The Three Types of Bat Side Kicks - Which is Your Favorite?

[Rakiduam]

Dick become Nighwing with the Titans completely removed from Batman, or was fired....so....neither.

[J. D. Guy]

My favorite is
Option 4 - I'm pretty much doing my own thing but I appreciate the support that comes with being your protege, Bruce.

How Duke Thomas made himself a "Robin" his own way, rejected the moniker when he finally earned the training from Batman, and then became the Signal.

I'll second this Option 4.

And I can appreciate the sense of independence that's apparent even when a naturally independent person chooses to exercise their independence by taking tutelage under someone else. You don't stop having a mind of your own and a strong, independent will just because you willingly acknowledge you can gain something by being someone's protégé and act on that acknowledgement. And I like that.

[Frontier]

I think Robins and Batgirls should be Option 3. Anybody else can be Option 4.

[DurararaFTW]

If you're a in the inner Batfamily circle, you're gonna do time in the Option 1 and Option 3 section sooner or later depending on what the writers and crossover need. If not you're not bound by continuity and crossovers or not being written about at all.

[Tsukiakari1203]

I think Robins and Batgirls should be Option 3. Anybody else can be Option 4.

The first Batgirl though joined because her aunt was Batwoman. Nepotism

[Aramis]

The first Batgirl though joined because her aunt was Batwoman. Nepotism

Damian Wayne joined the chat

jk

[Tsukiakari1203]

Damian Wayne joined the chat

jk

more nepotism

[bat39]

My favorite is
Option 4 - I'm pretty much doing my own thing but I appreciate the support that comes with being your protege, Bruce.

How Duke Thomas made himself a "Robin" his own way, rejected the moniker when he finally earned the training from Batman, and then became the Signal.

This. I actually much prefer the versions of Dick's origin where its clear he would have been doing this with or without Bruce's help. What Bruce does is take a kid who was anyway ready to put himself in danger to bring his parent's killer justice, and give him the means to do so while not a) getting himself killed, and b) not turning into a killer or a monster of some sort himself.

Its one of the things I really liked about the Robin origin in Batman Forever. And in the flashbacks in the BTAS episode "Robin's Reckoning". Plus the New 52 as well.

The seeds of this were actually there in the original story too - Dick was ready to go to the cops but Bruce intervened and told him that the cops were corrupt and in Zucco's pocket so he would only be going to his death. And then he took the kid, who was desperate to avenge his parents, in and figured that he might as well channel that thirst for justice into something positive. I'd like to think that, implicit in that story, was the notion that if Bruce didn't train Dick to become Robin, Dick would have gone and recklessly tried to take on Zucco himself and gotten killed. Or that he would have become a vigilante himself on his own. And he figured "The kid is gonna do it anyway...I might as well train him up and keep an eye on him". Of course, modern retellings make that more explicit.

[Confuzzled]

Kind of depends on how Batman is generally depicted? Option 3 was fine for the Golden and Silver Ages but Option 1 is more in line for current Batjerk.

Also coz Dick is the "First Son" and knows Bruce the best among all the sidekicks, so his read on him is the closest to the right one (which is Bruce, you need psychiatric treatment STAT!).

Morrison did it right with Dick inheriting the cowl and creating his own Dynamic Duo dynamics with Damian. Can Bruce take on a Batman Beyond-esque mentor role already? He's getting too old for this ****.

[Restingvoice]

"Bruce, here's something you miss because you're an adult and don't think like today's teenager"

[Frontier]

"Bruce, here's something you miss because you're an adult and don't think like today's teenager"

I do like it when they imply Bruce knows about stuff like video games because the Robin's do .