I always support giving Damian to Dick if the Bat title isn't gonna do anything with him
I always support giving Damian to Dick if the Bat title isn't gonna do anything with him
You do it by focusing on Dick, not the people *around* him.
The next step of Dick's maturation doesn't have to mean he gets married, has a kid, and buys a house in the suburbs. It can mean Dick taking on a unique role in the hero community, stepping up his game to play a larger role against more important threats, establishing stable career. Or any number of things. The Grayson series gave us a taste of what the "next step evolution" could look like, as has Young Justice season 3, but it doesn't necessarily have to be either "super spy" or "hunter of metahuman trafficking."
So, something like Dick becoming the owner of Haly's Circus/Casino/Civic Center and focusing on taking down organized crime rings around the world or hunting down corruption within business and/or politics? That would be the "next step maturation" we're talking about, without Dick having to become a father or get married or anything else that makes him "look older."
If the NTT were college, then Dick now should be that "young hotshot professional" who's setting his industry on fire with bold, brave new thinking and big risks. The guy who has enough experience to be comfortable and competent at the job but isn't part of the old guard.
"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.
All dick really needs is for DC to focus on these 3 basic concepts for nightwing.
1) His independence. DC needs to start having nightwing feel like he's his own hero. Not a supporting character, sidekick, adult Robin or substitute Batman.
2) His relativince. Nightwing needs to start feeling relative and impactful to the greater dcu, like he has high status in the hero community.
3) His mission. Nightwing needs a stable long term direction. One the fits dicks character and allow nightwing to stand apart from batman. No batman lite. Something like nightwing is the globetrotting action hero and batman is the city based detective. Nightwing and Batman needs to be different concepts as different as Dick is form Bruce and not two different generations of the samething.
I like that direction for the Titans franchise, whether Dick is a part of it or not, but it would be very difficult to keep it from feeling derivative.
As for a sidekick, I really don't think the pushback against it is as well thought out as it pretends to be. Sure, a bad a writer or a writer who doesn't care about Dick could use the sidekick to do sideline Dick, but I don't think that's a greater risk than the same bad writer trying to spend time developing a new villain they like at the expense of Dick or phoning in their issues. Bad writers will write poorly.
As for candidates... I've always been partial to Lor Zod, or maybe a main universe Val Zod. Depower them a little, say to Superboy from YJ levels. Boom. Dick training a kryptonian... I dig it.
What about Dick gaining a partner? Not romantically but a crime-fighting one?
I'd suggest Flamebird because DC's not doing anything with her and we could have another former Titans member
Dick definitely works best when he has a partner of some sort. The Grayson series really benefited from this, first with Helena and later Tiger. I think that a sidekick/protege works best, but I think a partner who is a little bit closer to an equal would work as well. What is clear to me is that he needs to be the senior partner, either with a sidekick who is clearly his junior or with a partner who is capable in their own right but ultimately takes their lead from Dick.
For the broad stroke basics, absolutely.
I also made a list of traits that every A-list property checks off, and DC doing something like that for Dick, seeing where his mythos is weak and putting in some work to fix that and fill in those blanks, would go a long way towards a self-sustaining Nightwing as well.
"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.
Appreciation Thread Indexes
Marvel | Spider-Man | X-Men | NEW!! DC Comics | Batman | Superman | Wonder Woman
Jumping back on the thread for the first time in forever. Any thing new with Dick? Is he still Ric at this point?
"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
He did have Rose that he trained. However, we need to have a storyline where it changes locations. Yea he is living in Bludhaven but he needs to travel. Maybe if we take YJ. young heroes are being taken and he uses Haley Cirucs's as a cover
I hope they stop repeating this. What stories are you all hoping for? Also if we have to what should be the guidelines in Dick being used in Batman and other Batfam books?