Pitch a Direction: Nightwing

[Pohzee]

Issue 55 happened one week before Heroes in Crisis. Take him to the Sanctuary and let him be Wally's Batgirl/Blue Beetle to Wally's Harley Quinn or Booster Gold to round out the trio of duos (or maybe quartet if you include Batman/Flash). He doesn't remember his past or his friend Wally, but he's dragged into a wild chase and mystery murder with people he doesn't remember trying to use skills he instinctively remembers.

Alternatively, he hops on the pile and avoids the whole Ric fiasco and is put out of his misery.

[Godlike13]

I have a couple ideas. One is Zombie Nightwing, one involves Deathstoke as Dick’s new mentor, one involves Ric and Nightwing in a dissociative identity battle, and one is just a better executed Ric. That doesn’t turn into a lazy rip off of We Are Robin, no stupid, lazy, muscle memory bullshit that defeats the purpose entirely, and has an understanding that the Ric audience is not some new audience that hates Dick.

[exile001]

Ok, my pitch is this;

Dick wakes up in hospital AND IT IS MADE CLEAR THAT BRUCE HAS BEEN THERE THE WHOLE TIME!!! Like the loving father he is. He took down the Beast, then returned to Dick's side.

Over the course of 6 issues he is visited by important figures from his past, Bruce, Alfred, Babs, Kori, Tim, then Damian, who try to remind him who he is. He has complete amnesia, rather than the mess we got. Each represent a different aspect of himself.

Bruce, the death of his parents and the beginning of his life as Robin. Year 1.
Alfred, the surrogate home and family he found. Years 2-3.
Babs, first love. Years 3-4.
Kori, true love and his place in the larger hero community (leader of the Titans, etc). Years 4-6.
Tim, his legacy as a hero to others (Tim specifically wanting to follow in HIS footsteps). Years 6-8.
Damian, the surrogate father/mentor (Dick is to Damian as Bruce was to Dick). Years 8-9.

Dick thanks each one in turn, but confesses (at the end of the arc) that he remembers none of them, but he appreciates their being here for him and that he feels that the man he was would be overwhelmed by the love he feels.

He then turns to the camera and says "hail Hydra..." KIDDING!!!!!! Please don't lynch me.

Deciding to set out on his own, and already having an apartment and gym in Bludhaven (I think that was his vocation prior), he begins building a new life for himself, with previously established cast members dropping in and out of the gym. We'll use some from the Dixon era, too, just retcon that Dick still used to live with them, but moved away (secretly due to his fake death in Forever Evil). This immediately gives him 6 or so cast members who are outside the superhero circles. Issue one ends on a hopeful note, with Dick finding old friends again and feeling as though he has been given a fresh start, the classic shot of standing in alley throwing away trash as the sun sets in the distance full of hopeful narration...

Until he sees something gleaming in the darkness ahead, the barrel of a gun, and out of the shadows steps Roland Desmond.

The purpose of this arc is to re-introduce Dick to the underworld of Bludhaven, without being active in or against it, while also showing that he still retains the abilities of his training, just not the memory. I am really trying to build a sense that Dick is ok with his current situation, but something will eventually drag him back.

Raptor's heavy handed dialogue during their last battle slipped Nightwing's secret identity to Desmond, so we now have a situation where the villain knows more about the hero than the now-ex hero. Obviously, any attempt at blackmailing fails, Desmond has no tangible proof and he believes Dick's amnesia, but after getting frustrated Desmond throws hands and Dick reflexively dodges. The ability is still there, but the memory is still gone.

***if you'll allow it, I'd have a flash of memory every time he "accesses" this move set, e.g. he avoids a punch and remembers doing the same against full Blockbuster. Later he can leap and swing from a fire escape and remember doing so in the circus. ***

So, Desmond, seeing the skills he wanted are still there, threatens to kill Dick's friends (those visiting him at the gym) one by one if he doesn't help him with little missions. No-one gets hurt, just little heists, information gathering, that kind of thing. This will give the story some action, and some near misses. Desmond figures he can get a win-win here, by getting the information he needs to pull off his "grand plan" and also that the amnesiac Dick will make little mistakes (a finger print, partial face on a security camera) that will allow him to set Dick up for a fall.

