#look at this clown who didn't understand what 'visual appeal' is

[hood-ex]

Sooo let's talk about Dick's various appearances for Dec. 20th. These are only my opinions, of course.

Batman/Superman: World's Finest #10

Pros:

Dick helped Bruce collect evidence at the crime scene.

Dick referred to Clark as "Big Blue."

Even with Bruce and Clark on the scene, Dick was still the one giving orders to the Titans.

He simply referred to Joker as "the clown."

Tried to stop David from killing Joker which is in character for him (though ironic for obvious reasons).

Cons: None

Overall, he knew what he was doing and I like that he was giving the Titans direction.

Batman: Urban Legends #22 "The Director"

Pros:

Dick was familiar with one of the perps and picked up on the fact that the perp's exit route seemed predetermined as a way to purposely get caught.

He apparently had tried to help the perp turn his life around in the past and he tried to help the perp again this time around by telling the perp to call the number Dick had given him previously.

Dick noticed a pattern with some of the criminal activity he's been taking care of recently. The activity felt off to him. Planned. Scripted. Same thing this time around.

Babs was in this issue and, surprisingly, her involvement/interaction with Dick didn't annoy the shit out of me like it tends to do in the current Nightwing run. I guess that's testament to how nauseating You Know Who writes the two of them together.

Dick looked like he was break dancing on the roulette table, which looked a little ridiculous, and I'm not exactly sure what he was actually doing, but I thought the visual of it was funny.

He tried to be intimidating to get information out of the perps. I give the intention 10/10 but only 4/10 for the execution. Dick's been far more creative with intimidation tactics in the past.

Love how Dick could tell that one of the perps, Marcel, was terrified of the repercussions of telling Dick any information, and because of this, Dick offered to help Marcel.

After Marcel was shot, Dick applied pressure to the wound. Love it when he shows medical competency.

GUILT COMPLEX MY BELOVED. MUAHAHA. Fucking finally! Marcel died, and out of a desire to not see anyone else like Marcel get hurt, Dick got his ass in gear and went after the main antagonist of his own accord. He picked up on the only lead he had, picked the lock on the door, and stepped into a room of trouble.

Cons:

Tbh, I'm probably just sensitive because Dick's competency has taken a hit for... I don't even know how long at this point, but it was a bit irksome for Seer to call Dick's plan "D-grade" and for her to refer to him as "Not-So-Bright-Wing." She was meant to be antagonizing though, and Dick did just come through the window all, "It's over, Director!" sooo idk. Maybe the"D-grade" remark was warranted this go around. Although, obviously, that's not the standard for Dick's planning ability.

In relation to the intimidation scenes, I felt like the art needed to show more intensity during those moments. I wanted Dick to feel more threatening.

Overall, this depiction of Dick didn't raise my blood pressure so that's a win in my book.

Batman: Urban Legends #22 "The Murder Club"

Pros:

After Thomas berated Bruce for ruining the Wayne legacy by becoming Batman, Dick once again stepped into the role of emotional support, which is a role he's filled for Bruce multiple times in the past. I love that he acknowledged how Bruce must be feeling after hearing what Thomas said, but that he tried to appeal to Bruce's logical side by telling him that Martha and Thomas haven't been around long enough to understand Bruce's crusade and the positive effects of it.

Dick helped Bruce break down a substance as well as helped him configure an antidote for it. It was nice to see Dick and Bruce working seamlessly together.

Bruce thought about how much he missed working side by side with Dick, and he also mentioned how Dick had always been the one to keep him grounded. I think there's truth to that last bit (especially in situations such as the one mentioned above where Dick acted as Bruce's emotional support), but I also think there are other people in Bruce's life who help center him as well. Bruce's family, in general, keeps him sane.

When Damian let John Starr fall off the building, Dick commented that Bruce wouldn't be happy about Damian's decision to do that, to which Damian got defensive and said he wasn't going to let John die. Dick responded by saying, "I know that. But he's still not gonna like it." Love how this shows that Dick trusts Damian.

Cons:

This isn't something I'm genuinely miffed about, but I just thought it was weird how neither Dick or Bruce noticed that Damian had hauled John away to get information out of him despite the fact that John had been standing right behind them.

Overall, I thought Dick seemed competent and I liked how he navigated the devastating blow Bruce took from Thomas.

Nightwing #99

Pros:

Babs. Wasn't. Here. Did you hear that?? BABS WASN'T HERE! For the first time in TT's run!! She wasn't here! She wasn't even in Dick's ear! Halle-freaking-lujah. So much of my ire was abated by her absence.

In Batman: Year Three, Alfred mentioned that every year he would go to the Parole Board and protest whenever Tony Zucco became eligible for parole. I like that no one was there to protest against Zucco's parole this year since Alfred is dead and, thus, Zucco ended up getting parole. Not that TT made that connection to BYT in the issue or gave that exact reasoning for why Zucco got out of jail (I came up with the reasoning myself), but I'm choosing to believe that's what happened anyway.

Using the boat for the action scene was nice.

Despite wanting Zucco dead, Dick saved Zucco from what probably would've been certain death. His morals trumped his desire for revenge.

Dick and Melinda finally had a moment that felt more personal.

Cons:

In Batman: Year Three, Dick was aware that Zucco was going to walk free from jail, and you know what he thought about it? He thought that even though Zucco was going to be free, Dick's parents were still going to be dead, and that getting mad or crazy about Zucco's release wasn't going to bring his parents back. In fact, BRUCE was the one who was struggling to control himself from strangling Zucco. So it's odd to me that TT would have Dick go berserk over Zucco's release when Dick has already put all that history behind him (we're ignoring the N52 Zucco situation which TT clearly didn't take inspiration from).

Overall, I'm not the biggest fan of the liberties TT has taken with Dick's history, and this issue in general was average.

Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7

Pros:

Dick called Slade out for his shitty parenting.

I like the nod to the history between Dick and Slade by having Robin!Dick go up against younger!Slade.

I thought it was hilarious that Bruce snapped Dick's initiation candle.

Bruce said Dick was his light and is basically a light for everyone else.

Cons:

Not necessarily a con but I can't help but notice how often writers are making Bruce use the word "son" lately. Like in this issue he called Dick "son" twice. He also praised Dick, and while that's generally good, Dick had no reaction to it. In the past, it was usually always a big deal to him whenever Bruce praised him.

Overall, this issue took a big sip of appreciation juice for Dick. I gotta admit, the praise for Dick would feel so much better if this event had occurred in the Post-Crisis era. It's kind of hard to look at Dick in the current era and to be like, yeah, that guy should lead everyone into the future.

Anyways. That's it for Dick's appearances other than Titans United: Bloodpact #4. I'm not reading that title so I don't have any thoughts on it.