InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "ARGGGGHHHHHH."

icon_uk (icon_uk) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-08-12 20:14:00

Entry tags:

char: batgirl/oracle/barbara gordon, char: robin/nightwing/dick grayson, creator: don newton, creator: ramona fradon

Is there NOTHING this guy doesn't make sexy? :)
Dick Grayson really is astounding, the man for all seasons (and fetishes).

He's appealing to women and men, and the hetero and homo flavours of both. He looks great in heroic poses and adorable when tied up. And yet, there's been one little area, just one, quite popular amongst certain folk in this community, where he's never had a chance to shine... that's about to change...

When browsing along past aintitcool, I saw a reference to a newly release Super Friends DVD set, The Lost Episodes, those 6 and 7 minute episodes which were made before several series, but which didn't actually get shown until the mid 1990's as part of another show.

I'd never heard of it, so went looking through the episode descriptions and came across one episode which has reference to our hero being transformed into... a catboy!

Yup, Dick FINALLY ticks the Furries box!

He's scratched by an accidentally created werecat (research scientists should never be cat people), whose claws cut right through his glove.

The change is pretty instantaneous...

Ooh, looks like he might need a shave now...

Strangely, his eyes become visible when he goes cat...

And now we have Dick Grayson... or perhaps in this case Tom Grayson, the Black Panther Wonder

The change is more than cosmetic, as Robin sides with the catpeople who want to spread the kitty love....

And he's not too pleased when Batman tries to stop him (It does actually prove that this incarnation of Dick doesn't wear tights.)

Tell me Batman isn't LOVING his little romp with his furry little buddy here, we can see his smile... To him, it's like Catwoman and the Teen Wonder in one strokeable package! I bet he's picturing him curled up in front of the fire, wearing nothing by the cape, and a little collar with a bell on it...and possible pixie bootees for special occasions, and tickling him behind the ear... the rest I leave to your imagination.

Robin and the two scientists on the prowl....

Batman develops a cure, but Robin and the cats knock it out of his hands...

And Batman gets scratched himself, though not by Robin...

But this only being a short, the assistance of the incredibly camp "El Dorado" manages to deliver the antidote to our heroes and Robin shifts back from feline to primate.

To see the episode for yourself, check this link out.

And to keep the Superfriends theme going, here's a nice little portrait of the Teen Wonder by Super Friends comic artist par excellence, Ramona Fradon.

And for legality, and keeping the theme going, a picture from a 1970's Batman Family where Batgirl and Robin are about to be attacked by Man-Bat, who has been turned into a were-jaguar.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

	ex_octopusso248 2009-08-12 10:23 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah... same here. In my opinion he's just the occasionally less-grumpy Batman who used to wear feathered shorts and fairy boots. The character's never really appealed to me. I mean, I don't openly hate him, he just never brings anything interesting to the story. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	schmevil 2009-08-12 10:51 pm UTC (link)
	This is exactly how I feel. Just... "so what?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

icon_uk
2009-08-12 11:05 pm UTC (link)

He's the guy who gave Batman more depth than was otherwise possible, by forcing him to be less of a moody git and more of a human being and surrogate father.

He's proof that you CAN survive as a kid hero and go on to greater things.

He's evidence that powers are secondary to character in a characters longevity.

He's one of the top five most recognisable American superheroes in the real world.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	schmevil 2009-08-12 11:08 pm UTC (link)
	But none of that makes me interested in Dick Grayson the character. Just the shape of Dick Grayson in the story. Your points here are more about his function than his essential awesomeness. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

icon_uk
2009-08-12 11:24 pm UTC (link)

To me, Dick Grayson, as Robin and Nightwing is fascinating because he's really what Bruce hoped he might have been able to become himself, if he weren't so mired in his defining tragedy that he could never get past it.

Dick sought the same level of justice as Bruce did, but because he had Batman on his side, he got swift closure on his parents' deaths by catching the killer. After that he channelled everything he had into his mission, but balancing it with as close to a real life as he, Alfred and Bruce could manage.

He's one of the few people (Along with Alfred, Leslie and Tim) who should be immune to Batman's moodiness, because he knows it to be pretty much a sham, nicely summarised in the Infinite Crisis exchange where Bruce says "everyone else trusts you.... You care" and Dick replies "So do you, you just let everyone think different"

He's spent his formative years being the balance to Bruces darkness, and STILL come out the other side as, when handled properly IMHO, a swashbuckling, adventuring hero, who fights for the underdog because they NEED someone to fight for them.

Thanks to his time as Batman's sidekick and as Titans leader, he's got connections to just about every team going, and there isn't a Titan, past or present, who wouldn't defer to him if he asked.

Add to that the body of the worlds finest acrobat, killer good looks (And better yet, completely careless about the fact he's physically perfect), charismatic, but without an ounce of macho crud in him, a sharp mind (Superman has commented that it's always good to see Nightwing in a crisis, because it means there's someone he can trust and rely on and whose suggestions will be good) and the heart of a best-friend-in-waiting to everyone he meets. What's not to love?

Chuck Dixon's comments on the character seem appropriate; Dick is the smartest, best-looking, most athletic guy you've ever met, times five. Every guy wants to be him, every girl wants to be with him, and every mother hopes desperately that her daughter will land him. He can be a bit of a slacker in attitude, but he's a crackerjack detective (being taught by the world's greatest, Dick's probably the second or third best in the DCU), and possibly the most natural athlete, being even more of a natural than Bruce Wayne (of course, he had a head start on Bruce since he was trained practically from birth).

