Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling: Issue 79

Issue 79 - Dick Grayson

May 6, 2020

We head to Bludhaven to take on the man of many names, Dick Grayson! Whether he's Robin, Nightwing, or Batman, he's the Bat-family's Jack of all Trades. According to Doc, he's also like Saved by the Bell - listen in to find out why!

SHOW NOTES:

Intro
- Shoutout to Connor Carrick podcast - NHL defenseman Connor Carrick does a deep dive into improving mentally, emotionally, and spiritually - not just promoting this because he’s a Devils player, it’s a compelling listen - https://connorcarrick.podbean.com/
- NEW SWAG! Check out our TeePublic store!
Background (4:13)

- Dick Grayson created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940)
- Dick Grayson is a trapeze artist whose parents were killed by gangsters - Batman helps him seek revenge against the crime boss responsible, and he trains under Batman to become Robin the Boy Wonder
- Later leads the Teen Titans, a group of sidekicks
- Post-Crisis, he chafes under the sidekick role, and renames himself Nightwing, starting to operate as a solo hero in Bludhaven, neighboring city to Gotham
- First operates as Batman after Bruce leaves Gotham after the Knightfall storyline - begins to appreciate what Bruce goes through on a regular basis
- Reunites with the Titans, although after two teammates die, he disbands the team once again
- After Battle for the Cowl, he works as Batman, with Damian Wayne as the new Robin
- New 52 - still Nightwing, just a few years younger than before
- His identity is revealed to the world by the Crime Syndicate - they believe him dead after attaching him to a machine connected to his heart rate - Lex Luthor stops his heart to free him from the machine before reviving him with a shot of adrenaline
- Working undercover, he infiltrates the criminal Spyral organization - this storyline is told in the Grayson book by Tim Seeley & Tom King
- Briefly returns as Robin to help other members of the Bat-Family while Bruce is amnesiac
- Rebirth - Spyral wiped his identity clean, so he resumes operating as Nightwing, and starts a new Titans team
- Shot by KGBeast and nearly dies - gives him memory loss, and he stops fighting crime for a spell until he’s attacked by the Court of Owls (specifically his grandfather, who is a Talon), and the fight triggers his memory
Issues (10:15)
- Transition from angry teen in the New Teen Titans to a more carefree, relaxed adult in modern comics - is this natural development or just a character retcon?
- Shared trauma with Bruce led to interesting mentor-mentee relationship (21:42)
- Mental adaptation as a “Jack of all trades” within the Bat Family (29:00)
Break (37:22)
- Plugs for Grief Burrito & Now You’ve Seen It, plus Gail Simone
Treatment (38:45)
- In-universe - Doc is the man in the chair
- Out of universe (44:54) - treatment similar to those of first responders
Skit (51:19)
Ending (57:41)
- Recommended reading: Grayson by Seeley/King
- Next episodes: Laura Kinney (X-23), Superboy Prime, Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley)