Latest Posts by syllaw-16 - Page 3

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.

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.

Controversial opinion, but I don't think I like good dad Bruce Wayne.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't like Bruce being a good dad, but it is hard for me to enjoy it when he's like that all the time. When he suddenly knows how to communicate, or what to do when there's an emotional issue, or that he's now smiling and reassuring his children so easily.

Is just too abrupt after what we've seen so far of him as a parent.

I can't buy this new version of Bruce without any deserved development or previous arc that triggered this drastic change in the way he acts, specially towards his kids. And I get it's usually like an alternative self, and he's always been like that in that kind of universes, but it just feels too easy.

Is like working so hard for something only to be given it without a chance of showing off all the work you've done to get there. Is not fulfilling or satisfying (to me).

And I get the hype, I do, but there's also so much history of the characters that wouldn't have happened had Bruce been truly that great and supportive dad that some portray. It erases too much for me to fully like it.

So, yeah, good dad Bruce I can only enjoy when he's had the proper growth as a character that doesn't erase everything he's done before and instead shows the long journey he had to go through as a person to get to that point.

Dick Grayson's curse is that everyone will love him at his best but nobody will be there next to him when he's at his worst.

I get emotional thinking about how his family would react to Bruce's change if he ever started working on himself, on improving his behavior. But the one I think about the most is Dick Grayson.

Alfred is the one who was there from the very beginning, but Dick Grayson is who arrived and made the biggest impact. He's the first kid who Bruce took in, the one who approached this man and became his first partner to fight by his side out in the night.

Dick was able to pull Bruce out of the darkness that consumed him. No matter how many times Bruce went back, Dick's presence was a constant reminder that there's not only shadows. That if Bruce pushes back, fights so he won't be dragged down, he will find light.

However, it was a cycle. Dick would get him out, but Bruce would go back, sooner or later. And repeat. And Dick realized this and knew he couldn't let that be his whole life. But despite the distance, it still affects Dick knowing he can't find a definite solution for Bruce.

So, seeing Bruce actually change, get better and seeing that last...it would lift the heaviest weight on Dick's shoulders, who's felt responsible for Bruce's emotions since the day he became Robin.

It's been implied to him that Bruce needs him, that he's who keeps him from falling. And Dick, despite not always feeling like he is enough, carries with that responsibility because, deep down, he also feels like he owes it to Bruce, who Dick has needed (still needs) present in his life, too.

Bruce getting better would be like being able to breath again, but it would be so suffocating too.

Dick would happy for Bruce, for the man who raised him. He'd be relieved that the hurt will stop, for both his father and those he's continuously pushed away. But then he'll be anxious, will it really last? How long until he can be sure? And he'll be scared, does he still need him, now? Does a Batman who's gotten help still need Dick Grayson Robin? Nightwing? And lurking in the back of his mind, there'd be anger. Why now? Why after all those years? Why not before? Was Dick not enough reason to change? Was he never worth this? And shame will drown those thoughts. It's selfish, to think that way. He should be happy. He wants to be happy. He is happy. But he is also mad. He's sad and he mourns the child who never saw this side of Bruce. And most of all, he loves. He loves Bruce too much to hate him for it. No matter how angry, no matter how hurt, he loves his father and he's grateful for him, for his efforts. And all he can do is smile and congratulate him because that's everything he feels he has the right to say.

And when all is said and done, Bruce will come to him and Dick will have to face the worst part of this change;

Apologies.

If Bruce has truly changed, then he would know there's more things than he can count with his fingers that he has to apologize to his son for. And out of everything else, this is what Dick Grayson fears the most.

Dick can take it, he can hear Bruce out, but he can't unpack all the pain he's been accumulating in front of his dad. He can't bring himself to say 'I forgive you' out loud despite having convinced himself long ago that it's alright.

Bruce doesn't didn't do apologies. Things happened and then went back to normal and Dick was okay with that. He forgave him, he did. So, Bruce doesn't need to apologize, he doesn't have to make him say it out loud. He can't tell him, but he's forgiven him long ago. Even if it hurt, even if he was still resentful sometimes, even if he wanted to yell at him for it, Dick could push it all down and forgive him. Bruce shouldn't apologize, shouldn't bring it up again because Dick isn't strong enough to keep it all bottled up if Bruce starts acknowledging it, if he confirms that Dick wasn't crazy for feeling wronged and hurt.

He can take it, but he really can't.

Just thinking about it drives me crazy because, out of everyone, Dick Grayson might be the kid who's been waiting for this the longest, and who thought he'd already given up the idea of his father finding a lasting happiness that would bring permanent change in him. And it would be just so overwhelming.

