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mid-nightowl · 6 months

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steph as nightwing??? 👀

Yes, a hundred times yes.

For me, the idea came out of this meta that @benbamboozled did ages ago (that I for the life of me cannot find now :( ) about how Barbara should have been the one to mentor Tim, but she wasn’t because dc (and superhero comics generally) are too cowardly to let a female superhero mentor a male hero. And it got me thinking--there were three “older” vigilantes and three younger vigilantes in the Batfam at this time, which then led to the whole Barbara mentoring Tim, Bruce babysitting Cass, and Dick mentoring Steph. Which would then eventually lead to Steph taking on the Nightwing mantle.

Nightwing!Steph was also an idea I had regarding the Batman!Dick era and the Tom King pitch of Tim becoming Nightwing during the Ric Grayson arc. In my delusional AU idea, after the “death” of Bruce, Dick would be Batman, Damian would be Robin, Barbara as Oracle, Cass would return as Batgirl after a short hiatus or be Black Bat, Tim would be Red Robin, Jason as Red Hood, and Steph would take over the Nightwing mantle while also attending college (a similar start to Dick’s own trajectory).

I don’t have like a full meta on this (and I haven’t read everything regarding Steph so please correct me if I get something wrong or the vibes are off!), but I think Steph could be a worthy successor to the Nightwing mantle if there were a point in time where Dick moved on or couldn’t be Nightwing anymore.

I think Steph embodies a lot of the same ideals and values that Dick/Nightwing resembles: hope, determination, and guts. There’s also the immediate similarity of the two of them being more light-hearted and quippy compared to the other Bats, which (almost) hides how capable and competent they are, but also how this happy-go-lucky mask hides anger and trauma.

Both of them had the guts to go out on their own, to create their own mantle and mask despite being told “no.” They both have the drive and determination in their actions to help others and stop criminals, and an innate need to be a hero/vigilante and that they can’t stop being a vigilante. And out of all the Bats, Stephanie has the most potential to represent hope, just as Dick does.

To me, Steph has all the criteria to be one of the best vigilantes in the Batfam, but just doesn’t get the opportunities to do so. She’s got the foundations and the materials, she just needs help getting there. Being Nightwing (or being mentored by Dick) would give her the chance to showcase that.

Being a vigilante that has ties to the Batfam but isn’t necessarily considered a sidekick character or in need of a mentor (like Batgirl or Robin), Steph could grow as a person and a vigilante with the Nightwing mantle. Nightwing is also a key component to the Batfam and is often the middle ground between the smaller groups within the family and I think Steph can easily step into that role, especially given her past relationships with Tim, Cass, and Barbara, her similarities and the trauma-bonding she does with Jason, and the older sister-younger brother relationship with Damian. Not to mention, Nightwing’s role as a leader in the Titans, which would give Steph a chance to show her capabilities to be a leader. But, Nightwing is also a stubbornly independent loner, a solo-act vigilante. So, not only can Steph be an important team player (in the Batfam and the Titans/equivalent team) but she'll also have the freedom to do her own thing.

Nightwing (imo) was all about moving on, growing up and maturing on your own, and while Dick might not have realized what it would become later on, it’s grown to represent hope, the “universal constant,” and creating your own legacy. The transition from Robin to Nightwing is all about this, and I think this transition would have made a lot of sense for Stephanie (Spoiler to Nightwing = growing out of her anger towards her father but also growing out from underneath Batman/Batgirl’s shadows). I think there would still be issues and insecurities of Steph living up to a predecessor, similar to when she took on the roles of Robin and Batgirl, but I want to believe that Dick would train her well enough and his own belief in Steph taking on his mantle would alleviate these problems.

There’s a lot of AU potential with Stephanie being Nightwing (I’ve got a few myself 👀), but canon wise, I don’t think we’ll see Dick move away from the Nightwing mantle ever. I think you could probably make a good argument for Steph to be Flamebird in canon and really introduce that mantle back into the Batfam (and her and Bette can bond over terrible mentors/families, being Batgirl, and being rejected).

