Originally Posted by
Slimybug
Okay, it seems this thread has gotten a bit off track, talking about whether or not Nightwing is Batman-lite, or if he should be, or how he's being written, or how he may be written, or whatever, so, let me get to the meat of this.
I'm something of a casual fan of a lot of this stuff, having only scratched the superficial surface of actually reading these issues, and my knowledge of the history is based on research. So I can't really say I know these characters super well, or have any knowledge of a lot of depth to them, why a character is "good for" another or not.
I can tell you that, superficially, for a lot of fans my age, it's the idea of the "classic Robin and Batgirl" thing that makes them seem like a Superman-Lois-Lane, destined thing. And so for that reason, I'm on team Barbara. But it's also the reason I've heard at least one Dick/Kori shipper get angry. He seemed to say that Dick/Babs is only pushed because of that sort of superficial ideal, based on what the kiddies see when they look at a comic cover. Obviously, I've heard people on this thread make a lot deeper arguments for it.
But let me see if I have this timeline right.
In spite of the common perception of the classic Batgirl and Robin having a romantic attachment, there was only, apparently, some teasing of it in the "Batman Family" book.
Dick's first real serious love story came in the Titans book in the 80s, when he and Kori were a big-deal couple. They ultimately got engaged, but broke it off at some point.
And that's kind of it for Dick and Kori. Near as I can tell, they haven't really pushed any strong tension for them in the ensung years, and that comic book page shown on page 5 of this thread seems to put the nail in the coffin.
Then, in the late 90s/2000s or so, they started to legitimately push the idea of him and Babs together. What's the issue that comic book panel is from, with Babs meeting Kori in her underwear? That seems to be a retcon of sorts, right? At any rate, they became a couple, and then THEY got engaged. But then, in "One Year Later," it was revealed they broke it off as well.
I guess it's that timeline that makes me a Babs shipper. The Kori thing seems to have been said and done 30+ years ago, while the Barbara thing is still fresh, at least for guys like me, and could still seem like a viable option for him to return to. Plus, again, that comic page from page 5 says a lot (what's that from?) , as does the post where someone said that even Donna was expressing concerns back in the day that they weren't truly right for each other.
Then again, apparently it's a totally different dynamic in the New 52, and I'll admit I know nothing about the New 52, so there you go.