So...well...The official Grayson announcement is out.

[simiansyndicate]

Well, USA Today got the exclusive news regarding Grayson. And it...sure is a thing.





I guess the main info is that he's working for Spyral, and that he'll be an undercover/black ops style agent. 1/2 of the writing crew, Tom King, worked for the CIA after 9/11, so expect it to be less James Bond and more "real world" style espionage.

Well, I'm glad Grayson ain't dead, but I sure have mixed feelings about him pointing a gun in my face on the cover of his first issue.

Comments

[shingi70]

So Tim Seely, this new guy and Mikel Jannin all on a dock Grayson book.

Well I hope in secret agent style Dick gives the D to mostly every one he meets.

[beoweasel]

So, you mean him doing exactly the same thing he's been doing? ;p

[an_idol_mind]

I give it three years before he's back in tights.

[beoweasel]

Three years? I give it 1 and a half.

[beoweasel]

I see DC is continuing their trend of having no clue with what to do with their characters.

[sharky_chan]

D: D: D:

[thanekos]

I hope the first TPB is titled Secret Agent Man.

[zapbiffpow]

I miss Dick's long hair already. Anyone else notice how it grew every time he was on Batman?

Still, if this turns out to be some kind of James Bond romp I am in.

[nyadnar17]

Is it sad that I love Dick Grayson so much I will even follow this shit? I feel like I may need help

[junipepper]

With you completely on that! But maybe it won't be shit. I expect I'll be reading it either way...

[drtechnobabel]

With his new haircut and that scowl on his face, he looks like DmC!Dante. This does not bode well.

[coldfiredragon]

I'm actually pretty excited about this, I doubt it'll last long before he's putting back on a mask or someone finds out that he's not dead. At least this is something different, and we don't have Kyle Higgins limping along on Snyder's coat tails any longer.

[ablackraptor]

Higgins stopped doing that after he moved Dick to Chicago; besides the Zero Year tie-in, he stopped being tied to everything Snyder was doing for quite some time.

[moetushie]

I feel like this disappointed Batman.

[freezer]

...They turned Dick Grayson into DC's Winter Soldier. Joy.

[zechs80]

Wait I thought that was Jason's job to be Bucky at DC?

[coldfury]

Turning the original Robin into a gun-toting secret agent is *so* appallingly tone-deaf and just plain DUMB. It goes against the principles of his mentor, it eschews everything the character stands for, and this might just be the bridge too far for me with DC.

I'm going to keep my pulls until I catch up, but I won't be picking this garbage up.

[junipepper]

You do know Dick was an actual cop for quite a while, right? Carried a gun every day.

[beyondthefringe]

Huh.
You know, this could be interesting.
I can't think of any other kid sidekick who's grown up, abandoned his mentor and costumed identity, and become a globetrotting, gun-wielding superspy.

None at all.

Well, someone mentioned Bucky---> The Winter Soldier. Okay, so Marvel got there first. It's not like DC has ever...

Oh yeah.

Speedy--->Arsenal went there back in what, the '90s? And let's face it, there was a time when Green Arrow was just Batman with arrows.

Oh, DC, you're so edgy.

[crinos]

Dick Grayson: Agent of SHIELD?

[dictionary00.livejournal.com]

Dick Grayson toting a gun? Really? I should be surprised at DC but by now I'm really not.

I know covers frequently lie but come on!

I suppose the next step is him assassinating high-level targets in cold blood? At least he's still being his acrobatic self for now.

[shingi70]

Wasn't dude a cop for quite a while?

Not Dead

[junipepper]

You know what? He's not dead. I'm good with that.

And this could be cool or it could be terrible, but I don't feel ready to make that call based on one cover and a short description.

He's had a pretty varied history already. He's been a cop -- an armed, uniform wearing cop. He's been a superhero; in fact he's been three superheroes. He went underground with The Outsiders for a while. Why not this?

Re: Not Dead

[dictionary00.livejournal.com]

Yes, he was a cop and a gun was part of his uniform - though I don't recall if he's shot anyone in the line of duty. I remember at least one reference to him being reluctant to use the gun. And I had the same concerns with him being in the Outsiders as I do now.

Of course I'll stick around to see what this run is like, but I was hoping for him to make it work with an open identity. I don't think it's been done with the Batclan before, and Dick is the most suitable one to try it out.

As other commenters have said, at least it would be more original than Winter Soldier-lite.

[beoweasel]

So, basically Dick Grayson is now Black Widow.