I get winded by the fact that Dick and Damian fully expected to spend their foreseeable futures as Batman and Robin only for Bruce to come back and have them separate early. It was just a year but also it was spending every day and night together for a decade that just. Didn't come. Instead, Dick will tell Damian he wanted to adopt him and give him his parents' trapeze bar or Damian will feel threatened by Dick potentially having another child and try to hold onto him with all his might. It's a never ending game of chicken, both of them constantly flinching towards a future they'd already accepted, but being so insecure of what they mean to each other now that it didn't happen that they can only ever talk around it. It's clawing at someone you lost but they haven't left you. It's 'you belong to me in a way that you can never belong to anyone else but you're not mine'.

I feel like Dick and Damian definitely do regard each other as father and son to a certain extent but in a way that is so tied to Bruce's "death" that they'll never actually say it. Damian will just keep referring to Dick as his Batman, a role that has only ever meant father to him, and Dick will refer to Damian as his Robin, a name that has only ever meant son.

Imagine looking at a character whose entire premise is that in every stage of his life, he's made every version of himself into someone that inspires people to such a degree that EVERY SINGLE VERSION OF HIM has people wanting to literally follow in his footsteps in some way or another.....

And coming to the conclusion that like.....the most important things about him are the sum of all his trappings. His entirely homemade developed from scratch could not exist if not for what he already was and brought with him BEFORE crafting this newest version of himself trappings, with his greatest trait throughout all of it being his adaptability; his ability and willingness to roll with the punches and not try to simply weather any opposition or changes to his life but instead reshape himself as needed to better fit INTO whatever new shape his life and the world around him takes. All while managing to carry the most innate, fundamental and necessary aspects of himself from one version to the next. Thus every single version of himself is different but simultaneously every single version of himself is also undeniably the same person.

The strength of this character, to me, will always be that he can be so many versions of himself, he can become so many things, all without ever actually losing or discarding any of the aspects of himself he considers most essential, the things he's not willing to lose or give up just to keep going. Finding that road not taken by most, usually because most never even think to look for it as an option. But one that he's always able to find because the one trick he's mastered in his tumultuous life is threading that needle of not just digging in his heels in an unproductive way but rather being selective about when and where he makes a stand and decides "this is not a thing I'm willing to compromise about" but here are places and ways I can and will change and evolve and adapt in order to make it possible for me to hold onto these parts and keep them as they are.

And that's why its always so mind-boggling to me that so many writers can't seem to think of anything else to do with Dick Grayson other than invent some new reason for him to just....not be that person, or to like just take the character whose most basic fundamental trait he's NOT about to compromise on is willingly giving up his spot in the driver's seat of his own life.....and make him just a passenger in his own life and stories.

Dick Grayson at age nine....at age nineteen...at age twenty nine....the one core thread running through all versions of him is the only way he's standing back and letting you call the shots for him or putting him on the sidelines in some way is over his dead body.

HOW he goes about that, what that looks like, who he becomes and what aspects of himself he plays up at some times and what traits he lets fall by the wayside at other times when they offer less in service to his primary goal here....that changes constantly. He changes constantly.

But those changes are almost always (or at least they used to be/should be IN MY OPINION) made with the intention of keeping certain things about him or his life as consistent as possible.

That's the duality of Dick Grayson that I'm here for. The inherent contradiction of him that COULD allow for endless conflict and breaking new narrative ground in all sorts of ways if mined properly:

His eternal willingness to compromise....but only ever in pursuit of doubling down on the ways he's not willing to compromise.

Forever walking that tightrope in ways that only a kid born and raised in a circus could ever hope to.

Every Nightwing writer of the last fifteen years: I've taken the guy famous for being regarded as one of the most competent and capable nonsuperhuman heroes of his generation, literally legendary for being one of the only ones every single other hero would not only drop everything to go help but that also pretty much every hero would love to have on speed dial to get HIS help in most any situation ever, and I've either completely isolated him and estranged him from every single member of his family and community, or I've enmeshed him so thoroughly with his family and community to the extent that literally none of the stories in his solo title would be capable of existing without their presences, they're that fundamental to the arcs and more integral to the solutions than he is himself. But why stop there?

I've ALSO taken the guy famous for personally crafting his two most iconic superhero identities, Robin and Nightwing, with the first being made so fundamental and integral to the superhero landscape by him, it became one of the most iconic legacy mantles in the DC Universe. And the second being so larger than life and associated with safety and security and meaning so much to so many people that even complete strangers can not fathom a world without Nightwing anymore and rush to fill the void any time he's not around, the figure of Nightwing is considered that ESSENTIAL. And I've stripped him of his basic sense of identity and autonomy either as a literally faceless and nameless spy or a literally masked and nameless Talon or else taken away his memories or blah blah blah in myriad other ways made it impossible for him to BE the figure who famously turned his sense of identity into not one but two separate icons forever stamped onto the superhero landscape and leaving their marks in untold ways, because what is the guy famous for his sense of identity without....his sense of identity? Just a guy!

