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I'm going to be going off Tumblr for the next year or two as I work on some personal business. I hope to see everyone when I come back!

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The last few years of the timeline have been updated, bringing us to the end of the New 52! Come and read!

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Classical Dick Grayson Plot Typology

Type A: Infiltration (Church of Blood, Bludhaven PD/Blockbuster's criminal network, the mob, Spyral, too many minor instances to list, including multiple stints in Arkham and various criminal organizations)

Type B: He gets divorced from his Dad (Pretty much all of NTT, Nightwing: Year One by extension, Robin: Year One, you could probably count their spat in Murdered/Fugitive? This is making me tired)

Type C: He dresses up as his Dad (Prodigal, Batman Reborn)

Type D: Mentorship

Type D1: He takes care of somebody legitimately dangerous (Nite-Wing, Tarantula, Jason at various points, Damian when he first showed up, Bruce if we're being honest, arguably a plot thread with regards to the other Titans throughout NTT)

Type D2: He takes care of teenagers with a crush on him (Rose Wilson, Sophia Tevis, Argent, those girls from the Spyral arc, not Tim but it would be funny if it was)

Type E: Downward spiral ft. Deathstroke (Titans Hunt , Renegade, Outsiders 2003)

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finished this sketch in between comms. they are sleeping 🙏😊

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so I got into grad school today with my shitty 2.8 gpa and the moral of the story is reblog those good luck posts for the love of god

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Well those are allllmost done

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Hot take: As much as portraying Bruce as a bad father in fanfics is good for writing angst, so many times it just takes me out of it.

Like yah, Bruce can be a cold, distant parent some of the time, but it’s hard to believe that he would just…. be a complete asshole to his kids and not care for them. Want to portray Bruce as a bad father for angst? Its so much easier to just portray him as negligent instead of outright abusive. Because Bruce himself didn’t have present parents in his childhood, is easier and more believable for him to just fail to realize his children’s needs and feelings, or for him to just forget to express his care towards them because he assumes that they already know that he cares.

It’s easier to believe that he is extra rough on their training out of fear of losing them in missions because they weren’t prepared enough, or that he doesn’t appear with them much in public or go out with them as Bruce Wayne because he fears that they’ll become a target. But he’s bad at expressing himself and that ends up making it seem like he doesn’t care for them.

Not only does it keep the ‘Bad Parent’ illusion, since that’s how it seems in the eyes of the kids, but it adds extra angst— Because just imagine the guilt of having your kid die not knowing that you care for them and love them unconditionally. Just imagine the guilt he would feel when someone gets hurt because they are reluctant to come to him for help.

It would kill him, and it would make a way more in character story while distributing angst to both sides. Which is much better since i love pain.

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you can't convince me that dick grayson wasn't absolutely over the moon the first time he got injured as robin.

like, just imagine this tiny kid sitting in a med bay with a blood-soaked suit and a knife sticking out of his side. he's wincing in pain, but he's also got the widest grin on his face, and he looks up at bruce and alfred and is like, "omg I got stabbed, isn't that awesome???"

and neither bruce nor alfred quite knows how to respond, because they don't want to encourage dick to pursue injuries, but part of raising kids is supporting them even in their most chaotic moments.

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I feel like discussions about Cass and Jason's potential conflict have to move beyond her opinion on him killing and also consider her response to learning he tried to make Bruce kill. Personally I feel like the latter she would find much much harder to forgive.

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Welcome to the blog for Cassandra Cain Week 2025! This is a fan event that focuses on celebrating the character Cassandra Cain. It'll be running January 20th-26th so mark your calendars!

Keep an eye on this space—rules and prompts for this event will be posted shortly.

