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icon_uk ([info]icon_uk) wrote in [info]scans_daily,
@ 2009-05-16 13:40:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:char: alfred pennyworth, char: batgirl/oracle/barbara gordon, char: batman/bruce wayne, char: robin/nightwing/dick grayson, creator: dan slott, creator: rick burchett, publisher: dc comics, theme: dcau, title: batman adventures

DCAU - Why were you always so good to us?
Batman Adventures #12 remains one of my all time favourite comics... well, EVER! It moves Nightwing along in the DCAU to the point where he's in Bludhaven... but this isn't the Dixon-angst ridden Nightwing we got in the comics... this is so much more in keeping with Dick Grayson's personality it's untrue. (It's also VASTLY more fun). Ty Templeton writes and Rick Burchett draws

Okay, there's a LOT of arc-plot in this as It's part of a much longer storyarc, involving Penguin becoming Mayor of Gotham, Batman trying to find out HOW, and in a prelude to what Paul Dini did with him OYL, hiring the Riddler as a consulting detective to investigate it using his own... unique skills. This is the only issue Nightwing was a major part of, and indeed, he'd been notable by his absence in this run of the title.... I'm going to be focussing more on the interactions than the plot, so please bear with the ocassional infodump.

So after losing the Gotham election, we find that now ex-Mayor Hamilton Hill retired to the city of Bludhaven, and is shocked when Edward Nygma shows up on his doorstep late one night, with a knife in his back. Nygma collapses from massive bloodloss, muttering something appropriately cryptic; the words "ticket" (He's holding a train ticket to Gotham), "cellar" and "time flies"

The Police show up, and begin the investigation... and then look who shows up!



Note; NO BLOODY PONYTAIL!!! He's still got a bit of a quiff, but the ruddy mullet is GONE! And there was much rejoicing from the masses



See, Nightwing enters the room and the cops start SMILING... they want to shake his hand, put their hand on his shoulder. Men want to be him, women want to be with him... and so do some of the men in all probabiilty...

So they need leads, and have none.. but Nightwing has a plan, and it's here we see the REAL difference between Dick and Bruce's style... first thing he does is....



Batman would never think of that, but the idea of Dick asking for public assistance, and having confidence in the innate desire of people to do "right" works just fine for me. And also that he'd be a natural media hound. The kid was born in the spotlight.

Nightwing decides to visit the travel agent who sold Nyga the ticket... He also takes an un-Batman like approach there, he knocks at the door!



And then...





This clearly comes as somthing of a shock to Dick!

Batman has spotted a couple of bulletholes in the wall of the back room and demands (You know, the way Batman does) to know what happened. The terrified agent pulls a gun out, explaining that he was robbed the month before, but is too shaky with it to even hold it steady at Batman...our heroes leave... And Dick is NOT happy.



You tell him Dickie boy! :)

Of course, as it turns out, Batman deduces that the word combo Nygma used was about the "ticket seller", not "ticket, cellar" and time flies is from the Latin "Tempus Fugit" and remember who "Temple Fugate" is in the DCAU? Yup, the travel agent is actually Clock King, the villain who hates Hamilton Hill more than anyone. Batman and Nightwing confront him, but he manages to escape them using a clock with a bomb in it (essentially a time-bomb, geddit?)



Heh! :)

They run Fugate's car off the road, but he timed his crash to allow him to jump onto the passing train (A villain who depends on trains being on time? That'd never work in the UK that's for sure). Our heroes arrive as the end of the train is pulling away...



Sigh... Batman, LISTEN to the cute guy in spandex sometimes wouldya?

Fugate starts to stomp on Batman's desperately grasping fingers until.... (Oh, and words cannot express how much I love this next page in it's entirety.



Nightwing saving Batman, Nightwing using his media connections and asking for a favour, and eople being only too happy to do so. Batman saving Fugate, and that puns comment in the last panel gives me the warm fuzzies every time, not even ALFRED could get away with saying "Shush" to Batman in costume.

I'm including this last panel for the cops first line...



"...and your friend here" Ooooh BURN Dark knight, BURN! :)

The two part amicably enough, though Dick is shocked to discover that Nygma was working for Batman. Batman's reply is "I have a different style from you Nightwing"

And so ends this story, which is also, chronologically, the last time Dick Grayson is seen in the DCAU (His mute cameo in JLU to one side) since it's set after the end of New Batman Adventures toon since he's now in Bludhaven.

Dick is never glimpsed in anything related to Batman Beyond (Which is a crying shame) beyond Terry wondering in one panel who "DG" is (He's found the initials in a dinner jacket he's borrowing from Wayne Manor) and Barbara saying that if Terry thinks HE has issues, he should talk to Nightwing.

