More PRODIGAL-era Dick!Bat by request!

[thehefner]

I was thinking of fulfilling benicio127's request for more scans of Dick as Batman from PRODIGAL, but as I only bought the Two-Face-centric issues for my last post, there wasn't much that seemed worth posting.

For the most part, it's just Dick!Bat doing typical Batman vs. criminals stuff with little in the way of characterization to distinguish him from Bruce. He reads more like a young, less angry Bruce than Dick Grayson. I'd hoped to find the first issue with Croc for any notable moments, but I've lost the issue somewhere in my collection.

That said, I did find two which I hope will suffice for now. The first is from SHADOW OF THE BAT #33, while the other is the storyline's conclusion in ROBIN #13, wherein family matters are hashes out.








Due to the machinations of Two-Face, a riot has broken out at Blackgate Prison.







The prisoner leading the riot calls out Batman for a fight, and Dick swoops in.







So yeah, Dick has the Batman pants-shitting-terror thing down pat. But then, he already had it in an earlier scene by the same creative team, which I included in the PRODIGAL post. Keep this in mind when we get to tomorrow's Two-Face Tuesday post, focusing on Judd Winick's take on Dick becoming Batman. Again.

Dick's first time around was, of course, short-lived. Because after all, Bruce had to come back eventually. But that didn't mean he'd be welcomed back with open arms. (Note: the random captions are from Tim's subplot invading this one)






















Suggested tags:

char: batman/bruce wayne
char: batman/dick grayson
char: robin/red robin/tim drake
creator: chuck dixon
creator: alan grant
creator: phil jimenez
creator: bret blevins

Comments

[superfangirl1]

Ah bat-family interaction-their never a dull moment with them. :)

(BATMAN newspaper comic strips that you ask,I think I know somebody that have some of those. Maybe ask him about scanning some of them,if he can find the,)

[thehefner]

Oh, really? If so, that'd be awesome! Because yeah, I can find the Golden Age stuff, but from the early 90's, that's damn near impossible!

So weird that they haven't been reprinted! But then again, have they ever reprinted the SPIDER-MAN newspaper comics? Maybe there's something about rights going on with those.

[big_daddy_d]

*Pulls out tissue* Something.. in my eye.

[wizardru]

It's...uh...my allergies.


I forgot that when the Bat titles wanted to be, they could be quite good. I just wish the art wasn't so distracting....Bruce's...whatever it is he's wearing...is really disrupting the scene.

[icon_uk]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love that last page, with Dick's not-quite-a-smirk-but-damned-close expression and a proper moment as father and son.

[joasakura]

I have to say, the giant WHAT THE HELL IS THAT, A BAT NOSE? panel on the second to last scan really knocked me out of this scene. :T

[icon_uk]

Actually, yes that's exactly what it is

[joasakura]

and so, what, the giant bat nose symbolises the fragile bonds between them? their tenuous reconnection? Man's inhumanity to man? the terror of bat-snot?

WHAT.

[icon_uk]

It's a genuine representation of a bat, which is more than most artists manage. Bat's are not often attractive creatures.

[joasakura]

oh, i totally won't argue the point that it's a very well-rendered bat. I'm a big fan of Jimenez's art.

The inclusion of it perplexes me from a storytelling perspective though- my theatrics aside :).

[3goodtimes]

I agree. I really hate that panel. It's like someone walked in and went 'hurr durr' all over the scene.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Hey, c'mon now, bats are cute!

[jaybee3]

This is a wonderful moment but its part of what I fear the newest "Return of Bruce" is going to be like - the same exact thing. Knightfall/Prodigal, Murderer/Fugitive, War Games, Infinite Crisis/OMAC/52, in all of them Bruce acts like an ass, becomes too fixated on his "war on crime" or his paranoia or both and treats his family/friends like crap and then at the end takes time out to "find himself" and bring what's important back to focus - only to start the cycle again when a new writer comes onboard and we get the BatJerk back. Unless Morrison truly has something different in mind, that's usually how all these stories end up.

[sistermagpie]

I have that "Between Father and Sons" panel taped to my computer. The expressions are so awesome in it. Sums it all up right there.:-)

Though Bruce is kind of masterful here in the way he's making himself sound so reasonable, as if Dick was the one being this crazy kid and Bruce just totally understood when in this canon the whole reason there's a rift is that Bruce really didn't just understand Dick had outgrown it etc. But I can also totally buy Bruce re-writing history and pretending he always had reasonable intentions and just handled it wrong.

Also, when Dick says he'd hate to explain to Bruce how he had to scrape Tim off the pavement I can't help but think that Tim doesn't want to have to explain to Bruce how Dick's shoulders and chest have ballooned out to massive proportions.

[cloud_wolf]

Also, when Dick says he'd hate to explain to Bruce how he had to scrape Tim off the pavement I can't help but think that Tim doesn't want to have to explain to Bruce how Dick's shoulders and chest have ballooned out to massive proportions.

LOL. See, this is what sometimes bugs me about Dick!Batman (be it in the 90s or nowadays), they don't show any difference in body type or chin, IMO. I mean, jeez, look at Dick's chin on page 22. (But if anyone feels like proving me wrong, go for it!)

[hatman]

I assume he'd pad the costume to make the difference less obvious. But that still didn't stop Gordon from instantly recognizing that Dick!Batman wasn't Bruce!Batman.

[icon_uk]

Helium tanks inflating the upper cotume to make him lighter and easier to steer? :)

[icon_uk]

It's one reason I hate that this story arc is called "Prodigal", the parable of the Prodigal Son highlights everything that Dick never was. The Prodigal Son was an idiot who was vile to his father, squandered his inheritance and went cap in hand back to daddy for forgiveness, which his father gave him (sort of the point of the parable in fact).

