I won’t go so far as to say that Dick Grayson is Bruce Wayne’s favorite son – let alone, child – because that will always be up for debate. After all, Bruce has a unique relationship with each of his children (biological or otherwise).
However, I do think that, among the Robins, Dick has the most complex relationship with Batman, even by virtue of his long tenure alone.
This set of panels from the New 52′s Nightwing #30 contains one of my favorite Bruce and Dick sequences because it give insight into their relationship as father and son. It’s one of the most dramatic (and brutal) ones I’ve read so far, but that’s part of what makes it memorable.
So, for starters, a little context (with some spoilers):
We all know that Dick is the original Robin, the one who set the standard for the ones to come. When he was beaten up by Two Face, Bruce “fired” him out of fear of putting the boy’s life in danger again. Dick eventually “outgrew” his scaly green spandex shorts to become the Titans’ leader and Blüdhaven’s protector, Nightwing.
As Nightwing, Dick’s a young adult who’s wise beyond his time and remains unbroken by all the trauma he’s faced. He also has a more “mature” confidence about him and often speaks to Batman as an equal (always with some level of affection and respect, though), something he’s earned over the years. Thus, it’s no surprise that, in over 75 years of partnership, they often butt heads over matters of principle. (Which fandom has tackled extensively in meme form.)
But this time (at the risk of oversimplification), we’re shown a fight between a child who put himself in harm’s way and a father who (quite harshly) reprimands him for it out of love.
Backstory: During the events of the Forever Evil story arc, the Crime Syndicate’s Superwoman reveals Nightwing’s civilian identity to the world, and everyone (except for Batman and Lex Luthor) thinks he’s killed. In the aftermath, Bruce sends him on a mission to infiltrate Spyral by posing as an agent. So, how did Bruce talk Dick into doing it? Read on.
“We need to do it again. You and me. I need to see if they broke you. I need to see if you still have the heart you once had.”
“I trained you to live, and I watched you die!”
Like a frustrated father, Bruce pushes Dick to toughen up. (He knew his son could take it. Or, well, that he had to.)
“Fight like you’re alive!”
Like a son afraid of disappointing his father again, Dick obeys and puts up a fight. (See that smirk on the second panel below? That’s the smirk of a father who knows that his son can surpass him and is proud of it.)
“They’re family! My family! I can’t do it to them… I just can’t.”
Now, while Bruce tells him about Spyral mid-battle, Dick is still trying to absorb the fact that Bruce is asking him to keep pretending to the rest of their family that he’s still dead.
They both hear each other, but refuse to listen. One is decided that their best option is to transform the situation into an opportunity to keep their family and other superheroes safe, over the emotional cost; the other, unwilling to break the trust that bonds them in the first place. This shows their fundamental difference in character: Bruce’s judgment is ruled by his pragmatism, while Dick’s, his sentimentality.
At any given time, neither of them is completely right or completely wrong. When they argue, the writers usually give them both a valid point of view. As an audience, we’re drawn to how they balance each other out, which was the main purpose the Robin character was created in the first place.
“We fall because someone pushes us. We get back up to push back.”
A son who feels betrayed by his father…
“I know I’m hurting you. My family. I’m making that sacrifice because I don’t give up. I don’t give in.”
A father who acknowledges it, but stands firm with his decision…
In Forever Evil, Bruce is clearly shaken when he thinks he’s lost Dick. (What’s that saying about how parents aren’t supposed to outlive their children?) He obviously can’t “fire” Dick anymore and he knows he can’t rein him in from crime-fighting either, so he mentors him one more time instead.
Bruce expects Dick to be the best man he can be and trusts him to be more resilient than other superheroes because, not only is it how Bruce and Alfred raised him to be, but it’s also how he naturally is. And, Bruce is desperate to equip him to be just that because he knows it’s possible with this son of his.
When I first read this issue, it broke my heart. Bruce seemed heartless, but he was actually focused on the bigger picture, which is true to his character. It was the sacrifice-a-few-for-the-good-of-the-rest spiel. Sometimes it’s almost as if he’d rather his children hate him and outlive him, than die on his watch.
As hurtful as it was, Dick relented and eventually became Agent 37. This from a man who has shown many times over the years that he’s fully capable of choosing his own path in spite of Bruce’s influence.
That’s how much he loves and trusts Bruce.
(Granted, perhaps DC just wanted to take espionage for a spin, but still.)
Bruce isn’t a perfect parent. Dick isn’t a perfect son. (Far from it.) Well, who is, anyway? But, every bone that broke that day made it clear how much they cared about each other.
Talk about “tough love”, huh?
This is about as interesting a segue as you can get into Grayson, really, which in itself deserves a separate post. It was an awesome series and Dick was really in his element in it. Plus, there are some brief, but beautiful Bruce and Dick moments in it, too.
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