Let’s talk about 2 of Nightwing’s more recent villains, Talon and Raptor. I wanted to put a spotlight on them because I find that weirdly enough they’re Nightwing’s 2 biggest foes in recent years and their belief on who Dick is and who he should contrast.
Raptor believes Dick to be a fraud because he was born a poor Circus boy and now lives amongst high society. He believes Dick should honor his mother’s memory by cutting ties with high society and becoming a thief while Talon, on the other hand, is Dick’s great grandfather who is an assassin for the Court of Owls. He believes Dick is a failure not living up to his potential because he didn’t carry on the tradition and become a Talon himself.
So on one hand you got Raptor who hates high society and wants Dick to become a thief and steal from them. On the other you got an assassin for rich white folks that wants Dick to become one too. See the contrast? Basically, Raptor wants Dick to steal from the likes of the Court of Owls which doesn’t align with the “destiny” Talon planned out for Dick in becoming part of the Court of Owls. Hmm looks like a great war in Dick’s identity can be waged here.
With Dick on his “I’M AMNESIAC RIIIIIIIC” trip and Talon back for Year of the Villains, you have two parties that tell Dick who he is and who he should be, and Dick looking for any form of identity it’s the perfect set up for a literal war. Talon vs Raptor in a War of Jokes and Riddles style fight for Dick’s identity. Meanwhile, a great opportunity for Dick’s character development AND a great way for fans to get the character we know and love back. #TeamNightwing
Please make it happen. I would like to see it. These characters are meant to battle each other! And this totally went differently than what I initially thought. I just wanted to discuss the character contrast because I thought it was interesting. Also just to put out in the universe that I wanna see these 2 face off and my mind ran wild.
The Court of Owls isn’t all white is it?
Hey, the Court is obnoxious, Raptor is obnoxious, Ric is obnoxious, it’s a perfect match!
And from what we’ve seen I don’t recall seeing a court member that wasn’t white but it is technically a parlaiment and is in other countries so they’re not ALL white I’m sure but it’s the elitests and like I said I don’t recall a court member that wasn’t.
Sidenote: It must’ve been late at night when I posted my reply, because I clicked into this topic to see what people were saying about it, saw that, and immediately said “Oh my god, I actually posted that?”
I mean, it’s not the most unnecessarily blunt and salty thing I’ve said, but I usually try to filter out unhelpful negativity.
So, to elaborate…
-Ric: Alright, I haven’t actually read this arc, so I shouldn’t complain about it. I do hate the idea, though.
-The Court/Parliament of Owls: My only real exposure to them was the first few arcs of Nightwing Rebirth. They were cartoonishly over-the-top in their villainy, and most of their activity didn’t seem to actually line up with their goals, which were vague and somewhat nonsensical as it was.
-Raptor: Same as the Parliament. Honestly, I just hate his obnoxious dudebro attitude. It was more his dialogue that made me want to punch him in the face than anything. I also felt like Dick bought into his manipulation a little too easily.
@BatJamags All true. After their initial story The Courts’s motives have been very scattered. Raptor, yes to all of it. Just all of it. But I kinda like it cuz I thought that was the point. But, hey…