I don't want him to be Batman. I feel like a whole point with him is that he doesn't WANT to just become Batman. He doesn't want to be like Bruce. Nightwing is like the better version or answer to what Batman "should be", and he already is that AS NIGHTWING.

Isn't the whole point of Nightwing is that he grew into his own hero adjacent of Batman. That he has his own city, villains and side characters.

I kinda love how the gothan knights put it. Dick doesn't want to be batman, and that Bruce himself acknowledges him as what batman should be and how proud he is of him and who he became.

*Fun fact:* Nightwing's great ability with women was already intuited during the Golden Age of Comics. In the iconic issue in which Batman and Superman meet and fight crime together for the first time, a certain rivalry develops between the two superheroes for the attention of Lois Lane. Lois then decides to resolve the matter by inviting one of the heroes to have a date with her. The big shock that Bruce and Clark receive when they see that the lucky one selected to dine in the company of DC's most attractive reporter is Robin himself, who didn't even accompany Batman on the mission, is simply GOLD 😂😂😂

According to a google search: Dick is short for Richard for the same reason that Bill is short for William, and Ted is short for Edward. They were popular names in the Middle Ages, where not everyone had surnames. So a village might have had several unrelated Richards, Edwards, and Williams. So society came up with nicknames that rhymed and were close enough to the original name and nickname. So instead of Richard, Richard, and Richard… they had a Richard, Rick, and Dick.

I think making Dick a dad would be a cool step for his character. I think some of Wally’s best stuff is when it focuses on him being a parent so it could be cool to see how parenthood evolves Dick’s character as well. Dick’s age feels like it’s stagnating lately and I think that would be a good way to age him up.

So Dick being short for Richard is an old English thing, similar to how John and Jack get treated. Richard was shortened to Rich, and Rich somehow became Dick- How this happened I don’t know, I can only imagine the story that led to it though.

Benny, come on. Make a video about the problem with Batman. We all know the problem or rather problems with him.

After watching the video in it's entirety, I was close to being convinced that you're right, until the last 2 min of the video. The issue isn't Nightwing has to become Batman, it's the fact that they want Dick Grayson without Nightwing. He's always changing or retiring his identity of Nightwing and other things. I could understand that making him Batman can also be a Sign of Permanence, but it's as if Nightwing's reader are split to: - Wanting Nightwing to be "The Better Batman" - Wanting Nightwing to be Batman - and Outsiders/Writers who wants him to be anything but Nightwing, because he "can't be Batman" The issue is resolved by Embracing Nightwing for who he is: a Hopeful Cheerful superhero trained by Batman. He's not a "Better" Batman, he's not Worse than him either. He's his own Character who does his own thing.

Dick Grayson's one motive is to create an identity for himself as Nightwing though, he did not want to be in Bruce's shadow having him become batman may look cool on paper; but Dick's true mature adult form is Nightwing, not Batman. if he were to take the mantle it would have to be against his

A way to make Jon stop being redundant as Superman. Make he take up the mantle of Flame Bird, not because of his father but because of Nightwing being his mentor, that way going full circle, Nightwing taking up the mantle bc of Superman and Jon taking up the mantle bc of Nightwing. But whenever there's future stories you can keep Jon as Superman.

Nightwing is my favorite character but my problem with him is that he needs a better rogues gallery and he needs a definitive story like "Born Again" or "The Dark Knight Returns".

Imo the problem is that Nightwing will never be allowed to do anything, even Tom Taylor’s run is playing everything way too safe, while the Rebirth era run was controversial it tried new things and even brought back one of the most impactful dynamics Dick has with his and Damian’s team up during the deathwing arc

LOL I remember thinking, "OK I'm not loving this Ric Grayson thing, but it'll probably last 6 months tops..." The thing I hated most about that era was that he started dating a girl, loved her, and then when he finally regained his memories he broke up with her because she'd be in the way of his super heroics - which she totally predicted.