But Dick isn't the tortured vigilante, forever haunted by the ghosts of his traumatic youth. While not forgotten, his parents' tragic death have been put away for the moment, filed neatly away. And to top it all off, Dick is sweet, sensitive and has a great sense of humour. All this in one testosterone-filled package of male beauty... I ask you again, who wouldn't love this guy?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	kitty_tc_69 2009-08-12 11:28 pm UTC (link)
	Dude, no offense, but I think I'm gonna hurl. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	icon_uk 2009-08-12 11:30 pm UTC (link)
	Well as it's your keyboard at risk, not mine, that's pretty much your problem, not mine, so hurl away. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	schmevil 2009-08-13 12:39 am UTC (link)
	I ask you again, who wouldn't love this guy? Me! :) But I suppose my longer answer is that he's just not what I'm looking for in a superhero. He's got too much going for him on a personal level, and he doesn't have enough compulsions. He's too good to be true, except wait, he is true. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	runespoor7 2009-08-13 01:01 am UTC (link)
	Depending on the writer, he can have Issues. At the very least, he's often written as passionate and spontaneous in an environment where it's not the norm; or, with his team, he can be written as acting too much Bat, as though he was trying to compensate. (Reply to this) (Parent)

parsimonia
2009-08-15 03:22 am UTC (link)

I think his compulsions tend to be things like wanting to live up to everybody's expectations, wanting to help everybody, sometimes spreading himself out too thin or maybe being too trusting on occasion as a result. So, that kind of means his flaw is that he's *too good*, which can be annoying to others and/or detrimental to himself.

At a lot of points in his life, he's not only been Batman's partner and go-to guy, he's also had his own team or city on the go: Teen Titans, Titans, Outsiders, protecting Blüdhaven, being a cop in Blüdhaven, and now out of loyalty and responsibility he's stepped up to become Batman and take hell-child Damien under his wing as Robin, but you just know the Justice League will come calling one of these days too.

He's not as tightly in control of himself as Bruce was/is, and probably needs a bit more time/space for things to be fun in order to stay sane, so I can see him wearing out more quickly than Bruce would.

If he's in a good place in his life, he's comfortable with himself and who he is. But if he's not, he can kind of be bogged down by the fact that in some ways he's like-Batman-but-not-as-good, despite having other skills/qualities that Bruce doesn't. Bat-shadows are always troublesome.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	runespoor7 2009-08-12 11:13 pm UTC (link)
	That last point applies to Robin, not to all of Dick's character. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	icon_uk 2009-08-12 11:15 pm UTC (link)
	But it contributes to the whole that IS Dick's character. He will always be associated with being Robin. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	runespoor7 2009-08-12 11:17 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, but it's not Dick that's so well known, it's Robin. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	icon_uk 2009-08-12 11:26 pm UTC (link)
	Ask most non comic fans what Robin's real name is, chances are they'll say "Dick Grayson" thanks to the 60's TV show, the Batman movies and the Super Friends. That's still part of Dick's past, and informs the present. I don't differentiate between the concepts of Dick Grayson, Nightwing and Robin, as they are all part of him. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	runespoor7 2009-08-12 11:31 pm UTC (link)
	Well, most non comic fans I know wouldn't be able to give me Batman's real name, much less Robin's. I think they'd be more likely to say "duh, it's Robin". (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	icon_uk 2009-08-12 11:37 pm UTC (link)
	That really does surprise me. Just as an example my 70+ year old mother, who can't abide comics, would be able to tell me Superman, Batman and Robin's real names, and it's not something that crops up in conversation, it's just part of general knowledge and remembered TV. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	runespoor7 2009-08-12 11:41 pm UTC (link)
	I promise, I Am Not Making This Up. I was very surprised when I realized that for the first time, too. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lyraeinne 2009-08-13 11:31 am UTC (link)
	I actually have yet to meet a person outside of comic book fandom who's even been aware that there's ever been more than one Robin. Even if Dick Grayson isn't a name the springs to mind as easily as Bruce Wayne, I would bet it's still Dick forming the majority of the cultural Meta Robin out there. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	runespoor7 2009-08-13 11:37 am UTC (link)
	I've met a couple (one who remembered Bruce Wayne's identity, even!) who knew there'd been several Robins, thanks to the DCAU. But in comics fandom, I don't think we can say that Meta Robin being well known equals Dick being well known, because we know there's been more than one Robin. (Reply to this) (Parent)

sistermagpie
2009-08-13 12:43 am UTC (link)

That makes total sense to me--and I love the guy. I was actually pleasantly surprised that anybody loved him too, since usually people are like "Why would you like Robin when you can have Batman?" And in the movies, of course, there's the (also *mainstream*) idea that Robin ruins Batman because Batman is cool because he's a loner and can't have relationships and certainly would never hang out with a kid.

But yeah, I've no problem believing that plenty of people find the character completely uninteresting--which is why it's good there's so many others to choose from.:-)

I almost assume, incidentally, that any references to how "everyone loves him" don't refer to readers or fandom at all, but are just a joke on the inner workings of the DCU where most characters do like him and girls (and guys) all agree he's hot no matter what their persuasion. When it comes to readers I always assume he's just got one subset of fans that really like him, probably a lot more who are neutral to mildly positive. Most people I've met who really hate him just hate Robin and the Batfamily because they think they reflect badly on Batman.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -