This is hardly a new development in the Comic Book Community, but I feel as though some of you out there with a cursory knowledge of what's been going on with Batman comics over the last few years may have baulked at the former Boy Wonder stepping into Bruce's big shoes and donning the cape and cowl. Yes, it was a little strange and jarring that Bruce was 'killed' by cosmic badass Darkseid (perhaps another time we can get into the whole 'Batman would never use a gun even to fatally wound a god who had the universe by the balls' debate) and lost in time, but I digress. This is about how changes in comics' status quo are all too rare, very often temporary, and when not in the name of self-serving, sale-boosting publicity, aren't usually a good fit.
But this is different. It feels right. Which brings us to my first point...
1. He's Earned It.
This is a guy who ran around in pixie boots and short pants for forty-plus years. To top that, he had to live in the shadow of arguably the coolest, most recognizeable superhero this side of the Last Son of Krypton. Only when Dick hung around with the Teen Titans in the eighties did he shed the red, green and yellow circus outfit. And for what? A two-tone blue costume with yellow piping and a fucking disco collar. (see here.) He became his own man as Nightwing, and while the break from his partnership with the Dark Knight was appropriate and refreshing, he had to suffer through several (mediocre) costume changes, being shoehorned into the 'modern' look of having a ponytail in the nineties, and shunted aside when Bruce broke his back and chose that crazy guy to replace him while he went through rehab.
So who better to take up the cowl than the first person who was trained by Bruce? He was trained by the best in the world. Bruce is a guy who hangs out with Superman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League because they need him. These guys have all the power in the world, yet a mere mortal like Batman stands shoulder-to-shoulder with them because he's a brilliant strategist who can tell them how to effectively use their power to stop whatever threat they're facing.
And all of this rubbed off on young Mr. Grayson. He led the Titans and the Outsiders and was Bruce's choice to lead the Justice League when they were all lost in Ancient Atlantis (oh, time travel. You never stop giving writers ideas, do you?).
So it's natural that Dick has taken up the cowl, and more importantly, it's long overdue and well-deserved. While he's not as driven or obsessed as Bruce, his dedication to crime fighting is without question, which brings me to my next point.
2. Dick is not, well, a dick.
While Bruce is obsessed with continuing his War On Crime to the point that he often alienates his super-powered allies and has nearly gotten them killed through plans that he devised (on more than one occasion, mind you), Dick is a slightly different animal. While he uses the deductive and strategic thinking skills instilled in him by Bruce, his commitment to crimefighting and his standing among the caped community don't border on paranoia. He has great friends among the tights-and-capes crowd from his days growing up with the Teen Titans; he's respected in the community. Not only do the super-people recognize that he was trained and raised by Bats, they probably give him a shit-ton of credit for putting up with Bruce's obsession for so long. The difference here is that Bruce needs to be Batman. And yes, while Bruce's disappearance necessitated that he take up the mantle of the Bat, now that he's back he recognizes that Dick was fucking Tits McGrits in his absence and asks that he carry on being Gotham's Batman while he globe-trots to franchise the Batman brand. Dick is humbler, he has his doubts, and while he's not necessarily happy-go-lucky, he's a lighter, more grounded Batman. And he makes a great role model for the current Robin. Speaking of which...
3. Damien Wayne is Grayson's Robin.
Now, excuse the exposition, but here's the Cliff''s Notes on Bruce's bastard child: Damien is the product of a one-night stand between Bruce and Talia Al Ghul, also known as Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, the spawn of one of the few Batman adversaries who is a physical and intellectual match for Bruce. Damien was kept hidden from Bruce and raised by his grand-daddy and his League of Assassins to be a murderous, arrogant little shit. After meeting his father and finding that he was as awesome as he heard, Damien began to calm down a little bit and cotton to Bruce's thinking to the point where he got it into his head that he should be groomed to be Batman when his father finally kicked the bucket.
Damien was a very annoying character at first. He killed, he ran his mouth and got into fights with the third Robin, Tim Drake. But after Bruce's 'death' it seemed to humble the little shit. Dick recognized this and asked Damien to replace Tim as Robin, mostly to keep an eye on him and guide him to be the kind of person that Bruce might have wanted. While Drake resented the choice, Dick explained that he viewed Tim as his equal, not as a sidekick and not someone who needed further guidance (see? Humble.).
While Damien still has the tendency to mouth off and use excessive force on his foes, his time as Robin has changed him, and in my opinion, makes him the most fascinating character to come along in the Bat-mythos in decades. The new partnership gives new meaning to the word 'dynamic' in the Dynamic Duo and makes for damn entertaining funnybooks with a more good-humored Batman and a darker, more driven Robin with something to prove.
Plus, Damien's intellect and drive lead to my fourth point.
4. Dick enjoys playing with Those Wonderful Toys.
Damien's genius was able to work out the logistics of Bruce's flying fucking batmobile, which had eluded even dear Dark Knight daddy's brilliance. So as if the criminals of Gotham didn't already shit their pants at the mere mention of Batman, now they have to worry about getting their asses handed to them from above at any time by a new Batman and a Robin who won't hesitate to maim you while he smiles about it. Not that Bruce was ever afraid to use his fortune to create and utilize technology to be a more effective ass-kicker, but Dick revels in its use and actually, I don't know, has fun playing with the toys. It's nice to read a Batman comic where someone other than an outside observer or civilian comments on just how fucking cool being Batman and having all the gadgets is. Rarely if ever does Bruce smile about how cool it is to have all the toys, gadgets, vehicles and other assorted bat-nonsense, and I enjoy the hell out of Dick having a sort of childlike awe over how much cool shit he has access to.
5. More than one Batman makes sense.
In a universe that has three guys running around with the Flash name (I intend to discuss that at some point), seven thousand, two hundred assorted aliens with Green Lantern rings (no less than five with the name that call Earth home), and at least three Kryptonians, it's a bit of a stretch to say that one Batman can deal with Gotham's troubles, hang out with the Justice League, Outsiders, and his network of countless other associates (for a loner, Bruce has a list of Gotham-based allies as long as your arm!), all while having at least half a dozen titles on the shelves every month of which Batman is the star. What's not a stretch is that with Bruce's return, he's handed the keys of Gotham over to his former protege and his bastard son while he does his own thing across the world. Shit going down in Gotham? Covered. Need an analytical mind to tell the Big Guns where to hit hard on whatever end-of-the-world bullshit is going down with the League while Batman's busy in Gotham? Oh wait! There's two of them now.
Having more than one Batman not only makes sense but builds on the myth surrounding the character. If we're truly expected to believe that the criminals the world over fear the Bat, then what better way to play on their fears than literally have Batman be two places at once?
6. I want a damn Grayson as Batman action figure.
This one's pretty dorky and personal, but fuck it. As minimal as the differences are in their costumes to casual observers, I dig the slight differences in Dick's Bat-togs that seperate him from his mentor. And then they would also have to release a Damien as Robin to complete the Duo. So anyways... get on that, Mattel.
In conclusion: I like Dick as Batman. I like it more that they're keeping him as Batman even though Bruce is back from being 'dead' or whatever. In a media format where no one stays dead and the Status Quo is almost always maintained (or reset whenever continuity gets murky), I applaud DC for taking a fucking chance and keeping the former Boy Wonder out of the short pants or shoving him aside to be Nightwing again. Grayson is one of the few characters who's been given strong character development, even if it's taken sixty or so years for the payoff. So thanks DC, and thanks to Grant Morrison for being a crazy fucking Scot and actually getting away with moving things forward instead of letting them stagnate. This fan is very pleased.
-Swift
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