Pitch a Direction: Nightwing

[byrd156]

The Titans TV show has already explicitly said in 8 episodes what DC Comics has yet to figure out. Dick Grayson can never have a normal life. So stop trying. Maybe that will be the outcome of this Ric fiasco, but that is perhaps the least interesting or introspective way of handling it.

I do agree about the similarities between Hal Jordan and Dick Grayson. I remember reading quotes from Grant Morrison's interviews for The Green Lantern and thinking that those blurbs applied pretty well to Dick. Not the old-school alpha male or space cop stuff obviously, but the constant changing of professions not due to incompetence or a lack of work ethic, but because of a conflicting set of higher priorities and obligations. I would love a scene like the one in the first issue of The Green Lantern but with Dick.

I think Morrison is just tied to character's that drift around and are tied to their beliefs/morals so tightly.

[Ascended]

Honestly what I think would be really cool is if Dick had a series of old safehouses

Oh absolutely. I think any character that spends a lot of time traveling needs to have some of these spread around. Provides a place to rest, resupply, and it gives a sense of permanence to the narrative without being limiting. And you can always run the complication of "crap I need a safehouse for something, but there isn't one in this city!" to help keep it fresh.

[oasis1313]

I agree with this. Dick just doesn't seem like a "day job" kinda guy. He's tried, but it never really works out and never quite seems to fit. But I suppose that shouldn't surprise us, considering where Dick came from and where he ended up.

So he needs a way to live without having to carry a normal job. He could live off Bruce's money but I'm pretty sure all of us hate that idea, and Dick has said many times on panel he doesn't want the handout. Spyral works great for that, as does any super-team that currently uses funding and has a payroll (just about every team has been structured like this at one point or another).

I feel like Dick's a tiny bit like Hal Jordan in that the personality traits that make Nightwing an incredible, skilled hero also makes Dick Grayson terrible at "regular person" things, like holding down a steady job and paying bills on time.

So......everyone's (well, not *everyone*) been talking about Vegashaven and the idea of Nightwing being the bridge between Bat and Super......I gotta bring up my old idea of having Dick spend time in Suicide Slum. It'd be a great fit for a "Super-Bat" model of Nightwing. The Slum is full of street type problems like gangs, drugs, smuggling, etc., but those things are all amplified by the superhuman runoff of Metropolis; the gangs have high-end military grade weapons, the smugglers are trafficking in metahumans, the drugs turn you into ten foot tall monsters........If you want Nightwing to still be street level but want him doing stuff that isn't completely overlapping Bruce's books, this would get you there.

I do like the idea of Nightwing traveling and not being tied to one single city, but I wouldn't complain if he decided to call Suicide Slum his home.

Why not just retcon out the Haley's Circus debacle and Dick still has his parents' insurance/trust fund?

[dropkickjake]

I like the character elements of this but I can't really see Dick as a lawyer. Plus the Daredevil comparisons would increase.

Yeah, the Daredevil comparisons would be inevitable, but that'd just be a bummer of a reason to avoid a direction that I think would work otherwise. I could see him as a lawyer, after all, being in court is in some sense a show. Really though, This is a directions I'd write if I was given a very specific set of parameters: "Keep him in Gotham. We want him to interact with the Batfamily more than the DCU. He needs to have a day job. Keep him close to Bruce."

So......everyone's (well, not *everyone*) been talking about Vegashaven and the idea of Nightwing being the bridge between Bat and Super......I gotta bring up my old idea of having Dick spend time in Suicide Slum. It'd be a great fit for a "Super-Bat" model of Nightwing. The Slum is full of street type problems like gangs, drugs, smuggling, etc., but those things are all amplified by the superhuman runoff of Metropolis; the gangs have high-end military grade weapons, the smugglers are trafficking in metahumans, the drugs turn you into ten foot tall monsters........If you want Nightwing to still be street level but want him doing stuff that isn't completely overlapping Bruce's books, this would get you there.

I do like the idea of Nightwing traveling and not being tied to one single city, but I wouldn't complain if he decided to call Suicide Slum his home.

I think the hesitation I have with Dick in Metropolis is that instead of playing second fiddle to Batman he'd be playing second fiddle to superman. I see the upside there, but I'm not sure I'd want it to be his (even semi)permanent direction. A mini though? I'd spend stupid money on that.

Honestly what I think would be really cool is if Dick had a series of old safehouses that Bruce gave him when he was Robin. The safehouses would be all over the world from Star City to Bludhaven to Paris, etc. It would be a constant that would be familiar all the while being able to travel the world. The safe houses wouldn't need the typical maintenance like bills and the like so money wouldn't be an issue. I would also throw in an Oracle/Alfred type character that would be support on the side. Also maybe bring in Artemis or Helena who is working their own case that Dick would fall into. Then they could do a meta-human trafficking storyline that kinda follows what YJ is doing.

