth when I read it. I mean that’s domestic abuse right?

[Frontier]

did anyone else have a problem with Helena smacking around Dick? It left a really bad taste in my mouth when I read it. I mean that’s domestic abuse right?

...Technically yes but I highly doubt it will ever be acknowledged as such.

[Lady Nightwing]

did anyone else have a problem with Helena smacking around Dick? It left a really bad taste in my mouth when I read it. I mean that’s domestic abuse right?

Yes. I hate that it's perfectly normal in comic books to hit your family/love interests. It's disgusting