Definitely would prefer he NOT put on the cowl and become Batman. Nightwing is his own hero, and I don’t think he needs the cowl to “complete” his character arch (this being American comics, so there is no end). I would like it if Damien became something of a permanent fixture in his books though. Become his Robin, like Tim is Bruce’s Robin. Their brother dynamic is far more interesting (to me) than his father/son one with Bruce.

The contrast between the Dick Grayson of Earth One and his Earth Two's counterpart is pretty interesting, actually. While the Grayson we all know changed his identity from Robin to Nightwing at the age of 20 because he got fed up with being referred to as "Batman's sidekick" and wanted to be a hero on his own, the one from Earth Two never stopped being Robin, even when he was 40 years old, simply because his childhood with Batman was the happiest time of his life, being the Robin identity a way of dealing with the tragedies surrounding the Wayne Family over the years

I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think Dick should ever be Batman. He has a totally different crime fighting philosophy and he’s best as Nightwing. He’s outgrown Bruce and works best as his own thing.

One of the three characters in comics (the other two being Wally West and Mary Jane) that the comic industry got right that they kick themselves every day for doing so. Luckily, until recently. Still, Nightwing breaks the mold in a few ways, but mostly in having a sidekick being almost as famous as the main hero in the cultural zeitgeist (Robin), and having an identity after that super popular identity that most people recognize him more as nowadays (every comic fan knows and prefers Grayson as his Nightwing identity than as Robin), which is mostly unheard of.

I really love Nightwing Dick Grayson, because he is a out-going and fun character looking to help people but his goal is inspiring hope of light for every single character in dc comics.

Not sure that Nightwing has a problem. I would consider Tim Drake to have the biggest problem, he just hasnt moved on properly and is still clinging to Robin despite it being Damians mantel. Tim also has such a boring character because they make him the best for no reason.

Yeah. It’s nice to see Nightwing get his groove back. Shame about Battle for Bludhaven. Have to admit, the one thing I really liked about the Grayson era was his friendship with Midnighter.

I’m sure there’s a way to defend the fact that Batman never calls only for back up. Maybe he’s worried other people will get hurt? Maybe he’s just stubborn? But I would’ve loved it if the moment night wing heard about the failsafe situation, she just be dialed every superhero they know to save Batman.

Let's bring back Discowing, fam 🤣

Not even Nightwing is safe from bad writing

Dick Grayson becoming Batman was a lateral move at best. Dick Grayson has always been Bruce Wayans foil. If Nightwing is who Batman could be if Batman was well-adjusted, then Nightwing becoming Batman is almost a step backwards. Honestly, this video presents a better argument for why Dick doesn't need to become Batman.

Growing up in the 2000s made me a huge fan of the 2nd gen of dc heroes in general. Most of my friends echo similar thoughts. This is probably why they stagnated a lot of characters like Wally and dick. Because they became the new gens fans favorites.

I actually bought the ric Grayson issues at first like “oh this ain’t too bad” and then it kept going and going and I was like “oh this is very bad”

He didn’t get killed by the Crime Syndicate in Forever Evil. It was Lex who suffocated him to stop his heart because he was attached to the Murder Machine. He was revived within the next minute with a shot of adrenaline by Lex.

Richard got shortened to Rich when there were too many of them. Then there were too many people going by Rich, so some became Rick. Then there were too many Ricks running around (probably some were from Rickardo) and thus we got Dick. This is the most likely path I found looking it up years ago, but I never found anyone or anything concrete. But it was a name long before a euphemism.

