What would've been your pitch to DC for GRAYSON?

[Agent 37]

Title says it all. Pretend we do not know what we know now, and DC is listening to pitches for a new direction for a future ongoing title for Dick Grayson. I'm curious to hear people's ideas and suggestions how they would've done it "right".

For the sake of fairness and before the inevitable "I'd have kept him Nightwing", let's say DC's hands are tied because of forever evil and Dick Grayson can no longer be Nightwing.

[the nomad]

Embrace it and take the Marvel approach. Dick Grayson, Super Hero for Hire or a P.I. For Hire and Dick could be the resident Private Investigator of Gotham or Chicago or wherever. He'll run into more strange Characters. He could develop an even better cast of supporting characters. Not to mention villains wanting a little revenge or they want to know who Batman is.. alot of different paths to follow. Plus he could be the first publicly known superhero in the Bat community.

[tako]

how is that the Marvel approach?

[the nomad]

how is that the Marvel approach?

Luke Cage and Iron Fist- Heroes for Hire.

X-Factor- Private Investigation

[tako]

Detective or PI characters are not a Marvel approach.

[the nomad]

Detective or PI characters are not a Marvel approach.

I feel that you might be hung up on the wrong thing. All I'm saying is that instead of Dick being a secret Agent, he could be a P.I. or a local Hero for Hire helping out with things that could be too small on the radar for Batman and co.

[Godlike13]

Id have probably pitched the other way and had him go "rock star" superhero. As in have him become a big celebrity, not a musician. But super spy Spyral agent sounds good too.

[Dzetoun]

Well, I can't really talk about doing it "right" without playing off what we know. I agree with what AlexanderLuthor has said on another thread that most of the things people see as weaknesses in the current approach (explanation, inappropriate behavior of the Bat Family, etc.) comes from the Bat Family thinking Dick is dead. So, add a page where the truth is revealed to Dick's family by either Dick or Batman or both, explicitly drop all the angst over the secret, and move on from there.

[JasonTodd428]

I would have gone with a detective or PI pitch myself. Maybe resurrect some detective or PI characters that haven't been used in the N52 yet to team up with him at times and perhaps shift the focus of Detective Comics to being a book dealing solely with Detective type characters as it was in the old days and make Dick the chief character there instead of it just being solely Batman centered stories. Batman could still make appearances in that title of course but the focus would be on Dick Grayson and his "team".

[tako]

Grayson joins Detective Chimp in the Oblivion Bar. they decide to form a PI agency together.
THEY CALL IT DICK & CHIMP.
hilarity ensues.

[AlexanderLuthor]

The execution hasn't been perfect so far, and for that I mainly blame Johns for handing the Bat Office a big pile of steaming subplots that they simply didn't have time to plot for, but I do think that 10 years from now we will look back and say this was absolutely brilliant move for the character. Making Dick a James Bond of sorts is really the only way to finally get him out of the shadow of the Bat. He can now guest star in any book across the DCU without it being forced, can be put on any of the DCU TV shows and it sets him up for a TV show of his own. If done correctly, Dick can finally move out of the Batman part B character to be an A-Lister himself.

I honestly wouldn't have thought of it. My idea would have been close to the Justice League: Outlaws type idea. If not a spy, I thought he needed to lead his own team again. I would have kept Jonah Hex in the present and had him be part of it, Martian Manhunter (but in his private detective disguise), I would have stolen Arsenal and Starfire, and then had Superman and Flash (since they are not in the JL), while not formal members, lend a hand when needed

[dropkickjake]

Honestly, I can say that I like Seely/King's pitch better than anything I would have come up with myself. Never would have thought of the Spyral angle, but it makes so much freaking sense (seeing as Kathy Kane/Webb was able to stay "dead"), and Dick as a cool super spy is just so freaking cool. Allows him to do his acrobatic hand to hand combat while also being funny and suave. Pitch perfect pitch, I'd say. (That pun was bad. I've been reading to much of Dick's college adventures.)



