Dick Grayson's new status quo - "permanent," or short-term?

[Dzetoun]

Forget what interview it was in, but Seeley already said this is one phase of the story they are telling, so I expect it to have an end point (not because of sales or lack of interest).

It was actually King in the interview he and Seeley did with Newsarama after Grayson 1 came out:

King: We're doing it season by season, and the first arc will have an ending. We've set up this plot with Dick Grayson under cover, and that plot, we have the ending in mind and plotted out.

And then there will be a new sort of mystery after that. So people don't have to worry that this is a sort of Gilligan's Island show where he "almost" gets discovered for five years. There's an end to each of these seasons, and it's going to be awesome.

Note the reference to "seasons" and "shows." Metaphors? Hopeful thinking? Certainly a sign that, as Alexander Luthor said on another thread, the Hollywood paradigm is growing very influential in comics.

[Maxpower00044]

It was actually King in the interview he and Seeley did with Newsarama after Grayson 1 came out:



Note the reference to "seasons" and "shows." Metaphors? Hopeful thinking? Certainly a sign that, as Alexander Luthor said on another thread, the Hollywood paradigm is growing very influential in comics.

Thanks for doing the leg work. Couldn't remember where I read it.

[red winter]

I would like to see Grayson around for awhile, I like the idea of a former superhero that was an actual superhero I read being a cop,spy or private investigator since I liked Alias & Powers and they weren't superheroes that you could followed their "former careers".

[OWL45]

Forget what interview it was in, but Seeley already said this is one phase of the story they are telling, so I expect it to have an end point (not because of sales or lack of interest).

I read the interview also. He said their will be an end to this particular mission but didn't say he wasn't going to be spy anymore. He actually followed up with saying their will be some type of mystery Dick will be follwing up on after this story line.

[lancerman]

Depends on how it sells. A lot of fans were clamoring for Grayson to stay as Batman back in the old continuity. Some viewed going back to Nightwing as an inevitability. DC thought that way as well, they figured his return to the role would be well received. The response was mixed and the series was stagnant, and I do think the feel of regression was a big part of that. So I think this new role was created in the mind that it would be run with if it was successful.

Nightwings a plan B at the time speaking.

[Badou]

Did DC really think his return to Nightwing would be well received? Especially when they removed everything from the character that people associated with him? It felt like they had him go back to Nigthwing because they didn't know what else to do with the character, and had him mess around with the circus for most of the run because that was all that was left from his history to use. The run felt incredibly limited, so you wonder how much DC supported the book behind the scenes and gave the creator room to work with. Still, his Nightwing book sold incredibly well, especially the trades. Only Batman, Justice League and maybe Detective sold more I think, but they still felt the need to get rid of it.

But I guess it all depends on the type of talent they continue to put on his book. We've seen that with Nightwing they tend to put not the best creative teams and I don't really see why that would change if he goes back to Nightwing. Maybe with Grayson they could lure more talent on his book since he isn't as much of a B-list Batman/Daredevil knockoff in this type of setting, but it is difficult to say. At the same time a book like Grayson doesn't really lend itself to being easy to adapt to other media.

[jules]

Note the reference to "seasons" and "shows." Metaphors? Hopeful thinking? Certainly a sign that, as Alexander Luthor said on another thread, the Hollywood paradigm is growing very influential in comics.

It certainly seems to be the way they're running Batman Eternal, so the idea is clearly in favour in the Bat part of the DC universe.

In the short term at least I'd expect early arcs to hinge on the evolution of Spyral as an organisation as much as Dick's role as spy/double agent within it. It seems to encourage its senior operatives to have their own agendas, so once he's foiled the plot that Batman sent him in to investigate, there may be other areas of the organisation that need poking with a stick too. I'm rather hoping that he'll stay within Spyral for a good long while; it's fun and very different from the other DC organisations.

[dropkickjake]

At the same time a book like Grayson doesn't really lend itself to being easy to adapt to other media.

Why do you say that?

[Claude]

Why do you say that?

