Thinking About How None Of The Strawhats Have Ever Known A Luffy Without Zoro.

“batman loves his nightwing” this and “batsibs love nightwing that”, what about the batsibs’ friends / team loving nightwing ‼️‼️

YES!!! They love him!

The thing about Dick Grayson is that he has such a unique quality that just draws people in and holds them captive.

Titans (2016) Issue #26

He has a charisma that's intense. People from all walks of life find themselves just constantly looking at him for friendship, advice, love, guidance, and just something that calls them to him.

It's the impact he has on people that's astounding.

Titans (2016) Issue #27

They love him so much and they respect him so much that his absence is like a huge gaping hole in their chest. People feel lost without him because they've come to rely so heavily on him. Gar and Steel literally only joined because Dick asked.

This is something Roy catches on to and is well-aware of. He practically hounds Dick into creating the Outsiders with him.

Outsiders (2003) Issue #1

But you think Roy is the only one to capitalize on Dick's Nightwing effect? Hell no.

Titans East Special

Dick isn't just a person. He's a home. He's the guiding hand and the ship's steer control. He's special to people because he's everything they want him to be. He's their lover, best friend, brother, and partner. Whatever role they're missing in life they find it him him because he makes himself versatile enough to fill whatever they're looking for.

Dark Crisis Issue #1

We say batsibs' teams but he's the whole Justice community's everything. He fills the connections of both Batman's side and Superman's side.

He IS the most well-connected person in the entire community.

Teen Titans (2003) Issue #23

Look at what Kon says -

"Nightwing and Starfire brought wave two. Which is just about everyone whose ever been a Titan. It's a natural thing when Nightwing shows up. None of us are conscious of it, really--but we all look to him for orders. Robin's lucky."

The sheer respect. That Kon has for Nightwing is indomitable. Oh, but you think that's all?

Do you know what the superhero community says about Nightwing? Kon will tell you what they think -

Teen Titans (2003) Issue #33

The Titans (1999) Issue #39

He calls. They answer.

Hero-worship of Nightwing is canonically universal. Renaming this the Nightwing Effect

Epilson

The Titans (1999)

Red Condor

Nightwing (2016) Annual #3

Hutch

Nightwing (2016) Issue #75

Kara

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #49

Supergirl (2005) Issue #3

And sometimes this means more than friendship love but still born out of respect. It's so funny to me how Dick goes around friendzoning people.

Cassie

Even when people don't like what he wants they still do it because they respect him. Because he had an impact on them and they were were moved

Titans (2003) Issue #89

Aquaman, Ollie, John (Green Lantern)

JLA (1997) Issue #121

Kyle Rayner

Even people he's just met are like - this guy's pretty good!

Green Lantern (1990) Issue #81

Coming from a Green Lantern comic!! Not even a Wondergirl, Wonderwoman, Batman, or Nightwing writer. A green lantern!

Speaking of which, when Hal Jordon dies, a list of people are selected to be The Hal Jordon's replacement and guess who it is?

Action Comics (1938) Issue #642

Hal forces his soul back into his body and comes back to life but DC does a "what-if" thing and shows what it would be like if Dick actually became a Green Lantern.

Superman/Batman Issue #60

AND BRUCE'S REACTION!! His most favorite son combined with one of his least favorite people 🤣🤣

Superman/Batman Issue #60

But Bruce's faith in Dick actually elavtes his opinion of Hal.

ALSO!!-

Superman/Batman Issue #61

I JUST KNOW THAT BRUCE WAS WRITHING IN JEALOUSY!!

But anyway, shows to prove that no matter who Dick is and what identity he takes, he will always be the love of the hero community. Because in this world, each member is a combination of the Justice League AND the Titans.

Superman/Batman Issue #60

Yet Dick is still the center of it all.

A literal god

Nightwing (2016) Issue #49

Jon and the hero community

Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis Issue #1

"It would mean a LOT to people if you came and said--" "You're all overreacting." "We need you."

"You're all overreacting." - Clearly, this isn't the first time someone has already come to Dick about being the center of the community.

Not just by the batfam, but for everyone Dick is the most beloved person in the community. That is a fact.