I've got some more thoughts circling in my head about Dick mentoring a Spoiler!Steph, but I've kind of touched base about that here so I'll leave that for another time lol

thanks for letting me ramble about this idea<3 <3

#asks #felinemotif #thanks for the ask! this was a lot of fun to write up :)#i had ben's meta on the female mentors bit saved but when my laptop died i lost it 😭 ill have to track it down later #there's so many thematic parallels between steph and dick im not sure where to start #but there's definitely another aspect/parallel of moving on from a mantle via bruce being an asshole #there's also the idea in the batman!dick era of stephanie being the “light” like how dick was the light and hope for bruce #how steph was the one to step up and keep going despite the way everything seemed to fall apart after bruce died #steph being the keystone of this new batfam would have just...worked honestly #writing this just reminds me how badly dc editorial handles the female bat characters #they're never allowed to grow or evolve or be shown to have platonic relationships with the batboys or even consistent relationships #it's a bit depressing honestly big sigh #nightwing!stephanie brown #stephanie brown #batfam

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thattimdrakeguy · 4 years

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ROBIN 80TH ANNIVERSARY - REVIEW!! - The GREAT, the okay, the meh, the wait what, and the freaking awful

None of the stories I’d consider bad in this besides the Super Sons one.

They have flaws, some don’t have any but aren’t that great, and just weird choices, with some disappointments.

I’m just gonna be honest about each story because that’s all I can do.

DICK GRAYSON’S FIRST STORY: Really freaking good.

My favorite story is probably the first one:

Like the art is the best in the whole issue, and the only real flaw is how mean they made Bruce through-out it.

It’s yet again another story of how and why Dick quit (I guess he didn’t get fired this time) being Robin, but it’s just nice. Nice pacing, timing, dialogue, good art, and because the people working on it are 80s writers and artists, it keeps it feeling classic.

Which is great for a little showing of the 80s world, and I’m no big 80s DC guy at all, but it’s a really nice flashback for that.

One thing that was disappointing but I won’t count as a flaw (since it’s really not, just a wasted opportunity) is that this kid didn’t end up being Tim:

It looks like a young Tim, it’s drawn by the first artist on Tim’s Robin ongoing, written by his creator, it’s about the history of Robin, and he’s an overeager Robin fanboy-- like why wasn’t this kid Tim? He even has that dorky bowlcut Tim had when he was little, just less 80s styled.

A missed opportunity honestly.

The story though shows Dick’s compassion, talent, frustrations as he became his own man, his views on Robin, some of his sense of humor even. So his characterization is pretty great, but it is written by the man that grew Dick his own unique character to begin with, and it’s great to see this story keeps it up. (Prolly gonna find out this is an old script, but hey, it’s a good one.)

A weird retcon story, but it’s a nice callback to the 80s, and I think it’s really well-done beyond Bruce being a controlling grumpy prick to the point it feels like parody.

DICK GRAYSON’S SECOND STORY: It’s just alright.

Where the first story is a flashback to the 80s, this is a direct flashback to he 90s, with the writer and artist that started his ongoing solo.

And it’s good. Like I had a lot of fun reading it, good heroics, feels of it’s era, but like the last story that’s the fun.

There’s nothing really to say about it besides it’s good. There isn’t anything too standout about it.

DICK GRAYSON’S THIRD STORY: It’s forgettable.

I forgot this was a thing in this, and it just feels like a waste of page.

It’s in no way bad that I seen, but it’s so very bland and one note. Titans fight and Dick acts as leader. Very generic.

The art’s really good though.

DICK GRAYSON’S FOURTH STORY: It’s better than that last one at least.

Unlike the last one, this feels like it at least has a point to be here, and it actually feels like it makes sense to be in he 80th anniversary as well.

I’m not a personal fan of the “Grayson” series, it just sexualized Dick too much honestly, made him cheesier again a bit, and the writing was a little on the off-side in a way that just made it all feel empty besides a few moments, but I never read the whole series to be a great judge on it.

But also because of that, I have no idea who these people are for this story to be grand. What makes it feel like it’s worthy of being here though is trying it back to the history of Robin like the first story with these little bits.

Without these moments though, you wouldn’t have a clue why this is there.

Also Dick just suddenly wears this:

Which is super duper off-putting. But Oh-ho gotta have sexy Dick in there somewhere I guess. Just-- wow, was that super sudden.

JASON TODD’S STORY: It’s good but this kid doesn’t look right.

The story is very simple and sweet, and I think it works a lot given Jason and Bruce’s complicated relationship.

It’s even written by Judd Winnick who did Under the Red Hood, which is awesome.

But who is this kid they keep calling Jason exactly? It irrationally bugs me, because all the art has been super spot on till this story. They even write him well, but it just genuinely doesn’t look like post-crisis Robin Jason.

Like to show what I mean--

You read it and this is how the kid speaks.

Super snarky,

a bit of a rude edge to it,

practical sounding but rough teen-ish still

yet still mature enough to feel like he can handle himself.

So you might place this around when Jason was 15 given he’s Robin, and when he was 15 and when they gave him a unique design finally away from a generic silver age Robin, he looked like a young body builder--

Like this is what Jason Todd looked like when they settled his look away from a Dick clone:

A young body builder type, strong jaw, working out, mature features for his age

So who the heck is this?

Like this isn’t what Jason looked like besides pre-crisis, but this is post-crisis Jason. They already settled what he looked like during that 80s run, and this isn’t it. He’s not supposed to look like a generic silver age Robin anymore.

Even beyond it not looking like what Jason’s supposed to, it doesn’t fit the dialogue. He’s written as a practical, snarky, yet in his own way still mature teen. Soooooo why’s he look 5?

It’s so off-putting and it bugs me.

However, beyond that, I really like the story, and at least the artist was good at drawing adult Jason.

Them representing Bruce’s and Jason’s complicate relationship of distant but still caring is something I really enjoy. It’s so much more true to character rather than acting like Jason is just a part of the family like nothing ever happened.

More of that dynamic for them, please.

TIM DRAKE’S FIRST STORY: It’s pretty good, but it’s missing something.

Not the highest praise ever, but I do like this story. I enjoy it’s setting at Tim’s school. High school was a constant setting for Tim’s comics in Robin, and they rarely ever treat it like that so I enjoy this story bringing it back.

I really enjoyed the connection between extracurricular activities and what he does as Robin. It’s that blend of relatability and heroics that really made Tim work as a character. So that’s also great they brought back.

One of my favorite things that they bring up is Tim being into eSports, cuz it reminds me of how much Tim was into video games. It’s a very modern version of him being into the arcades in the 90s. Which is great.

However a downside is that it doesn’t really focus on Tim as a character like the other stories did with the other Robins.

Nothing about his never give up attitude, his insecurities, his underdog likability, how hard he is on himself, or things like that.

In-general this story says nothing about his personality besides a mention that he’s geeky. Which is a pretty big let-down because it keeps it from being any better, despite it already being good.

Freddie William’s art is also very hit or miss. It’s so crude sometimes, and Tim seems so buff compared to before in his actual Robin run. It’s very displeasing given that his early Tim work was top 5 Tim art material. However I still enjoyed that they brought him back even if he can’t draw Tim as well anymore. Tim’s still good in the babyface in most panels at least.

BUT-- this is still a pretty good Tim story. It’s just lacking.

Like it just should’ve been more about Tim as a character since it’s a Tim Drake story.

TIM DRAKE’S SECOND STORY: It’s honestly just pretentious.

Tim doesn’t talk like this. Tynion has a melodramatic tone to his characters that works great for characters like Batman, I’ve actually quite liked his Batman run so far partially because of that, but it doesn’t work for Tim.

This is not what Tim talks like. It’s so very unnatural sounding for a kid. Yet Tim talks in this incredibly dramatic tone except for a few light hearted spots, when I feel like it should be the opposite.

It’s also trying hard to be a character study, but again it’s so unnatural. It sounds like a fan describing their view of the characters, not the characters themselves. Like since have these guys became each others therapists?

And then he has Dick say these things that makes Tim seem like a Gary Stu and the greatest most talented guy ever.

Also having Tim hang out with Jason when Jason’s using guns even though Tim’s insanely against that sort of thing.

They even have Damian talk like a typical fan person who dislikes Tim based off of superficial things for a bit.

