Dickkory by Aiteer.

@confusedhummingbird

Confident: Not Arrogant

A post I loved was going around on how confident Dick is.

I just wanted to add that he’s confident but there’s also a humbleness to his confidence that is very uniquely Dick Grayson.  Dick is confident without the arrogance.  He’s confident with a purpose.  Even when he’s not confident he exudes it to lift other people up or at least is usually open to talk about how unconfident he is which in itself takes a certain amount of confidence.

He expresses a very ‘us’ mentality and uses that phrasing a lot when talking to people unless he’s blaming himself for something.

“We’re going to have to learn.”

When Dick is Batman we as the reader know how unconfident Dick is but he still wears the cowl and goes out there as well as mentors Damian with as much confidence and humbleness he needs to admit his own shortcomings and works through them with Damian. 

When Tim feels down about screwing up Dick answers in a very Dick Grayson way, “Everyone’s made mistakes on this one.  But we’ve come this far and we’re in this together.”  He acknowledges Tim’s mistakes but he reminds him that everyone has made mistakes even himself, and that he’s not alone here.

You can even tell this trait in him just by his positioning and body language, he lets the kids sit in the Batchair, he talks things out with them, he leans casually even in the Batsuit.  A lot of time’s in comics it seems that the batfamily is on Bruce’s mission but with Dick he clearly shows ‘we’re’ on a mission ‘together’.

That humble confidence is also what allows him to be able to see things from other peoples perspectives, and especially why he’s usually written as not condescending towards young heroes and speaks up for them against the Justice League even.

“Flash, you were one of us.”

“Stop looking at me like I’m one of those statues.  I’m a Titan like you.”

Dick has shown multiple times he can talk people down from fighting or doing bad things or talk people up when they need to step up to the plate and it’s because he’s confident enough to say it but humble enough to say it right.

It’s again because of how humble he is that Dick is not opposed to getting help when he needs it, 

Being picked up or carried,

Or saying thank you to anyone that helps him.  

He gets angry, he makes mistakes, yet Dick also doesn’t hold back on apologizing for things when he’s done something wrong.

Multiple times he’s snapped at people and then snapped right back and said he’s sorry for it because he’s strong enough emotionally that he can apologize if he’s wronged them.  

Lastly we see that Dick can work with the big guns, heck he can lead the big guns, but he’s never arrogant when he stands beside them.  One of my favorite moments that shows this so clearly is when Dick and Superman are in the park together and the police officer that finds them only cares about getting a picture with Superman. 

Dick doesn’t even hesitate, he doesn’t think or say anything about it because he doesn’t need that validation from people, he knows how amazing he is and how amazing Superman is.  There’s no jealously there, actually he doesn’t stop smiling the whole time.  

“Style, grace… and a bit of flamboyance, but without the obtrusiveness and pitfalls of arrogance.”

It’s shown even in the way he fights.

Yes there are other characters that have some of these traits as well but for Dick there are SO MANY examples of Dick doing these things, it’s very much ingrained in his character.  That’s Dick Grayson.  He may have insecurities but for the most part he is confident but not arrogant, from what I’ve seen even though he’s one of the most loved characters he’s also one of the most humble characters in the DCU.  

This is like my most favorite post ever. Makes my love for Grayson grow more every time I read it.

Dick Grayson tries to be what people need him to be

A post was going around about Dick being happy and social-able when it comes to the batfamily but more serious when with others but I think he changes based on the people he’s around and the situation.  

He is what they need him to be whether it be 

a partner

[Under the Red Hood]

a brother

[Young Justice: Secret Origins 80-Page Giant #1]  

a friend

[New Teen Titans #14]

a leader

[Teen Titans (2003) #22]

a mentor

[Batman and Robin (2009) #22] 

a mediator

[Young Justice]

a shoulder to cry on

[Nightwing #147]

[Nightwing #139]

an open ear

[Robin (1993) #61]

[Year One: Batman/Scarecrow]

a supporter/encouragement

[Teen Titans (2003) #33]

a ‘fool’

[Nightwing #50]

a ‘bad guy’

[Nightwing #113]

or a sacrifice

[Forever Evil]

He changes his demeanor in order to best accommodate the people he’s working with/for and that’s why he gets along so well with so many different vigilantes.  He’s very aware of their positions versus his own.

I’ve said this before as well but when Dick has an issue with one other vigilante he tries really hard to be a partner and if he needs to be then a mentor, when it’s a three person or more issue then many times he feels the need to lead.  It all depends on who he’s with.

I would even argue that when he has conflict it’s mostly because he’s stretching himself too thin when trying to fulfill all of these roles at once, or when he has to pick one role over another.  

[Teen Titans V3 #6]

When he was the leader of the Titans and it conflicted with his partnership with Bruce that was when they really started having problems, when Dick had to become Batman and watch Damian there became a rift between him and Tim, when Jason was killed he was angry at himself for being away with the Titans instead of with the batfamily, etc.  All people do this to a certain extent but many superheroes actually don’t or don’t do it as well as Dick does.  Dick has many, sometimes conflicting, roles to play in many peoples lives and he tries his best to accommodate for those roles.

I think he’s probably not very conscious about the way he acts too much but it’s just very ingrained in Dick’s personality that he assesses what the people around him need and his relationship to them and then he molds himself and his behavior to best suite the people around him in his own way, whether it be to balance out the dark grim outlook that some of the batfamily members have or to tone down the eccentrics of a young team when necessary.

This just proves how important he is in the fandom and the DCU.

RENAISSANCE OF RAVEN

Honestly im not that hyped for this, but i hope its great and people read it, even if its not something i will like there is people that will like it, and it can get new readers to like Raven!

Titans #14 - "Dark-Winged Queen VII" (2024)

Titans: Beast World #1 (2024)

Titans: Beast World #1 (2024)

I love that Dc is recognizing Dick's leadership qualities:

And we also have a proud dad Bruce:

Titans by Rahzzah

Donna and Kory stay ready Titans #14 by Tom Taylor and Lucas Meyer

"I've got to find Dick. He probably needs to be comforted, always being in charge is not easy for him." - New Teen Titans #37

"Kory, I didn't realize how much I love you. I can't lose you now". -New Titans #52

Endgame. Well and truly endgame. Ain’t NOTHING gonna change my mind ^_^

Titans Together! Travis Moore has recently made an illustrated history of the Teen Titans (Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Last Stories of the DC Universe). With eight panels over three pages, Moore has succinctly breeze through the fifty-six years of Teen Titans history by showing the major teams that went under that moniker. The Teen Titans first (unofficially) formed when Dick Grayson as Robin, Wally West as Kid Flash, and Garth as Aqualad team up to defeat a weather-controlling villain known as Mister Twister in The Brave and the Bold #54 (1964). They appeared under the name “Teen Titans” in The Brave and the Bold #60 (1965), joined by Donna Troy as Wonder Girl. After being featured in Showcase #59 (1965), the Teen Titans were spun off into their own series in 1966. Over the decades, the series has been launched and re-launched six times – usually with a Robin leading them. The title would not become a genuine hit until its 1980s revival as The New Teen Titans under writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, which introduced new and lasting characters. Since then, the Teen Titans and Titans titles have been rather regular in the DC Comics roster. Team Roster:

Image Source:

hot damn

lunch break with professors Raven and Beast Boy Teen Titans Academy #8

Keep those crumbs coming!

Titans #4 - “Now You See Her…” (2016)

Oh my God!

I just caught up with World's Finest: Teen Titans and I absolutely have to write this out:

First of all, I love this cover:

The thing that caught my eye: “you're grounded.”

Not the dramatic “you're fired” as if the motherfucker didn't raise that damn kid in his own damn house for YEARS.

(I know. I know. Bar on the ground, but what would you?)

Also, the anger palpable on Bruce's face and Dick's absolute disregard for it. I'm laughing here y'all. This is what teenagers act like. This is what fights between parents and children look like.

Also. Dick Grayson, I've been missing. You're back from war!

I love how curt he is. The “Get lost” hits in all the right places. We love a strongly-principled character that stands for what he believes in. With all the lukewarm Dick Grayson writing floating around I felt like walking into a coffee shop while it's snowing outside.

More of this writing, please.

I'd been waiting for this moment all through this series.

This conversation.

I compare things all the time. It might not be the right thing in every field but I think it serves well when it comes to comic books. We all have personal “canon criteria”—for example, mine are “Darwyn Cooke wrote this Bruce so I'm taking it as valid characterisation ” or “Every version of Bruce played by Kevin Conroy is valid”. (Minus Bruce Timm bullshit!)

Which was what cinched my hatred for Bruce after reading a Robin short story that Cooke wrote and alluded to Robin: Year One in it. I mean, I might not fuck with Dixon, but am I going to call even Cooke's Bruce OOC? No. It means Bruce is a jerk. Full stop.

