The Ric Grayson Storyline Discussion

[Samsonkillingtime]

Robin. Nightwing. Batman. Agent 37. Ric?
Dick Grayson has gone by many names but at one point in his life when Dick got shot in the head by KGBeast and lost his memory of his time as a superhero. Dick decided to forgo his old life and rebuild a brand new life as a cab driver in Bludhaven with the name Ric Grayson.

I think it will be enjoyable discussion to look back at this run and the silliness moments involving Ric Grayson but even talk about some of the genuinely good aspects of it as well.

Beginning of the Storyline in Batman: Cold Days
Batman #54
Batman #55

Nightwing: Night Terrors
Nightwing #50
Nightwing #51
Nightwing #52
Nightwing #53
Nightwing #54
Nightwing #55
Nightwing #56

Nightwing: Burnback
Nightwing #57
Nightwing #58
Nightwing #59
Nightwing #60
Nightwing #61
Nightwing #62

Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy
Nightwing Annual #2
Nightwing #63
Nightwing #64
Nightwing #65
Nightwing #66
Nightwing #67
Nightwing #68
Nightwing #69

Nightwing: The Joker War
Nightwing Annual #3
Nightwing #70
Nightwing #71
Nightwing #72
Nightwing #73

Nightwing: The Return of Nightwing
Nightwing #74
Nightwing #75
Nightwing #76
Nightwing #77

[Samsonkillingtime]

Starting in #54 of Batman(2016). Bruce still coping with the fallout from the failed wedding, Nightwing comes back to Gotham and assists Batman in fighting a series of Gotham silliest villains.

What I love about #54 is that it focuses on a flashback story involving the earliest days of Dick living with Bruce at Wayne Manor. While most storylines I have seen have Bruce sort of unsure how to help Dick, it’s actually nice to see Bruce try to be there for Dick during this time and not just as training him as Robin. And this is way before Dick started thinking about him as a father figure.

It’s a very good issue that if this wasn’t tied to a controversial storyline it probably would have been remembered more fondly. I think I love there was a pause in the story where Nightwing just admits he was purposely being funny just to cheer up Batman and that he wants to be here for him. That was good stuff.

we go into #55 of Batman(2016). It’s still pretty much the same here and while it’s fun to see Nightwing being happy with Batman it is admittedly rather getting annoying in this issue with the constant quips. Throughout this issue, KGBeast is shown preparing himself in Gotham for a unknown mission until finally when Gordon, Batman, and Nightwing are on the GCPD rooftop when KGBeast takes the unexpected shot.

It is a powerful and shocking moment in this series kind of ruined by knowing he doesn’t actually die here. Just gets amnesia. If Dick died similar to how they killed Alfred, it probably would have actually been better, certainly shocking, and definitely cause a lot more controversy than what actually occurred with Ric Grayson. Nevertheless, this is the end of Nightwing…. for now. I’ll talk about #50 of Nightwing soon, where the Ric Grayson Saga will formally begin.

[basicallytimdrake]

Last summer I read the entire storyline within 24 hours and I hated it so much it made me physically unwell. Similar levels of unwellness as to what I had in response to Gotham.

[AlexanderKnox]

Obviously, the biggest misstep here was not dropping the G and going with Ric Rayson.

[c02goddess.16092]

Oooo, a can of worms topic!

I’m not sure what the intent for the story was or why it lasted so long. I suppose he could have been sidelined in order for Bruce (and Wally?) to sink to the lows that they did during this period. However, those stories played out well before Dick’s memories returned.

My general thoughts and feelings (a recreation…):

At first, I thought Dick was going to lose his equilibrium. Some solicits and covers (ha, I know, I know) seemed to indicate that. The acrobat who can no longer stay balanced, do flips, stomach heights. The last Flying Grayson who couldn’t fly. I was intrigued by the idea - but that’s not what we got.

After I saw Ric and we lost Percy as the writer, I was disappointed. We were getting another amnesia story (Bruce had one not too long ago, and Aquaman was also getting one around this time). Also, Ric was a moody cab driver bent on pushing his old life away. Not what I wanted, but I figured it would only last an arc or two to feel the impact, then recover - but that’s not what we got either.

After the stand in Nightwings, I thought Ric still the cabbie, but slightly less angsty, would rediscover his own heroic nature as we see his different strengths split among the team but we didn’t really get that either.

Finally, we learn the Court of Owls is to blame! We can move forward and get Dick/Nightwing back - but, no, we don’t get that either. Instead, we get to repeat this whole storyline with a different villain! Never mind that it’s been nearly 2 years and this twice monthly series had to drop down to monthly a while back.

So. Finally (for real this time), Dick is back! Joker War is reaching its climax, and he’s back in blue, he’s kicking butt, he’s reconnecting (loved the Nightwing/Oracle banter!)… in Batman. His own series is a drag with a completely different tone that questions whether he wants to be Nightwing in a kind of mopey push everyone away again kind of way, so we didn’t really get him back back. 2 years for this. Gah.

