NIGHTWING #102: That Kryptonian Legend

[starwolf_oakley]

I have occasionally mentioned how in the Post-Crisis DC Universe, Dick Grayson got the idea of the Nightwing name from Superman. Superman told him about a Kryponian legend. I was wondering if that would be used in NIGHTWING #0, but it wasn't. (There wasn't anything on Dick going from Robin to Nightwing.)

So, here are the pages from NIGHTWING #102 where Dick visits Metropolis after Batman fires him as Robin.



Two bombers are attacking the presidents motorcade in Metropolis. Superman gets one, Dick (in a hoodie) goes after the other.



Some days you just can't rid of a bomb.






Going from Byrne's MAN OF STEEL, it was Lois Lane who made Clark take "this route." She called him Superman and everything. It is actually a part of the Superman mythos most people don't mention: Clark Kent wears blue tights and a red cape in order to maintain a sense of privacy.




I dig the MAN OF STEEL Kryptonian green and black look for the "original" Nightwing.



"Nightwing."
"I like it."



Post-Crisis, the Fortress was built (or moved to Earth from the Phantom Zone) by the Eradiactor AI, who always had this "Kal-El isn't behaving like a true Kryptonian" problem with Superman.
Still, it does give Superman a little piece of home. This leads to Dick going back to Haley's Circus.

That part of the issue ends with Lois and Clark talking about hockey, the Daily Planet headline asking who Superman's "new sidekick" is, and Clark snarking that Dick is little young for Lois to be interested in.

Comments

[icon_uk]

I don't think we have any idea how well Superman and Nightwing know each other in the DCnU.

Clark mentions the legend a couple of other times to Dick, including in the World's Finest Maxi-series... or rather he's about too when he's interrupted by Mr Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite.

In the scene above I particularly love the exchange

"And did his family ever realise their mistake?"

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not"

Dick wondering if he and Bruce will reconcile, Clark subtly noting that Bruce's approval is not why Dick should become a hero, he should become a hero because it's who Dick is himself.

[omnipotent]

I would love a cup of Earl Grey that Supes brewed with his heat vision.

[bewareofgeek]

Y'now, Dixon gets a lot of flak sometimes, but the fact that he threw in a reference to Batman: The Movie just because earns points with me.

[captainbellman]

I don't like that line, "It feels refreshing to drop the facade". I don't think Clark Kent or Superman would think of being human as a facade, any more than an adopted child taking their family's surname.

[rainspirit]

It works for me.

Superman has human values, and protects and believes in humanity, but he has a rich backstory that extends beyond humans as well. I find it easy to believe that a lot of people would assume that he's human, and treat him as such - but even if he didn't grow up in it, Superman has knowledge of where he came from, where his ancestry traces back to, and what values the people of his planet shared. That would give anyone a changed perspective from the norm.

Clark Kent is Superman's identity to keep him in touch with what it is to be human, but it's still a facade - at least it was in the All-Star Superman story I read, and I'm assuming he hasn't married Lois yet. This is still at a transitory, year one chronological point where not every character has come to his full conclusion, so I'm assuming that even Superman is still sorting out his place in the world and what it is to be who he is.

Even if he likes humans and appreciates being accepted as human, I still imagine there would be some distance for him, by very nature of his abilities and the secrets he keeps. I imagine he'd find it refreshing to speak candidly on his views, at least in this scene.

...Jesus, that was a lot of words written for a fictional character. e_e;

[icon_uk]

It's probably little hard to think of yourself as entirely human when you know that you ARE an alien, and are flying several hundred feet up in the air. Not to say his mores and ethics aren't based on what his adoptive parents taught him, but every now and again just being able to say "Yes, I AM different from other people", in the company of someone who knows exactly who you are, and wouldn't dream of reacting negatively to it.

[glprime]

"I reckon..."

Alien, maybe, but definitely a farm boy :)

I always wonder how Jor-El would react to the Kents' influence on his son's personality. For the good, yes, but I never saw Jor-El as... humble. Certainly not as humble as Jonathon Kent.

[icon_uk]

I'm sure there's a time or two they've met (Smallville for one, and I'm sure there must be a Silver Age story somewhere)

[bradygirl_12]

So many fantastic things about this! I've always loved the Clark/Dick relationship and Clark giving Dick the inspiration for his new superhero identity has always struck me as being perfect.

Clark heating the Earl Grey with his heat vision is awesome. I love it when he does stuff like that. :)

"I reckon." Kryptonian he may be, but there's a lot of human in him, too. :)

Dick never told anyone that he thought he'd be Batman someday but tells Clark. Nice. :)

This is just fantastic all around! :)

[riddler13]

I liked this one. Actually, I love the whole Nightwing Year One run. Thanks for sharing!

[theflames]

Alien?

You were raised here, might aswell have been born here. There isn't much of a facade, atleast, not the facade he thinks he's going on about. Being raised on Earth means he isn't objective in any way. All his talk about being alien and not one of us comes off as so silly sometimes.

Martian Manhunter is the guy you should be talking to Dick.

Kryptonian tea?

That struck me as very annoying... like if I offered Dick tea and he said 'Nigerian tea?', that's not what i said, and my race probably shouldn't make you assume that much. They do this sort of thing to Superman a lot.

Hockey?

You were trained by the word's greatest detective and this is your poker face?

[starwolf_oakley]

All his talk about being alien and not one of us comes off as so silly sometimes.

It's more of an "I can fly into space and see the whole world" kind of objective. It may be more of what his powers allow him to do that gives Clark the objectivity.

In MAN OF STEEL, Superman was uncertain of his origins for a while. All he had was the ship/birthing matrix It wasn't until he got a massive Kryptonian memory upload that it all "made sense." After he found the Eradicator and it created the Fortress, which became a second home in a way Clark Kent's apartment isn't.

The Martian Manhunter thing makes sense, but J'Onn can be as standoffish as Bruce sometimes.