Yeah, I was curious about that - "Grayson" is Dick's best chance for an Arrow, Flash or Constantine style TV series that he's ever had. And if they do another Batman cartoon with him as Robin, it's not massively harder to transition him into "Agent Of Spyral" than it is into Nightwing.

[Deniz Camp]

I'm enjoying the current direction (all one issue of it), but he'll eventually go back to Nightwing.

The current setup is not built for the long term, I don't think. Much of the drama is going to come from this extended deception (taking a page out of the book of popular TV shows like the Americans, Dexter, Breaking Bad), and there is a limit on how long that can last. Further drama will come from his job's propensity for murder, and his own moral code against. Again, this has a limited shelf life.

At best, I'd say you'll have a couple of years of it, then maybe a year of Dick Grayson at the head of the spy organization working to reform it, then a return to a superhero identity of some sort.

What I hope they do keep permanently is a greater emphasis on diversity of threat and tone. That's the real success of Grayson, that's the real gold to be mined for the future of the character.

[byrd156]

Dick Grayson, at this point, is a blank slate.

Agent Grayson is basically a fresh start for him. I only see progress from there on. I don't see DC bringing back Nightwing after this.

Basically, my hunch - forget the Teen Titans. Forget Nightwing. Forget Bludhaven.

In the New 52, however long it lasts, whether 25 or even 50 years, Dick Grayson's life will have been rebooted as going from Robin to secret agent and onwards, into the future, whatever it may hold.

Yeah...... I can't see that happening. It makes absolutely no sense for him to just go Robin to secret agent, it made no sense going from Nightwing to secret agent, but that's not my point. The point is that Nightwing is the most important part of Dick's life whether its Pre-52 or New-52. Even if you take out the Titans part which is a dumb thing to do, it shows how he was his own man as a hero. Without that he is just a failed sidekick that couldn't become a hero so he became a secret agent. Hopefully the whole Grayson thing will just be a short entertaining run and get Dick back where he belongs, as every heroes friend and one of DC greatest characters.

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[byrd156]

Did DC really think his return to Nightwing would be well received? Especially when they removed everything from the character that people associated with him? It felt like they had him go back to Nigthwing because they didn't know what else to do with the character, and had him mess around with the circus for most of the run because that was all that was left from his history to use. The run felt incredibly limited, so you wonder how much DC supported the book behind the scenes and gave the creator room to work with. Still, his Nightwing book sold incredibly well, especially the trades. Only Batman, Justice League and maybe Detective sold more I think, but they still felt the need to get rid of it.

But I guess it all depends on the type of talent they continue to put on his book. We've seen that with Nightwing they tend to put not the best creative teams and I don't really see why that would change if he goes back to Nightwing. Maybe with Grayson they could lure more talent on his book since he isn't as much of a B-list Batman/Daredevil knockoff in this type of setting, but it is difficult to say. At the same time a book like Grayson doesn't really lend itself to being easy to adapt to other media.

The Circus idea was a good one, just not executed to well especially because of Death of the Family. DC didn't really give Higgins enough time to work with what little he actually had. I kinda fear that DC might try to move Agent Dick Grayson over to other media and that would mean butcher the character even more, like taking away the Batman connection.

[Kid A]

Depends on how it sells. A lot of fans were clamoring for Grayson to stay as Batman back in the old continuity. Some viewed going back to Nightwing as an inevitability. DC thought that way as well, they figured his return to the role would be well received. The response was mixed and the series was stagnant, and I do think the feel of regression was a big part of that. So I think this new role was created in the mind that it would be run with if it was successful.

Nightwings a plan B at the time speaking.

Nightwing is an inevitability, unfortunately. It's just part of the whole stagnant nature of superhero comics.

So I'm just enjoying this ride while it lasts, and then I'll be gone.

[Birdsinboxes]

Crazy how long Dick has been around... Part of me still wishes he was Robin.

[Punisher007]

"Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, so let me take little boys into my cave and dress them in tiny shorts to fight crime." Yeah, that costume was always ridiculous.