The Conclave bit where Lawrence is told "His Holiness is refusing to get dressed" and 2 seconds later Vincent saying to Thomas "I was waiting for you to come" is driving me INSANE. Vincent wouldn't get dressed - wouldn't become the Pope - before getting Thomas's approval and understanding. He knew Thomas would come to him, he knew they would have to talk, and he would delay the WHOLE THING until Thomas came and Vincent told him his secret.

The frankness, the simplicity, the beauty of "I was waiting for you to come" - Doubting Thomas, you must believe in me before I become this.

Could u elaborate more on what u said about how dick is the linchpin of dc?

Sure! People refer to Dick Grayson as the linchpin of the DCU largely because of this quote:

“Just in terms of links to other characters, though. Dick has so many connections to other characters. In many ways, even more than Superman or Batman, Nightwing is the soul, the linchpin, of the DCU. He’s well respected by everyone, known to the JLA, the Titans, the Outsiders, Birds of Prey – everyone looks to him for advice, for friendship, for his skills. He’s the natural leader of the DCU. His loss would devastate everyone and create ripples through the DCU.” - Phil Jimenez 

For context, Jimenez is one of the people who worked on the Infinite Crisis comics. This quote is from one of the interviews where he (along with other DC creators like Geoff Johns, Eddie Berganaza, and Jeanine Schaefer) explain why it wasn’t a good idea to kill Nightwing off in those comics, despite Dan DiDio’s plans to the contrary. It’s interesting to hear everyone’s perspectives, you can see more of the interview here. 

But yeah, as Jimenez describes, Dick is connected to pretty much every single hero in the DCU. Have you ever heard of ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon’? Because you could easily play that game with Dick lmao. Many of the JLA see him in a motherly/fatherly way, since they were at the very least there when he was Robin. At the most, these older heroes, Superman in particular, actively had a hand in raising Dick into the man he is today. 

In addition, he is very close friends with his generation of heroes because he formed the Titans. That alone gives him connections to so many people: Donna, Wally, Garth, Roy, Kory, Vic, Gar, Raven, Joey, etc. But it doesn’t even stop there! He often acts as a mentor to the next generation of heroes as well: specifically Tim, Kara, and Conner come to mind. And he helps out the Birds of Prey. And the Outsiders. And the Batfamily. The amount of characters he has influenced and interacted with is frankly a little ridiculous. 

The Brave and the Bold (2007) #15

Dick had such a great reputation, and so many people trusted him because a) he had worked with them before and had proven his mettle b) he had been a leader for a team they were on or c) he had mentored them. Like, not to say he was universally liked, but. Even when people hated him or disagreed with him, they usually respected his skills and expertise. And he kind of acted like the bridge/commonality between the old generation and the new:

Teen Titans (2003) #6

He used to be considered such a capable and valuable member of the superhero community…which is one of the reasons why it is so frustrating to see how he is treated in the newer comics/continuity. But really, I am only scratching the surface here on why Dick is considered to be so important. This post by @theflyingwonder goes even further into detail. They also explain what the fallout for Dick’s death should/would have been considering his connections, it’s worth a look. 

Trying something new, would love feedback/comments?

Nightwing belonged to the Graysons and to Haly’s and to the NTT and to Clark! Nightwing is a Kryptonian mantle that Clark gave Dick - to the person Dick Grayson; to a man he’d know since he was a kid, who Clark trusted with his life, with his son’s life. To Clark’s ‘multiverse constant’, who said Clark taught him ‘the meaning of selflessness and heroism’. Who would always love Clark, Clark who grieved Dick’s death even after JokerSuperman  in jest killed his soul, Clark who was overjoyed to discover Dick’s death fakedundone, who hugged Dick after his Ultra-ego hurtkilled him, Clark, who gave love that didn’t hurt to receive. Nightwing belongs to Donna, to Kid Flash, to Roy and Garth, to Lilith and Raven and Victor and Gar and Joey, to a top heavy tower and life amidst budding gods. Nightwing belongs to Kori, to open skies, and freedom heavily sought and fiercely guarded. To Dick Grayson.

Nightwing, God of Rebirth, belonged to the kid who built a life from broken bodies and a strange, cold city, who picked himself up after countless arguments and a door afist slammed in his face, who re-opened the door and blamed himself for noticing the dent. Who smiled when he heard whispered, half awed, half bitter, ‘he will not bend; his will exceeds his reason’ because if his death meant his team would be safe, how could that be anything but good? Nightwing belong to the boy who loved his teamfriendsfamily with everything in him, who scrounged together the last vestiges of himself to hold off the grim reaper while they lay captive in its path. It belonged to the boy who was replaced, who got back to his feet after losing the love of his life to duty and misfortune, who shouldered the blame as easily as he flew.

