I feel like many people always referenced Golden Age Batman and Robin just staying Robin in regards to Nightwing not able to be what it could potentially be, that it was “a phase”, WITHOUT any context. The thing is, any later Bruce after Golden Age Batman, was simply not that man. Golden Age Batman let Dick Grayson be free to be who he is’ He was able to have fun and go solo, made more appearance than his Batman. Robin back then was big, because Golden Age Bruce was attentive, yet allowed him his freedom. When he was being a kid and rebellious, Golden Age Bruce understood and never act fearful, needy, bitchy or replace him IMMIDIATELY. (i know there are golden Age issues where Dick was “replaced”, but that’s for character moments and study, and they are 1-issue stories where the replacements couldn’t meassure up to Dick) Robin back then stayed Robin because he was actually respected and his own hero.
As soon as the Silver Age rolled around and especially when Bill Finger stopped writing Batman altogether (circa 1965) Bruce started to act like a different character. Under the comic code he was sometimes abusive and emotionally incompetent to Dick. In the Bronze Age, the Bat office boasted that they brought the Golden Age Batman back, but actually they never did. They used a younger, more idealistic and less pragmatic Bruce. (“i want to eradicate ALL crime. I dream about a time when there’s no criminal.” really? ) And Dennis Oneil straight up don’t know how to write Robin. Robin was 1 year into Golden Age Batman. HOW did erasing him and making Bruce act like an asshole to him “bring the golden age Batman back?” I dont see it. Most of the people who believed that lie or believed early Robin really did have no personality or never was his own hero never actually read Golden Age Bill Finger comics. It’s Batman that changed. And those weird Jason origins didnt even bother me as much as the fact alongside it that they tried to make readers forget about the first Robin by replacing him with Jason and others.
It was because of the Silver Age camp and Bronze Age softening that Robin faded away. Dick was no longer secure in that mantle. He was caged and limited under this new Batman. It’s in character that he felt like he had to make a new one for himself. Essencially, NTT Nightwing was the return of the Golden Age Dick Grayson after the camp dragged him for more than a decade, and it was a real return in personality and characterization, more so than Bronse Age to Golden Age Batman like DC loved to boast to us. We would never have the Golden Age Batman back again