When Batman's Been Dead - Batman & Robin 13: The Essence of Dick Grayson

[jlroberson]

Possible spoiler.

People may knock Morrison, or for that matter Frazer Irving(whom I like, and hope I don't see a cascade of flames here), on BATMAN & ROBIN. But for my own part, Morrison has taught me to respect Dick Grayson, and to understand what he is. And to me, this sequence, in the final panel, is the essence of what Dick Grayson is. He never gives up and there's always a way. If Batman is "justice", Grayson is "hope."


Also, you can knock Grant all you like, but Dr. Hurt's far more interesting than, say, Hush.(and I just noticed a tiny hint of Adams in Dick in that last panel. Probably unintended but neat)
(PS if interested: This week's LULU.)

Writer: grant morrison
Artist: frazer irving
title: batman & robin
character: batman/dick grayson
character: dr. hurt
character: robin/damian wayne
theme: when batman's been dead
publisher: dc comics
Have icons.

Comments

[jlroberson]

I kind of want Hurt to end up actually being who he claimed. Though that would knock a foundation stone out of Batman, it would also create another, and also, I think part of the purpose of RETURN is to provide a reason to be Batman besides that your parents were killed, which we all complain it got reduced to anyway. Before he died he was a bitter, then a crazy fuck. It was indicative that angle was running out of things you can say.

If Hurt really turns out to be Thomas Wayne...well. I expect him to successfully FOOL people he is. But.

BTW, what's said above about Dick's way being to ignore Hurt's psychological BS--whereas Bruce would directly confront it, as he does with the Joker(and in this issue we see Dick not taking the Joker seriously to his face)--is also true. Dick is more about doing the job than proving anyone wrong as part of it; he could give a fuck. One can consider his constant talking when fighting as white noise to keep out what villains say, much as Spiderman uses his patter.

[icon_uk]

I don't think Batman ever needed a better reason than the one he got during the Golden Age when he caught Joe Chill and Len Moxon, being Batman is perhaps the best use of his unique set of skills. Anything more than that is just window dressing. But then, I'm a sucker for heroes who are heroes because it's the right and proper thing to be.

I think Dick maybe talks to get them to talk, which means that they're splitting their attention between their plan, and talking to him. I don't think it's white noise, as he will be asking them pertinent questions and making use of the answers.

Again, my touchstone for such things is Terry McGinnis' final showdown against the Joker in BB:RotJ, a masterclass in how to use a villains vanity against them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOP_EprkZCk (about 4 minutes in, though the first four minutes are great too)