Bruce and Dick and Batman and Robin

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Posting this as a follow up to the first part, here (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/941798.html) to show the progression of Bruce and Dick's relationship. How it started, and how much it meant to each of them by the time Dick went away to college.

I love how Dick's calling Bruce 'a big brother image' but they're totally being dad and son here. And how Bruce is a dad with a now empty nest, who copes by working harder and differently and moving to smaller digs.


Also, here's the same story, from Untold Legends of the Batman, by Len Wein and Jim Aparo.



Also, Dick likes Dr. Pepper.


ETA: One Bullet Too Many (from Batman #217) is reprinted in
Batman from the 30s to the 70s HC (1971)
Batman in the Sixties TPB (1999)
and Showcase Presents:Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 TPB (2008)

Comments

Cool stuff..

[(Anonymous)]

I like the penthouse years--nice shake up for the character. And I loved "Untold Legend Of The Batman". I had it in black and white paperback book form and it started my obsession with the comic world of Bats..

Re: Cool stuff..

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

I agree! And I think Untold Legend did that for a lot of people! Every time I've posted from it somebody mentions that it made them love the Batworld. I felt almost cheated because I only discovered Untold Legend books last year!

I mean, I already loved the Batworld, but still.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

There's a sort of homage to the "Dick leaves for college" scene in "Batman and Robin" #1 as Alfred and Dick walk through the Manor, and drive away, with Dick looking back through the rear window.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Yeah! I just went back and looked and it is sort of a nice contrast, with this time Dick being the one leaving and going to the penthouse.

I have to admit though, my reading of that book is colored by the fact that GM has said he sees the Bruce in the above scans as a 25 year-old having a midlife crisis because he's losing his little best friend to the grown ups.

And I don't read it that way at all.

But I do like that particular moment in B and R #1.

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

I love reading stories from this era, and these scans really point out why. I really wanted to live in Wayne Manor--or the penthouse--with these guys.

I also love the way half of Dick's character back then was of course that he was such a teenager with high school trophies and things--it's an interesting contrast to the type of typical teen Tim is. And with the culture creep they just really become two teens from the same time period but who were very different types.

And how much do I love Dick's asking for a Dr. Pepper? I shouldn't love a product placement so much, but it works for exactly what it is, showing how they've adjusted to the new situation but there's still a place for everyone. And when Bruce is too busy for Alfred to do anything for him, Dick thinks of something he'd like. They're an adorable family.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

It IS an interesting contrast. And the culture creep is really, really fascinating, the way it does what it does.

And when Bruce is too busy for Alfred to do anything for him, Dick thinks of something he'd like.

I know! They ARE an adorable family.

[chipsnopotatoes.insanejournal.com]

The shoe under the bed is very telling :)

I suppose with his patrician upbringing, the OC-ness was ingrained in Bruce since birth, whereas Dick, more of a normal guy, has to make an effort to appear neat.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

That's not a shoe, that's Roy (Bruce picked up the OTHER shoe Roy was no longer wearing)... it was one HELL of a going away party.... :)

Oh, and I can imagine Bruce, being used to have a butler to look after him would be messier than Dick, who spent his early years in a travelling circus where packing up would be something you'd get VERY good at.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Heh.

I kind of can't see Bruce as liking too much 'other people touching his stuff' though. Like he'd want Alfred to dust, but leave his Bats-tools mostly alone. In a moderately Obsessive Compulsive way, but that's just me. And just because you can pack up fast doesn't necessarily mean you do it neatly and hey, wait! Dick's apartment's always a wreck, isn't it?

Not his boardinghouse room, though. Come to think of it...

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Dick's apartments depend on where he is in his life. If he unpacks, he's settled in, if he's unsure about what's happening in his life, he lives out of boxes. If he's in full Titans leader mode, he's more likely to live in a state of chaos, just so he has one part of his life he's not going to have to be completely ordered about.

He does, apparently, tend to let dirty dishes pile up.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

He does, apparently, tend to let dirty dishes pile up.

It's because he's so busy showering.

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

I love that little bit about Dick wanting to have a little chaos given how ordered Bruce and Dick both are. I was recently reading that Robin comic where Tim's imagining how Dick would go bad (when he has to imagine it for everyone because of Bruce's birthday mind-fuck) and he talks about him getting rid of all the chaos so there's no more circuses...and I always thought that story was really off. Dick would never want no more circuses.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Heh. I think we're also supposed to get the sense that--"Oh, tennagers!"

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Or, you know, 'Teen-agers'.

[btravage.livejournal.com (from insanejournal.com)]

I'm not a fan of the Bat-Mobile, so I always thought the penthouse made much more sense than a long screentime-eating-up drive from the countryside.

[aaron_bourque.insanejournal.com]

I'm not a fan of the Bat-Mobile

That's my batmobile. They made it for the Kenner Super Powers line. I still have mine. It's broken and the windshields are lost, but I'll love it forever.

[btravage.livejournal.com (from insanejournal.com)]

Clarification: I'm not a fan of any Batmobile. How scary is an Cryptid who drives a car?

[aaron_bourque.insanejournal.com]

Depends on the Cryptid, I guess. If he were chasing you in a car, you'd still want to get away.

[retro_nouveau.insanejournal.com]

Heh! Bruce thinks Dick is a sloppy kid -- brace yourself for Cass, Bruce...

I wasn't ready for Dick's tear, aw...

Love the addition of the Wayne Foundation. Makes a lot of sense that you don't have to drive the x miles every time the signal lights up. But still, hate the moving out of stately Wayne Manor. Sure is lucky there was a building in the middle of Gotham with a cave under it. Can you imagine how much fun it was to get the penny and the dinosaur through the middle of Gotham? I hope they gave Clark a ring for an assist, maybe Zatanna to make them invisible. And Pam's got to be green with envy over that place with the monster redwood in the middle. Or, uh, well, more green...

I figure Dick for a Soder person, and Tim takes Zesti. Stephanie seems like the free and independent and rebellious spirit that would go for Dr. Pepper. Shouldn't it be Mr. Pepp or something?

[superfan1.insanejournal.com]

What ever happen to the penthouse afterwards? Love how proud bruce and alfred are of dick,but sad to see him go. The natural progress of it all that shows they are a tight family. Also even though,it a seriously emotional moment,dick still makes a joke.

So it won't be a painful, as he rides off to a new experience.

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

What ever happen to the penthouse afterwards?

I believe Dick, Alfred and Damian are currently living in it.

[superfan1.insanejournal.com]

Wow it still be use, awesome! Nice to know it wasn't forgotten or fell into obscurity. :)

[taggerung301.insanejournal.com]

this is great
:)