Nightwing #3 Preview/Discussion

[BFF]

Yeah the political stuff feels very out of place. No idea why it's there and I hope it's just for this arc. Its the one thing I think Seeley doesn't get about Dick's character, he's always felt pretty apolitical. More interested in helping people on an individual basis than ranting about capitalism or whatever.

Edit: I went back and read that "Robin Hood" bit and it wasn't that bad. It was more to show how wanting to help people has motivated Dick his entire life, and doesn't leave out the possibility that he's matured since then from that mindset.

Right, plus all he said was that he wanted to fight poverty. Capitalists want that, too; they just think the free market does the job the best.

[David Walton]

This book gets better with every issue, and I'm totally sold on the premise now. The switch at the end reminds me of the time Bruce convinced Lady Shiva he'd killed an opponent.

[Pohzee]

Right, plus all he said was that he wanted to fight poverty. Capitalists want that, too; they just think the free market does the job the best.

All that was he said was that he wanted to fight poverty, but Barbara's line of dialogue we heard (from the conversation that we didn't) was "You can't steal from the rich and give to the poor. That makes you a criminal." We can assume that this means that Dick had floated some form of involuntary wealth redistribution.

I will backtrack on my original steonger statement somewhat. It may be a case of Seeley's politics seeping through into Dick's character, but it is also a way to simultaneously provide an ideological divide between Dick and the Batfamily to persuade Dick to Raptor's methods beyond "We both don't think before we do things." and also reconnecting Dick to Robin Hood as an inspiration for his original ID.

I'd still rather he remain politically neutral: he even managed to remain neutral during his time in college through the politically charged '70s. It's still handled more maturely than Squirell Girl (or Ms. Marvel?) punching Trump or Clinton in the face or whatever I've seen Marvel up to these days.

[K. Jones]

I've got no stake in the Batgirl discussion. I liked it, though. Reminded me of how I relate to Dick, and how I interact with some of my middle-class friends. And Morrison's thesis about Bruce finding this crazy little working-class circus devil kid.

Speaking of Morrison! Props to Seeley again - Dick being 'the guy' to handle esoteric death traps is right on the money. This is the guy who dealt with all the 'same bat time, same bat channel' cliffhangers. That's like his ultimate area of expertise.

[HellHere]

All that was he said was that he wanted to fight poverty, but Barbara's line of dialogue we heard (from the conversation that we didn't) was "You can't steal from the rich and give to the poor. That makes you a criminal." We can assume that this means that Dick had floated some form of involuntary wealth redistribution.

I assumed from that, from the emphasis on her being the commissioners daughter that she was fundamentally misunderstanding him based on her life experiences. She's thinking in black and white while Dick isn't. She understands it in an abstract way while Dick comes from experience. Poverty isn't a person, you can't beat it up, taking money from one person and giving it to another does nothing to combat poverty.

Tbh, I'm actually really liking that this aspect of Dick's life is being used to give him a bit of depth. It's always struck me as strange, from his whole life experiences, for Dick to be apolitical. I really doubt that Seeley is making him a communist though.

[Pohzee]

I really doubt that Seeley is making him a communist though.

I may be reading too much into older interviews where Seeley describes Raptor as an anarchist, and with the emphasis of similarities between Raptor and Dick, I may have transposed more of those traits onto Dick then are actually there.

[Vinsanity]

I may be reading too much into older interviews where Seeley describes Raptor as an anarchist, and with the emphasis of similarities between Raptor and Dick, I may have transposed more of those traits onto Dick then are actually there.

I think just that Dick is a liberal, a progressive liberal that just wants to see a more even distribution of wealth. I don't think he's an anarchist or very left wing.

[dropkickjake]

Well, I didn't like this quite as much as I liked #2, but it was still fantastic. The maze house was fun. While I'd certainly prefer for the Dick/Babs friendship to be a little less dramatic for a little while, I don't think she was super out of line here. She's right that Dick seems to be trusting Raptor too much and too quickly. She had already expressed concern at him continuing to pursue this type of work, undercover with no backup, so when he didn't show or contact her at all, her going to check on him isnt altogether crazy.

"That's the face of a man who can't figure out how he lost on an argument," is the best line of the series so far. If I didn't like Raptor's character before that, I sure do now.

I also enjoy how Seeley does continue to call back to Dick's experience as Robin. Part of what makes Nightwing a good character is that he has been a superhero as long as he can remember. Simple lines like "While other teenagers were doing their paper routes, I was navigating lairs of Jokers, Pranksters, Puzzlers, and Riddlers," go a long way to enforce his competence, experience, and expertise. Adding "There was even a Sudokuer once," hammers home his humor. Seeley is proving himself SUCH a trustworthy steward of the Nightwing brand.

Also, from the start of Grayson, I think we have the beginnings of a rogue gallery/supporting cast. I hope that the likes of Tiger, Midnighter, and the Skull Girls make a real return to the Nightwing title after Seeley is done redefining Dick's relationship to the Batfamily. I hope Mr. Minos can somehow be cemented into Dick's rogue gallery, presumably with Raptor.

[Atlanta96]

I think just that Dick is a liberal, a progressive liberal that just wants to see a more even distribution of wealth. I don't think he's an anarchist or very left wing.

I think Dick would fall left of center on political alignment tests, but would be so appalled by the current state of politics that he refuses to identify as anything. Similar to my own views.

There was a thread a while back about DC heroes political views, the general consensus was that most heroes would be apolitical. Not because they don't care, but because modern political discourse is poison.

[Godlike13]

I don't think Dick actually cares very much about politics. He probably just liked Robin Hood, and related to him as a kid. Plus its a nod to his creation as Robin.

[dropkickjake]

Oh yeah, the political aspect of this issue was... interesting. Maybe blown out of proportion a bit. I did like tying his origin back to Robin Hood a bit. That two page explanation did sell me a bit on Dick as a hero who cares about the poor and downtrodden, though I hope it doesn't progress to Green Arrow levels, just because that would feel a bit redundant.