Nightwing was the man whose other half died for him; who broke, whose friendsfamily scattered to the winds, whose brotherinarms loved him enough to creating a new teamnotfamily. The man who, when the Gods disappeared, lead the Titans to bring them back. Who rose to his feet each time: when his past burned down, and his present exploded for having known him; who fell on a sword meant for another, and tarnished, brought together a corrupt, thankless city only for it to be snatchedexploded at the very last second by a man he considered foereluctantallyfrie-FOE. Who considered giving in, only to be saved by care finally returned. Who found the love in harshness, and saw the love in duty and under a stiffquiveringatthestateofhisgrandsonsoncharge upper lip. Who rose just as the ground disappeared from under him. Who pulled on a cowl hateddreaded, stepping into the hole in the cave; who smiled under a barage of hissed insults from a childbrother? and avoided the friendsbrotherssisters he yearned so dearly for. Who tried not to cry when the hole in his life refilled only to tear wider with brother gone.  Who looked into the mirror, face creased by loved ones lost and lost love, lined with guilt and grief, and saw a straight back, unbowed shoulders and bright eyes.

Nightwing IS Dick Grayson. No one else.

Dick Grayson's talent for manipulation literally brings the world to its knees.

Part 1 post

My absolute favorite trait about Dick aside from his craziness is his ability to control every single person in existence. The best part is, he's so clever in the way that he does it that people almost never notice.

Bart Allen

"Oh! Ahh..you're trying to get my DNA sample. You need my spit! Ha! That's such a Dick Grayson thing to do."

Bart knows!! Dick's brilliantly sly okay. Honey catches more flies that vinegar? He takes it so far that breaks he the ceiling with it because by the time he's done, people don't even know they've been manipulated. And if they do, then what can they do about it? He always wins.

With friends and family he does it to make them feel better without being so overt and discomforting them.

Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis

Jon came to him when he was feeling lost and upset and Dick set up the perfect conditions to encourage him and pick him up. He's just so good at doing what he's doing but he does it for all the right reasons.

But the extent Dick can go trick and manipulate someone is off the charts. A virtuoso.

In a Titans comic, Dick literally spent MONTHS acting depressed and weak after Donna, Wally, and Garth were kidnapped to another dimension by a villain just so he could trick the villain into thinking that his career was over and bring him into the same dimension so Dick could take him down.

He fooled everyone.

Teen Titans: The Silver Age TBP 2 Part #1

"Batman taught me how to be a totally convincing actor! So if the only way you could send me here with your ring was if I filled my brain with evil thoughts, I just faked it! My facial expression was pure evil-but my mind remained pure good." MONTHS.

He planned, pretended, and calculated every single fiber of his own mind and body until the whole world was fooled by his acting. He tricked an interdimensional being who had psychic access. That means he was so extraordinarily manipulative, he can control his own thoughts inside his head to trick someone else. Voldemort's legilimens has nothing on Dick's talent.

Like Bart, sometimes his allies are aware of this like with Selina-

Gotham City Sirens Issue #23

Selina's literally having a mental breakdown trying not to fall for Dick's manipulation and tricks.

But even if they know he's manipulating them, they still are forced to fall for it anyway.

Gotham City Sirens Issue #23

"Damn it."

Like a goldilocks mad scientist - he does it just right.

His acting is just so on point that he outschemes the schemer.

When the Crime Syndicate (Superwoman, Ultraman, Owlman, Power ring, etc) arrive on Earth to take it over when Dick is Batman, Dick needs to do something fast. But to make things worse, there's a being that's so powerful, that both the Crime Syndicate and Justice League combined have a snowball's chance in hell of defeating him.

So what does Dick do? He runs the game.

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

"Of course he had a plan the whole time. He's Batman. He always has a plan."

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

He tricks everyone.

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

And in the end, the Justice League wins and Dick saves the world.

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

I love how they characterized Owlman as a snake because that would make Dick a mongoose since mongoose eats snakes. And do you know what Mongoose represent in folklore? Action, adventure, boldness, fearlessness, impulsiveness, independence, optimism, rebellion, resistance, resourcefulness, speed, adaptation, agility, quickness, intelligence and wit. All characteristics that define him.