But anyway, just when I thought that was pretty marvellous, we get the simply fantastic backup story by Dan Slott and Rick Burchett. 9And this si why the above post was cropped so much, as I HAD to include some panels from this.

That first panel is just so damned awesome i want it framed and on my wall. It encapsulates what young Dick Grayson Robin SHOULD be like IMHO!



"Can we keep it?" "NO" - Just awesome....

Dick is a sad little birdboy, and goes to bed early. Alfred feels the time is right to have a little chat with Bruce... He observes that when cleaning Dick's room, he noticed that all the circus posters and memorabilia he had there had been taken down. Bruce explains that for secret identity reasons, he'd thought it best that people not be reminded that Bruce Wayne's ward was a highly trained acrobat. Alfred feels this is a lot for a young boy to give up, and Bruce comments that it's no more than HE'D given up when he was young...

Alfred clearly has "views" on that...



Love little Dick hanging upside down from an outside window ledge to listen surreptitiously...

So when Dick trudges down to the cave the next day, he's stunned to see sitting in the middle of the cave... the dinosaur, all put back together again. Batman never even mentions it., nor does Dick, it's just... there, and what more need be said really? Bat-dad just got his kid the coolest surprise present of all time!



I adore the idea that the trophy room was always intended for Dick's enjoyment, as a means of Batman to show his Robin how much he meant.

Alfred is calling Tim and Babs to come and see Dick off at the bus station, as he's decided to relocate to Bludhaven to be out on his own, and besides, Gotham has a LOT of masked heroes. On that note, Dick knows that Bruce is out protecting the city (and Alfred is proud he understands that), and so doesn't feel too bad that Dad didn't show up to say goodbye, but still... :(

So we cut ahead in time a little....



Sigh... and we didn't get to see Dick coccooned, what a shame.. ;)

So Dick takes his first trophy back to his new base, which built into a mountain overhang on the outskirts of the city (The Night-Eyrie?) to find he's had a visitor...



Sometimes, Batman IS the best Dad in the world, even if he's not always the best at saying it out loud!


(Post a new comment)


[info]killermoth1
2009-05-16 07:57 am UTC (link)
KILLER MOTH! The DCAU is officially perfect now! (With the exception of the "edgy" portrayal of Superman and a very flat Wonder Woman)

I love how Moth calls Thief on Nightwing!

(Reply to this)


[info]mysteryfan
2009-05-16 08:12 am UTC (link)
*applauds ecstatically*

*does it again*

FANTASTIC!!!!!

Absolutely adore the interactions and characterizations. Perfect and spot on. That's the way to do it! And look. Batman's kind of jerk, but not... really. Or at least not all the time. Or something. I love that mix.

Also, LOVE the trophy room being for Dick. Wonderful, and it fits--makes so much sense. I think this is excellent writing. It's fun, interesting, emotionally intriguing... I'll check out the writers' other stuff.

Thanks so much for posting. I love it.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]mysteryfan
2009-05-16 08:54 am UTC (link)
Oh, and driven to mention that it's all great, but my very favorite moment involves Nightwing, Batman and the Batmobile. "New upholstery?"

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]runespoor7
2009-05-16 08:32 am UTC (link)
LOVE THIS SO MUCH. (With the exception of Bludhaven police working well with Nightwing. It's not Bludhaven if it's not a Crapsack City!)

God, Batman. Showing up unannounced in Nightwing's city and starting to investigate without telling him? Dude, bad form. Hahaha, Dick getting to drive the Batmobile. :D You tell him, Dick.

Batman throwing himself at the train like that: ...what? Bruce, what? Why did you do that, man? Did you want to check that Nightwing was going to be there for you anyway, or...? No, seriously, how come he took such a risk?

YES HE LOVES THE PUNS. HE DOES. You know that's a requirement to be Robin. INCREDIBLY LAME PUNS MAKE BATMAN HAPPY.

T-Rex story is another layer of happiness. The trophies being for Dick. Eeeee. Alfred needing to tell Bruce off for Bruce to get it (or at least accept it) and Bruce getting the dinosaur without telling Dick.

And then taking it to Dick's lair in Bludhaven, which is socute and also bad form again, Batman. For serious, how would he like it if someone broke into the Cave without telling him? (Oh right. If it's a somewhat Batfamily member, he'd make her Robin.)

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]icon_uk
2009-05-16 08:37 am UTC (link)
By definition, no city with Nightwing as it's guardian should be able to be Crapsack City for any length of time... He's an irrepressible tide of infectious positivity!