The fact it treats that Detective Comics Rebirth part of Tim’s character history as uber important is also a bit pretentious of the writer given he wrote that too. Despite Tim only being in that run for like three arcs and wasn’t even in-character for most of it.

Best part of it, is the vague acknowledgement that Tim didn’t want to be anything else but Robin to me.

Otherwise it just reeks of awkwardly written fan fiction.

Honorable mentions of quality though, is Dick and Tim being brothers train riding, and Damian’s mini-adult coming out. I’m so sick of them making Damian a generic kid sometimes that I actually liked this part even if it’s through a snarky filter.

STEPHANIE BROWN’S STORY: Better than expected, it’s actually pretty good.

I actually really liked this story. Overall I think Steph’s actual Robin run sucked, this is still a good story if I can get past the era it’s set in.

Unlike Tim’s stories, this actually uses her character.

How reckless she can be without it being super exaggerated, her attitude, love that they brought back the diary format for her inner-monologue too.

There’s not much to say besides I’d actually consider this one of the best stories in the thing, except for the fact Steph clearly disobeys Batman and she was said to get fired for that. That’s a decent plot holes for me.

I super love the detail of Tim being so small that Steph can’t fit in his uniform. That cheered me up.

Them bringing back her Robin era artist was also great. Unlike Freddie Williams, their art actually really improved.

DAMIAN WAYNE’S FIRST STORY: The genuine worst story in it.

It’s so-- baaad.

Fan service can work if it’s in good quality. Like being in-character, or a nice homage. The train riding in Tynion’s story was that.

This isn’t that.

Damian and Jon didn’t get along right away, not even soon enough for this “mostly” part to feel right as a joke, because they obviously didn’t get along mostly right away. They fought a lot. They even show it on the full page them fighting, but they downplay how long they did fight just for fanservice. It took a long time, and even when they did it was still contrived.

Then they have Damian and Jon in the same class, when they aren’t the same age for that to make sense..

They even have Jon help Damian on his tests when it’s constantly shown that Damian is a brainiac who wouldn’t need that.

It’s literally even in the history summary at the end that he’s highly intelligent. So he probably wouldn’t even ever need a study partner considering he’s even said to have actual PHDs anyway. Which makes the study partner thing just plain out of character.

There’s also panels that straight up feels like oddly specific deviantart fetish art, which is so nasty. Especially considering that I know damn well that’s there’s pedophiles who make this same kind of oddly specific fetish art on there. So much so I had to stop using the site cuz of the anxiety it gave me.

And they downplay how mean Damian can be too Jon so much that it irks me.

This is the worst story in the whole comic, genuinely. Nothing good is in it, besides some decent enough art.

It’s certainly pandering to it’s fandom, but to certain parts it really shouldn’t be.

(This sort of stuff was still happening in their miniseries. Jon really shouldn’t want this as a brother. That’s stockholm syndrome.

DAMIAN WAYNE’S SECOND STORY: It’s better than the last one, but somethings missing still.

Unlike the last one avoiding talking about Damian’s actual character besides to play it down. This one actually uses it.

It’s just so quick, and empty feeling at the same time that it’s missing something. A bit like an inverse of Tim’s first story. Tim’s story had the setting and interesting story format, but no real character, while this has a lot of usage of the character but no interesting setting or story.

A lot of Damian’s character is that he’s not a natural Robin as far as attitude goes. He isn’t a typical Robin, and I enjoy how they play into that rather than be afraid of that. It’s what makes this actually work for me.

Although it makes you question why he’s still Robin, I consider that a good thing, because YOU SHOULD. You want the character’s to actually acknowledge things as if they’re real and not just ignoring things.

He’s not typical, he’s unique for better or worse. That’s Damian, and that’s what you should show of him.

This goes into why Damian’s the exact opposite of what a Robin normally is. That’s great.

But it’s missing anything memorable about it. However I think that’s cuz it leads into a future issue of Teen Titans which gives it a reasonable excuse.

I’m really hoping it leads into something.

Although i have a feeling they sadly might do the same thing as typical and ignore Damian’s actions more. Avoiding any genuine feelings.

