Week of Wonder - Dick gives up being Robin

[icon_uk]

When the time came for Dick Grayson to stop being Robin, it was in New Teen Titans #39.





The issue opens with one of the classic New Teen Titans scenes, as they launch a co-ordinated attack on a remote outpost belonging to Brother Blood, a megalomaniacal cult leader who may have done dreadful, evil things, but did do a nice sideline in Robin bondage, so, y'know, points for that.



Nice thick fur coat, still wears the shorts and pixie boots. Hardcore!



Wow! :) (An image so good, that Rob Liefeld basically did a copy and paste of it for X-Force #1 and didn't even indicate it was an homage)

There is a lot of shooting, punching, blasting and general mayhem, but of course, it's still early in the comic, so we need to give the heroes somethng to overcome.





I like that, in his last issue as Robin, they chose to highlight that it's the non-powered Robin, as their leader and tactician who comes up with the way out of the trap (And George Perez draws a very sexy clenched jaw, if I may say so.

Later we get to the main focus of this post. After Kid Flash makes the dramatic announcement that he's stepping down as being Kid Flash as his speed is proving to be unreliable, and he's going back to college as Wally West, Dick sort of... one-ups his announcement.

Now, bear in mind the power of this moment in context.

In this day and age it's been done many, many times, some costumed identities are practically a franchise now, but this was a first: A major DC character was ceasing to be the character they were uniquely identified with, a costumed kid sidekick the FIRST costumed kid sidekick was graduating into.. well, we didn't quite know what yet... Not even on Earth-2 had anyone given up their identity like this...

In short, Dick Grayson was, after over 40 years in the role, giving up being Robin



Yeah Dick, flash those gams one more time for us all to enjoy...



Dick's comment that he's worn the csotume since he was eight is perhaps a little weird...

It's not often I agree with Terra, but on this next page, I fully endorse her comment....





It's worth noting that this phase of the story was more or less told completely in the New Teen Titans. That was where Dick spent most of his time, and was the role he was most identified with (and sold best).

Comments

[scorntx]

I'm sure there were no consequences for Dick telling all the Titans his name and identity right then and there.
Be a shame if one of them turned out to be, oh, evil or something.

(Can only imagine Bruce's reaction to hearing about that once Judas Contract was over.
Probably he stared at the wall of the Batcave for a good half an hour.
"Where did I go so wrong?")

Don't know if it's a credit to Perez's art that Dick dressed as Robin in his, what, twenties, looks so... well, weird.
It just ain't natural, before you even get to the pants and pixie boots.


Not sure if "giving up the identity" like this is something a writer could actually do these days.
At least, not like this.
There'd have to be some long dramatic storyline, probably involving Trauma and Angst, rather than just the character going "y'know what, I'm going to do something different".
After all, gotta preserve The Brand.

Also, not sure Vic's got any call to be razzing anyone's fashion choices when he's going around in a metal tank top.

[icon_uk]

Funny you should say that, Dick and Bruce actually had a conversation about it some time before The Judas Contract, in the Titans/Outsiders team up which helped Dick realise he wouldn't be happy as Robin any more (as Batman kept trying to take charge because he was Batman, and overlooking that when it comes to running a team, Dick is a lot more experienced and BETTER at it than he is)

So when Dick realises that Bruce HASN'T shared his identity with the Outsiders, people who he know well, knows the identities of and trusts with his life on a weekly basis, it's Dick who is the disappointed one.

There had been a long lead up to this and it did involve angst, but it was an ongoing subplot of Dick realising that he'd grown and changed and thought of himself as a Titan first, and Batman's sidekick second, and the guilt he felt about that.

And in Vic's defence, he's sort of stuck with that as it's not an outfit, it's literally him.

[tcampbell1000]

Small things to appreciate here:

1) The low-key comedy of Starfire's "No, you don't. You BELONG. Please change your mind." It just hits this weird sweet spot between sincere emotion and writer self-parody, and it would only work with certain versions of Koriand'r.

2) Similarly, the fine-grained detail of her anxious almost-tears, two panels later. Full tears would feel overdramatic, but that little moisture is just right.

3) Tara taking over for Garfield as the comic relief. Gar had been Robin's teammate long enough that his doing anything to subvert or steal attention from Dick's coming-out party would've felt like he was being a crappy friend. Tara, who readers by now knew was FAR worse than a crappy friend, was also enough of a newcomer to the group that they wouldn't expect her to treat all this with the same weight. But see the next point...

4) The vulnerability on Dick's face in the frame where he takes off the mask. Interesting that Perez highlights Tara's reaction to that first, as if she doesn't know how to process what she's seeing.

5) The reactions to Dick's endorsement of Donna. Gar finally finds an appropriate way to be lighthearted, and everyone else is also supportive or pretending to be supportive... except the preoccupied Raven. She's losing Wally here and about four arcs away from getting possessed by Trigon, so all this sentiment may be a bit much for her. "I sense... goopiness."

6) "Sure hope your new wearer doesn't abuse you as much as I did." Um... about that...

7) Wolfman sadly, reluctantly, letting go of the "Robin wears SHORTS to battle, isn't that kind of WEIRD" joke that he loved enough to use twice in this sequence alone. Kill your darlings! (sniff) Don't look back!

[icon_uk]

Re 3) in fairness, Dick was already hogging ALL the attention away from Wally's big announcement, which was actually a much bigger deal for the team as it involves him stepping down completely. But everyone more or less immediately ignores Wally for Dick making his announcement that he's well, changing his nickname.

4) Yeah, that look of uncertainty on his face is a killer! I also love that he STILL folds his costume neatly as he's putting it away, because you know that's been a reflex since Alfred first told him to look after his costume. (Though in his college days he did have a tendency to just sling his cape and tunic under his mattress to hide it)

7) It was probably just my adolescent-hormone-ridden mind at the time, but I was reading Vic's "Next time, don't wear shorts" it with an ENTIRELY different slant on it. "YEAH! Next tme... GO COMMANDO!"

[scelestus]

Man, the artwork on the "Let's do it" page is glorious!

[superfangirl1]

Wow. This issue had so much emotion in it that it. The other Titans' reactions to Robin's news makes Wally feel like he's not as important, which I think people could relate to. Seeing Dick say goodbye to the Robin mantle hit me a bit harder than I expected.

[sarahnewlin]

It's a LEOTARD?!

I thought it was briefs