Nightwing: "I've been thinking about it, Bruce, and I now realize how badly I've treated you. Ever since I broke up with Barbara, left you, joined the Titans, and became Nightwing, I've been acting like a brat just because I wanted to be independent. I'm sorry for my behavior..." Batman: "There's nothing to apologize for, Richard. We all make mistakes, but we can always learn from them. Besides, I'm glad to find you at the right moment to give you my little surprise." Nightwing: "Surprise? What do you mea..." Jason Todd: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Grayson!" Nightwing: "DID YOU REPLACE ME WITH ANOTHER BOY?!" Batman: "Well, fighting crime alone can be pretty depressing, you know? I thought it was the time to have a new son" Nightwing: "And do you really think that putting a child in constant danger is the best way to combat loneliness?!" Jason Todd: "It's not that bad, Mr. Grayson! Batman has given me many awesome things that in my poor life I couldn't dream of! Did you know that you can remotely change the channel on the TV with a gadget? So cool!" Nighteing: "This kid is clearly not up to patrolling with you, Bruce!" Batman: "Don't worry about that. He is going to spend a while on your team" Nightwing: "But you didn't adopt him because you didn't want to feel alone?!" Batman: "Yeah, but I have a pending mission in the Middle East against Ra's al Ghul. It would be very irresponsible of me to expose a child to dangerous ideas. With you and the Titans he will be safe." Nightwing: "Our next mission is in space!" Batman: "Great. There are no terrorists in space. Take care, guys." Nightwing: "WAIT. DON'T GO YE...And he's gone. Cool...What do I do now with you?" Jadon Todd: "Can I ask you something as a way to start our relationship?" Nightwing: "Well, I don't see why not..." Jason Todd: "Is it true that you usually sleep with Starfire and Wonder Girl at the same time?" 😃 Nightwing: "..." Jason Todd: 😃 Nightwing: "...If there is something that at least comforts me, it is the certainty that no one else will wear those green shorts"

The thing about this character is, Dick doesn't want to become Batman and many times he has stated his reasons why. And the more you think about it the more sense it makes. His parents died and he has that in common with Bruce, then Bruce adopts him and tries to help him out, to give him a purpose, train him, be his role model but in the end Dick sees what Bruce really is, which is...a sad man reliving the same night his parents got murdered. Dick moves on from his parents' death and that sets him apart. He has potential to be his own character because of that difference and to make him become batman would destroy the progress thats been already made.

Watch your mouth this episode 😆 this my guy

The problem I have with Night-wing is his how he is written,they keep lessening his abilities to make other characters stand out many times to ridiculous lvls. Each character should have a psyche profile, Batman eg dark,stern, thinker,untrusting,strategist, kind self sacrificing the Boss. When you see him doesn't matter the design you know him. Its not this way for Grayson

So for those curious, the reason dick is short for Richard is because before the modern age of computers, people wrote in hand and it was easier to write shorter versions of names like Richard as Rich/Rick, which eventually led to rhyming names like Mick, Hitch, Dick, etc. Dick being the one of the very few to survive throughout history.

I really enjoy these style of videos a lot. Great work guys

I didn't think there's a problem with Nightwing, I thought he was definitely one the best DC characters Edit: I honest to God forgot about Ric Grayson. I've loved this current run of Nightwing, right now he's in the perfect spot

I would also love to see Batman on the phone calling up his entire phonebook

At 9:50 your referring to Nightwing leading the new Justice League as Batman alongside Donna Troy, Jesse Quick, Jade, Congorilla, Star Man, and Supergirl. This was an odd team but I loved it bc other than the bastardization of Roy Harper, this team was entirely made up of legacy heroes that stepped into their predecessors shoes

I like Dick as Nightwing more than Batman, because he needs his own rogues instead adopting most of Bruce's. And there is still possibility to see how Dick bounces of Batman's rogues differently than Bruce would.

Tom Taylor is just a fantastic writer in general. He really gets the essence of the characters.

I remember the run at 7:30 ! Batman sent league drafts to Jason Blood, Atom, Green Arrow, Faith, Major Disaster, Captain Marvel, Hawkgirl, and Firestorm and had Nightwing lead the team. Captain Marvel was the only one to decline the offer bc he was on the JSA monitoring Black Adam. It was an odd few issues but very fun to read!

Your Batman calling bit would fit perfectly in the 1960’s Batman series.

