This article is neither fully an
editorial, nor can I truly call it a review. However, since the
editorial heading provides me a little more wiggle room in regards to
my own self-imposed content restrictions, I've decided that this
format is most appropriate for the books I'll cover herein. At this
point, you may be asking what the heck I'm babbling about. Bear with
me for just a few minutes and allow me to explain.
I hadn't realized when I purchased
the trade that the Secret Origins material would be included, but
when I noted its inclusion, I thought it would be interesting to
compare this version of our hero's origin to that of the New52 as told in Nightwing issue #0, the next review on my schedule. A
little digging through my other trades turned up Nightwing: YearOne covering the pre-Flashpoint origin story. A little bit
of work from memory and Who's Who research gives us the
pre-Crisis version. And lastly, from the New52 SecretOrigins #8, we get just a little more info than is presented in
Nightwing #0.
Re-reading all this material and
compiling my thoughts into something coherent has taken some time.
And to be honest, finding time to write in between getting my
newly-interested-in-Brazilian-Jiujitsu daughter to the gym, playing
with the new baby (mostly) or playing on the PS4 I got as an
anniversary gift (much less than with the baby, but more than I
should have to stay on track with TKF) has been a bit more difficult
than I would like to admit. Hopefully, any of you readers who've
stuck with me will find the results to be worthwhile.
Prior to Crisis on InfiniteEarths, Dick felt that he'd outgrown the Robin identity and was
no longer acting as Batman's full-time partner, spending most of his
time working with the Teen Titans. He went through a short period of
self doubt. He wondered if he would even continue to operate as a
hero before the events of the Judas Contract forced him back into
action to rescue his fellow Titans from H.I.V.E. He relinquished the
Robin identity and took the name Nightwing from Superman. Supes had
used the name years before while adventuring in Kandor as part of a
Batman and Robin like team with Jimmy Olsen. Since bats and robins
never existed on Krypton, the pair instead adopted the names of
legendary Kryptonian creatures, the nightwing and flamebird. (Side
note: When DC brought Bette Kane back out of mothballs in a
Titans-centric post-Crisis Secret Origins annual, her
Flamebird identity was created as a nod to Dick's adoption of the
Nightwing nom-du-guerre. For more on this character, see TKF
Editorial # 3.) For Dick, the Nightwing identity was, therefor a
tribute to his stepfather (Batman) and his “favorite uncle”
(Superman). Keep in mind that this was during the days when Batman
and Superman were still written as best friends.
After the Crisis, especially
after Frank Miller got a hold of the character, Batman was much less
trusting of Superman's altruistic nature and less friendly in
general. Additionally, John Byrne had eliminated Kandor from
existence so there could be no connection between Superman and the
Nightwing name anymore. In Secret Origins #13, Marv Wolfman
glosses over the origin of the name, choosing instead to focus on
Dick's beginnings as Robin and the status of the relationships that
led to the split between the first Dynamic Duo. Wolfman describes
Dick's choice to step out on his own. He willingly gave the Boy
Wonder costume to Jason Todd, deciding that he'd outgrown it and
would take on a new role, even though the more garish Robin suit
might have suited his swashbuckler's heart a bit better. While the
art by a then-very-new Erik Larsen does show a pretty tense scene
between Bruce and Dick, Wolfman's dialog stresses that the two are on
good terms and that their relationship just had to go through some
growing pains before they could see each other as equals.
In Nightwing: Year One
(including Nightwing vol. 2., issues # 101-106), Chuck Dixon
and Scott McDaniel show Bats flat out fire Dick as Robin after his
Titans business caused him to show up late at Batman's side one time
too many. Batman had summoned Dick to help him take on Clayface. Even
though Robin did make it in time to help, Batman was none too pleased
with the way his protégé had been splitting his focus. This was the
cold, driven version of Batman who was almost as much of a sociopath
as many of his enemies. Dixon's portrayal of this Dynamic Duo is very
socially dysfunctional with Alfred as the glue keeping the two
together. Interestingly, on the night Dick was fired, Alfred was
about to present Dick with a new costume resembling that of the old
(and at the time, out of continuity) Earth 2 Robin in order to
signify his growth into a man.
Dixon also resurrects the notion of
Superman inspiring the Nightwing name. This time, he tells Dick of a
young Kryptonian man who became a hero after being ostracized from
his family in a similar manner to the way Dick recently had. Big Blue
also convinces him to reconnect with his roots which leads the young
adventurer back to Haly's Circus. There he finds himself a prototype
for his future costume in an adaptation of his father's old
performance outfit. Having discovered his new identity, Dick returns
to Gotham and realizes that he'll need to reintroduce himself in the
new threads. Some of his encounters go better than others. Of
particular note is the fact that in this version of the story, his
first meeting with his replacement was far more intricately
orchestrated and far less cordial. Dick's relationships with Bruce
and Jason were characterized by much more resentment on Dick's end.