No wonder Taylor’s Nightwing was so well received; he was actually, finally, Nightwing.

[Samsonkillingtime]

@c02goddess.16092

Oooo, a can of worms topic!

Oh, it’s certainly that. It is the sort of the reason why I am interested in discussing it. The topic of Ric Grayson could honestly go in any direction. I would want to try to talk about the editorial shenanigans at some point and yet I still feel like there could be someone who could explain all that nonsense way better than even me. But I’ll try earnestly.

[Locothedog123]

The one issue that Percy wrote (Nightwing # 50) was really good. The idea of exploring a superhero with a TBI is interesting and relatively novel. Percy handled it exceptionally well.

Thereafter it was steadily dumbed down and reduced to “amnesia” which didn’t even come from the gunshot wound. Dumb.

There’s potentially an interesting story in the exploration of who Dick would have become without Batman’s influence. Having him remember his parents but not Batman could have led somewhere interesting. Sadly the story’s answer was “he would be doing exactly the same thing, except not calling himself Nightwing”, which is, again, dumb.

And he’s a cab driver? What? Do they not have Uber in Bludhaven?

Add in Bea, who was a paper cutout of a character with absolutely no personality beyond “nice girl”, as his “love interest” and - ugh. Dumb. SO dumb.

[Locothedog123]

And oh yea - the Court of Owls is to blame - because Bruce just happened to hire doctors who were working for the Court of Owls. Maybe Google these people before hiring them next time.

“This physician gets 3 stars - good bedside manner, professional approach, but he brainwashed me into believing I was a homeless cab driver!”

[Samsonkillingtime]

When #50 begins, we are left with a question that is not exactly what happened to Dick Grayson, but who is Ric Grayson? The answer is a little complicated because he doesn’t know himself. He blacks out periods of the day and finds himself in bars, in fighting clubs, or on the road wondering where he is, what day is it, and who is he? One thing for sure, he doesn’t want to be Dick Grayson.

I could understand Ric Grayson questioning that part of himself. He is somebody who for whatever reason woke up with a scar on his head, people telling him who he is but with no memories of who they are and the feelings he had for them gone. Ric Grayson is confused, and he is annoyed at people like Barbra for trying to keep him in the past when he just wants to move on with his life. What I don’t understand is how he refuses to see their side. He’s a jerk to Barbra, instead of sympathizing with her loss, he just kind of ignores it and says “this is my life now.”

The same goes for people like Alfred in the next issue, who wants to make sure he’s okay and Ric doesn’t want to know or understand anything about them and just brushes him off. Far more infuriating is that he is seemingly aware of the existence of his Nightwing persona, yet he decides to attempt to burn them all by destroying the bunker. What a jerk.

It’s a shame that this was Benjamin Percy’s last issue of the series. He seemed like a good writer for the character for a while, and before Tom Taylor came along, it looked like he was going to have Barbra and Dick get back together at some point. I think it’s okay because right now he’s writing wolverine, and he’s probably my top five favorite wolverine writer of all time, so it wasn’t exactly a lost.

I could say that as a comic issue, it’s a huge letdown for Nightwing fans. However, the thing about #50 it that on its own. As a set-up for this semi new character, Ric Grayson. It’s a pretty good issue.
We understand the kind of person Ric is simply on the first few pages. A hardheaded man who drinks, gambles, and fights way too much, and yet he gets involved to stop a robbery and is shown by the end to have a group of bar friends who accept him for who he is and become part of his supporting cast. It’s not a great issue, but it does something that writer John Ridley took a year and a half to do with Jace Fox. Establishing this new but unoriginal character with an edge who will have this kind of hero journey going forward.

A great deal of #50 deals involves a flashback with Dick Grayson as Robin fighting Scarecrow. I’m not saying it doesn’t matter because it does lead into upcoming things with Ric, but it’s not exactly the focus or the best part of this issue. What’s there to say about a scarecrow that looks like this:

[EDT]

I wasn’t reading Nightwing as it was coming out, I used this service to binge read his comics. And when this storyline came up…I just skipped it. There are a couple of reasons why.

I don’t like these amnesia storylines. Sometimes they are executed in ways where the people behind the scenes think they are being deep and introspective but just comes off as stupid and pretentious. Other times they do want to explore what makes a certain character who they are. But there are plenty of ways to do that without literally wiping out their memories. Put them in a situation where they take a closer look at what they believe or how they do things. Doing the amnesia trope just feels like an excuse for some people to purposefully create needless drama - both in the present and later on when they get memories back - without really dealing with criticism like “Hey, this character doesn’t do that”

Also, this just wasn’t what I wanted to read as I was getting into Nightwing stories. There were plenty of Nightwing stories during the Rebirth era leading up to this storyline where I felt like I had already gained a clear idea of who he is