OVERALL

It’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Only two stories I’d actually call bad, which is a lot less than I thought With just occasionally sloppy art, not even what I’d call back, but just crude or not drawing the character accurately which will annoy some more than others.

When I heard of this book I got so worried, but only two stories is actually almost relieving how little that is given the potential ego-driven things they could’ve done, which only those two stories then.

To me, I say it’s worth a pick-up, just rip out a story or two to keep it friendlier to revisit

Mostly was just really missing that extra heart in a lot of the stories.

#Tim Drake #Robin #Dick Grayson #Nightwing #Jason Todd #Red Hood #Stephanie Brown #The Spoiler #Bruce Wayne #Batman #DC Comics #Bat-Family #Batfamily #Bat-fam #Batfam #Teen Titans #Young Justice #Young Just Us

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sebeth · 5 years

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Young Justice: Independence Day, Fireworks, and Stopover

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

My goal is to re-watch the Young Justice series and re-read the comics before the January 4th launch of Young Justice: Outsiders. Let’s begin.

Episode 1: “Independence Day”

July 4th: We begin, appropriately enough, on the United States’ Independence Day. The title will have multiple meanings by the end of the first two episodes: the kids’ semi-independence from their mentors and Superboy’s freedom from the Cadmus Project.

Do cold villains hate the Fourth of July?

Dick is the only Robin who would have laughter as a trademark.

“Juniors doing this for attention?” – One of my favorite parts of this series is the depth of knowledge for the characters of the DC Universe – even the obscure ones. The current Icicle is a “junior” – his father was the original Icicle of the Golden Age era. As a huge fan of the B through D list characters, I have a huge appreciation for anyone who remembers the small details.

Kaldur was an interesting choice as he was a new but fairly obscure character when Young Justice debuted. Garth would have been the more logical choice as he was a founding member of the Titans along with Dick, Roy, and Wally.

I admit I wondered why the series was called Young Justice because all I was seeing were the founding members of the Titans at this point (minus Garth and Donna).

“You’ll chat it up with the cops, the bystanders, with Cold even.” – One sentence reveals so much of Barry’s personality.

“I knew we’d be the last ones here.” – Again, a Barry trait.

“Speedy is Green Arrow’s sidekick.” “Well, that makes no sense.” – Accurate.

“Why isn’t anyone just whelmed?” – Dick’s mangling of the English language begins.

“02” – The assigned numbers correspond with the members joining the team. The way to my heart is the small details.

Roy has a huge hissy even by his impatient, hot-headed nature. We discover the reason later in the series.

“We could make an exception.” – Really, the Justice League wouldn’t allow their proteges on the Watchtower? Why?

Zatara and Wotan! Yay, obscure characters for the win!

“Glad you didn’t bring you know who?” Foreshadowing!

The boys invade Cadmus in all its glory: Guardian, G-Nomes, Genomorphs, Dubbilex, and, of course, Superboy.

“Dr. Desmond” is a hint for his upcoming transformation. The “Blockbuster” label confirms it.

Wally is a science nerd. Makes sense with Barry as a mentor.

“File KR” – another hint.

“Sub-level 52”. – DC does love its 52.

Superboy! Looking more like the Teen Titans-era version than the early, scrawny, fresh out of the pod version.

Hack! – Tim is typically the Robin most associated with computers. To be fair, the Internet was pretty much non-existent when Dick and Jason were Robin.

Superboy, unsurprisingly, curb-stomps the team.

Episode 2: “Fireworks”

First appearance of the Light aka the Cadmus Board of Directors.

“Clone them.” – We later discover that one sidekick has already been cloned.

Dubbilex, the sneaky traitor, awakens the boys.

“Project: Sidekick” – Desmond is so imaginative when it comes to naming projects.

“He can talk.”

“Yes, he can.”

“Not like I said it.

Wally, listen to Dick and Kaldur and keep your mouth shut.

Kaldur is clearly the wisest of the original group.

“Batcave’s crowded enough.” – Well, it’s been said three is a crowd.

“What would Superman do?” – Everyone should apply this standard to their decisions.

“Don’t you give me orders either.” – I can see why it would be a sensitive issue – his whole life (all 16 weeks) has been controlled by others.