Haha! I've done it! I've deconstructed Dick Grayson!

Me: You literally the fuck have not. That is not how deconstruction works. NONE of this is how any of that works. You sound so dumb right now. What did you accomplish, what was any of it for. What insights did it deliver, what did it reveal that was previously unknown about Dick Grayson when he was in the costume or possessed of his usual skillsets that couldn't be known until all of that was stripped away from him? How was he changed by any of these experiences or was he just reset to his default mode at the end of each one and then shoehorned into the next contortion before any actual reflection upon or development from all the preceding events was made possible? What do we know about Dick Grayson, what is new about him, what essential Dick Grayson-isms have been woven into the character due to your work, or did you simply change the set dressings over and over while repeating the same beats and intoning, Huzzah, A Dramatic Transformation Happens Before Your Very Eyes!

Every Nightwing writer of the last fifteen years: No, see, I don't think you get it. My work was transformative. I proved that if you take away Dick Grayson's friends, his superhero speed dial, his memories, his acrobatics, his name, his agency, his literal everything that makes him who he is.....he's just some guy. All those things are what define him! That's who Dick Grayson is!

Me: Right. The friends and colleagues who would all drop everything to help him or pick him as their first choice to Phone A Friend when in crisis because....he's Dick Grayson. His memories of....being Dick Grayson. The acrobatics that are synonymous with....Dick Grayson. The agency that famously lets him rebuild a sense of self and formidable will no matter how many times he's been brainwashed or mentally fucked with because at his core, below the surface of all those manipulations he remains....Dick Grayson. His literal everything that made Robin and Nightwing who and what they came to be known for....because of what he, Dick Grayson, imbued those mantles with to make them iconic in the first place. Yup. You really nailed it. At the end of the day he really is....just some guy. Your insights are just stunning. Incomparable. The stuff of legends. Gosh we'll miss your work but it'll definitely forever be remembered in the Writing Hall Of Fame for being absolutely fundamental to the characterization of.....Just Some Guy, I guess?

What if Dick could cycle through identities.

Dick Grayson has more identities than there are colors in the rainbow.

There’s Dickie Grayson - school favorite, basketball star, and mathlete. Best friend of the Titans and beloved love of many. Also a wonderful brother, devoted son, and dear grandson.

There’s Richie Grayson - darling of high society. Women swoon over him, men appreciate him (ie Roy’s “pretty bird”), and as a gothamite aptly put it, “who wouldn’t recognize Gotham’s very own Paris Hilton”.

There’s Ric Grayson - cold, night thrill seeking civilian with more trust issues than money in a trust fund.

There’s Nightwing - according to Supes, “your words are worth their weight in gold”. According to Bruce, “sometimes I feel he’s the only thing I did right”. According to Hawkman, “the one person the entire superhero community trusts after Superman”. And so much more. Strong enough to defeat Ra’s Al Ghul in a sword fight and be given the name “Detective”. Beloved hero and the pride and joy of the superhero community

There’s Agent 37 - An international, multilingual super spy who broke his partner’s hardened interior while rigorously maintaining his morals in the face of adversity. So handsome that while a psychotic murderer was chasing him and his partner, he reached up, switched off the spiral, and was so beautiful that the stunned woman went, “woof”, lost control of her bike and crashed.

There’s Renegade - Deathstroke’s apprentice who was carefully trained by him until he tricked the man and freed himself. Taught Deathstroke’s daughter Rose to be a hero and was punished by his nemesis through the Chemo bombing of Bludhaven. Yet Deathstroke still hugs him and says “Nice to see you again, kid. You look well” and leaves messages on his fogged bathroom mirror, “message received”, and waits in Dick’s bedroom while he’s dressing to let him know why he’s in the city.

There’s Crutches - mob enforcer for Black Mask and took down his crime syndicate from the inside out.

There’s Talon - His grandfather’s legacy of being an undead assassin for the court. The Gray Son of Gotham.

Finally there’s Robin - the 8-18yr old who went on joy rides with Superman, said “Holy ___ Batman!”, the one who was astounded when He asked if he would join the Justice league and Batman said, “no, you’ll be leading them”. The one who was driving batmobiles at 8 and singing songs to comfort victims that still remember him and his warmth 20 years later. The acrobatic prodigy that left the country in wonder. The first sidekick and role model for many young heroes that came after him.

He has many more identities I couldn’t name but - imagine if Dick could change these personalities in a heartbeat. One second he’s peppy and overjoyed Robin and the next he’s flippant and dismissive Ric Grayson. Oh the possibilities

I don’t remember where this quote’s from but: the man has a temper that could start wars. And a smile that could end them.

“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.