SHOW NOTES:
- Intro
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- Shoutout to Connor Carrick podcast – NHL defenseman Connor Carrick does a deep dive into improving mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – not just promoting this because he’s a Devils player, it’s a compelling listen – https://connorcarrick.podbean.com/
- NEW SWAG! Check out our TeePublic store!
- Background (4:13)
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- Dick Grayson created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940)
- Dick Grayson is a trapeze artist whose parents were killed by gangsters – Batman helps him seek revenge against the crime boss responsible, and he trains under Batman to become Robin the Boy Wonder
- Later leads the Teen Titans, a group of sidekicks
- Post-Crisis, he chafes under the sidekick role, and renames himself Nightwing, starting to operate as a solo hero in Bludhaven, neighboring city to Gotham
- First operates as Batman after Bruce leaves Gotham after the Knightfall storyline – begins to appreciate what Bruce goes through on a regular basis
- Reunites with the Titans, although after two teammates die, he disbands the team once again
- After Battle for the Cowl, he works as Batman, with Damian Wayne as the new Robin
- New 52 – still Nightwing, just a few years younger than before
- His identity is revealed to the world by the Crime Syndicate – they believe him dead after attaching him to a machine connected to his heart rate – Lex Luthor stops his heart to free him from the machine before reviving him with a shot of adrenaline
- Working undercover, he infiltrates the criminal Spyral organization – this storyline is told in the Grayson book by Tim Seeley & Tom King
- Briefly returns as Robin to help other members of the Bat-Family while Bruce is amnesiac
- Rebirth – Spyral wiped his identity clean, so he resumes operating as Nightwing, and starts a new Titans team
- Shot by KGBeast and nearly dies – gives him memory loss, and he stops fighting crime for a spell until he’s attacked by the Court of Owls (specifically his grandfather, who is a Talon), and the fight triggers his memory
- Issues (10:15)
- Transition from angry teen in the New Teen Titans to a more carefree, relaxed adult in modern comics – is this natural development or just a character retcon?
- Shared trauma with Bruce led to interesting mentor-mentee relationship (21:42)
- Mental adaptation as a “Jack of all trades” within the Bat Family (29:00)
- Break (37:22)
- Plugs for Grief Burrito & Now You’ve Seen It, plus Gail Simone
- Treatment (38:45)
- In-universe – Doc is the man in the chair
- Out of universe (44:54) – treatment similar to those of first responders
- Skit (51:19)
- Ending (57:41)
- Recommended reading: Grayson by Seeley/King
- Next episodes: Laura Kinney (X-23), Superboy Prime, Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley)
References:
- Sidekicks episode – Anthony (05:38)
- Bane episode – Anthony (07:31)
- Pulp Fiction – Anthony (08:30)
- Saved by the Bell – Doc (14:18)
- Scott Adams – talent stack – Doc (33:00)
Apple Podcasts: here
Google Play: here
Stitcher: here
TuneIn: here
iHeartRadio: here
Spotify: here