“You can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Still cool.” – Sweet Wally being supportive.

“Don’t apologize. This is perfect.” – That’s how you know Dick was raised by the Batman.

“I finally have room to move.” – Yeah, speed is more useful when you have to space to run.

“Grab something from Project Blockbuster.” – If you were familiar with the villain, you knew what was about to happen.

“The Genomorph hero.” – Unfortunately, this bit wasn’t followed up on.

“Everyone back.” – Protective Guardian for the win. Sadly, he’s outmatched by Blockbuster.

“Got your nose.” – Gross!

“You incredible bulk.” – Shout out to the competition.

Oh, look at protective Superboy and Aqualad covering their more delicate teammates.

The League arrives with Superman taking point.

Not loving Hawkgirl/woman’s costume.

Poor Kal breaks Superboy’s heart. Bad Kal! I understand Clark’s upset and confusion but don’t take it out on the newborn child.

“All 52 levels.” – Again, DC loves the 52.

“Why let them tell us what to do. It’s simple. Get on board or get out of the way.” – Superboy declares the true mission statement of Young Justice.

Red Tornado as team supervisor is a nod to the comic book version of Young Justice.

I did like the addition of Black Canary as team trainer. It’s a nice nod to Dinah’s combat skills which Gail Simone spent most of the 2000s building up.

“This is the Martian Manhunter’s niece.” – Another surprise choice as Miss Martian wasn’t very well known in the comics. Never will a character start out so cute and then devolve into creepiness.

M’gann’s obsession with Superboy begins immediately. We’ll discover why later in the season.

Young Justice #1: Stopover

The issue begins immediately after Superboy declares “Get on board or get out of the way.”

“Give me three days” Batman responds.

The group then realizes Superboy has nowhere to go in the meantime.

Kid Flash brings Superboy to Central City. Wally explains the situation to his parents. There is a cute moment when Mrs. West corrects Wally’s grammar: “Robin, Aqualad, and I…”

Superboy interjects with a “You weren’t there.”

Cadmus clearly didn’t instruct Superboy in conversation nuances.

Mrs. West informs Wally that he “leads a very strange life. But we’re use to it. Largely.”

Wally’s parents are way more understanding and supportive than they are in the main DC Universe.

Wally’s parents ask Superboy’s name. Wally responds “I call him Supey. I think he likes it.” Conner doesn’t look like he likes it.

We stop in on Kaldur and Arthur’s return journey to Atlantis.

Kaldur: “We meant no disrespect.”

Arthur: “I would not be much of a king if I did not allow my subjects freedom of expression. Especially when their words carry such wisdom.”

Somewhere, Garth is wondering why he never had this type of relationship with Arthur.

Conner wonders “Think Superman knows I’m here?”

Wally awkwardly reassures Conner that Superman knows he’s in Central City.

Wally awakens the next day to find Conner sleeping upright in his closet. Conner informs Wally that he is not “used to sleeping in a bed. Your closet reminded me of my Cadmus pod. Except for the funny smells.”

Poor Conner. A bed shouldn’t be a foreign concept.

The boys spend the day vegging in front of the tv. Conner is very bored. Each panel has Wally eating something different: a bag of chips, pizza, and a bucket of fried chicken.

Nice nod to Wally’s metabolism.

Late in the day a card arrives with a credit cart addressed to Wally “for expenses.”

Superboy wonders if it’s from Superman.

Wally vaguely confirms it’s from Superman with a “who else could it be from” even though he’s clearly aware it was sent by Batman.

Wally is so sweet – he keeps trying to reassure that, of course, Superman would care about Conner’s location and well-being.

Batman is also a very sweet Bat-Dad this issue. Bruce would deny it but he was consistently sweet and supportive to Conner in the first season. None of the other Leaguers thought Conner would need money to buy basic essentials like clothes. Or that the middle-class Wests would need financial support to care for Superboy. Wally’s appetite alone has to put a serious dent in their income.

If Wally hadn’t offered, I’m positive Bruce would have taken Conner back to the Batcave. If for no other reason than Alfred wouldn’t have been thrilled with the idea of an underage child being left alone. Batman would have also thought of the risks of leaving Conner on his own – Cadmus operatives could have tried to regain custody of a lone Superboy.

