To be fair, there are several legitimate reasons for why a publisher would turn down a writer wanting to write a certain title. To start with that the publisher have just finished (or are finishing) negotiations with another writer for that title, but it's not public yet. Or the editor responsible for the book and the prospective writer have a poor working relationship (which can be for all sorts of reasons). Or the pitch the writer gives doesn't fit into the overall plans for the character, or the tone, or is just not that good.
Honestly, there is not much that couldn't be better than soap opera amnesia with muscle memory. They've essentially turned Dick... erm I mean Ric into a Gary Stu... he has all these skills, but has no adequate backstory to explain them. The only thing he should be able to do is hold up his end of the bar next to Norm and Cliff and be served by Woody.
What I Read: Nightwing, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Justice League, Batman, Detective Comics, Batgirl, , The Flash, Action Comics, Superman, and Suicide Squad
What I Miss: Justice League and Justice League Unlimited TV Series, Wolverine and the X-Men TV Series and the Marvel Comics that got me into reading comics to begin with.
"I can't wait until the 'Ric' plot line ends!"
I wanna say that back in 2008, this was before Waid was making crazy blogposts about outbursts at movie theaters (and whatever else). At the time I believe he was a pretty hot name in comics. He even, if the quote I read was accurate (couldn't find the original source), seemed to indicate that *someone* at DC thought he was useless character but that since he was in charge that was his prerogative.
This very well could have been it, particularly as Tomasi had just started his run at the time. Either way, my point is that Dick is a character that a "Big Name Creator" would probably enjoy writing if they believed they would be allowed to tell their story. The track record recently is terrible.
Higgins- "Interrupt your story to include Dick in all these Batman Crossover Events!"
Seeley&King- "Grayson is going great! Critics love it! End it prematurely! We need King to start working on Batman!"
Seeley- "Oh you're excited about your ideas for Dick as 'Batman's global strike force of one'? Neat. But you have to put him in Bludhaven whether you want to or not."
Percy- "Hey, we really liked your work on the dark web and want you to tell your story in the DC Universe! Which character do you want? --oh.. Nightwing? Really?? Well that seems pretty odd because you could pick like anyone, but suit yourself. Go ahead and get start-- Oh wait JK Dick has amnesia now scrap your story no one here in editorial gives a shit about it or you. Cool thanks."
I have a vision of Didio as a the Wicked Stepmother to Dick, who at every turn makes sure he either doesn't get the big name creator or does his best to sabotage whatever decent work his current writer is trying to do... Till he is gone, highly doubt anything good will happen for Dick in the comics. Thankfully he cant ruin the TV shows...
I think there's room for him to explore and have reinventions of his own rogues, from his time as Robin, Nightwing, Batman, and beyond.
But I also think he could probably poach a handful from here and there. Sportsmaster and Tigress would be neat, so on, so forth.
I'd like to see less attempts at making new spins on Vigilante as a solo hero and a dedication to Vigilante being a dark mirror / foil for Nightwing. It always seemed like Adrian Chase and those parts of New Teen Titans were, like Deathstroke, riffs on the "Nightwing" facet of the Titans team, certainly meant to make Dick rethink a lot of things. But that's not to say any follow-up Vigilante appearances where whomever has been a foil for Nightwing has ever been the coolest, best story possible in that regard.
Retro315 no more. Anonymity is so 2005.
retrowarbird.blogspot.com
I'm liking the idea of Roxy Rocket showing up.
Really? Mammoth is probably the easiest of the Five to take down. He's really big, really strong, and that's it. How do you stop him? Gas. Sonics. A really slippery plastic bag put over his head. He's not fast, he's not a great fighter, he's just raw muscle. He's as vulnerable to sensory overload as anyone, he still needs to breathe, etc. And Dick is quick and agile enough to get the positioning he needs, and the gadgets he'd need aren't even things he doesn't usually carry with him. I think Dick would struggle a lot more with the others; hell Blockbuster is a hundred times smarter than Mammoth and Dick takes him on and wins.
I could definitely see Wrath being used. That's pretty solid. Grant Wilson could be good too, but I agree that would crimp the Slade-Dick rivalry. The question then becomes; with Slade treated as a solo property, would we really lose out on much? Does DC really use that rivalry these days in the first place?
I'm telling ya man, it'd be perfect!
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
Gorillas. Lots of gorillas.
While DC isn't using it right now, it's still something that has history behind it and miles of potential ahead of it. Using Grant both removes the point of Grant (can some people please stay dead? I mean it was always "Uncle Ben, Bucky, and Jason Todd" and now death means almost nothing), and also essentially gives Dick a junior version of a major villain to fight. That, to me, is the opposite direction that we need to see from Dick's rogues. We don't need more reason to consider him a junior hero who fights junior villains. Plus, anything interesting with Grant/Dick could be done with Joey or Rose just as well.
Also, I really gotta check out this Roxy Rocket. Shes from the cartoons, right?
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
When I suggested Nightwing swiping Superman’s golden age foes, Toyman definitely was included. I don’t see Schott as a threat to Kal but he could be a major threat to Nightwing.
If not there is always Kosmo Krank from The Batman and/or Fun Haus for Batman: TBaTB.
Retro315 no more. Anonymity is so 2005.
retrowarbird.blogspot.com