He plays the world like a chessboard, always five steps ahead.

He always has an ace hidden up his sleeve.

His thoughts are always masked behind a disarming smile.

He has mastered the art of manipulation.

And that's while he's outright fighting. His subtlety is just so seductive.

Take a look at the way he smoothly evades answering in this panel -

Grayson Issue #9

He's so smooth. She's constantly on the watch but she instantly fell head over heels for his charms in a half a heartbeat, that's just how good he is.

Grayson Issue #10

He's a master manipulator who knows exactly what to say and how to act to always end up winning.

It's seriously such a shame that one of his greatest skills and talents isn't talked about more because this man?! Flawless.

He's the spy everyone on TV wishes they could be. He's the type of spy people read about in history books and marvel at the ease, grace, and legendary story he leaves behind. He's the spy that everyone knows and dreams of in their fantasies.

Nightwing (2016)

And oh how they so are.

He can just get people to do whatever he wants.

There's a reason why Batman's only contingency plan against Nightwing is "Let's hope he fucks up." Because with his intelligence, skill, power, charisma, and raw talent - he's goddamn unstoppable.

Not me scrolling through the Conclave tag only to see no one talk about the deliberate positioning and framing of the women in this movie.

Pulling up this movie I completely expected to only encounter Sister Agnes as the one woman we see in the trailer, the conclave a space that has been kept from the female members of the church. Now, color me surprised when I started the movie and most of the establishing shots we got were focused on all the women working in the Vatican.

And it is such a deliberate choice, it does the film a disservice not to talk about it.

Because while Cardinal Lawrence is having his fifteenth breakdown during sequestering and Bellini finds the ambitious asshole within himself, Ray does all the leg work, and Bel---- we see the women work.

We see the kitchens, we see them cook, we see them stand aside. Most of the time when the Cardinals are conspiring it is the women who interrupt because they are busy working, walking, running errands.

And there is power in that.

I think it is very deliberate how often (and with such lingering gaze) the camera shows us the lives of the other half - partially to connect to the wider themes of the movie, on how Bellini asks for women to get more power but never thanks them, and how Benitez stumps them all by thanking the women preparing their meals when asked to say the prayer (considering his own probably tumultuous relationship to gender within the church).

But it also stands in direct opposition to a long tradition in story telling: servants don't exist. How often the heroes of a regency romance are "alone" because the two hand maidens and three maids don't really count.

Conclave doesn't do that.

It doesn't let us look away.

Between all the petty drama, the politics, and the real life consequences of the conclave, we never stop looking at the people doing all the work.

Yes, we follow the ups and downs of Lawrence and Co, but in doing so the movie reminds us again and again of the women working the kitchen.

And that was just such a powerful artistic choice in a movie about a famously misogynistic church... I loved it. And I had to talk about it.

okay, so i've yapped a lot about how umemiya and kaji relate to sakura's character development as a leader and now i want to yap about how his personal growth is mirrored in nirei (+suo).

at the beginning of the series, sakura and nirei were functionally polar opposites: sakura was physically strong, but was out of touch with his social and emotional skills, whereas nirei had strength in social and emotional intelligence, but was physically weak.

when sakura first met nirei, he formed a negative opinion based on what he could see that he would soon retract. it's hard to see inner strength at a glance, just like how it's hard to track the growth of one's inner strength, especially in a fighting series.

what isn't hard to track in a series like wind breaker is physical strength, which is where nirei's arc comes in.

nirei's journey in becoming physically stronger is running parallel to sakura's journey to build his emotional strength, meaning that nirei's growth in physical strength is a direct, visual representation of sakura's growth in emotional strength.

and the person who is largely shepherding these two in their respective journeys? suo.

suo not only helps translate emotional/social situations to sakura (and also sakura's emotions to others) thus helping him navigate those conflicts, but he is also nirei's literal fighting instructor.

he also sometimes has to guide nirei on how to interact with sakura since they're so opposite from each other, which does suggest a personal familiarity with both sakura and nirei's mindsets. (we don't know much about suo yet, but if i had to wager a guess, i would say that he started out both physically and emotionally weak, which would be why he has such a deep understanding of sakura and nirei.)

from what i can see, these three are a really well-crafted trio and i'm excited to see where the series takes them.