Ironically, all he is doing is re-training the man who will ultimately bring him down. While there has to be a physical confrontation later on, I'd quickly show that Dick isn't an idiot and is quietly meeting with (his friend detective, can't remember her name) and she is building a case, while also getting Dick to subtly probe Desmond about police corruption.

I've got to wrap this up, so (year or so) long story short, its all linked. Desmond is trying to supplant the crime kingpin of Bludhaven and, if possible, wants to use Dick to do it. The police (and political) corruption slowly goes higher and higher to a shadowy man who knows the system inside and out. Both are the same man; Dudley Soames. I'd chuck in a few clues to the old Dixon run, Shrike, Lady Vic, etc.

Mostly Dick's involvement is acting as a go between for Desmond and the Detective (he is clearly trying to be a hero) while re-learning skills (and if allowed, slowly regaining memories). This merges the Nightwing and Spyral Agent sides of Dick, while keeping him mostly amnesiac and away from either identity, as well as the Bat-family.

If editorial has changed by the end, I'd love to have the "final battle" be Dick defeating Blockbuster alone, while the BPD are in a bloody gunfight with Soames and his men. When things look bleak, the whole Bat-family (and Kori) descend on Soames' gangster filled lair much the to detective's surprise. She is talking to Dick on a walkie talkie and thanks Nightwing. She also knew all along.

[Pohzee]

I already laid out my preferred storyline but in my usual manner, I'm going to scattershot a buncha other ideas of varying development and quality.

1.) Here's a broken record that won't surprise anyone here: go back to Grayson (sorta.) Dick's value as an asset to spy organizations is two-fold. As the adopted son of Batman, he makes for a good bargaining chip against one of the most formidable adversaries in the DCU. Secondly, his skills and training give him the potential to be the ideal spy. Traditionally, this has been offset by his agency and independent agenda as well as his strongly instilled moral code and refusal to kill. An amnesiac Dick Grayson has neither of these disadvantages. Thus, anyone knowing of his identity and condition would seek to exploit it. This opens up the possibilities for two stories.

a.) Dick is kidnapped off the streets of Blüdhaven or Gotham by Leviathan and manipulated into being and agent against Spyral. This would've worked at any given point in time due to his time at Spyral in Grayson and could lead to some interesting conflict, but with the upcoming Leviathan event it could take on an even greater relevance. I have not been following Bendis's books so I don't know how hard that would be to retool, but he doesn't seem to have read all of Grayson either, so we're even.

a(ii).) This could also work with the CoO and making Dick a Talon. Hell, the shot to his brain coulda killed him and have him revived as a Talon.

b.) A Dick Grayson without his memory is being chased down by the strongest clandestine organizations in the DCU, and he doesn't know why. He doesn't even remember that he was Nightwing. After someone attempted to kidnap him off the streets of Blüdhaven or Gotham, Dick Grayson has been trying to escape from Spyral, Leviathan, Checkmate, League of Assassins, and the Court of Owls.

2.) Have Bane follow through on what he started. What kinda plan is shoot Nightwing and then let him live his life? There's no way his amnesia was planned. Have Bane kidnap an amnesiac Dick Grayson and manipulate him with the Psycho Pirate. He could either outright turn him into a new villain or he could turn him into a mole and return him to an unsuspecting Bruce.

3.) If you wanna have bum Ric/Dick, lets put our chips in. Realizing that he possesses innate fighting and sneaking skills, a homeless Dick Grayson eventually turns to petty thievery to support himself. He soon realizes that he is capable of greater heists and begins to escalate his plans. Run-ins with the police and/or the Nightwings (if you want to keep them around) prompt him to radicalize and take on a new villain persona. It could be an existing one (Deathwing, Renegade, Red X) or a new one. Doesn't matter.

4.) Badou already laid out a story about him returning to the circus that makes a boatload of sense for the character and while its not my idea, its worth rementioning.

Edit:

5.) Raptor returns (because comics) and persuades/manipulates an amnesiac Dick Grayson into joining his crusade. He doesn't remember being Nightwing, so he doesn't remember Raptor or his betrayal. Raptor could have him take back up the Nightwing mantle or Talon or even Robin/Robin Hood (Obviously this wouldn't be based on Batman's Robin but instead Talon's own version of Robin perhaps inspired by Robin Hood. Dick wouldn't know any better that he's been there, done that.)

[DevilBat66]

Every day all I want is a

Nightwing and Robin

comic.

Dick and Damian.

The Dynamic Duo.

Biff! Pow! Bang!

[byrd156]

Alright, lads. New game: Pitch an Amnesia Story that Doesn't Suck

Editorial has mandated it. Tom King has had Dick Grayson shot in the head as part of his effort to mentally break Batman, and Bruce can't get his son/best friend back until this story wraps us. To keep Dick off of the field and out of the batfamily entirely, they have decided that this head trauma has given our hero amnesia. He no longer remembers his time as Robin or Nightwing. In fact, Dick has lost all of his memories since his parents died. Last he remembers, he was a daring young man on the flying trapeze.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make this story worth reading.

Rules
-You can use your own pitches as a jumping off point for this. So if you want to say that Dick has been doing Graysonish stuff since Rebirth started (or what have you) that's fair game.

You must use this to somehow bring Dick away from Bruce entirely. The point of this is to get him away from the Batfamily.

-You cannot use a get out of jail free card. Editorial has mandated that this amnesia take him away from the Batfamily, gotham, and Bruce. No Spyral mind fixes, Zatanna spells, or Miss Martian mind invasions.

I think I already pitched one like tens of pages ago or it's been in my head for a while but I want Dick to go back to the circus. Reconnecting to his roots seems like the best idea if Dick's mind is reset to the night his parents died/pre-Batman and this time there is no Bruce to take him in.

Start the arc with Dick going back to Haly's circus, here all the circus folk will be reestablished along with Raptor who is someone who just joined as well. Raptor will be filling in a very Thawne type of role, helping Dick regain what he has lost to be a better "hero". The basic logline would be, What if Raptor helped and Bruce didn't that night the Graysons fell? A majority of the story-beats would revolve around Dick being taught something by each member of the circus and Raptor that would tie into things he vaguely remembers from Batman and his previous life fighting crime. Raptor would push Dick out to become Nightwing again while manipulating him, taking advantage of his mind and skill. Attacking the rich and the like, Dick would regain bits and pieces as the story progresses leading to a final choice of Dick accepting his new life or reclaiming his old.

I'm envisioning the final fight between him and Raptor would be during a circus performance that has acid on the ropes. The whole tent filled with the rich elite and rigged to explode. I have these images of Dick flashing back and forth between his days in the circus with the present during the fight, like his parents telling him what maneuvers he uses to swing through the air and defeat raptor who falls like his parents in the end. You see him hit the ground but by the time the story is all said and done the body is gone, that kind of thing.

[Godlike13]

I have an new idea for when Dick wakes up from this Ric ****. Dick investigates what happens at Sanctuary, realizes that if at that moment someone was just there to give Wally a god damn hug and tell him he wasn’t alone none of it would have happened, and so Dick becomes disillusioned with his heroes the Trinity. Claims that they have become too detached and conceded, thinking they could create a computer to fix people, and ignites an uprising with the other generations against the Trinity. It would be DC’s version of a superhero civil war.

[Jackalope89]

When Dick recovers, I'd rather this whole "Ric" thing be ignored entirely. Pretend it never happened.