Dick left home because his Batdad threw him out, made a NEW name for himself, excelled at everything said Batdad could have ever hoped he would achieve and came back as a favour to Batdad. What's remotely Prodigal-ish about that?

[math_camel]

I agree, it's more like the Prodigal Father if you take the leaving home to mean splitting up the family and squandeing the inheritance relates to Jason as Robin, his death, and pushing Dick away. But in the end he's still forgiven because of the father/son love.

[sistermagpie]

Frankly, it seems like it's Bruce who's the prodigal given that he's the one who spurned the family member but still had him there when he needed him. Even though he couldn't even bring himself to ask for help. I'd almost like to ask the person who came up with the title what he thought it meant. I think some people probably understand the expression "the prodigal son returns home" to just mean "the son who left home returns."

[bob_dylana]

In the middle of that first scan, it sorta looks like he's got four bat-ears coming out of his head.

[hatman]

Thank you for posting this. That was a beautiful read. And I'd always wondered how they explained the fact that Bruce chose Jean Paul rather than Dick. I read the Prodigal TPB, but IIRC it ended before this scene.

[icon_uk]

See that still doesn't explain it to me, it's an attempt to excuse an utterly asinine plot twist, but it still has Bruce leaving Tim in the care of a nutcase, and that's completely inexcusable.

[hatman]

My understanding is that the entire storyline was (partially?) intended as an answer to fans demanding a darker, edgier Batman. "You want that? Fine! We'll give you a Batman who is a badass nutcase! See how you like it!" Given that start, you're never going to come up with a satisfactory in-continuity explanation for why Bruce would choose to leave things in the hands of a man who would become an over-the-line nutcase. Of course he should have known better. In a way, that's the point.

[icon_uk]

Oh I know that was the direction and it put me off buying what few bat-titles I was still browsing at the time, but to have one of the characters point out possibly the least forgiveable aspect of it, and have it more or less ignored, is rather galling.

[hatman]

I'd rather the question was addressed, with at least an attempt at an answer, then that it was never brought up at all. And really... this almost makes sense. Bruce has a lot of trouble expressing love and dealing with awkward emotional issues. He cares for Dick deeply, but was afraid to make the call. I think that's about the best explanation they could have given, really.

[icon_uk]

I can almost buy that, but that's not the part I'm objecting to here. It's Dick mentioning that Bruce was fully aware that Jean-Paul was at best mentally unstable, and left a rookie Robin in his care anyway. Whatever his feelings for Dick, Bruce had a greater responsibility to Tim at that time.

[hatman]

Oh, absolutely. Consequence of putting story - particularly "FU, fans" story - before logic and characterization. That one's just inexcusable.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Well, yeah, but the guy wasn't exactly in the most lucid frame of mind when he made that decision. He'd just had his back snapped by Bane after a hellishly long time spent battling a succession of dangerous lunatics while his city burned around him; he was rolling in a sea of pain, shock, exhaustion, guilt, self-pity and self-loathing for not being better, not to mention, of course, being doped up on painkillers. He was NOT in a fit state of mind to make ANY sort of important decision, let alone one that vital, but he made it anyway - and tried to stick by it afterwards. It's no wonder the whole thing fell apart.

[benicio127]

Ooooh! Thank you! Yes this was the kind of stuff I wanted to see.

Except I might be the only one, but I really, really don't like this art. Phil Jimenez is the same one who drew that story with Tim where he ended up beating up those guys who had beat on him at the movies, right? And most of the panels in that issue, Tim had bad creepy!creeper face going on. And Dick looks way to muscle-y in some of those panels; too much like Bruce. I always imagined him as being leaner, more agile.

But love the interaction between Tim and Dick and Bruce and Dick. And a nice little tug to the heart-strings with Jason's memorial. Awww.

[rordulum]

It really bugs me when people draw Dick as a muscle bound superman type, just because he's wearing the Bat suit.

Seriously, those first few pages are not depictions of Dick Grayson at all.

Jimenez got it right, in those pages where he's arguing with Bruce, though I still wonder how much different he might look if he were wearing the cowl, there.

I mean, how hard can it be to remember what Dick Grayson looks like?

[autumn_lily]

The outifts.....it's like the 80's and 90's had extreme crazy monkey sex and they were the result!

[victory_or_death]

Look into my eyes - you will see
What Bruce means to me
Search your heart - search your soul
And when you find me in the Batcave you'll search no more

Don't tell me Bruce Wayne's not worth tryin' for
You can't tell me Batman's not worth dyin' for
You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for Bruuuuuce.

Look into your heart - you will find
There's nothin' there to hide
Take me as I am - take my life
I would give it all - I would sacrifice

Don't tell me Batman's not worth fightin' Joker for
I can't help it - Bruce there's nothin' I want more
Ya know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for Bruuuuuce

There's no love - like Bruce love
And no other - could give more love
There's nowhere - unless Bruce is there
All the time - all the way

Oh - you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
I can't help it Bruce - there's nothin' I want more
I would fight Two-Face for you - I'd lie for you
Drive the Batmobile for you - I'd die for Bruuuuce (no wait, that was Jason)

Ya know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for Bruuuuuce

[psychopathicus_rex]

I have to say, I think that one page where Dick is beating up the tough-guy convict is really cool and well-done. The faces transitioning from confident leers and smirks to doubt and trepidation and finally to outright discomfort and fear as the battle rages at the center of the page is a really neat effect, and carried out very nicely.