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What
Does Dick Grayson Have To Do?
Batman:
And what about Dick Grayson? Superman
of Earth-2: Yes?
Batman:
Is he a better man on your Earth than he is on mine?
(Long
Dramatic Pause)
Superman
of Earth-2: No.
Ouch!
What is so wrong with Dick Grayson? I understand that he
has never finished his education at Gotham University; that
he is a somewhat estranged partner to the Batman; he doesn’t
have a steady love interest; he doesn’t have a job;
and that he is an ex-Titan and an ex-Outsider.
He is,
however, probably the greatest hero of his generation. At
least Wally West, Donna Troy, Garth and Roy Harper all defer
to him. Sure he doesn’t have the all encompassing
drive for “the mission” that Bruce Wayne does
but who does? One would think that Bruce would find this
to be a good thing. It means that he did a good job of filling
the void in Dick’s life after the flying Graysons
were killed by Boss Zucco. Bruce, however, is apparently
not happy with the way Dick Grayson has grown up.
As my
father gets older and I rapidly enter into middle age I
look upon my works and despair. I am forced to wonder, “is
this all there is?”, “have I lived up to the
expectations of my father?”
This
theme is universal and probably explains why Hamlet is considered
one of the greatest plays ever. Every son fears that he
has not measured up to the standard set by the father. Some
have argued that our current President has attained his
position and gone to war in an attempt to gain his own father’s
approval.
Can
we ever be all that our fathers have envisioned for us?
Are we ever rich enough; powerful enough? Loved enough?
That must be why when I read Infinite Crisis #3
that the above passage really stung. I may make more money
than my father but I will never have to overcome the adversities
that he did. In many ways I view him as a standard of man
that I can never achieve. I can never be my father and Dick
Grayson can never be Batman.
It is
true that Dick Grayson/Nightwing has never truly found his
way in life. Who would have ever thought that Wally West
would be a valued member of the JLA, married with two kids
or even Roy Harper would be a responsible parent before
Dick Grayson. Donna Troy (freshly back from the dead) is
currently leading a mission of powerhouses into space. Only
Aqualad seems to be more in the shadow of his mentor than
Dick Grayson, but in Garth’s defense Aquaman is a
King.
One
can argue whether or not Dick Grayson/Nightwing has lived
up to the potential that he exhibited in his youth. Is he
the same person that led the Titans against Brother Blood
or fought a war in the Vega system or even beat the Mad
Mod? Has he been (as I like to put it) “Marvelized”
into a self-doubting whiner? Maybe, but what on infinite-Earths
has the Earth-2 Robin done to earn the disgust of Kal-L?
The
good thing about being old is that at a touch of the fingers
(when the mental rolodex fails) I’ve got a library
of books at my disposal. When I first encountered the Earth-2
Robin in Justice League #55 He was being unanimously
voted into the JSA. Nothing was mentioned about Robin’s
private life except that the Earth-2 Batman was semi-retired.
He did, however, manage to appear in one of the all-time
ugliest costumes ever.
It wasn’t
until All-Star Comics #58 back in 1976 that we
learned something about the Earth-2 Robin’s personal
life. In this issue we learned that this Dick Grayson was
a U.N. delegate to South Africa. In Justice League of
America #135 we saw the Earth-2 Batman and Robin cheerfully
working together. In 1979 we learned that the Earth-2 Dick
Grayson was a partner in the law firm of Cranston, Grayson
and Wayne (the Wayne is Helena “the Huntress”
Wayne).
In all
of my research the worst thing I could determine that the
Earth-2 Robin ever did was to try and kill Boss Zucco while
under the influence of the Stream of Ruthlessness. It is
hard to imagine that Kal-L would hold this against Dick
since while he was under the influence of the same stream
he tried to kill Power Girl.
The
guy was a member of the JSA, a partner in a law firm and
a delegate for the United Nations. What more did Kal-L want
him to accomplish? Talk about your tough love. Is Geoff
Johns knowledge of DC continuity and history faulty? That
seems unlikely. This is the same man that made the JSA a
hit; brought back Hawkman and Green Lantern in convincing
fashions and has made his reputation by turning lame archaic
villains into top notch adversaries. More likely it sees
that Johns wishes to intentionally touch a nerve in all
men. At least he did in this man.
I will
forever wonder if I have become a man that my father can
be proud of. In the case of Dick Grayson he hasn’t.
It does seem like an impossible standard that Batman and
Kal-L have set for him. These are after all two of the greatest
heroes of their respective Earths. How on Earth is any Dick
Grayson supposed to live up to their example?
The
conundrum Dick Grayson finds himself in makes me think of
Frank Sinatra Jr. He’s doomed to disappoint before
he even starts and yet to paraphrase Richard Gere from An
Officer and a Gentleman, he doesn’t quit because
he’s got nowhere else to go. Look at all that I got
out of four lines…that Geoff Johns is one good writer.
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