Dick Grayson Becomes Batman

Most know of Dick Grayson as Robin, and later as Nightwing, but you may not have known about the hard position he was put into during the Nightfall fiasco.

When Bruce Wayne’s plans fall apart after Bane and Jean-Paul Valley destroy Gotham in an unlikely combination, he arranges it so that Dick Grayson becomes Batman while he travels to figure things out. Dick Reluctantly upholds the mantel, while Tim Drake (the third Robin) is glad to experience some normalcy after the damage the last stand-in did.

Once Dick Grayson becomes Batman, the villains come out of the woodwork. Two-Face make a miraculously simple escape from Arkham Asylum due to a simple mix-up. The Penguin makes an appearance as well, but the person having the toughest time is actually Commissioner Gordon, who is able to tell that the true Batman has not returned. Still withholding trust, he agrees to help him anyhow when Dick informs him that the armored Batman will not be returning.

To the reader, they have seen three different Batman in such a short amount of time. This confusion helped scare away readers during the comic book depression, when people stopped caring. Even so when Dick Grayson becomes Batman finally, it is a nice change of pace. The idea of Robin being trained by the master and then being able to be his replacement is a powerful thing. Of course, we learn that there is no true replacement for the real McCoy, but that does not stop us from enjoying the story.

This story arc begins in Batman 512 and is called Prodigal. It is included in Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 3, (affiliate link) which happens to be dirt cheap.

So there you have it. Dick Grayson becomes Batman, an an interesting one at that. Any thoughts? Leave a comment below. Or not. I Really do not care.