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.)
Different continuity
In the Bronze Age the age are Babs 25 Dick 18 Jason 12
In later Post Crisis (Year One era) Babs in high school when Dick's 13, then when Dick was in college and up, Jason's 12
In New 52 Dick was only Robin for 2 years, starting at 16 and Babs is the same age, while Jason start as Robin as mid-teens (we're guessing 16 as well)
In Rebirth there are no official dates, we just have Dick adopted as a kid, Robin at 16, meeting Batgirl Babs who's the same age around that age, then Jason met Bruce as a teenager
Kind of how I feel on the matter. It doesn't really bother me, even if a little suspect Jason and Dick aren't even that close, not how Grayson is with Damian and Tim at least. I'll take this 10x over Bruce/Babs.
On another note, never did view the Babs/Dick romantic link on the same level as; Bruce/Selina, or even Tim/Steph, largely due to their relationship in that regard not sustaining for long(mainly due to the both of them having their own series and adventures to follow), and also Dick having a large romantic link with Starfire takes away from it as well.
I also don't agree with the whole notion of 'Babs being passed around'. In regards to Bruce and especially Tim(if we can really call Arkham Tim.. you know, Tim), her romantic link with those two were at least non cannon, Babs/Tim only happened in the game because of the whole Batgirl/Robin angle, feel confident in saying that. Neither really have any barring on what we're seeing now in the story. Luke really isn't close with the robins, so again, I see no problem with him and Babs.
Saw that elsewhere too. How is this not worse than Bruce/Babs?
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.)
Can we just have Babs be single for at least a whole year?
Worse by what standard?
From a moral standpoint, most criticism I've seen against Bruce and Barbara other than the connection between Bruce and Dick is, (which is the same familial connection weighing down upon all the bat/batgirl ships anyway)
number 1. the unique aspect of Bruce being seen as Babs mentor
number 2. being old enough to be her father in most continuities
AND number 3. the fact that she is the daughter of his long time friend, Gordon
Even with all that aside, and if the standard we are valuing the relationship is not based on any moral standpoint. From a writing standpoint, the ship has previously failed Babs as a character.
I see the term thrown around a lot of Babs being 'always reduced to being the love interest', and I'm not trying to be obtuse here, I understand what people are trying to say, or the point they are wanting to get across, but it's not a technically true statement. Love interest, by definition is a character whose main role is to be the lover of a central character. Implying that in all these relationships, she isn't the central or main character, or that she exists only for the male characters benefit/story, which isn't the case. In most of the bat relationships with Babs, it's either a neutral built relationship, where neither party exists to simply serve the others story, or it's the male counterpart that serves her story and becomes her 'love interest'.
All but one that is, out of all the relationships with the Bats, Bruce and Babs is the only one where Barbara took on the role as the 'love interest'. In the animated Killing Joke, her character became hyper focused on Bruce, becoming a detriment to her own story, the relationship between them is added to ensure more man pain for Bruce, so that it wasn't just an ally that was hurt, but also a lover. Her central role in the story was being Bruces love interest. From a writing standpoint, that is why it is the worst.
Last edited by RedBird; 09-25-2020 at 01:23 PM.
I personally think its weirder in the same meta sense that makes people scrutinize Bruce for replacing Dick as Robin with a spitting image of his boyhood self in Jason Todd.
But yeah I guess I'll see how it plays out
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.)