Waid is one of the writers I respect (excluding Kingdom Come. I hate it and I can't put my finger on the why. But I just do: I hate it. I hate it for Clark. I hate it for Diana. And I'm a professional Bruce-hater so let's not even go there. I hate it for Dick too.)

And Dick and Bruce's relationship has a lot of baggage from the fact that a) Bruce is himself traumatised and fails to meet Dick's emotional needs b) he wasn't ready to be a father when he adopted Dick c) Dick simply suffers from being the eldest—the test child.

And very rarely have I seen writers manage to walk on the thin line of complicated-but-dedicated-and-strong.

Young Justice cartoon did it. Dick and Bruce's relationship is going strong. But they fight and have different values. And Dick can see all that is wrong with Bruce's approach to vigilantism in particular and life in general.

Grimm (Legends of the Dark Knight #149-154) did it right. Where Bruce hurt Dick deeply and made him feel unwanted all the while overthinking about Dick's well-being. Way to go, buddy! You can see the repercussions it has for Dick while simultaneously stare at this man who's tying himself into knots trying to think how best to parent.

I think that's what most Bruce and Dick comics miss: the excessive worrying. They don't show the worry, make them fight for drama, never address it apart from throwing out a “it's because Bruce's worried” (bitch, where?) and have Dick running back to Gotham at the first chance. It sounds an awful lot like “your parents hurt you 'cause they love you” bullshit.

I think World's Finest manages it well because foremost, Bruce says, in words, that he's worried about Dick's well-being. He's taciturn, he's putting constant pressure on Dick all in the hopes of making him quit Titans. All this makes him a jerk. But I don't hate him for it.

It's between Dick's “you don't trust me” and Bruce's “no, I don't trust them.”

Most teenagers clash with their parents. It's normal. That's what Waid has shown here and I love it. It feels very—normal?

Especially when the Bats aren't normal! Bruce sure as fuck ain't a normal parent. But there was something very bitter-sweet coming-of-age in this conversation.

Bruce does all those things that are bad for Dick and his growing independence. You're not supposed to handle teenagers like that.

He's worried and taking desperate measures. “If I punish him, then maybe he'll obey me and quit Titans and then he'll he safe”—lots of parents who don't know how to deal with teenagers do it.

But the sequence of it: Bruce is worried → Bruce wants Dick to quit Titans → for Dick it means proving himself to be better, to not get hurt (as if he can control that beyond a certain point) → Bruce being alarmed at Dick's insistence to stay with the Titans and taking desperate measures like benching him.

At least it makes sense.

Compare it to Dixon's Nightwing origin story, which honestly, personally I think was lazy writing. Drama for drama's sake. “You’re fired because you're spending too much time with the Titans.” The same writer also had Bruce say that he did it because he wanted Dick to strike out on his own. Blah, blah, blah.

And no matter whatever happens he'd never ever say it to Dick's face that he's worried about him because—well, reasons.

Robin: Year One logic:

I'm worried about Dick's health so I fire him. He runs off and can get hurt? He joins a school for assasins? None of my business. He can get hurt on his own, I don't care as long as it is not on my conscience. Peace.

—Bruce “professional narcissist” Wayne.

So, yes. When faced with this book(WF: TT), I'd call Dixon's writing lazy.

I'm also comparing this to several other instances when Bruce verbally says (never to Dick, mind you) that he loves that Dick's a better person and better vigilante than him. But in the same book he'd yell at Dick for exactly the same thing. (I consider that lazy writing, since BTAS made sure to show a shot of Bruce smiling whenever Dick was happy/not like him).

I like this thing here where he says it to Dick's face. He's still grounding him for “discipline's sake” or whatever—very, very IC for Bruce.

But he also lets Dick know that he appreciates his values, that are different—better—than Bruce's own.

I can stomach that.

Honestly Bruce's writing in this book felt like BtAS writing (pre-Bruce Timm fuckery). That's a compliment.

P.S. Waid's a good story-teller overall. His Superman: Birthright was one of the first Superman comics I read and I fell in love with Clark right away.

Peace ✌️😂

Titans #14 (DC, August 2024) swimsuit variant cover by Saowee

forever and ever amazed by how dc readapted the flips from the silver age teen titans comics to the re-done origin story from 2008

from giving off major 50s surfer vibes (showcase #54)

... to an EMO BAND THAT DONNA IS OBSESSED WITH (same girl) AKDNSNDBDJDN (teen titans: year one)