Ages of the Batfamily

[RichSummers]

I don't care how the timeline shakes out, there's no way in hell I'd buy Dick Grayson being under the age of 25 at this point.

[oasis1313]

I don't care how the timeline shakes out, there's no way in hell I'd buy Dick Grayson being under the age of 25 at this point.

Bruce is 29 and Dick is 25?

[GlennSimpson]

I wonder though if anyone really thinks that in ten years the characters will actually have aged ten years. At that rate, they'll be writing themselves out of characters, particularly the classic characters. Maybe they'll stick to it, but I doubt it.

I don't believe they plan to have had the characters age ten years over ten years. It's been three years in real time but I doubt a full year has passed for the characters.

I think what is confusing is that characters will say that something that was published last year happened "last year" but then over time they don't get any older. I think the reason is that the writers aren't doing some sort of "three years in real time is one year in comics time" algorithm all the time, they just write the stories right now as based on how things are right now. It's not until you take things in the big picture that you have to shift and compress to keep the characters young.

[The Whovian]

Kate was 32 in Elegy. Not sure what she is now in the New 52. Probably still close to that

[Fuzzy Cactus]

Bruce is 29 and Dick is 25?

By the time the next reboot happens, Dick will be Bruce's uncle.

[bat39]

By the time the next reboot happens, Dick will be Bruce's uncle.

Bruce is currently 31. Dick is 21. There's a decade between them (which once upon a time, was closer to 15 years). The gap IS closing, but not that drastically.

But traditionally, sidekicks and 'next-gen' heroes DO tend to age faster. The Flash legacy illustrates this perfectly. Barry Allen was the original Flash, and Wally West was Kid Flash. Then, after a long career as the Flash, Barry died, Wally became the Flash and after sometime Bart Allen showed up and became the new Kid Flash. Then, after Wally had been Flash for several years, he disappeared and Bart became the new Flash...and of course, Wally and then Barry would later return.

So basically, three generations of heroes became the Flash (two of them being at it for quiet a while)...all during the careers of Superman and Batman, which we're supposed to believe spanned a little over a decade at most!

Superman and Batman were always paradoxes in this regard, because they were supposed to be the cornerstones of the 'modern' DCU...yet that DCU was changing and ageing all around them while they stayed the same. So the mantles of the Flash and Green Lantern...even Robin...were passed on from generation to generation but these two always stayed more or less the same age and with the same broad status quo. Hell, Green Arrow had to have been active for at least twenty years in order for Oliver to have a grown-son, Connor Hawke, as his sidekick/successor running around in the 'present-day'...despite GA supposedly being Batman's contemporary!

An attempt to 'rectify' this 'problem' is what IMO led to the New 52. DC solved the problem by getting rid of most of the legacy characters, and making the few that remained closer in age to their 'mentors'.

[Fuzzy Cactus]

But that results in situations where Batman has cycled through four different Robins, died, and came back to life all within 5 years.

[RobinFan4880]

This is why I have always liked the idea that, in the New 52, Batman has multiple Robins at the same time, he would just adventure with one of them every night (while other other(s) had to stay home and do homework). That is not a classic interpretation but it does quite a bit to explain the fact that Bruce has had 4 Robins, all of whom were highly trained and worthy to be the sidekick of Batman, in 5 years.

Realistically, they should have dumped Jason and Tim (as loathe as I am to say as much). It would make a lot more sense for Dick to be Robin for 3 years, then become Nightwing, Bruce discovers Damian, then Bruce dies, Dick becomes Batman and Damian Robin, Bruce is resurrected, Bruce and Damian become B&R, Damian dies, etc... Even that feels too expedited, really.

[GlennSimpson]

This is why I have always liked the idea that, in the New 52, Batman has multiple Robins at the same time, he would just adventure with one of them every night (while other other(s) had to stay home and do homework). That is not a classic interpretation but it does quite a bit to explain the fact that Bruce has had 4 Robins, all of whom were highly trained and worthy to be the sidekick of Batman, in 5 years.

Realistically, they should have dumped Jason and Tim (as loathe as I am to say as much). It would make a lot more sense for Dick to be Robin for 3 years, then become Nightwing, Bruce discovers Damian, then Bruce dies, Dick becomes Batman and Damian Robin, Bruce is resurrected, Bruce and Damian become B&R, Damian dies, etc... Even that feels too expedited, really.

I would buy that. He takes them all in over a short period of time (rather like the Batman Inc. initiative) and trains them. They go out one at a time, the general public doesn't know there is more than one. Over a 3-4 year span, their individual personalities lead them to go in different directions.

I'm not saying that's what happened this time, only that if for some bizarre reason they did another reboot, that would be a good way to handle it.

[Tupiaz]

Bruce is currently 31. Dick is 21. There's a decade between them (which once upon a time, was closer to 15 years). The gap IS closing, but not that drastically.

But traditionally, sidekicks and 'next-gen' heroes DO tend to age faster. The Flash legacy illustrates this perfectly. Barry Allen was the original Flash, and Wally West was Kid Flash. Then, after a long career as the Flash, Barry died, Wally became the Flash and after sometime Bart Allen showed up and became the new Kid Flash. Then, after Wally had been Flash for several years, he disappeared and Bart became the new Flash...and of course, Wally and then Barry would later return.

So basically, three generations of heroes became the Flash (two of them being at it for quiet a while)...all during the careers of Superman and Batman, which we're supposed to believe spanned a little over a decade at most!

Superman and Batman were always paradoxes in this regard, because they were supposed to be the cornerstones of the 'modern' DCU...yet that DCU was changing and ageing all around them while they stayed the same. So the mantles of the Flash and Green Lantern...even Robin...were passed on from generation to generation but these two always stayed more or less the same age and with the same broad status quo. Hell, Green Arrow had to have been active for at least twenty years in order for Oliver to have a grown-son, Connor Hawke, as his sidekick/successor running around in the 'present-day'...despite GA supposedly being Batman's contemporary!

An attempt to 'rectify' this 'problem' is what IMO led to the New 52. DC solved the problem by getting rid of most of the legacy characters, and making the few that remained closer in age to their 'mentors'.

Well, back in the day sidekicks was ten years old on the first day of the job. So when you want to make the sidekicks older and the superhero younger and still make it fit into a logical time frame it will not make sense mathematical. The best way around is simply to ignore it. If the reader is willing to make Suspension of disbelief then there is no real problem.

[Punisher007]

Barbara is 21/22. Batman is in his late 20's. I think that Dick is at least a few years older than Barbara. Jason is probably around the same age as her. Tim is a few years younger, Kate is closer to Batman's age, and Damian is (was) 10/11 when he died. That's what I'm going with, to save myself the headaches.

[oasis1313]

Barbara is 21/22. Batman is in his late 20's. I think that Dick is at least a few years older than Barbara. Jason is probably around the same age as her. Tim is a few years younger, Kate is closer to Batman's age, and Damian is (was) 10/11 when he died. That's what I'm going with, to save myself the headaches.

Pre New-52, Dick was in high school while Barbara was in or had finished college. She made gentle fun of him on occasion for his age, amused at his crush on her. I think she was comics' first Cougar, bless her heart.

[Fuzzy Cactus]

She was de-aged after COIE, though. So that writers could play up the childhood friend romance angle without the unfortunate implications of only one of the participants being a child at the time.

[byrd156]

By the time the next reboot happens, Dick will be Bruce's uncle.

Nah he'll be Bruce's grandfather.

[byrd156]

She was de-aged after COIE, though. So that writers could play up the childhood friend romance angle without the unfortunate implications of only one of the participants being a child at the time.

I prefer it like this rather than the cougar angle.