Underrated Bat-Family Detective? [Poll]

[KrustyKid]

Someone should tell that to those guys on Reddit who every week start a thread about how Tim is the only other person that Ra's has called Detective.

Or those fans who claim that Robin in TT or YJ is really Timmyfied Dick simply because he knows how to use tech that isn't from the 40's.

Also you give Dick acrobatics? I would have gone for wisdom, leadership, flexibility emotional maturity. Just anything to do with handling others.

That isn't Tim's speciality since when? figuring out people's identity doesn't make it a speciality.

Tim is the everyman. The relatable Robin.

Only when Tim was first introduced, not so much anymore.

[Light of Justice]

Outside of Bruce/Tim/Damian, any of the others could be selected here.

If Damian's detective skill is not underrated, we would not get a comment like this :

Source:https://wesavegotham.tumblr.com/post...etective-skill (People can visit that page to know about Damian's detective skills).

My vote goes to Jason. His first comic that I've read is Lost Days, so I always think that he's a capable detective. But on Batman comic especially when 4 main Robins worked together, he became a sarcastic silly joker (pun not intended). And some Batfam fans only saw him as "punk rebel Robin" then somehow they conclude that he's the typical stupid bad boy who can only think with his muscle. Truly, whose gonna tell them that Jason is like the biggest nerd among 4 main Robin and the only reason he dropped out from school is that he had some "health problem"

[MajorHoy]

While I definitely agree that Dick is very underrated, I think Steph is the most underrated - too often in the fandom treated like a cute, fun, wisecracking and utterly useless mascot. She's nowhere near the best detective, but she has a brain and skills and those are very frequently completely disregarded.

Three people voted for Steph so far.
I wonder who the third one is?

As for most-OVERRATED detective, that would appear to be clueless Brucie-boy these days.

[godisawesome]

I voted Jason, simply on the basis that I can recall more more stories where the older kids all show some detective skills, while Jason has a reputation as just the brute force guy - it’s not true, but you can hardly blame people for clueing in on RHATO’s style and ignoring it.

[KrustyKid]

If Damian's detective skill is not underrated, we would not get a comment like this :

Source:https://wesavegotham.tumblr.com/post...etective-skill (People can visit that page to know about Damian's detective skills).

My vote goes to Jason. His first comic that I've read is Lost Days, so I always think that he's a capable detective. But on Batman comic especially when 4 main Robins worked together, he became a sarcastic silly joker (pun not intended). And some Batfam fans only saw him as "punk rebel Robin" then somehow they conclude that he's the typical stupid bad boy who can only think with his muscle. Truly, whose gonna tell them that Jason is like the biggest nerd among 4 main Robin and the only reason he dropped out from school is that he had some "health problem"

I was referring to inverse. If we're talking showings from New-52 up until now Damian has been the most impressive behind only Bruce, closely followed by Babs. Given Tim has been only in team settings the last decade he ranks fairly low among the Robins.

[lemonpeace]

Duke easily. the dude's intelligence has been one of his defining traits since his inception, his detective skills and his leadership were practically his power before he developed actual powers. the thing is, with writers like Hill, because he's the "family meta" his personality and skillset gets tossed or watered down due to minimization in order to focus on just his powers and/or so others continue to shine over him. then there are the subsect of older fans who refuse to acknowledge him as anything other than "boring" or capable of anything, and the tumblr types that are stuck on this weird mami-esque straightman persona for him where he's essentially the "in over his head normie" shaking his head with his hands on his hips as Batfamily's black friend.

I don't think he gets enough credit for the detective work he's been capable of, peeped Bruce's, Damian's, and Dick's identity, he figured out Alfred was "The Nest" and who the original Mr. Bloom was. the kid was a solid detective, now with his powers he should definitely be an even nastier detective because he can see things others can't (even excluding just being able to straight up see into the past of a crime scene).

[KrustyKid]

Duke easily. the dude's intelligence has been one of his defining traits since his inception, his detective skills and his leadership were practically his power before he developed actual powers. the thing is, with writers like Hill, because he's the "family meta" his personality and skillset gets tossed or watered down due to minimization to focus on just his powers and to let others continue to shine more. then there are the subsect of older fans who refuse to acknowledge him as anything other than "boring" or capable of anything, and the tumblr types that are stuck on this weird mami-esque straightman persona for him where he's essentially the "in over his head normie" shaking his head with his hands on his hips as Batfamily's black friend. I don't think he gets enough credit for the detective work he's been capable of, peeped Bruce's, Damian's, and Dick's identity, he figured out Alfred was "The Nest" and who the original Mr. Bloom was. the kid was a solid detective, now with his powers he should definitely be an even nastier detective because he can see things others can't (even excluding just being able to straight up see into the pass of a crime scene).

