Dick Grayson: Robin/ Nightwing/ Agent 37 Appreciation 2021

[OBrianTallent]

Nightwing #78, the first issue from new creative team @TomTaylorMade and @Bruno_Redondo_F, is heading back to press for a second printing in stores April 27!



https://twitter.com/thedcnation/stat...89036945485828

I'm going to have to get a second printing now too...that cover is incredible!

[Restingvoice]

Emotionally I have to wonder about the implications of Dick seguing from his parents to Bruce as his father.

I'm surprised they used the red Nightwing suit instead of the Grayson suit, but I guess they wanted to keep the Nightwing theme going.

So...is Babs going to suit as Batgirl to grab a bite to eat or are they going to go as civilians?

Guessing civilian since he only wore the costume because he thought there's an intruder

Yeah, he handed Robin to Jason and became Nightwing when he was 19, he wasn't fired at 18. I don't understand how a later retcon can still be canon when they've said everything happened - which means whatever the 2005 origin was retconning has been unretconned, which should've invalidated it.

The same page has another screw-up - it shows a New Teen Titans roster that never existed (Speedy wasn't on that team and Kid Flash left when Dick was still Robin).

Not everything happened. They remember everything that happened in flashes, but they're still gonna have to pick one that actually happened.

That said this is not a completely Nightwing Year One as classic Discowing is there, and the Titans roster, ever since Ric ended, they've been mixing the Fab Five with NTT in Nightwing and in Death Metal, give or take one member, usually Garth or Vic.



Since we're also mixing Bludhaven old and new, old Blockbuster, new Bludhaven, old Clancy's apartment, no Clancy, Bruce money instead of his money, firing origin but classic Discowing... then this team, the Fab Five / NTT combo is the new reality.

[Drako]

Yeah, he handed Robin to Jason and became Nightwing when he was 19, he wasn't fired at 18. I don't understand how a later retcon can still be canon when they've said everything happened - which means whatever the 2005 origin was retconning has been unretconned, which should've invalidated it.

The same page has another screw-up - it shows a New Teen Titans roster that never existed (Speedy wasn't on that team and Kid Flash left when Dick was still Robin).

That everything happened is just a motto, it's not to be taken literally. The villains launched Chemo in Bludhaven during Infinity Crisis and the city became Chernobyl 2.0. But Nightwing is living there right now, so that certainly didn't happen in current continuity..

The painel with titans is just art to represent his friends.

[Rac7d*]

I hope not to many previews are given this time around

[Badou]

Yeah, he handed Robin to Jason and became Nightwing when he was 19, he wasn't fired at 18. I don't understand how a later retcon can still be canon when they've said everything happened - which means whatever the 2005 origin was retconning has been unretconned, which should've invalidated it.

The same page has another screw-up - it shows a New Teen Titans roster that never existed (Speedy wasn't on that team and Kid Flash left when Dick was still Robin).

Yeah, it's all a gigantic mess, but I don't think DC knows how it is supposed to fit together in some kind of continuity. I think we are at the point where writers are just picking and choosing images that they feel best represent whatever moment they are trying to convey even if they don't really make sense. So they have the 80s NTT team there plus Roy because that is the most well known version of the team, and they add Roy because he is a Titan even if it doesn't fit in that era of stories. Then they have Dick being fired, even thought they are using the NTT era team, because Nightwing Year One is probably looked at as being "important" because of the history of the Year One titles being important, so they default to Dick getting fired as Nightwing's origin. Then you have Dick running around in his red New 52 Nightwing suit probably because the Snyder New 52 Batman era is too important to ignore given how successful it was. Then you also have Dick in his golden age Robin costume even though you are still using the New 52 as canon. The stories are all over the place.

But at the end of the day I think Bruce firing Dick is a **** story. It completely takes away Dick's agency of moving on and becoming his own hero, and instead has Bruce be the one to control Dick's direction. I'll never understand why anyone likes it. All it does is devalue Dick's growth and ruins Nightwing's origin.

[Restingvoice]

So yeah brand new timeline
- The Flying Grayson died
- Dick became Robin as a preteen
- Met Babs for the first time first year high school presumably
- Formed The Teen Titans
- Fired by Bruce at age 18
- TT became NTT
- Became Red X
- Became Discowing
- Became Batman
- Became Red Nightwing
- Huntress is still dark skin so I'm counting that Grayson is included in the history
- Back in Blue
- Met and defeated Raptor
- Shot and lost his memory
- Defeated William Cobb and landed him in Arkham Asylum
- Regained his memory in Joker War
- Returned to Bludhaven with the apartment he bought years ago with Wayne money
- Became a Titans Academy teacher
- Has his 24th or 30th birthday party
- Shrike in Suicide Squad freed Cobb from Arkham
- Lady Vic, Raptor, and Nite-Wing recruited to Lazarus Tournament

That's all we know so far but I can't tell exactly when he moved to Bludhaven the first time.

[Hypo]

Love this from the preview for #79:

[Vordan]

Guys you can’t be too anal about ages, you know how time works in superhero ongoings. Dick got shot in the head and lived as Ric for two years our time but it might have just been a month in-universe. The timeline doesn’t work, never has, never will, but it doesn’t matter because superheroes don’t age in any kind of realistic manner anyway.

Getting fired is more dramatic so that’s why they keep going back to it. Easy way to add some drama if needed.

[Badou]

It's an awful Nightwing origin though. It just undercuts Dick's character and an origin story is never supposed to do that. The big problem is that there just isn't a good Nightwing origin story overall. You have the Judas Contract original story, but that isn't really a Nightwing story and is kind of an awkward story overall for Dick as he isn't really the center of it. It's weird. So they created this Nightwing Year One story where Bruce fires him from Robin and they tried to give it more of a definitive origin full of every bad cliché imaginable. Then years later writers keep going back to Nightwing Year One as they don't really have any other options. So it becomes further and further entrenched in Dick's history for all the wrong reasons. Dick is the one that fucking created Robin not Bruce. So Bruce shouldn't control it over Dick and it should be Dick's own choice to move on over Bruce forcing that move on him.

[CPSparkles]

Love this from the preview for #79:

I love this.

[Drako]

Nightwing will appear in Wonder Girl. Don't know if it's just a cameo.



Edit: Looks like it's just a reaction shot.

[Pohzee]

I've thought this since King's run, but Jones' Dick is incredible. Wish she had stayed on that book longer.

[Restingvoice]

Love this from the preview for #79:

So editor Jess Chen said about this page

If you were *ENHANCE* wondering if @Bruno_Redondo_F @fxstudiocolor used each respective era's CMYK dot print patterns on EACH era that was depicted on this spread--HELLYEAH, YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS THEY DID. AND YOU SHOULD EXPECT NOTHING LESS FROM THIS CREATIVE TEAM.

Yes... I think...

Okay yeah. The firing isn't from Nightwing Year One but from Batman #408. Jason's Post Crisis origin in 87.

I thought those dots look weirdly 80s for Nightwing Year One.

or... y'know... it's just the 80s in general since he became Nightwing in 84

[Avi]

I'm "eh" on the origin. I didn't expect them to change it, but it would have been a good opportunity.

I've thought this since King's run, but Jones' Dick is incredible. Wish she had stayed on that book longer.

She's drawn Dick before? Was that the Selina Vs Talia issue?

I didn't think he'd appear as part of the who is who. Glad he is.

[Drako]

I'm "eh" on the origin. I didn't expect them to change it, but it would have been a good opportunity.



She's drawn Dick before? Was that the Selina Vs Talia issue?

I didn't think he'd appear as part of the who is who. Glad he is.