It's Only the End if You Want it to Be

Anonymous asked:

Just wondering, but why don't you like Older!Dami/Steph and Jaybabs? They're not incestuous or too much of an age difference.

Older!Dami/Steph: Quite simply, when I look at their dynamic I see older sister/little brother. Part of that is probably because in all of their canon interaction, he was ten and she was eighteen, but partly that’s just the vibe I get from them. 

JayBabs: Okay, partly I just don’t think Jason is Barbara’s type. Look at the people Babs has been attracted to in the past: Jason Bard, Ted Kord, Dick, Dinah if you want to count her. There’s a definite type here, and Jason is definitely not that type. Babs, going by the vast majority of her canon history, is not attracted to the bad-boy/bad-girl type. Babs again and again goes for someone emotionally open and stable (I don’t mean mentally stable - I mean someone grounded and… balanced, I guess, for lack of a better word) . And I think Babs needs someone like that. Jason and Babs together would just be too much emotional friction, too much anger, too much bitterness. There would be no one to diffuse that negativity or to bring them back towards the light, so to speak.

I mean, okay, let’s look at this scene:

You know what Jason would have said to Babs here? “Heck yes, you should take revenge on the guy who shot your father. Go for it! Do you want me to be your backup?”

And, you know… maybe that’s not a bad thing. It’s understandable, certainly, to want to take vengeance when you’ve been wronged. But the thing is, Babs isn’t Jason, and I don’t think Babs would have been happy with herself if she’d gone through with her vengeance here. Not the same Babs who’s lectured Helena over and over about how Killing is Not What We Do. Babs has a lot of anger, but I think she’s generally happier as a person when she’s able to let that anger go, instead of letting it motivate her. And that’s what Dick does for her here. He’s able to calm her down, and remind her of who they are, and in the end I think she’s better for that. 

And I mean, that’s just an example. But at the end of the day, I think Babs needs someone who balances out her more negative side. Someone who’s more of an optimist to her cynic. Someone steady and open to be her safe place. And Dick could be that for her, and so could Dinah, and so could Ted, but I really don’t think Jason could.

So that’s why that pairing feels all kinds of wrong to me, I think.

mischievous-acrobats asked:

I don't remember if I've asked you this or not, but have you read any of the new Nightwing? (I'm pretty sure you haven't delved into the new 52 right?) I think I need a large dose of preboot Dick Grayson! Or at least a Dick Grayson who isn't being written by Kyle Higgins. SO what are your top 5 scenes that truly show the wonderful type of person that Dick was?

I actually have read quite a bit of the new Nightwing now. For a while I was avoiding everything New 52 like the plague, but I gave in eventually. I give Higgins’ Nightwing a solid… meh. It’s not bad, most of the time, but it’s not great either, you know? (I don’t totally blame Higgins, who I’ve seen write well elsewhere, and who I know is under a lot of editorial meddling.)

And ooohhhhh man, this is so hard. I’d ask for more time to think about it, but when someone needs a Dick Grayson fix they need a Dick Grayson fix!

I’ve named this as my all-time favorite Dick moment in the past, and I stand by that, but even though his narration there says a ton about him, he’s not actually doing anything which says much about his personality, so I won’t include that here.

I guess I’ll start with this scene from Batman #416:

To understand what’s so amazing about this, you have to understand the backstory here: This is already post-Crisis, thus Dick did not choose to give up being Robin in this canon. It was Bruce’s decision to end their partnership, and now Dick finds out that behind his back, Bruce has taken on a new kid partner, despite claiming that having Dick around was too much of a liability.

Dick could have easily resented Jason for this or taken it out on him. It wouldn’t have been the right thing, certainly, but it would have been an understandable human reaction. But his reaction, instead, is to reach out to Jason with acceptance and make sure he doesn’t feel alone. And this is the same day that he met Jason for the very first time. That is amazing to me. He’s angry and hurt over what Bruce did, but instead of blaming Jason for it, he’s looking out for him and making sure he has someone to talk to. I think this is the issue where you see big brother!Dick come out for the first time, and it’s something I really love about him. I hate when later retellings lose this aspect in favor of having Dick and Jason be at each other’s throats from the beginning.