Great post. Duke ranks top three in my underrated detectives. No one really acknowledges his competence in that department in story enough

[Zaresh]

[...]
My vote goes to Jason. His first comic that I've read is Lost Days, so I always think that he's a capable detective. But on Batman comic especially when 4 main Robins worked together, he became a sarcastic silly joker (pun not intended). And some Batfam fans only saw him as "punk rebel Robin" then somehow they conclude that he's the typical stupid bad boy who can only think with his muscle. Truly, whose gonna tell them that Jason is like the biggest nerd among 4 main Robin and the only reason he dropped out from school is that he had some "health problem"

I'm a big Jason fan. Your words make my heart feel warm.

[KrustyKid]

I voted Jason, simply on the basis that I can recall more more stories where the older kids all show some detective skills, while Jason has a reputation as just the brute force guy - it’s not true, but you can hardly blame people for clueing in on RHATO’s style and ignoring it.

Missed your comment for some reason. Fully agree. Jason, Duke, and Steph would be my top three. Cass would be that 4th hidden boss, she has those low key smarts a lot of people overlook.

[Light of Justice]

I was referring to inverse. If we're talking showings from New-52 up until now Damian has been the most impressive behind only Bruce, closely followed by Babs. Given Tim has been only in team settings the last decade he ranks fairly low among the Robins.

Oh, you mean the appearance of detective skill on comic. I thought underrated means general fans tend to ignore it. Like on Batfam fanfic, fanart, and text post, fans tend to treat Damian as an impulsive, short-minded kid who jumps right on villain on sight. Basically, if there's a prompt :
Robin 1: The murderer is Mr.X!
Robin 2: *immediately runs into Mr.X then beat him to the ground*

Then Robin 1 is usually Tim or Dick and Robin 2 is usually Jason and Damian. And fans also often make incorrect memes from official comic, like this one :

Then fans conclude that the planner type is Dick, Babs, and Tim while Jason and Damian are "violent Robins who like shiny weapons". Even I often see some fans call Damian "feral Robin".

Sigh, fans also ignore that on his first appearance Damian deduced and could pinpoint Bruce based on his posture and mannerism as Brucie, when he never had any idea who his father before. I know that the moment when he threw Tim from T-Rex is more memorable, but still. He also has many detective moments Pre-N52 but general fans tend to focus on his violent moments.

[Jackalope89]

Oh, you mean the appearance of detective skill on comic. I thought underrated means general fans tend to ignore it. Like on Batfam fanfic, fanart, and text post, fans tend to treat Damian as an impulsive, short-minded kid who jumps right on villain on sight. Basically, if there's a prompt :
Robin 1: The murderer is Mr.X!
Robin 2: *immediately runs into Mr.X then beat him to the ground*

Then Robin 1 is usually Tim or Dick and Robin 2 is usually Jason and Damian. And fans also often make incorrect memes from official comic, like this one :

Then fans conclude that the planner type is Dick, Babs, and Tim while Jason and Damian are "violent Robins who like shiny weapons". Even I often see some fans call Damian "feral Robin".

The bolded especially burns, because Bendis did that exact thing with Damian during his secret agency thing, and had Damian say, "Oh, Jason doesn't like secret organizations, so its him!"

[lemonpeace]

am I the only one who feel it's pretty.....disingenuous to say Dick is "underrated"? like, I don't feel like there are very many appearances where he's not portrayed to be that far off from Bruce in just about every area. like at worst he's portrayed as not being the literal best but I don't think I've ever really seen him portrayed as being anything less than an exceptionally smart or a notably capable detective. but then again, somehow Tim has three votes even though DC consistently highlights he's effectively the One-Above-All of detectives. still, it's just weird that he would have more votes over someone like Jim Gordon or Huntress or Stephanie Brown other than picking based on popularity over thoughtful consideration.

[Wingin' It]

am I the only one who feel it's pretty.....disingenuous to say Dick is "underrated"?

Dick's detective skills and intelligence have been downplayed for a decade now compared to how he used to be written. More than a few fans find that annoying, clearly. Just because he's popular doesn't mean that certain aspects of his character aren't underrepresented in recent times.

[Tzigone]

Dick's detective skills and intelligence have been downplayed for a decade now compared to how he used to be written. More than a few fans find that annoying, clearly. Just because he's popular doesn't mean that certain aspects of his character aren't underrepresented in recent times.

Definitely bugs me (but I'd definitely say it started in the early to mid 2000s, and not a decade ago). Also, he's been called a not really a thinker by other characters and by some writers, which I hate. And often depicted as much less mature than he once was. But I was definitely thinking about the fandom when I answered. Of fanfic and fanart and how characters are described in general. Similar issues with Steph (like I said, though, not that I think she is at the same level, but just that she's very underrated in terms of capability in fic/memes/etc.). I haven't read enough of modern Red Hood (I'm not an anti-hero fan) to say how his detective skills are, but there are certainly some fanon perceptions/depictions of young Jason that are just so completely wrong to me, just not detective-related.

[willtupper]

One write-in for Maps Mizoguchi, please!