[big_daddy_d]

1. Glad to know Dick Grayson and Bruce (since Spyral is a Bat Inc product) are fans of The S.H.I.E.L.D. (WWE version).

2. Another hero doing the secret agent thing? Not just a hero this time. It's a Teen Titan at that. First Green Arrow and now Dick... what is it with creators trying to turn characters into Roy Harper except for the actual ROY FUCKIN HARPER?!! Green Arrow has characteristics that make him Roy in everything but name and a few concepts here and there. Dick. A titan and now secret agent..and is apparently using guns now... That is.. fuckin Roy Harper! Come on here!!

3. Considering Bruce isn't the biggest fan of guns... why does he have a spy organization as part of Batman Inc... let alone be involved in anything that would..well require the use of a gun? No way Batman sanctions this. Sanction Dick using people thinking he's dead to his advantage..sure he'd do that but... guns? What the hell?

[lbd_nytetrayn]

I don't think WWE's is an acronym. ;)

[jlroberson]

So: his face and secret identity are exposed to the world(and by the way, nobody makes any link back to Wayne? Really?) so: perfect time to make him a secret agent. Who's his mentor, Sterling Archer?

[arbre_rieur]

That's kind of a weird staple in superspy fiction, isn't it? Everyone knows who Nick Fury is, too. And in James Bond movies, it seems like all the world's intelligence agencies know who he is.

[icon_uk]

Hmmm.... rather conflicted, as you might imagine.

So Dick isn't dead, no surprise there, but "Yay!"

Not being Nightwing, well that that was sort of a given considering what Forever Evil did to him. (I have seen one rather cynical soul note that that might be down to not wanting to have to pay royalties to Marv Wolfman and George Perez any more, but that seems a little petty. Not impossible mind you, but petty)

So now he'll be a globe trotting secret agent... okay, I don't think I have a problem with that at all. I've always said Dick being too tied down (no pun intended) to a location missed the opportunity, Dick's not originally from Gotham, so whilst it's his home, he's not stuck there the way Bruce is. He's from a travelling circus, so he probably saw a lot more of the world than any other kid his age, and embracing that could be interesting.

Umm... weren't Spyral the BAD GUYS organisationin Batman Inc? I lost track/interest.

Dick pointing a gun on the front cover... Nope, not okay with that, not one single iota. I don't give a shit if all it fires are non-lethal bullets (though that might mitigate it a little), the impression from the cover is that "This is a Dick Grayson who will shoot you..." and there's no way to have that work with Dick Grayson.

(Others have noted he was a policeman, and yes he carried a gun. It's worth noting that in that entire time he never (AFAIK) pulled his gun in the line of duty (As most police officers DON'T), and the one time he DID pull a gun it was as Dick Grayson in a spectacularly awful scene in a Devin Grayson story.

A secret agent who has his INITIALS on his chest... now you're just taking the piss DC.

Coming so soon after the Winter Soldier made his big screen debut this is just too obvious a tagalong and Dick Grayson should NOT be Bucky's tagalong.

I dunno, will need to process this one further....

[espanolbot]

"Umm... weren't Spyral the BAD GUYS organisationin Batman Inc? I lost track/interest."

I don't even thing that Grant Morrison knew.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

I guess I'm not the only one reminded of when Steve Rogers became head of SHIELD...

Lends itself well towards Dick Grayson Beyond ending up with an eye patch, though.

[kurenai_tenka]

who is this person that I don't recognise

Seriously though, I can't believe that leak was true, haha.

[halloweenjack]

Looks like the kind of story that Greg Rucka could have written in his sleep, if DC hadn't alienated him.

[bradygirl_12]

Meh.

Not dead: good.

Pointing a gun: not good.

Other than that, don't really care about what DC comes up with anymore. I'm too busy reading/writing Cap 2 fanfic inspired by a movie that is one of Marvel's best. DC will NEVER catch up to Marvel in the movieverse!

And this is from a DC girl who loved DC more than Marvel her entire life. Thanks, DC.

[maelstron]

Everyday I heard more DC fans getting into Marvel. even I that only read DC is getting more Marvel books and less DC

[junipepper]

On reflection, the only thing I'm categorically not ok with is his being made to/agreeing to let Alfred think he's dead. Because, what, Alfred can't be trusted to keep a secret? You can justify a lot of things in the cause of dramatic tension, but this is disrespectful. Alfred is the real head of the family; he shouldn't have to suffer Dick's "death" on top of everything else he carries.

[darth_cloudo]

Ow, hadn't thought of that. Maybe they'll slip him a hint somehow? A message written in dust on a table saying, "Hi Alfred"? Yes? Maybe?