Continuing with the Discowing-era theme, the next scene that comes to mind is a slightly earlier one, from Teen Titans Spotlight #14.

Basically, Dick and Bruce are working together, Dick saves Bruce. Bruce’s response to this is to criticize Dick for “cutting it too close”, and basically to be his usual charming self:

Because clearly, the thing to do when someone saves your life is to criticize the way they did it and then try to take the credit for yourself! He and Sherlock Holmes should hang out sometime.

So Dick is pretty understandably like “Eff this”, and starts to walk away:

That’s not the amazing part. The amazing part is that then Dick, in a move that is so utterly him, thinks “No, I’ve got to try”, and turns around.

And then he makes this speech to Bruce:

I think this just shows so much maturity on Dick’s part. He doesn’t yell at Bruce or tell him off for being a jerk (however justified that would have been). Instead, he reaches out. He acknowledges the influence that Bruce had on him, and that Bruce is a part of who he is. And he tells Bruce that he’s proud to have been his Robin. Essentially, he reacts to Bruce’s standoffishness by reaching out with love.

But this scene also shows something else - something I think tends to be forgotten by fandom and writers alike: Dick isn’t some kind of doormat who’s content to just live in Bruce’s shadow forever. Like he says in his narration: “I’ve made my own path. And I finally feel good about it.”

To me, that moment is the culmination of Dick’s journey to adulthood. He’s come a long way in his relationship with Bruce - first looking up to him blindly as a child, becoming disillusioned and hurt as a teenager, and now, finally coming to a place where he can both see Bruce’s flaws and love him in spite of them. A place where he can acknowledge Bruce’s influence on him and yet still be happy in the independent life he’s created for himself. It’s a really healthy place, I think, and Dick worked really hard to get there.

Of course, the journey’s not over yet (it probably never will be with a relationship as complicated as Dick and Bruce’s), and things will get worse before they finally start getting better. And you can see in Dick’s “I’m not even sure he has feelings anymore” (a sentiment he surely knows isn’t true) that he still feels some resentment towards Bruce. But for the most part, he’s made peace with both himself and his mentor, and he feels good about who he is and where he is.

Next scene I’ll jump waaaay forward, to Nightwing #147:

I talk about this scene a lot when I’m talking about Dick’s love for humanity. It’s a short moment, but I think it says so, so much. He lets these people hug him for half an hour. Until they finally stop shaking. Because it’s not enough for him to physically save their lives, he stays and takes care of them emotionally as well. That is… wow. That is what I love about Dick Grayson. He has one of the most exceptionally good souls you’ll ever see. That’s what makes him so inspiring to me as a hero.

And then the most simple statement of why he does what he does: “Another day. Another life. In the end, that’s all that matters.”

That’s why Dick does what he does. It’s not about glory or excitement or even about emulating Bruce. He’s out there saving lives because Dick loves humanity like very few people do, and he’s going to save every innocent life he can. And he’s going to take care of those people, too. That’s just beautiful to me.

Going back just a bit again, this is a moment I absolutely love, from JLA #71 - The Obsidian Age:

Basically the entire newly-appointed Justice League are quarreling with each other until Dick steps up and reminds them of who they are and what they need to do. A lot of these guys are older than he is. And a second ago, they were all bickering and pushing their own agendas. And yet the minute Dick starts talking, all of them listen to him. No one questions his leadership. And at the end of the day, they listen to what he says because he reminds them of their larger purpose - something Dick believes in very deeply. I think this is such a great illustration of what makes Dick an awesome leader, in so many ways - his idealism, his understanding of human nature, his ability to make people listen and, yes, his ability to take charge of a situation.

And then he caps it off with the ultimate statement of that mission: “Let’s do some good.”

And lastly, I could choose a million different scenes here, but to keep this to five, here’s Dick’s reaction after Tara Markov reveals herself as Deathstroke’s spy and attacks the Titans:

“Talk to me.”

Honestly, do I really need to say anything more there?