The boys head to the mall to shop for clothes. A nice easter egg is the name of the store the boys enter: “Forever Sixteen”. Conner was genetically locked in that age for some time in the comics.

Conner buys multiple copies of the same black shirt. Not someone who’s big on fashion.

We bop over to Gotham where Dick is impatiently wondering what Bruce is doing in the Batcave – it’s been almost two and a half days!

Alfred patiently reminds Dick that when one says three days, one means three days.

Poor Alfred has the patience of a saint. Imagine what the poor man endures on a daily basis: Bruce in all his glory; hyper, energetic Dick, Jason’s explosiveness, Damian’s demanding arrogance, and Stephanie’s boisterousness. Tim, Cassie, and Duke are the quieter children. They don’t cause Alfred as much fuss.

Back to the mall where Wally and Conner encounter Tommy and Tuppence, the Terror Twins – the same twins that Conner and M’gann impersonate at Belle Reve.

Flash and Superman arrive on the scene of the fight. Conner mutters a single “Superman” before Clark flees from the scene. To be fair, he was pursuing the Terror Twins but he couldn’t even offer a “hi” before he left?

Flash tells the boys to go home. Barry will pick the boys up in the morning because “Batman has made his decision”.

Honestly, Batman made his decision as soon as he told the kids “three days”. Bruce simply needed the three days to implement his plan.

Conner asks Wally if “Superman will be there tomorrow”. Wall responds “Uh, sure, you know…if there’s no emergency somewhere.”

Conner’s downcast face shows he doesn’t believe Wally’s statement.

Conner asks Wally “Why’d you invite me to stay with you?”

“Well, un, Aqualad lives underwater. And the Batcaves’s kind of a big secret. So I figured it’d be cool for us to hang.”

Conner smiles after Wally’s statement.

Wally is so sweet and supportive in this issue. It also shows that Wally is very trusting. He is inviting Superboy into his home with his civilian parents – and he knows how easily Conner curbstomped the entire team. But Wally knows Conner is one of the good guys and doesn’t even hesitate to bring him to Central City.

The issue ends with the final moments of the second episode.

#Young Justice #Superboy #Kid Flash #Robin #Aqualad

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shobogan · 7 years

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Having finally caught up on Detective Comics, I figured I’d share my thoughts. (They’re largely positive despite a few major criticisms.)

Pros:

Most of the characters. Tim felt a LOT closer to preboot Tim than in most of the New 52, and while his relationship with Steph was incredibly under-developed I enjoyed them together anyway. It reminded me of Lewis-era Robin, and that’s always been my favourite take on their relationship. I love his dynamic with Bruce. His death and the aftermath tore me up in the best way, even knowing he survived.

Steph herself is amazing. Her sense of humour bouncing between dark and dry and light and silly, her desperate drive to be a hero no matter what that means. I think her decisions by the end of the Victims Syndicate arc should have been built up to more, but I loved the focus on her anguish and uncertainty, and I’m excited to see her as a very different kind of outsider to the Batfam. (You know, in a way that makes sense and doesn’t just make me want to punch Bruce in the dick.)

Speaking of Bruce, I think Tynion mostly does a good job of balancing his flaws and strengths. He can be controlling and manipulative and aloof but he’s called out on it, there are consequences. We also see him being supportive and encouraging and respectful. He backslides a lot after Tim dies, but it makes sense.

Kate is the one doing most of the calling out and I love it. I love her wry humour and solid pragmatism and quiet dedication, her complicated relationship with Renee, her leadership and mentorship.

Before 950 I would have said Cass has been criminally under-utilised, and I do think she could have been used a lot more in previous issues. But this one was damn near perfect. Her guilt and her drive and her isolation and her compassion, her friendship with Steph and Harper, her yearning to be something more but not knowing how, her fear that she’ll become a killer again. It even made me almost like the Orphan code name. (Almost.)

I was delighted to see Harper again, and I love that she’s allowed to quite vigilantism and still be a close friend. That we get to see her helping people in different ways. And she’s CANONICALLY BISEXUAL NOW and I’m still giddy. I can’t wait to see more.

