"It's too bad she won't live! But then again, who does? - Gaff Blade Runner
"In a short time, this will be a long time ago." - Werner Slow West
"One of the biggest problems in the industry is apathy right now." - Dan Didio Co-Publisher of I Wonder Why That Is Comics
No, if you want your characters to survive and remain relatable you update your stories and storytelling and keep your stories interesting and relatable. You don't rename a character and/or change the very basic and fundamental aspects of them - you might as well be creating a brand new character based/inspired by an old one then... No kid is ever going to say "Nightwing is so cool. Wait, his real name is Dick?! Nope, cant read this anymore, I dont read characters whose name I am not familiar with and none of my friends have." Dick Grayson has survived for 80 years just fine and even now the kids interested in comics and shows like Young Justice or Teen Titans etc know him as Dick Grayson and like him as Dick Grayson. There are tons of fictional characters out there who have been around for ages, even hundreds of years and no one would ever dream of renaming them and give them "modern", "popular", "common", "relatable" names because the name of the character is a fundamental part of them and one of their recognizable traits. People are already familiar with that name, and have associations with it and it has a history...
Last edited by Schumiac; 09-02-2019 at 12:42 PM.
You think Batman, Spider-Man....etc survived because they only updated their stories? These characters went through so many changes since their creations (Batman is nothing like he was in the 40s or 60s for example nor Dick is) to make them accessible. Even characters like Sherlock and King Arthur went through changes.
Grayson is hardly anywhere close or relevent like the characters I mentioned and big part of any character's appeal is having cool name/appearance which he lacks in both. So, he isn't "ageless" or "timeless" and if you want him to survive for another 30 years, they need to make some serious changes to him.
Last edited by Rise; 09-02-2019 at 12:54 PM.
It's the Dynamic Duo! Batman and Robin!... and Red Robin and Red Hood and Nightwing and Batwoman and Batgirl and Orphan and Spoiler and Bluebird and Lark and Gotham Girl and Talon and Batwing and Huntress and Azreal and Flamebird and Batcow?
Since when could just anybody do what we trained to do? It makes it all dumb instead of special. Like it doesn't matter anymore.
-Dick Grayson (Batman Inc.)
Because they didn't need to.
Neither Dick or Nightwing is catchy or cool names like Batman/Bruce or Spider-Man/Peter.
He electits mocking, not "chuckle".
Yes they are which is why they didn't need changing and what I meant by "cool" and "catchy" is Batman and Spider-Man which I know many people think they are more cooler names than Nightwing (even a lot of his fans were happy that he left this name behind after Forever Evil).
Edit: Also, I'm not saying change his name as Richard Grayson, simply change his nickname which he has no good reason to go by it.
Last edited by Rise; 09-02-2019 at 01:22 PM.
I'm not one of them. They work only because they've earned their place through the decades, IMO. Anything ending in "girl," "boy," "man," or "woman" is really very dull and no new characters should be created with such naming.Yes they are which is why they didn't need changing and what I meant by "cool" and "catchy" is Batman and Spider-Man which I know many people think they are more cooler names than Nightwing.
Then, you aren't one of "the many people" I talked about.
Young Justice and Titans fans do. Titans fans seem to be made of a combination of NTT fans and the Teen Titans cartoon, but Young Justice fans range from millenial to Gen-Z. They have no problem with the name, and when the show make fun of "Dick", they're having fun with it too.
It's the kind of thing that you just accept as part of the awareness that these characters are old.
Which one are they?
My problem with this whole naming thing is the same as Superman's trunk and personality. I'm one of those who think the trunk should go, but it's back anyway, and I don't think it will go away because it's such a classic, and they tried making Superman younger and angstier to appeal for the current-gen, in New 52 and Year One. Worked for me since it came at the right time for me. I didn't like Superman, but those versions work, but both of them are gone now, right on time as I came to appreciate the real Superman.
It's the kind of thing that they can try and can work for a time, as I said it worked for me on Superman, but it has to be the right time, and it won't last long.
Last edited by Restingvoice; 09-02-2019 at 01:42 PM.
Gen-Z don't watch YJ because it currently being made for fans who watched the show a decade ago and Titans is targeting audience who are over 18 years old. These aren't "young fans".
And I don't like the trunks either nor wanted them to be back, but they made it for nostlgia since the majority of readers nowdays are older fans which is why the industry is struggling to survive.
Last edited by Rise; 09-02-2019 at 01:52 PM.