Dick Grayson: Robin/ Nightwing/ Agent 37 Appreciation 2021

[phonogram12]

The basis of their bond though is to sell Tim. So its just there whether or not it’s the main intention anymore. It’s the accepted dynamic. Dick gets little out of it. As presents no challenge to his character or growth. It hey, this kid is cool. Zzz....

Not really seeing where you get this, but okay. Maybe early on when he was first introduced some 30 something years ago, but since then I think that's a stretch.

[Godlike13]

LoL, It’s like every appearance their together. It’s so common we knew we were going to see it here before the issue was out.

[KrustyKid]

The basis of their bond though is to sell Tim. So its just there whether or not it’s the main intention anymore. It’s the accepted dynamic. Dick gets little out of it. As it presents no challenge to his character or growth. Its hey, this kid is cool. Zzz....

We must have read a different issue, I definitely didn't get those vibes after reading it. Dick simply brought Tim in as a support to blend in/gain the trust of those in his age group while Dick observed and deciphered the situation more in depth from his line of view above. The narrative of their dynamic in this issue was nothing like what you described.

[HsssH]

instead of making Nightwing into a Batfamily show.

I think this is the main reason why some of us are very nitpicky here.

[Godlike13]

We must have read a different issue, I definitely didn't get those vibes after reading it. Dick simply brought Tim in as a support to blend in/gain the trust of those in his age group while Dick observed and deciphered the situation more in depth from his line of view above. The narrative of their dynamic in this issue was nothing like what you described.

I guess you must have missed his introduction in the issue. There’s a reason they have Dick referring to Tim as the best Robin even though it had no bearing on his actual task. It’s an inherent function of their accepted dynamic.

[Badou]

Taylor is on record saying his favorite Robin is Tim I think. So him using this as a chance to try and validate or prop up Tim by having Dick say how great Tim is isn't unexpected. Taylor seems to like undercutting Dick to make a Babs or a Tim look better. So far under Taylor's pen Dick doesn't really come across as some highly capable hero. He's kind of always getting shown up or being made to look a bit incompetent. I get it is being played off for laughs, but it is something that feels like a pattern now. The first issue having Dick get thrown by Babs, second issue getting his wallet stolen, and the third issue having Tim kind of poke fun at Dick getting his wallet stolen while Dick talks about how great Tim is. I feel like a lot of Nightwing writers kind of fall into this cycle of undercutting Dick or just beating the **** out of him while he can barely get a leg up on C-tier villains. It can get very exhausting.

The Tim praise did come off as a bit weird still. It gave off the impression that Tim is in great shape when his character is kind of a disaster. I mean Tim is the Robin I grew up with. So I used to defend him a lot and really enjoyed his dynamic with Dick, which has been dead for a while now. I'd say he was the Robin that modernized the Robin identity and deserved a lot of credit for that, and even was Ultimate Spider-man before Ultimate Spider-man with a thing, but now after so long I don't think the current Tim is a very good character. I've kind of come to that realization and I think he was a far better character in the 90s.

What felt very eye-opening in the issue was how odd it felt seeing Tim in normal street clothes. It makes you realize that Tim has zero character outside the costume anymore. There is just no depth to his character, and all we get as "development" is the writer or other characters bluntly telling us how much of a genius or amazing Tim is when it doesn't really feel like that when you look at how far his character has fallen off. A lot of the 90s aspects that I felt made Tim unique and different from other Batman characters, like him trying to balance a normal life with parents, are gone and have been absent from his character for a long, long time now. Like Dick has had way more stories now were they explore his normal life than Tim has despite Tim being originally made for them.

[Frontier]

The basis of their bond though is to sell Tim. So its just there whether or not it’s the main intention anymore. It’s the accepted dynamic. Dick gets little out of it. As it presents no challenge to his character or growth. Its hey, this kid is cool. Zzz....

The basis of their bond is they are brothers and Dick mentored him when Tim was Robin and Tim was a fanboy of Dick's.

What felt very eye-opening in the issue was how odd it felt seeing Tim in normal street clothes. It makes you realize that Tim has zero character outside the costume anymore. There is just no depth to his character, and all we get as "development" is the writer or other characters bluntly telling us how much of a genius or amazing Tim is when it doesn't really feel like that when you look at how far his character has fallen off. A lot of the 90s aspects that I felt made Tim unique and different from other Batman characters, like him trying to balance a normal life with parents, are gone and have been absent from his character for a long, long time now. Like Dick has had way more stories now were they explore his normal life than Tim has despite Tim being originally made for them.

Tim was always the normal one unless he was going undercover or something so...why would he stand out in street clothes?