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]runespoor7
2009-05-16 08:41 am UTC (link)
Well, he'd cleaned up Bludhaven's police (quasi single-handedly). Everything was getting all better for Bludhaven until it got blown up by Editorial Meddling.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]kingrockwell
2009-05-16 11:54 am UTC (link)
Hey, even The Question knows Batman needs stupid pus now and then!

Not shown: Batman groaning.
Bonus trivia! This panel was drawn by the same guy who did the comic in the OP.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]perletwo
2009-05-16 08:46 am UTC (link)
*sighs happily*

I totally want to live in the DCAU. It's just the coolest.

(Reply to this)


[info]skitty_kat
2009-05-16 08:55 am UTC (link)
*glee*
This is the best thing ever!
Just, oh, YAY!
Dick telling Batman to shush is just love and the dinosaur is just marvellous and they're just so damn happy that it's brilliant!
Thank you!

(though, sometimes, I sort of like the mullet)

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]tanetris
2009-05-16 10:28 am UTC (link)
(motto)

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]captain_clown
2009-05-16 10:06 am UTC (link)
I can't shake the image of Batman reluctantly dragging a giant mechanical T-Rex around Gotham. It gives me joy.

Awesome comics, I always wondered where the T-Rex came from and its a really nice moment between Bats and Dick.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]freddylloyd
2009-05-16 02:36 pm UTC (link)
The collection Batman: Secrets of the Bat Cave has the original story of the robot dinosaur. But it wasn't a Tyrannosaurus; it was some quadruped. Somehow it morphed into a T. rex. There's a lot more to be explained.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]blake_reitz
2009-05-16 10:19 am UTC (link)
I think it's very interesting that Dick patrols his city much more like a silver age hero, both here and in the upcoming episode of the Brave and the Bold. This is really a perfect niche for him, a way for him to give a bright contrast to Batman's darker methods, while still maintaining character development.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]icon_uk
2009-05-16 10:52 am UTC (link)
There's a reason he took a name Superman had used when he chose his adult ID. :) (Okay, not in the DCAU, but the point stands I think)

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]filkertom
2009-05-16 11:02 am UTC (link)
Now that is some damn fine comics. Although I actually do like the mullet/pony tail. Shrug.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]kitty_tc_69
2009-05-16 02:00 pm UTC (link)
I like the pony tail too. I don't know why people insist on calling it a mullet though. It's not a mullet unless the top is cut short.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]icon_uk
2009-05-16 02:10 pm UTC (link)
Even the creators did. From THIS interview

Glen Murakami on Designing Nightwing

From a 2006 interview with titanstower.com: "[laughs] Well, everyone always gives me crap about the mullet. And it's funny, because the only reason I did that was to give him long hair. On that series, everything was so stylized and streamlined. How do you give someone long hair that can be animated? Now, it looks kind of goofy. So I'm constantly living that down; Everyone ask me, "Why did you give Nightwing a mullet?" We wanted to give him long hair to make him "the rebel". But it had to be clean. It had to be stylized. So it ends up looking like a mullet. So that sorta sucks. [laughs]"

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[info]kitty_tc_69
2009-05-16 03:04 pm UTC (link)
Thing is though it's still wrong. A mullet has to be cut short on top and the sides or it's not a mullet. Mullets aren't tied back, they don't have to be, because the top and sides are short and only the back is long. Maybe what he should have done is work in a scene where Dick takes down his hair for whatever reason, so that people could see it's long all over and just held back by the hair tie.

Calling Nightwing's hair a mullet is just as silly as saying Adrian Paul's ponytail in his role as Duncan MacLeod in Highlander: The Series was a mullet. It's just inaccurate.

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[info]ashez2ashes
2009-05-16 11:04 am UTC (link)
If only Batman Beyond had introduced Nightwing, that would have been soooo awesome.

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[info]rdfox
2009-05-16 04:47 pm UTC (link)
In my mind, at least, Dick's largely retired as Nightwing in BB, anyway--he's now Bludhaven's police commissioner.

Of course, I also interpret the blonde "Mrs. Tim Drake" from Return of the Joker as being Steph, so ymmv.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]tilly_stratford
2009-05-16 11:12 am UTC (link)
And just like that you've completely sold me on this. SO. AWESOME.

Also, Dick Coccooned? That's a great band name if I ever saw one.

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[info]merseybeatler
2009-05-16 11:37 am UTC (link)
....Eeeew!

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[info]icon_uk
2009-05-16 11:42 am UTC (link)
I can't offer Dick cocooned, but I CAN offer Tim cocooned



Other meaning? WHAT other meaning? innocent blinking...