Great videos man, don’t always agree but gives me some perspective

Personally, I know he’s still fairly new to the bat family but MAN do I feel like he was just done so much injustice 😂 I would like to here Benny’s take on “The problem with Duke Thomas”

Terry McGinnis is Batmans true successor.

The problem with all of them is they don’t have a beard like yours…

Waiting for the "Problem with superman" video pls

To summarize the video: Dan Didio.

I think you hit on the nail with “He hit his final form”. Great video hope you do more videos on how great or poorly our heroes are being written.

great video, I always think that like Dick dont want to be batman is not his next step, he can do a lot of things as nightwing, I will love to see how will act with a new sidekick

I'm actually loving the current run of Nightwing and have been aggressively purchasing the run. Nightwing, is the vigilante superhero that has all of Batman's training with all of Superman's ideals. Nightwing is the hope for humanity that Superman has sought to inspire. Even more than that, Dick Grayson is the human that Alfred and Bruce raised who has grown up in an era of heroes winning, again in the era of Superman. So with Nightwing/Dick Grayson you get this story of the light prevailing and comic fans often find that to be boring and uninteresting and so do writers. I think this current author understands that 80 years of comics have earned the success story. You don't have to keep making him earn it, he can actually just be 'Better Batman' by just being Nightwing/Dick Grayson and that's okay. Making him Batman again brings too much angst, fear, and darkness to the story of a man who is supposed to merry the ideals of Batman/Superman into a successful hero.

I totally agree. Grayson was at his peak as Batman and the story was headed in such a cool direction, but then the new 52 screwed it up like it screwed up everything else.

Well said I’ve thought the same thing, he’s also almost 30 i feel like giving him a kid would be a way to age him up I mean Wally already has 2 kids in dawn of DC

Bruce permanently dying in final crisis, would have been a bad end to his character.

I had no idea about any of this😅 that's awesome, daily mind blower!

These videos are great

I really disagree with the ending. I don't think being Batman should be THE end goal for him, it's a dark and sad ending from his perspective because Dick grew out of wanting to become Batman, he formed his own mantle, he has his own team, his own city, what needs to be elaborated on in my opinion is making him grow his own family. Dick becoming Batman is a really cool concept, but only temporarily because he hates putting on the cowl, as Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison says, it's putting on an act, because it's not truly him, Nightwing is. In all, Dick is in a great place right now, and I think they just need to keep exploring him deeper, keep him with the Titans, let the Titans grow, let him start to have a family with Barbara, and keep giving him good stories.

My problem with Nightwing is they always shake up his love interest and are so scared to actually write a healthy good relationship with him. His relationship with Sean tsang was really good.

Love this series man.

Benny, I would like to see a video on Batman and The Signal. I agree with you on all points of these videos. Also, what part or Iraq where you in at that time? I was at Camp Taji during that time.

Dick being Batman with Damian was pretty cool. I actually liked it a lot.

I love these videos exploding the problems that dc needs to fix. Keep it up king

You could make a problem with The Joker video because a lot of people ignore the blatant issues with the character

Benny's beefing with everybody. Pretty soon we're gonna get Benny verbally harrases the DC Universe and I'm all for it. I always love what you have to say

My hope was up when im seen Dick getting control by Pariah . Gosh i would love the stories of Dick Grayson as one of avatar of The Great Darkness . One of the nicest person in DC being controlled by the Darkness itself sure as hell would be a good story line

Is there any chance you will cover his time with his League on the channel soon?

Batman panic calling is a whole vibe

Should also be pointed out that it was confirmed by Dick that Bruce was training Dick to become the Leader of the JL. This was confirmed when the League confronted the Titans for their "unsanctioned" actions they've been doing since they reformed in DC rebirth.

Not a critique, but I think your problems isn't with Nightwing as in the character himself, but with Dick Grayson separated from Nightwing. From what I understood from the video, you don't mind Dick Grayson, and you don't mind Nightwing, but you get annoyed by the same point that bothers me: the mess that became the position Dick Grayson has in the DC lore. He became the jack of all trades for covering a hole that's hard to identify, thus, he can't be Batman as he should've become by natural evolution and maturing of the character, but he also feels wonky being Nightwing at the current continuity, because he's filling multiple roles that are good, but also not as fulfilling as the expectations.

