On this journey we now come to one of the heroes whose stayed close to my heart regardless of how I have changed. Dick Grayson, not Ric, Nightwing. Along with Starfire and Raven. I am also going to re-iterate that, it is not Ric, it will never be Ric, and that is one of the dumbest decisions that DC did. That is the one thing that I will have to stress, because as I posted earlier in the month, there are no cannon characters when it comes to comics. Because there are so many stories and different writers, not to mention television and movies, there is no defining characteristics of these characters.
Which makes choosing characters who are your favorite both easy and hard. I love Dick Grayson. I love him the comics, I love him in the television shows, minus a couple of live action television shows. So, especially now, when I think who is the best representative of this character. It’s sadly not the Batman Animated Series. And I am still discussing Nightwing. It is also not Teen Titans either. Though that Robin is fantastic, in the grander scale, the best Nightwing is actually Young Justice.
To be fair, that show is such a sleeper hit, and I wish more people would watch it. Or at least I feel it is a sleeper hit. There is more love in the average citizen’s understanding for Batman the animated series and the spin offs, which I am guilty of that too, and Teen Titans. There is a huge nostalgic factor at play for those shows, but not Young Justice. Young Justice is such a well written, well animated, cohesive show that I there should be more nostalgic love for it. Yet, I don’t see it, as much as for other shows. Or perhaps I am wrong, regardless it is the best Nightwing representation.
Again though, if you want a very hyperactive, cool, Robin, it’s Teen Titans. And, it doesn’t say it’s Dick Grayson, but in the future he does become Nightwing, so it could be assumed that it is Dick Grayson. There are also some lines of dialogue that hint towards that. And, when it comes to the representations of Starfire and Raven, Teen Titans, not Teen Titans Go, are the best of those two characters.
Starfire being from a different culture, and making mistakes. Just makes her adorable. Raven being afraid of her own darkness, just perfect character development. Episodes from that show that highlight just how captivating their characters can be, for Starfire it’s Troq, and for Raven it’s Nevermore. The writers of Teen Titans knew what they were doing. Also the Freaky Friday episode, Switched. Starfire and Raven are written so near perfect, that they sort of stand out. Like all five do, but if I had to narrow it down these two were the main highlight of the show. I also like the additional media that came out after the Teen Titans show, and it to has all three characters in it. Justice League vs. Teen Titans. That changes the dynamic, but it has the sappy romance plots, that I to love. And Nightwing and Starfire’s relationship in that is just fun. I also view their daughter as canon. It’s hard, I like Dick and Barbra’s relationship, but there is something sweet about his and Starfire’s. Honestly though, Dick Grayson’s relationships with the ladies, can be explained as legendary. He’s also a gentleman, and not a “real man”, that alpha bs, so he’s sort of a better role model. Another good movie that showcases Nightwing more so by proxie is Batman: Under the Red Hood. But to be fair, that to me is one of the best Batman movies ever made, and it has both Batman, Nightwing, and Jason Todd. So, it’s a masterpiece.
That brings me to the bonus villain, Blackfire, and while I love her in Teen Titans I think she hasn’t been properly used as a character yet. In some stories, she’s considered ‘damaged’ or ‘special’ and her parents treat her horribly. To be fair, looking into her story, I find myself understanding and agreeing with Blackfire. She didn’t have the starbolts of standard Tamaraneans. There is a whole well of stories there, most of them are of horrible parents who treat their oldest as ‘trash’ and their middle child like a queen, but the drama there in my opinion hasn’t been tapped. Most of the stories focus on her villainy, not her pain, and I would love a good story to do that.
Last thing, though he is just a Youtuber/Tik Toker I think The Panda Red’s sketches also captures the characters. Their funny, and he has a real understanding of the Batfamily.
Matthew William Lindquist 