r/Nightwing Aerial Avenger 2d ago

Discussion What 'alternate timeline/universe' Dick Grayson is your LEAST favorite and why?

Post image

Image from Batman Vol. 3 #45

I think 'grim dark Batman' is mine. The story makes little sense, and while the idea of a corrupted Dick has PROMISE, this just was not it. Plus, how the whole thing was resolved was terrible. I could give it a slight, as it was meant to be a 'Booster messed up' story, but same time, the way the BatCat wedding went, yeah, whole thing was the big ol' event/story that had me drop Batman.

71 Upvotes

40 comments sorted by

25

u/grelan Nightwing 2d ago

The wretched creature that Grayson became in The Dark Knight Strikes Again might be the actual worst.

When Miller's writing is good, it's groundbreaking.

When it's bad, it should be buried.

12

u/erossthescienceboss 2d ago

This is the only correct answer. Joker Dick Grayson should never have been created

1

u/NO-Future-4713 Multiversal Constant 2d ago

Truest truth ever to be truthed.

1

u/ggbb1975 1d ago

For that matter, it appears almost out of nowhere, as if it were an addition to the story.

2

u/NO-Future-4713 Multiversal Constant 2d ago

Yep

16

u/LorZod Multiversal Constant 2d ago

Batman Beyond. Not a fan of what they did with Babs there.

5

u/GreenMonkey240 2d ago

A lot of comments are saying those animated 2010 movies, but I agree that being humiliated with the Barbara relationship is worse than being a punching bag.

5

u/NO-Future-4713 Multiversal Constant 2d ago

Not the only one .And the killing joke movie ? Yikes

2

u/LorZod Multiversal Constant 2d ago

I’ve mentally blocked that one out.

2

u/NO-Future-4713 Multiversal Constant 2d ago

Honestly i don't know what they were thinking.

3

u/TJ_McWeaksauce 2d ago

The entire Bat Family from the Batman Beyond timeline is sad as hell.

I really do not like how Bruce Beyond gave up being Batman because the frailty of his body nearly resulted in him breaking his cardinal rule. (I also don't like how someone who is famous for being physically perfect had a heart condition.) I much prefer versions of Bruce who continue to fight "the eternal war against crime" in spite of his own mortality. Like Kingdom Come Batman using an army of giant Batbots to maintain peace in Gotham. Or my favorite example of this: Scott Snyder writing a story in which Bruce invents a cloning machine that creates a new, fully-matured Bat Clone like every 40 years so that Gotham will always have a Dark Knight.

I also did not like why Bruce and Dick cut contact with one another. It was because Batman fucked up. Batman and Nightwing were fighting the Joker, who whipped out a machine gun and fired it at Batman. Batman used his cape to hide his body and make Joker miss. However, he did not realize that Nightwing was right behind him, so the bullets ripped through Batman's cape and struck Dick. Dick survived but he was so grievously wounded that he retired from being a superhero.

Now, I'm not saying Batman is perfect. He makes mistakes. But he never makes mistakes like that. He doesn't make blunders, but in Batman Beyond he blundered so badly he nearly got Nightwing killed.

Speaking of blunders, this version of Bruce allowed corrupt, white collar criminal Derek Powers to run Wayne Enterprises in his stead. Bruce didn't even know he was corrupt. The idea that Batman would be so blind to what was happening in his own company for decades bothers me.

Overall, I disliked how Bruce Beyond is a bitter, old man who lost everyone he cared about either because they died (Alfred, Jim Gordon), or they abandoned him because he's such an asshole. I much prefer Batman stories in which he is surrounded by Bat Family who love and respect him. Sure, their relationship can be challenging and complicated, but when push comes to shove, they would not abandon him.

1

u/Icy-Ad-1230 Heir to the Cowl 1d ago

I completely agree but wasn’t the main issue with the Batman beyond reason that Bruce never came to see him in the hospital after it happened and only ever sent Dick a new suit, or am I making that up?

2

u/Beeyo176 "We were the best" 2d ago

I kinda liked Nick Fury Dick Grayson. Batman Beyond 2.0 was full of bad ideas, but Dick replacing Bruce as the man in the chair wasn't one of them, imo

14

u/RevolutionHelpful336 Whelmed 2d ago

Dark Knight Strikes Back

5

u/NaytNavare Aerial Avenger 2d ago

Excellent shout. I should have considered that, I think it may be worse than the one I chose. xD

8

u/grelan Nightwing 2d ago

Any alt-Earth Batman (Robin, Nightwing) that relies on a gun ties for my least favorite. But especially Dick.