Problem is they won't give him an important run, he's always a side kick

@Comicstorian love the vids keep it up!! Also a Q with spider verse 2nd movie coming out can u do a "problem" vid on Ghost Spider or Spiderman 2099?

fantastic video! seriously i agree with everything you've stated, only i'm more warm on Dick staying Nightwing even though i LOVE his Dickbats. current Tom Taylor run is a 10/10 and i'm super stoked for future stories and the Titans

Finally Chris Kent getting some recognition?!

I definitely do agree up until the last bit as how knowing the pattern up until now w/ nightwing’s role in the dc universe, and also that they kinda took this twist without much ig foreshadow into what ideas they truly wanted outside of an ongoing series not about the bat family. I am strongly hesitant to agree at the last point of his final completed arc being batman as Richard did say he doesn’t want to be batman, as how he has to act is just someone who never was while playing the role as robin

I love these problem videos. Someone who has almost similar thoughts to me

Obsidian Age...the story where the JLA was lost(stuck in the past) and Nightwing led a replacement League is one of my favorite stories. I read the trade so much that it fell apart and I had to find a replacement.

Am I the only one who thinks flame bird could be a good name for Damian if he ever gets to move beyond robin. I've always seen Damian as Dick's Robin so having his identity, after moving on from Robin, being connected to Nightwing seems like it works

I honestly believe we always wanted Grayson to be Batman. Everyone believes he’s supposed to be. Grayson has never wanted to become Batman. He’s always wanted to make his own path. I think this is the right way. He will become Batman if he absolutely has to but he never will want to. That’s Damien’s thing

Great video really funny. I am really enjoying Nightwing's storyline.

0:04 And like that, this video already gets a like. That joke really caught me off guard. XD

I don’t know why, but having Benny look up Nightwing on the Wiki makes me happy!!

That Rick Grayson stretch was especially terrible because his four protoge's were actual official emergency first responders...police officers and firefighters. And Rick was a cab driver. A notoriously shitty one at that.

I was so over the Ric arc that I only started reading again when tom taylor took over and also cause I love Bruno Redondo's Artstyle

I mean, Dick shouldn't be Batman. He's better as his own person who is able to break away from the Batman mold. Rather than just being Batman but happier, everything about his identity is about being a better hero. The person who gives Batman hope that there is a foreseeable end to his war and that he has made a positive change. Nightwing swaps the cowl for a small domino mask, the dark colors for bright blue, the cloak for a fully open body. The Young Justice show gave the best answer for why Nightwing shouldn't be Batman and why he likely will never want to. The current idea with the Titans replacing the Justice League is the best evolution for Nightwing and the whole team.

Nightwing has grown past Batman and is his own hero now. DC is making it clear that he’s the best hero everyone can be where as Superman is the best everyone should strive to be. For me they should give nightwing as much focus and care as they do batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. When he was batman he was leading the JL. Mon El was Superman at the time while Clark was on krypton. Looking forward to the next video!

Benny: I was in Iraq at this point New fans: WAIT WHAT ?!!!!