My Pitch:
I probably would have pitched a galaxy spanning sci fi book. Seeing as Dick Grayson needs to be "dead," him disappearing from the planet would make sense. He would be sort of a Han Solo/Mal Reynolds smuggler with a heart of gold type, smuggling supplies to planets under harsh leadership. The adventures would mostly take place planetside (rather than space battles in the like). This would have raised several problems, though, such as how does he get to space, and who are his supporting cast/crew? Maybe he steals a spaceship from a lab somewhere? Maybe Starfire's little brother is involved (seeing as Dick and Kory ended badly, that could provide for plenty of awkward humor).



I do think that the Batfamily needs a space title, but I don't think Dick is really that good of a fit for it anymore. Might have worked in the old DCU with his connection to Starfire, but now it seems like a stretch. I think it would be a great direction for Jason though. Either way, I like the Spyral pitch better than my sci-fiidea.

[Conway]

Well, I can't really talk about doing it "right" without playing off what we know. I agree with what AlexanderLuthor has said on another thread that most of the things people see as weaknesses in the current approach (explanation, inappropriate behavior of the Bat Family, etc.) comes from the Bat Family thinking Dick is dead. So, add a page where the truth is revealed to Dick's family by either Dick or Batman or both, explicitly drop all the angst over the secret, and move on from there.

See this is a good idea. You give him a role In ARGUS. Let him replace Steve Trevor as the public face of the JL/Government liason. That way you have him for the SEAL Team 6 type assault action that his new outfit suggest he's doing. I want a spy that can walk around in a suit and get information but that requires anonymity and Forever Evil blew that. You can't be a secret agent when your face was plastered on every single TV, computer, and news source in the world during the largest news story in seven years.

[dropkickjake]

See this is a good idea. You give him a role In ARGUS. Let him replace Steve Trevor as the public face of the JL/Government liason. That way you have him for the SEAL Team 6 type assault action that his new outfit suggest he's doing. I want a spy that can walk around in a suit and get information but that requires anonymity and Forever Evil blew that. You can't be a secret agent when your face was plastered on every single TV, computer, and news source in the world during the largest news story in seven years.

This would also be cool. Its not like he actually knows any civilians that would be at risk by villains knowing his identity. Plus, the SEAL Team 6 idea could recall to the old All-Star Squadron concept, a wartime team. Their missions could all be in combat hotzones. Dick Grayson and the All-Star Squadron, I'd read that.

[Deniz Camp]

My pitch would have been less radical a departure, but that doesn't make it superior by any means. I tend to try to work within established parameters, just because usually that's what DC and Marvel like to do -- there's only so far afield they're willing to go, being in the business of branding and icons.

My ideas for a Grayson pitch would have been largely the same as my ideas for a Nightwing pitch, and the core of those ideas seem to have made it into Seeley and King's Grayson.

To wit,

- A focus on the idea of Dick Grayson as a charismatic leader, confidant and friend. Someone who literally can be everything to everyone, and not be crushed under that weight. I might have made his Secret Identity that of a gallivanting billionaire's son, but where Bruce plays at being an irresponsible layabout, Dick appears to be the responsible one, the socially charged one. He's the Bobby Kennedy of the family. Seeley seems poised to do just that, using Dick's struggle with Spyral's methods as evidence of his inspirational ability. And with James Bond as a constant touchtone, his charisma is likely to play a role with civilians and targets, too.

- A larger canvas on which to paint his story; grounding him in the superheroic rather than the street. Big, colorful threats with deep, dark depths. Seeley/King appear to be going with Spyral taking on super powered and whacky individuals, I would have simply created a large variety of individual villians.

- A slight distancing from the day-to-day operations of Batman, Gotham, et al. Where as the rest of the Bat family seems to operate in that one sphere, Dick would distinguish himself as a sort of one man Batman Inc, to the point that he might encounter and interact with some of those players along the way.

- A focus on Dick Grayson's unflappable optimism and his inherent decency. In a very real way, I see the character as the ultimate Bat-clan member. He's the only one (aside from Alfred, I suppose) who isn't fundamentally broken, whose heroism isn't an act of overcompensation (okay, that isn't true about the extended Bat family, especially the female members, but at least of the various Robins it is).

- I'd likely have paired him with a resurrected Damian Wayne. Seeley and King seem to be doing this with Helena Bertellini.


I'm extremely excited for the upcoming run. I think it has the potential to be the level best extended run the character has ever had in an identity other than Batman (ie, this precludes Morrison's Batman and Robin or Snyder's Black Mirror).