I need people to be aware that Dick was an absolute menace to criminals when he was Robin, ok? 

I think the Biggest Lie DC told is that the Robin mantle is meant to be a Legacy.

All I see from it, is Dick constantly compensating for the fact that it was initially stolen from him, and making nice with the next kid who inhabits it, and being weirdly obligated to taking them under his wing, out of a strange sense of moral obligation because he felt responsible for the role he made.

What’s weird is the fact that no one’s supposed to be Robin after him. He didn’t just “outgrow” it so much as he was mentally estranged from the role because of his disagreements with Bruce.

It’s Bruce who went territorial with it. It’s Dick who realized Robin could never be divorced from the idea of Batman.

Bruce went out of his way to give the costume inspired by the Grayson’s Death Shroud to a boy who never met them.

An appropriate legacy would be Clark inspiring the idea of Nightwing and essentially giving Dick his blessing to be patterned off of him and a “Super” legacy, while giving him the freedom not to be an echo of him, because Dick wanted to be his own man. That right there respects the term of Legacy.

Another Legacy, would be the Flash. Wally literally took the same mantle because he loved Barry, was inspired by him. He honored that Legacy. It’s a more literal interpretation of the word Legacy.

When the FUCK did Jason ever honor the Dick Grayson Legacy?

Was he ever even told about the origins of that mantle?

What inspired it?

No. He had no idea because Bruce just handed Robin over and thought he could replace Dick. Robin is an idea of Dick’s. It’s Dick who excels. Its Dick who fights crime and defends the innocent.

It’s nothing personal for Jason.

It’s just a cool idea to be “Batman’s Partner.”

No one’s honoring Dick’s Legacy.

It doesn’t exist.

What it became was a means to “Partner with Batman.” Wearing it, one gets to have the Dick Grayson “Experience” and hopefully “do it better.” (🙄Bitch please)

Bruce doesn’t ever realize how entitled he was in handing the mantle off to Jason. And later when he’s too mentally and emotionally sick after Jason’s death, Tim comes along.

But Tim also doesn’t honor the “Robin Legacy.” How can he if he’s being thrown at Bruce as a crutch for his mental health and well-being?

Dick as Robin was never “suicide watch” for Batman. Or a “reason for Batman to take care of himself.” And if he was, how is that a legacy?

Truth be told the Grayson Legacy never existed.

Dick never passed on a Legacy. He actually never had a say in it. It became an obligation.

Dick never had a say or a choice or an option to give Robin away to Jason. It’s only AFTER THE FACT, he gives his “blessing.”

But in honesty, he’s being noble in doing so. He’s not there to crush the dreams of an orphan kid. Bruce taught Dick how to Hope. And how everyone needs a little hope.

Robin is a dream.

Not a legacy.

And it turned into a Nightmare under Tim’s hands. Robin suddenly became a way for Bruce not to go off the deep end. And Dick didn’t have a choice because it was either allow it and buy Bruce time to get better, or stop Tim and let Bruce implode.

And implode Bruce did.

Suddenly, Bruce could wield the Robin mantle as a way to Manipulate Stephanie Brown and manipulate Tim Drake into staying because the dream of being Robin was a temptation both of them couldn’t handle, and Bruce knew that. He banked on it when he set their own insecurities against them.

The only time the Robin mantle went back to being a dream was for Damian Wayne. And even then it wasn’t a choice either. It was either do that or watch the kid self destruct or Destroy everything. For a kid who was a knife and nothing else, it was a way to become someone more noble. Dick helped him raise his standards to the inspiration of *Dick’s* version of Robin.

To become someone who doesn’t serve self interest.

Robin helps. Robin saves. Robin serves. Robin sacrifices. Robins hands aren’t bloody. Only his red breast, where his heart is.

Robin isn’t necessarily a personally driven story. Isn’t a coming of age story.

Dick’s Robin was always a Knight who served a kingdom Bruce dreamed up because between the two of them, Bruce was more hopeful and idealistic. Bruce dreamed up a Gotham that didn’t exist until Bruce and Dick tried to work to that end.

In actuality, Bruce taught Dick to dream.

And then Bruce went mad and the Robin mantle stopped being a dream Dick created and instead became a curse.