Wow I like this so much.

Why not just retcon out the Haley's Circus debacle and Dick still has his parents' insurance/trust fund?

Yeah, gotta agree that this story is best ignored. It felt like all the bat writers got the instruction to make the tie ins super impactful, and only Higgins followed through.

[oasis1313]

Have you guys ever noticed that whenever there's a retcon, they keep the negative things that happen to Dick Grayson and discard the positive thing?

[byrd156]

Have you guys ever noticed that whenever there's a retcon, they keep the negative things that happen to Dick Grayson and discard the positive thing?

I would say that happens with pretty much every retcon. Hal is one of the few characters were most of the retcons he gets helps his character.

[byrd156]

Honestly I don't know why DC doesn't just try to sync up with Young Justice (the show) right now. Have Dick run around working on a meta-human trafficking case like the show. It's got crazy superhero potential, team-ups, espionage, globetrotting, it has everything that people have been asking for in this thread.

[dropkickjake]

Honestly I don't know why DC doesn't just try to sync up with Young Justice (the show) right now. Have Dick run around working on a meta-human trafficking case like the show. It's got crazy superhero potential, team-ups, espionage, globetrotting, it has everything that people have been asking for in this thread.

And people love that show so much that it got uncancelled. Thats something.

[Armor of God]

Honestly I don't know why DC doesn't just try to sync up with Young Justice (the show) right now. Have Dick run around working on a meta-human trafficking case like the show. It's got crazy superhero potential, team-ups, espionage, globetrotting, it has everything that people have been asking for in this thread.

Well, I think they are capitalizing on Young Justice. They have YJ and Outsiders books coming up over the next few months. But at the end of they day, the tv show is basically a general DC universe show. In the comics YJ and Outsiders are specific concepts attached to specific characters. Now I think the solicits of Hill's Outsiders did hint at meta human trafficking.

[oasis1313]

I would say that happens with pretty much every retcon. Hal is one of the few characters were most of the retcons he gets helps his character.

Dick always gets the worst of it.

[nhienphan2808]

Honestly I don't know why DC doesn't just try to sync up with Young Justice (the show) right now. Have Dick run around working on a meta-human trafficking case like the show. It's got crazy superhero potential, team-ups, espionage, globetrotting, it has everything that people have been asking for in this thread.

Well they have. But instead of the good thing like you mentioned Wally just died many times (Tumblr loves that) and Titans are DIRECTLY under Batman like the YJ kids and unlike rebelious Titans in the comic, Dick got a baby sitter never mind that Titans are completely different characters and Megan should be like, 2 generation below Dick.

[thefiresky]

Has anyone mentioned a Red Robin/Nightwing team up? Thatd be dope.

[byrd156]

And people love that show so much that it got uncancelled. Thats something.

Hell yeah I was one of them.

[byrd156]

Well they have. But instead of the good thing like you mentioned Wally just died many times (Tumblr loves that) and Titans are DIRECTLY under Batman like the YJ kids and unlike rebelious Titans in the comic, Dick got a baby sitter never mind that Titans are completely different characters and Megan should be like, 2 generation below Dick.

I never mentioned using the Titans. You simply have Dick looking into it himself. Then you can have team ups from there that don't necassaryly need all the Titans or the team directly. You could have Huntress or Power Girl or Tempest or Troia or Zatanna and so on. You can use characters outside or inside the Titans.

When I say capitalize on Young Justice I mean the plot line. Nothing like it is being explored right now. Young Justice the comic series seems to be it's own thing so fans of the show possibly picking up the book will probably be a little confused. But if you show them Nightwing who is doing a similar mission to the show then it will be easier for people to transition over.

[Restingvoice]

What do you mean? I don't think Dick has ever been controversial, maybe Bruce firing Dick but that's kinda reaching I think.

Something like that. Bruce firing Dick, sleeping with Babs before marrying Kori... though that one is universally hated it doesn't have to count... canceling the marriage with Kori because stuff happens, being de-aged in the reboot, letting Blockbuster be murdered, being raped...

Though a lot of that has been erased in the reboot so I guess it no longer matters...

I know the recent one is some fans saying that Dick change after New 52 or more specifically Grayson, where they put more emphasis on his charm, sexiness and kindness but downplaying his intelligence, detective skills, technological skills since Tim is The Smart One and the negative part of his personality to make him The Nice One in contrast to Jason and Damian being The Bad One.

I want to know if there's anything else before that divide fans on how he should be portrayed.