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Yeah but maybe one day he'll get so old that he needs someone to help him stock the shelves. And then maybe one day I'll do half his shifts. And then maybe one day I'll be the one singular LADY running the comic shop who isn't hiring

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im only saying this once

the only acceptable jobs for spider-man

broke high schooler

broke college student

freelance photographer

high school teacher

unpaid intern

pizza delivery guy

research assistant for doomed scientific project

guy who stands on street and spins sign for quiznos

being spider-man

and thats IT i dont want any of this “hes a genius tech ceo making millions” SHIT. Spider-man is BROKE and he missed rent this month and he has a tiny apartment and thats how its MEANT TO BE. he doesnt make money because he is our Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-man and not fucking Tony Stark.

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The funniest thing about this situation is that Elon Musk is so pissed off at not getting to do something illegal and get away with it by being a billionaire for once in his life that he has been -and I’m 100% serious here- making photo edits of our Supreme Court minister dressed as fucking Voldemort. Literal little kid taping a picture of someone they don’t like to a dartboard kind of behavior.

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Batman (1940) #654

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“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.

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Just asking for fun cuz I think you being really interesting points abt so many of the bats to the table: who do you think should be Batman if 1) Bruce Died, 2) Bruce voluntarily steps down (old age / debilitating injury) or any other scenarios you would like to explore.

It's an age old question, it's fun to see who thinks what and what thoughts they bring to the table :)

Such a great question!! Though honestly I'm not sure I have any original or good thoughts haha. For me the Batman successor should be one of two people: Cassandra Cain (I am a Cass blog) or Dick Grayson.

For Cass the reason is obvious. So many people have written about how Batman is the culmination of her arc about agency and controlling her destiny - for a girl who was raised to be nothing, to be a tool for other people, becoming the centre of the narrative is an incredibly poignant and wonderful conclusion. She wants to be Batman, she has the ability to be Batman, she believes in Batman; she is as clear a successor as you could get.

Dick is more debatable. His feelings on being Batman have always been tangled up in his frustrations with Bruce, in a way Cass (who is more able, albeit imperfectly, to separate the man from the symbol) doesn't deal with. So I think there's some panels of him saying he doesn't want to be Batman, doesn't like doing it, etc.

However, in my mind he does like being Batman, he just doesn't like being Bruce's version of Batman. He comes to this conclusion in Gates of Gotham, and the back parts of Batman and Robin (2009) is basically him having fun once Bruce is alive. It was Bruce's death that made things difficult, not the mantle itself. Where Cass can be Batman now, Dick can elevate the mantle; and it's no secret that Bruce himself views Dick as his clear successor.

I honestly think both should wield the mantle. I love the idea of Cass being Gotham's Batman while Dick is the Justice League/wider world's Batman. This plays to their strengths, and solidifies their arcs: Cass finds a permanent home and a place she loves that loves her back, and Dick gets to travel again, using his leadership and interpersonal skills to save people.

In the case of Bruce's retirement, this would be the perfect set-up. For his death, though, I think it would be complicated by both Dick and Cass' grief. Look at the Batman Reborn era: the Dick and Cass parallels were actually insane. They were both told not to wield the Bat mantle - Dick by Bruce's message, and Cass by Bruce asking her to give Batgirl to Steph. This hurt them immensely, but they tried to follow Bruce's orders. The only difference was that Tim (and Jason) forced Dick's hand into disobeying Bruce, while Cass was already gone.

In an ideal world, Tim should've been asking them both to take up the mantle. His meeting with Cass in HK should've kickstarted her journey home, and she would've arrived back for angsty talks with Dick about who the Bat symbol belongs to or something. This basically happens in Gates of Gotham: Cass' conversation with Dick in the car is about not letting Gotham (and, I would argue, Bruce) dictate who they can or cannot be. They both want the mantle, and this was an acknowledgment that they both deserved it, too.

So, long story short, Cass and Dick are my picks for Batman successor. Them simultaneously being Batman would be so fun too, given their complicated relationship. They would be keeping score of who's the better Bat, and Cass would probably lob Dick out a window again, but they'd also have a shared understanding and deep compassion for each other's circumstances and desires. Curious to hear other people's thoughts!

(Also Duke Thomas should be their Robin but that's a post for another day).