I’ve had a soft sport for Jean-Paul ever since No Man’s Land and seeing him working in Leslie’s clinic made me downright giddy. Then we got that backup with him and Luke, and its exploration of his faith and trauma and recovery, the contrast between how they see the world and what drives them, it was awesome. Also I ship it.

Leslie herself is basically perfect aside from the fact that she still looks, like, thirty.

The art! I really enjoy the blend of panels and portraits. The colours are gorgeous in most issues. Everyone is dynamic and expressive. (When Steph starts crying, after Harper talks about ending up in a clinic bed - my heart broke all over again.)

The crossover story was basically “the first Gotham Knights arc but with monsters” and I was totally fine with that. :D I loved how the team worked together, and all of the dynamics. (Especially Cass and Steph, but also Dick and Steph, Duke and Alfred and Bruce, Kate and Bruce, Dick and Bruce.) I loved seeing Duke interact with the Tec team if only a little, and being instrumental in saving Nightwing and Gotham Girl. I loved Dick’s swan dive into victory based on knowing Bruce so well.

Cons:

I’m going to get my biggest con out of the way first, and that’s the treatment of Jacob Kane.

I adored his relationship with Kate in Elegy. A vigilante having a loving parent who knows exactly what they’re doing is pretty unique, and it was a really enjoyable dynamic. (And on a personal note, a parent supporting their queer kid is always going to make me choke up.)

Jacob had his flaws and he could make mistakes, and Elegy didn’t even end with them on good terms. Because he kept something important from her.

I do not at all buy the leap to the Colony, or secretly grooming Kate to be a part of it. It twists their canon interaction in a horrible way and takes away a lot of Kate’s agency. (I also don’t by the Colony operating for years without Bruce having any inkling at all. Really?)

The really frustrating thing for me is that I really enjoy how Tynion characterises Kate, for the most part. But making Jacob a villain (no, not just an antagonist, he was willing to murder hundreds of innocent people) puts a huge damper on it.

There’s also the fact that you made one of the very few Jewish characters part of a shady government conspiracy, like goddamn. Holy unfortunate implications Batman.

On basically the opposite side of the spectrum is Clayface. I adore redemption arcs, but you need to put the work in. You need to show their change of heart, and show why other characters believe in it. There are some poignant moments I do love, but they’d work a lot better if Tynion made any effort to justify and explore Basil’s place on this team. In most issues he’s used as a convenient plot device, and I need a hell of a lot more than that if Bats are tossing their real names around in front of him.

His discussion with Leslie was genuinely compelling and tragic to me, but why wasn’t any of that in the preceding issues?

Lack of build up in general is my other big problem here. Steph and Tim only work for an audience who knew them pre-Flashpoint. We have no idea how or when they actually got together, we never see them talking about making the world better or working on the Belfry together. He and Kate have a nice dynamic but they don’t really talk about anything besides Bruce. Cass cries for him but they barely interacted at all. Give me more than that before they see him die, Tynion!

Show me Steph questioning things long before the Victims Syndicate arc starts, instead of bluntly introducing it at the tale end of saving hundreds of people from monsters. Yeah, I realise Strange created them to target Batman but as a justification for “ARE VIGILANTES BAD” it’s pretty weak for me.

Bruce calls Steph someone he cares about a great deal and I do believe it in that moment, but again - show me more of that beforehand.

In general Tynion tries to go for moral ambiguity but is often very clumsy with it, so it falls flat.

Overall

As a story-teller Tynion has some issues that really dampen my enjoyment, and he’s made some choices I really dislike.

But I adore these characters so much, and he clearly cares about them too. He’s drawing from an era of canon that has a lot of things I love, and even fixing some of my major issues with it.

At the end of the day this still isn’t preboot. There’s no Oracle in Cass’s story, David Cain was a one note villain right up until his final sacrifice, Crystal isn’t a part of Stephanie’s life and may have helped ruin it, Steph was never Robin, Tim isn’t the kid who led Young Justice. Some of this may change, who knows - but as of now, I’ve got to contend with it.

But I’m still looking forward to Detective Comics every month. I’m still excited to see how these characters develop and where their stories go.

#detective comics #reviews

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