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[info]merseybeatler
2009-05-16 05:46 pm UTC (link)
He looks like The World's Largest Condom! Hahaha.

On the other hand, real cocoons are filled with smelly juices in a yellow ochre color that will stain your carpet hopelessly....so you can understand the 'ew' factor.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]icon_uk
2009-05-16 07:10 pm UTC (link)
Tim does ponder that. He's attacked by Charaxes, and is knocked out, and comes to, stuck to the ceiling with goop rather than the cover image, and one of his first thoughts he has is that he does NOT want to think about which part of the moth-monster whatever the stuff covering him came out of... not EVER

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]interrobamf
2009-05-16 11:46 am UTC (link)
The hair is a vast improvement from the cartoon. Now if we could get a better costume...

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[info]xlineartx
2009-05-16 12:47 pm UTC (link)
It's the fingers, isn't it?

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[info]interrobamf
2009-05-16 07:32 pm UTC (link)
...Probably.

I'd be fine if the symbol wasn't so... birdy. The original comic symbol works just fine, dammit.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]lieut_kettch
2009-05-16 12:26 pm UTC (link)
I actually like Dick's DCAU costume (sans mullet) as it still has a recognizable bird motiff.

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[info]neuhallidae
2009-05-16 01:54 pm UTC (link)
::tiny noise of squee:: I love this version of Dick. Can we keep him forever?

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[info]autumn_lily
2009-05-16 02:45 pm UTC (link)
I can't see that fifth scan without automatically seeing this in my head:

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[info]icon_uk
2009-05-16 02:49 pm UTC (link)
Awwww... Dick missed his Batdaddy, that's so adorable. (He's also stealing $10 from the wallet Batman keeps in his belt)

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[info]autumn_lily
2009-05-16 04:12 pm UTC (link)
If only Bats didn't look more annoyed than happy about it...

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[info]icon_uk
2009-05-16 04:21 pm UTC (link)
Well, they are in public. If this was the cave, Bats would be grinning like an idiot, and giving Dick those special Bat-noogies.

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[info]bradygirl_12
2009-05-16 10:51 pm UTC (link)
*much love*

It's utterly charming to see Dick as bright as both child and adult. Much amused by Bludhaven's cops happy to work with him (and his friend). ;)

Alfred understands our Dickie-bird well. He was born for the spotlight and needs it.

Which makes it all the more amazing that he chooses often to be in the shadows by Bruce's side.

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[info]psychop_rex
2009-05-17 12:53 am UTC (link)
Heh. This is cool. Something that DC has a tendency to do these days is turn all the people who work with Batman into mini-Batmen themselves. They don't seem to realize that Batman works much better when he is surrounded by people who are NOT like him, who have distinctive character traits that he can bounce off of. Robin was not meant to be dark and brooding; he was meant - designed, in fact - to lighten up Batman's dark world a little, to add a sense of fun to it. Even back in the period when Bats used to, y'know, smile a lot, the missions he undertook without Robin were the really SERIOUS ones, the ones where it only worked if he was dark and brooding. That was the point - Robin was the balance to Batman. Without Robin, Batman has always been brooding and obsessive and just a little bit crazy; with him, he lightens up a bit. So it makes perfect sense that, as here, once the two are separated, Robin becomes lighter and friendlier, and Batman becomes darker and grumpier. It's something that should be explored more in the DCU proper.
Oh, and poor Killer Moth. You never win, do you?

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[info]lookingforsigns
2009-05-17 06:31 am UTC (link)
And by "magic" we mean lots of money.

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[info]galateus
2009-05-17 07:16 am UTC (link)
Yes! I was just planning to post this myself (if, ultimately, just for the "You still haven't gotten over the puns?" "Oh shush. You love it." panel).

Nightwing actually got two mentions in Batman Beyond. Commissioner Barbara tells Terry about him in the Return of the Joker movie. It's still really sad he didn't ever show his face, though. Him and Terry just have to have a long talk about something.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]galateus
2009-05-17 07:22 am UTC (link)
I can't get over Bruce's solemn "To the Batmobile. Now." It's just such a perfect reversal and the only way to get DCAU Batman to say it.

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[info]icon_uk
2009-05-17 07:26 am UTC (link)
The "You still haven't gotten over the puns" line can ONLY be heard in Kevin Conroy's voice, and the reply in Loren Lester's voice, no? :)

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[info]jelly_ace
2009-09-22 01:20 pm UTC (link)
Motto!

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]inmatecowgirl
2010-08-18 05:07 am UTC (link)
SO THAT'S WHERE THE DINO'S FROM! i mean, the giant penny was explained but the dino always confused me.

(Reply to this)



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