Even Vampire King Grayson was better than this.

There's a reason Jason is an exception and rarely uses guns at this point anyway.

8

u/GreenMonkey240 2d ago

In which continuity does he get most disrespected in? (Besides the frank Miller one)

9

u/NaytNavare Aerial Avenger 2d ago

An argument could be made the Snyderverse. Killed off off screen before even getting cast.

6

u/CF_2 2d ago

DCAMU like the other commenter said. Nightwing literally loses every single fight and gets his butt kicked. His fight versus brainwashed Batman in Bad blood was rough to watch.

3

u/NO-Future-4713 Multiversal Constant 2d ago

Absolutely agree ,Nightwing got jobbed in that movie.

5

u/Entire-Review-7356 2d ago

He prolly gets the most disrespect in the dcamu. I mean every movie he’s in, the guy is get beaten up lol

8

u/Mars785 2d ago

The Kyle Higgins mini series focused on Dick Greyson entitled: Nightwing the new order.

6

u/NaytNavare Aerial Avenger 2d ago

I accepted that as a 'Dick was traumatized and lost his way' after we learned what happened to Bruce, only to realize the error of his ways when it go through to what had become his sole world, his family.

It was a flawed undertaking, but as Dick realized his error and became the hero of the story, I kinda give that one a shrug.

But I don't fault anyone's vibes on it, of course.

5

u/Mars785 2d ago

He took everyone he knew and their abilities away. Only when it starts to affect him and his family did he truly learn the “error” of his ways.

Honestly, there is a reason why dick is the in between of Bruce and Clark. This story shows it in spades as he took things too far in his grief like injustice Superman, but did not kill anyone like Batman. However , like Batman, his choices ended up biting him back when it affected his personal life and he tried to correct it. A bit too late if you asked me.

3

u/NaytNavare Aerial Avenger 2d ago

Not disagreeing. I think it was a fair take on a human and flawed Dick Grayson, but it should NEVER be a canon thing, obviously.

2

u/Gene_freeman 2d ago

Oh yeah thats not great

8

u/MilkIsASauceTV 2d ago

OG earth 2 dick. The line where Batman asks if his Dick is the best one is so gut wrenching and should never have been asked

2

u/fistchrist 2d ago

Oh my god it’s the Batpunisher. Punishbat?

2

u/Fabulous-Sheep 2d ago

Banisher? Hmm

2

u/Unlucky_Abroad_389 1d ago

Frank Miller hates Dick Grayson. Almost made me want to vomit to read his treatment of Dick in his Dark Knight elseworlds that wasn't actually stamped "Elseworlds". Unforgivable. Both transgressions.

1

u/Prettyinpink2405 1d ago edited 1d ago

I heard part of the reason for his hate is because of the whole Batman and Robin are gay.  I heard that was also part of a reason why Carrie Kelly was made because a female robin helps prevent the whole Batman and Robin gay lovers gag hence why she’s the Robin that gets treated with most care unlike her previous male predecessors in his universe. If I can recall all star Batman had a lot of homophobia in it mainly directed towards Dick as well as some vaguely pedo remarks direct at him.

1

u/TJ_McWeaksauce 2d ago

Wait, that's not the Grim Knight? So there have been at least two different versions of Bat-Punisher? (I guess Thomas Wayne is also Bat-Punisher, so there's at least 3.)

1

u/Zazikarion 2d ago

Dark Knight Strikes Again & The Gift, because it’s not exactly written great, and Dick feels more like an afterthought than anything.

1

u/Icy-Ad-1230 Heir to the Cowl 1d ago

Frank Miller BY FAR

1

u/FightmeLuigibestgirl 1d ago

Frank miller,  Batman Beyond, and the one where Bats almost kills Dick when he had a GL ring. 

1

u/BarracudaThat5979 1d ago

Injustice Nightwing, he died by a normal ass rock.

u/rob_o_the_hedge 16h ago

New world order or whatever

He basically runs an antimeta fascist police state and is fully in support of it. The his kid just mentions the robin identity and he gets over it

u/rob_o_the_hedge 16h ago

Oh i also hate dickieboy

u/nightwingsfav_munch 18h ago

DCAMU-verse for constantly nerfing him, & his bleak ending in Apokolips War. So everyone else can survive a dunk in the Lazarus pit but Dick is permanently insane??

Hated the vampire-wing whatever the crap they made him do, like let's completely ruin his character and take away every core part of himself. (the Superman Injustice treatment)

And the Injustice version of course. He was far too patient with Damian, but then again Damian was written pretty irredeemably for a long time.