Unless you mean because he's been in costume 99% of the time in most of his appearances lately but he's not the only one guilty of that.

[Badou]

Tim was always the normal one unless he was going undercover or something so...why would he stand out in street clothes?

Unless you mean because he's been in costume 99% of the time in most of his appearances lately but he's not the only one guilty of that.

It is the latter. It felt odd seeing him in street clothes because it makes you realize he is never out of costume anymore, and that he doesn't really have any kind of actual character these days to allow for him to appear in street clothes more often.

[9th.]

Came across this and I love it (sorry if it's been posted already)

Flying Graysons

[dietrich]

Not really seeing where you get this, but okay. Maybe early on when he was first introduced some 30 something years ago, but since then I think that's a stretch.

It went on way beyond Tim's intro though. Have you not read the 90's Robin comic? Dick's appearances were pretty much to big Tim up.

[dietrich]

Came across this and I love it (sorry if it's been posted already)

Flying Graysons

I found out recently [like last week] that mark Grayson's name is an homage to Dick Grayson. Neat

[HsssH]

It is the latter. It felt odd seeing him in street clothes because it makes you realize he is never out of costume anymore, and that he doesn't really have any kind of actual character these days to allow for him to appear in street clothes more often.

Hard to do that when you don't have an ongoing or at least a mini. Not that I want one.

[dietrich]

The basis of their bond is they are brothers and Dick mentored him when Tim was Robin and Tim was a fanboy of Dick's.

Someone else said that Dick is used to legitimise Replacement Robins. Used to prop them up and that is true. Tim and Damian the two that sort of worked have 'bonds' with Dick. Even his folks death and the emotional impact it had on poor Timmy is dragged to tie him to Dick.

Cunning strategy and it works however it's odd two Tim stans writers who got into comics at a time when this bond was strongest can't come up with a better way to reflect this bond.

Both writers give us Dick telling us how great Tim is and Tim and Dick riding trains.

That's it.


@Badou I agree. A lot of it of played off as a joke but the joke is always at Dick's expense. Taylor said on twitter that Dick is one of DC's greatest detectives etc but he's yet to show that reflected in the story.

The run so far has been lots of gorgeous art, hype, call backs, jokes and fan service. Style but not much substance. It looks good, I feel good when I read it because it's kinda familiar which is comforting but it's not actually doing anything. Dick isn't treated as the A lister that Taylor promised.

I'm a fan of the batfam but I would rather Nightwing focuses on Dick and what makes him a great hero and character.

I want Dock's ties to the greater DCU reflected in the title not just the Batfamily.

We know he's a bat now what else is he?

[Frontier]

It is the latter. It felt odd seeing him in street clothes because it makes you realize he is never out of costume anymore, and that he doesn't really have any kind of actual character these days to allow for him to appear in street clothes more often.

But, again, it feels true for a lot of characters these days. Not just Tim.

It went on way beyond Tim's intro though. Have you not read the 90's Robin comic? Dick's appearances were pretty much to big Tim up.

I thought it was more setting them up as brothers.

Someone else said that Dick is used to legitimise Replacement Robins. Used to prop them up and that is true. Tim and Damian the two that sort of worked have 'bonds' with Dick. Even his folks death and the emotional impact it had on poor Timmy is dragged to tie him to Dick.

Cunning strategy and it works however it's odd two Tim stans writers who got into comics at a time when this bond was strongest can't come up with a better way to reflect this bond.

Both writers give us Dick telling us how great Tim is and Tim and Dick riding trains.

That's it.

I mean, he's the original Robin, so it's probably a given that his opinion and relationship with the current Robin would be relevant and significant. The only one he never really interacted with was Steph because of how brief her tenure was.

I thought Tomasi did a great job with their dynamic during his Nightwing stint and I don't think he really tried to prop Tim up that much.

[Badou]

Hard to do that when you don't have an ongoing or at least a mini. Not that I want one.

He's been in some kind of ongoing book pretty consistently though. No solo book, but only recently has he been absent from any ongoing title because of the YJ book's collapse. It's been a decade and there has been nothing done with Tim's personal life outside that bad attempt to have Drake be a fake name and his parents be in the witness protection early in the New 52, mostly as a way to write his parents out of his stories, and then that scene in Rebirth where he and Steph were driving off possibly going to college which was immediately dropped in his next appearance.

I haven't kept up with all his appearances, but those are all I can think of since the New 52.

But, again, it feels true for a lot of characters these days. Not just Tim.

I think it is the opposite. Most characters that appear as much as Tim since the New 52 have been appearing in street clothes or trying to show more personal life stuff more often it feels like.