Dick also carried that grudge for a long time afterward. As a nice
kind of bookend retcon to the arc, it was Alfred who provided Dick
with the “disco” Nightwing costume originally designed for the
character by George Pérez and in which he first appeared in 1984.
Before I wrap up, I would be remiss
in not discussing Nightwing's origin in the New52. First things
first, Nightwing #0 really focuses on Grayson's evolution from
circus performer into Robin with almost no emphasis at all on the
adult Grayson's alter ego. Series writer Kyle Higgins introduced
several changes to the character, turning the child into a teenage
thrill-seeking parkour runner who plays “chicken” with trains.
Higgins also gave his star an ability to read body language by which
the boy was able to identify Batman as Bruce Wayne. (This was an
ability associated with Cassandra Cain in the previous continuity.
However, at this point in the New52, Cassandra had yet to make her
first appearance and it was unclear whether or not she even would.)
The decision to give Dick this
ability was met with some controversy, but not as much as the
decision to change Dick's inspiration for the Robin name. Instead of
having an affinity for Robin Hood as Bruce had for Zorro and the Gray
Ghost, Dick took the name as a tribute to his deceased mother's
favorite bird. In his “Fatman on Batman” interview which I have
cited numerous times before, Higgins stated that, in retrospect, his
choice to change Dick's reason for assuming the Robin title may have
been a mistake; I personally agree. Higgins further stated in the
interview that prior to issue #0, he had been writing the book
full-script and that, by necessity, he had to allow series regular
artist Eddy Barrows to draw the issue from a plot alone, thereby
giving Barrows free reign to direct the flow of the action. Higgins
then went behind and scripted the issue based on the art (a.k.a.
“working Marvel style”). He said the art was so much more dynamic
and impressive than his previous issues that he felt he'd been
hamstringing Barrows by not giving him enough freedom to draw the
pages the way he thought they should look as the artist. Again, I
have to say that he might be right; the art is truly spectacular.
Higgins' story ties Robin's first costumed appearance closely to that
of assassin Lady Shiva. After weeks running around taking on
criminals at night solo in his street clothes followed by months of
training under the Batman's tutelage, Shiva's near murder of the
mentor was the final straw that pushed the student into action.
Unfortunately, due to the odd time constraints that DC editorial
placed on the New52 timeline, this is really the only time we ever
see Dick operate as Robin with Batman. (The current Titans Hunt
mini-series is in the process of retconning some of the timeline, so
we are now getting to see some glimpses of Dick's time in the Robin
suit, albeit with the Titans and not Batman.) The only big problem I
had with this issue is that Higgins and Barrows never actually touch
on the events that led Dick from dropping his Robin identity and
taking on that of Nightwing. In fact, the only image of his adult
identity comes on the last page in a faint picture that only vaguely
ties the two versions of the character together. A reader with no
foreknowledge of the character might have a difficult time making the
connection between them.
In the aftermath of the events of
Forever Evil, Dick Grayson could no longer operate effectively as
Nightwing for reasons I'm loath to discuss at this juncture. In
Secret Origins #8, Helena Bertinelli (the post-Crisis
Huntress now codenamed Matron), a high ranking agent in the Spyral
spy organization created by Grant Morrison during Batman, Inc.,
tells her boss about her recommendation for her new partner. She
briefly recounts some of the details from Nightwing #0, but
sheds some doubt on the idea of whether the Robin persona came from
Mary Grayson's love for robins or as tribute to Robin Hood as
established in just about every version of the old continuity. She
also states that Dick's split with his mentor was a matter of choice.
Co-writers Tim Seeley and Tom King apparently restored the idea that
Dick simply outgrew the role of sidekick. As in Nightwing #0,
we also get to see the Flying Graysons in their performance costumes
which resemble Dick's blue and black outfit, although in the New52,
the family's costume has more of the bird motif characteristic of
Nightwing's animated appearances. We also see Nightwing in the New52
version of the disco suit kissing Starfire, an idea which at this
point had only been referenced in a couple of panels in passing in a
single issue of Red Hood and the Outlaws.
I'll refrain from going into much
more detail about Secret Origins #8 so as to avoid spoilers
for the Grayson series which I intend to review in the coming
months. The facts that I have revealed thus far are fairly
inconsequential to Grayson, but obviously do serve to both
expand on and partially contradict some of what was shown in
Nightwing #0.
Dick Grayson has been around for
over 75 years now. His history as a hero has been pretty consistent
in that time with a few big changes here and there to keep the
character fresh for new generations. However, as numerous creators
have portrayed over that time, Dick has always had the potential to
be his own man outside of Batman's very long shadow. Maybe that has
been the reason so many creators have always kept at least a splash
of bright color in the costume. Stars shine bright and anyone who has
ever read Batman: Hush know that Bruce has always known that
Dick was always going to be a star in his own right.