With that said, to take a more slice of life turn, Dick finds out he's a dad through Starfire, having Mar'i Grayson. Though the two aren't together at the moment, they both agree to raise her with love and affection. The Bats now deal with the new addition. Bruce grumbles how he's too young to be a grandpa. Damian grumbles about being an uncle. Jason takes to being Uncle Jay quite well, being old friends with Kor'i. Tim runs tests to makes sure Mar'i is Dick's daughter, then speculates what powers she could develop. Cass shows her dancing and self-defense (along with pranks). And Steph introduces her to waffles (with mustard on top for Mar'i).

And editorial can cram it on "no one wants family stuff, just punching people!" crap.

[Godlike13]

Except this Mar’i has red hair and wears a trucker hat. So it takes Dick like five minutes to realize he’s not the daddy, does a Maury dance, and then runs off with Babs as she was the only person who actually gave **** he was shot in the head .

[byrd156]

Except this Mar’i has red hair and wears a trucker hat. So it takes Dick like five minutes to realize he’s not the daddy, does a Maury dance, and then runs off with Babs as she was the only person who actually gave **** he was shot in the head .

I hope the trucker hat stays at the bottom of the ocean where it belongs.

[Jackalope89]

Except this Mar’i has red hair and wears a trucker hat. So it takes Dick like five minutes to realize he’s not the daddy, does a Maury dance, and then runs off with Babs as she was the only person who actually gave **** he was shot in the head .

Nope. You're thinking of Lian Harper. Mar'i's best friend, and the two constantly getting into shenanigans.

[John Venus]

Dick get brain damaged during a fight. Hugo Strange steals his body and after a combination surgery, Monster Men serum treatment and electro shocks he is turned into FRANKEN-NIGHTWING or FRANK-WING. Despite Hugo's attempts to turn the half dead hero against his family, Franken-Wing regains partial memory of his previous life and escapes into the city so he can find out where he fits into the world now.

[astro@work]

When Dick recovers, I'd rather this whole "Ric" thing be ignored entirely. Pretend it never happened.


And editorial can cram it on "no one wants family stuff, just punching people!" crap.

Here's how you fix Dick, the character we liked and (were) buying the comic for...

In the wake of the Leviathan uprising, Spyral uses some tech imbedded in Dick's noggin to restore his memories...but the tech is only current up to the point of when he left Spyral...like reactivating a sleeper agent. And because the restored memories don't go into recent territory, he has no recollection of his time as dirty hobo "Ric", or of hanging out with people wearing his old costume while he wore month-old-jeans and grime on his face.

In the opening issue of the first arc, he also decides to finally take a bath, to rinse the stink of "Ric" off of him. After a quick return to agent-ing he makes a triumphant return to Gotham.

[Ascended]

Here's how you fix Dick, the character we liked and (were) buying the comic for...

In the wake of the Leviathan uprising, Spyral uses some tech imbedded in Dick's noggin to restore his memories...but the tech is only current up to the point of when he left Spyral...like reactivating a sleeper agent.

That's a pretty solid idea man. I'd be fine with it!!

[byrd156]

Here's how you fix Dick, the character we liked and (were) buying the comic for...

In the wake of the Leviathan uprising, Spyral uses some tech imbedded in Dick's noggin to restore his memories...but the tech is only current up to the point of when he left Spyral...like reactivating a sleeper agent. And because the restored memories don't go into recent territory, he has no recollection of his time as dirty hobo "Ric", or of hanging out with people wearing his old costume while he wore month-old-jeans and grime on his face.

In the opening issue of the first arc, he also decides to finally take a bath, to rinse the stink of "Ric" off of him. After a quick return to agent-ing he makes a triumphant return to Gotham.

The whole Leviathan thing is like a sleeper agent thing right? They could also go the route that Dick is one of those agents but his controlling device or whatever was damaged when he got shot in the head. His programming could've activated causing him become Ric.

This would make this stupid idea actually become something more important and begin to move him away cleaner.