Dick Grayson: Robin/ Nightwing/ Agent 37 Appreciation 2021

[Claude]

My favorite moments of them.
Every time i look at that hug i can't not think that Damian looks like Scott Snyder.

You, sir, have *ruined* a perfectly lovely panel. Forever!

I think Tomasi said that after Dick was already stuck as Ric. I remember fans being happy that maybe it would lead to Dick going back to Nightwing, but obviously it never happened.

His run was cut short, wasn't it? There's enough in the issues as published to suggest that if it had gone on longer, he was positioning Dick for a bigger role. I think he was in every issue after Joker War?

Actually Damian's personality was developed to parody Bruce. Who Dick was developed to foil. Damian wasn't originally planned to outlive Son of Batman. He wasn't designed for Dick, or Robin for that matter. Its something they just kind of fell into.

Well, his personality changed pretty sharply once he got paired with Dick - and it's that kind of "second draft" of Damian that stuck.


Anyway, I'm interested in what all this talk of a closer Bat Family of titles means. I hope it isn't the Snyder style of everyone being perpetually tied into and subservient to a Bat Event - but I wouldn't mind an arc told across the "Nightwing" and "Robin" titles, for instance.

It's interesting where we've ended up. Between Tynion, Taylor and Williamson we have three writers who are basically peers - rather than in the New 52, say, when Snyder was the Big Dog and everyone else was in orbit. And they're also three writers who strike me as from a slightly different Fan Generation - I don't think any of them would be hugely interested in "OMG, Bruce just punched Dick/Tim/Damian/Ace The Bat Hound!" twists.

[Godlike13]

Well, his personality changed pretty sharply once he got paired with Dick - and it's that kind of "second draft" of Damian that stuck.

It didn’t really though. Dick just allowed them to present his personality from a different perspective.

[Avi]

[...]

Anyway, I'm interested in what all this talk of a closer Bat Family of titles means. I hope it isn't the Snyder style of everyone being perpetually tied into and subservient to a Bat Event - but I wouldn't mind an arc told across the "Nightwing" and "Robin" titles, for instance.

[...]

Williamson mentioned in one of his YouTube interviews concerning New Frontier that the Covid situation changed things a lot. While the writers basically only had the summits before (that not everyone could attend), they have monthly Zoom calls now. It's strange to me that they needed a pandemic to realise that they could use online meetings but ok.

He also said that through those meetings the stories come together more organically. He explicitly mentioned that Taylor talked to him about a title and then Williamson realised they were planning sth similar, so he proposed to connect the two and reference those events. I think his words were sth like "it doesn't always have to be a big crossover just an acknowledgement".

Yes, I hope Williamson was talking about NW and Robin.

Edit: Here is the interview https://youtu.be/NgbE_MjmrBw

[Claude]

It didn’t really though. Dick just allowed them to present his personality from a different perspective.

Nah, it did. "Son Of Batman"/"Resurrection Of Ra's Al Ghul"/"Battle For The Cowl" Damian is extrovert-bratty - shouting at people, throwing things at the wall, picking up chicks in the Batmobile - and needs calming down.

Almost immediately, he becomes introvert-bratty in "Batman And Robin" and needs opening up. Foil for Dick, not for Bruce, and taking advantage of the fact that he's a "regular" in a strip for the first time to morph the character a little.

[Fergus]

My favorite moments of them.
Every time i look at that hug i can't not think that Damian looks like Scott Snyder.

My favourites too

[Godlike13]

Nah, it did. "Son Of Batman"/"Resurrection Of Ra's Al Ghul"/"Battle For The Cowl" Damian is extrovert-bratty - shouting at people, throwing things at the wall, picking up chicks in the Batmobile - and needs calming down.

Almost immediately, he becomes introvert-bratty in "Batman And Robin" and needs opening up. Foil for Dick, not for Bruce, and taking advantage of the fact that he's a "regular" in a strip for the first time to morph the character a little.

In the first arc Damian was waterboarding villains and walks off. The whole book if filled with his lines how inferior Dick is, as is everyone for that matter, and Dick is constantly trying to reign him in. They didn't really change the character's personality, they just framed it differently. From antagonizing Bruce as this exaggerated reflection, to taking that exaggerated reflection and foiling Dick. The picking up chicks in the Batmobile was an outliner. They didn't go how do we make this character fit with Dick, they went hey i think this character will really fit with Dick. Repurposing Damian from his start, but pretty much leaving him intact. Cause that is why the idea works to begin with. As Damian was designed to reflect a character that Dick was designed to foil.

[Digifiend]

So you figure, okay, what should Raven be doing by age 25-28? Kori? Dick? Vic? Roy? I have ideas for most of them, but the point is you figure out what each Titan would look like now if DC hadn't regressed/frozen them. Just as an example, I'd have Raven defeat her father, realize someone has to sit in his throne, and become the new queen of Trigon's hell. Raven wouldn't be evil, she'd just rule an evil place. Can she change hell? Or will hell change her? Sticks to her core theme but advances her narrative (plus, zombie/usurped Trigon!)

Once you know where each individual is at, then you can figure out if there's a reason to keep them together as Titans.

I'm vaguely fond of the "Titans Army" idea that's been tossed around; basically the JLU cartoon but using the Titans, heroes in their 20's (like Vibe), etc., and I'd throw in some of the Infinity Inc crowd too, like Jesse Quick, Atom Smasher, Obsidian, and Jade.

That idea for Raven sounds a lot like Magik from the X-Men. She's a hero, but she's also the ruler of the demonic realm called Limbo!

Jesse Quick isn't from Infinity Inc by the way - she only debuted in the 90s, and became a Titan then a member of the Justice Society. She was married to Infinity Inc's Hourman pre-Flashpoint though.

[Frontier]

Nah, it did. "Son Of Batman"/"Resurrection Of Ra's Al Ghul"/"Battle For The Cowl" Damian is extrovert-bratty - shouting at people, throwing things at the wall, picking up chicks in the Batmobile - and needs calming down.

Almost immediately, he becomes introvert-bratty in "Batman And Robin" and needs opening up. Foil for Dick, not for Bruce, and taking advantage of the fact that he's a "regular" in a strip for the first time to morph the character a little.

That still sounds like early B&R Damian, he just mellowed out over time.

[Pohzee]

Nightwing #79
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art and cover by BRUNO REDONDO
Card stock variant cover by by JAMAL CAMPBELL

Dick Grayson has inherited Alfred's fortune, a puppy, and a whole lot of questions. Who is Mayor Zucco, and what is her relation to the man who murdered Dick's parents? What sinister plans does Blockbuster have for Bludhaven? What kind of dog food is best for a three-legged puppy? To answer these questions, Dick's going to need a little help from his friends -- past and present.

32 pages, $3.99, (cardstock variant, $4.99), available on April 20.


TEEN TITANS ACADEMY #2
Written by TIM SHERIDAN
Art and cover by RAFA SANDOVAL
Card stock variant
Cover by by PHILIP TAN

The questions mount around the new school formed by the original New Teen Titans: What's going on with Billy Batson's access to the powers of Shazam, what dark secret is Raven's new pupil Dane hiding, and who's masquerading as the new Red X?

32 pages, $3.99, (cardstock variant, $4.99), available on April 27.

[Drako]

NIGHTWING #79

Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art and cover by BRUNO REDONDO
Card stock variant cover by by JAMAL CAMPBELL

Dick Grayson has inherited Alfred's fortune, a puppy, and a whole lot of questions. Who is Mayor Zucco, and what is her relation to the man who murdered Dick's parents? What sinister plans does Blockbuster have for Blüdhaven? What kind of dog food is best for a three-legged puppy? To answer these questions, Dick's going to need a little help from his friends -- past and present.

32 pages, $3.99, (cadstock variant, $4.99), available on April 20.



BATMAN BLACK & WHITE #5
* Jamal Campbell, acclaimed co-creator of Naomi and Green Lantern Jo Mullein from Far Sector, tells a story that spans the full history of Nightwing.

[Restingvoice]

NIGHTWING #79

Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art and cover by BRUNO REDONDO
Card stock variant cover by by JAMAL CAMPBELL

Dick Grayson has inherited Alfred's fortune, a puppy, and a whole lot of questions. Who is Mayor Zucco, and what is her relation to the man who murdered Dick's parents? What sinister plans does Blockbuster have for Blüdhaven? What kind of dog food is best for a three-legged puppy? To answer these questions, Dick's going to need a little help from his friends -- past and present.

32 pages, $3.99, (cadstock variant, $4.99), available on April 20.



BATMAN BLACK & WHITE #5
* Jamal Campbell, acclaimed co-creator of Naomi and Green Lantern Jo Mullein from Far Sector, tells a story that spans the full history of Nightwing.

Her?! How many kids does Zucco have?!
There's Sonia, a banker
One little boy who didn't know he used to be a boss
One big boy who's a mob boss wannabe
Then this one, who doesn't sound like Sonia, unless they forget.

[Avi]

Love the brightness of the NW cover. The solicitations of TT and NW still don't quite catch my interest though.

Didn't expect Nightwing in Black & White, Campbell writing Dick is something I never knew I needed.

I wonder if the Robin in Batman/Superman is Dick? The costume could fit.

[Robanker]

HATS on ICE!

Nightwing at least sounds interesting. I'm one of those sick minds who likes Bludhaven, so all of this sounds pretty good. Jamal Campbell on Nightwing that same month? Thank you, Santa. I didn't think Covid would delay delivery of my gift this long, but I'm glad it finally came!

[Badou]

Holy ****, they are already dipping back into the Blockbuster well? How creatively bankrupt is this Nightwing run going to be? This honestly feels like a joke at this point. Just throwing together all the worst elements of Nightwing and retelling the same ****, lol. What an absolute waste.

[Restingvoice]

Her?! How many kids does Zucco have?!
There's Sonia, a banker
One little boy who didn't know he used to be a boss
One big boy who's a mob boss wannabe
Then this one, who doesn't sound like Sonia, unless they forget.

Nevermind. I just notice the billboard said Mayor Nava went missing, so this is the fourth Zucco kid.

Nevermind nevermind! Nava is a guy I just noticed the portrait