I agree with what you’re saying but I don’t think it’s the biggest problem with him, the biggest problem with his character is that he doesn’t have a memorable rogues gallery, they don’t use deathstroke enough(even tho it’s clear to see they have a hate for each other that’s very personal on deathstroke’s side, but dc is to busy trying to force a rivalry between Batman and deathstroke since that’s what the Batman fans want) and the only other person who is a Nightwing centric villain is blockbuster( who ranges from an alright villain to a pretty good one depending on who’s writing) all the most memorable hero’s have a memorable rogues( Batman Superman Spider-Man hell even wolverine has a pretty decent rogues with people like saber tooth, omega red etc) and to be honest he doesn’t really need that many either, just use deathstroke a little more often, be more consistent with how much of a threat blockbuster poses to Nightwing and bludhaven, and then make like 3 or 4 more villains for him who are all interesting in there own right as well as challenge him in different ways. I guarantee he’d be alot more well received then he already is because then his arc will have finally been completed, starting out as a side kick then growing out of it and leading his own team, eventually believing that if he’s going to becomes his own man he needs to do it alone and finding the perfect place for growth in bludhaven, and finally becoming his own hero with his own problems so much so that he doesn’t have the time to show up in Batman’s books all the time as if he’s taking a constant vacation from his city. Anyways sorry for the tangent that’s just my personal opinion on what’s not working for him( Nightwing being my favorite dc character is why this bothers me so much) rant over.(one last thing the court of owls should have been a Nightwing centric group of villains, he was literally destined to become a talon, like bro the material was right there)

I agree with the Ric Grayson take. It was a stupid arc. I will say it was a cool concept to maybe have his own version of Batman, Inc. With the various other "Nite-Wings". Expanding in the idea of how batman can be the hope and the best version of himself through Dick. Anyway, I will say it was a beautiful version of Batman and Robin with Dick and Damian because now you had Batman that acted like Robin. And a Robin.... that acted like Batman. It was a very heartwarming tale to see Damian kind of figure out what it means to join the Batfamily and the crusade while also trying to find himself. Then the Peter Tomasi run during New 52 was a great and enduring Father and Son story that I think progressed their two characters(Bruce and Damian). However, I think that's where it kind of stalls, as Damian is set as being kind of jerk and Bruce just figures out how to love him.

Brooooo do Tangent Complete! Those were crazy!

Since on The Titans: The Problem With Donna Troy and The usage of the character? It sometimes seems that she is only there to show how powerless she can be and how every other character can surpass her. (Seemingly, haven't been keeping up with comics as much.) I get that WW has to be the strongest, but you can still have Donna's character as a force. Rogue was never the strongest or fastest - but they way the character was presented was brilliant (IMO).

I am invested in wanting to know if this gets demonetized lol

Amazing!

"As much as I'd like to tackle Barbara Gordon" Ummmmm 😂😮😳

I love the development of character from Bruce and Dick pre-New52, because Bruce grew enough to share the Batman mantle and Dick grew enough to accept what he’s been training so much of his life to do. Yet because of reasons, there can be multiple Batman, but Dick Grayson can’t be one of them.

Nightwing ultimate evolution is Nightwing, making him Batman is character regression. To be a better Batman he doesn't need to literally be called Batman, he is already a better Batman as Nightwing.

I sort of agree. This is kind of the same issue some have with Miles, Jon, Speedy and any other sidekick or legacy character. How can the young heroes evolve and grow when the older heroes are never allowed to retire, step down, move elsewhere or even die? Because they’re so iconic and still make so much money, Bruce Wayne will never die. That is a fact. Same thing with Clark Kent. Like, whether it’s as Nightwing or as Batman, Dick will never really reach his full potential so long as Bruce is still Batman, or at least so long as he’s still the one in charge. If Bruce were to go back to do the Batman Inc stuff, I’d be happy with that. He let Dick in charge of Gotham and Bludhaven, but he does stuff elsewhere with other Bat people or the League. That’s an awesome idea.

From wikepedia: Dick is a nickname most often for Richard, which likely originated in the Middle Ages as rhyming slang for "Rick", as did William →‎ Will →‎ Bill and Robert →‎ Rob →‎ Bob.

Yo Bennie I’m a fan by the way, but will you please make a full story video of’ avengers, everything dies’ pls …you know about the universal collapse.

Comistorian the publisher you spoke about did not hate Knightwing, in fact he hated all legacy characters. That’s why he wiped Wally West out of existence. DC should never have given him the job.

3:37 Dick is short for Richard because there was a period of British slang ("Cockney rhyming slang") where they used rhyming words (like calling stairs, "The pears,"), and Dick rhymes with Rick. Same with Bill for Will and Bob for Rob.