I'm close to constructing a shrine in honour of Dan Watters.
There's a bitter irony to Nightwing becoming more popular in the last few years - it's mostly a result of Taylor's abysmally saccharine and bland characterisation. A fondant version of DG - all sugar, no complexity of flavour, no nutritional depth. Like many other long time readers and DG fans, I have been starved for a truly stellar representation of Dick since Flashpoint.
First there's this interview, which made me weep with joy.
I had forgotten it was possible for people to praise Dick without putting down Bruce. And while it may seem that Watters is painting Bruce as unempathetic, all you need to do is read one single issue of Dark Patterns to know that he most certainly does NOT think that. What he is talking about is the way Bruce and Dick approach detective work differently - which is absolutely correct.
More importantly - "He grew up knowing he was loved. That's what Batman gave him that Batman didn't have."
Utterly perfect assessment, and borne out in full in Nightwing #137 (2026) this week.
Nightwing is accused of causing a pileup on the Bludhaven bridge which led to nine deaths. So of course, in true Bat fashion he is beating himself up in guilt and trying to figure out what happened - but he's not the only Bat on scene.
There's immediate defensiveness in typical Dick fashion.
There's Dick being reckless with his life and Bruce panicking out of his skin.
(Hey Dickie, remember THE LAST TIME YOU GOT SHOT IN THE HEAD IN FRONT OF HIM?????)
There's Dick actually being COMPETENT and SMART again, not just some performative cheerleader cutout who gives a speech and is then inexplicably hailed as a great leader and hero without actually proving it on panel.
There's Bruce's usual concern (this scene is so clearly Bruce in a Batsuit and not simply Batman).
(On a related note I'd tell Bruce to practice what he preaches but that's never going to happen with ANY Bat, let alone the prime Bat.)
Then there's Dick crashing out at him - the usual way he processes his guilt and stress.
And this is where Watters' understanding of the Bruce and Dick relationship is so clearly outlined - Dick is able to rage and crash out at Bruce BECAUSE he knows he's loved. And Bruce lets him crash out and weathers it - acknowledges Dick's feelings without once taking it personally. An outlet Bruce himself never had, no matter how much lore-deficient writers like Taylor and Williamson try to retrofit Alfred into a role and pedestal that never existed.
THIS is what the Bruce and Dick relationship has been for the longest part of post Crisis DC history ever since Prodigal cemented the reconciliation. This is what Batman and Nightwing were under the best Bat editorial tenure.
And of course there's the pot-kettle panel, where Bruce pulls a Dick and Dick pulls a Bruce. Also a cornerstone of their relationship.
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