What I would do to Nightwing and Starfire if I am the Head of DC and Warner Bros. (Dickkory shippers, feel free to share your ideas)
I don’t know if this sounds petty but after how the Bat-editorial writers treated Dickkory for decades, I honestly have no sympathy left anymore.
So if I were in charge, this is what I would do.
First, I would break up Dick and Barbara. I would make their conversation center on Barbara realizing that she has become defined by her relationship with Dick. She would come to understand that she lost a lot of her own individuality trying to fit into his world (leaving her father, her own hobbies, and her own career in Gotham just to move to Bludhaven, stay stuck in his apartment all day and follow him around like a dog everywhere he goes, getting called “Girl-Nightwing” by the Bludhaven citizens, etc.)
At the same time, Dick would also have his own realization. He would acknowledge that the relationship has also dumbed him down and caused him to grow overly reliant on Barbara as a solo hero (partly because she always overrides his agency by unnecessarily babysitting and monitoring him on her computer in every mission he takes). The relationship has basically turned into an unhealthy codependency for both sides.
They would understand the problem and realize they are better people when they are not together, so the breakup would be mutual and calm. They hug and part ways but they promise to stay friendly exes.
Barbara would return to Gotham permanently (or go back to Burnside) and finally do something to restore her independence. I would give her a solo comic focused entirely on rebuilding her agency. This means no Batfamily stories, just her own story as a separate character. She would also become very close with her father again. Then I’d make her use her law degree to apply for a job in law or politics. She could be a lawyer, a judge or even a congresswoman who works in the U.S. House of Representatives like she originally was, fighting for people’s rights. At the same time she’s also a librarian. Her love interest is definitely someone outside the Batfamily like Ted Kord.
The Barbara solo would never get cancelled until people are finally used to the idea of her being separated from Dick because previous runs like Tom Taylor’s really ruined damaged her character and ruined the public’s perception of her. She is written as mostly just an extension of Nightwing nowadays. I would change her costume too since her current Batgirl costume is visually tied to Dick. I prefer her original black and yellow costume since that one makes her look more mature and independent.
(Some will accuse this of Dickbabs erasure but I believe Barbara needs to restore her reputation as a solo hero after years of being attached to Dick’s hip nonstop. Plus, Dickbabs already had decades of content and exposure anyway. They already had their moment. I think now is the right time to let Dickkory have their time to shine.)
In Nightwing’s solo comic, I would have Dick operate completely on his own like he should since I’m tired of him not doing anything on his own in his own book for more than 5 now (Barbara is always around monitoring him every single issue. Ugh, it’s really hurting his character and book just for the sake of shipping imo). So no other heroes taking up space, just Dick Grayson alone standing on his own as Nightwing. I would also restore his tech skills that were erased just so Barbara can have something to do. He needs to be established as an intelligent person and a great hacker and tech user not a himbo who constantly needs Barbara’s tech support to survive. He should rely on his own gadgets/ equipment and resources. The Nightwing solo should only on Dick as an individual and competent hero.
But in the Titans book, I’d slowly rebuild Dick and Kory’s relationship but strictly as friends at first for one to two years. Their bond should naturally develop through friendly, meaningful interactions and stories so they should laugh, hang out, eat together, give each other advice, discuss work missions, comfort each other when they have problems and be there when the other needs support. The focus would be on friendship and acknowledging that they are important to each other and have a shared history no romance yet. Their friendship and connection which DC minimized and erased for decades need to be restored first.
After 1-2 years, both of them would realize they’re falling in love with each other again. Dick would be the first to confess his feelings after a dangerous mission that nearly killed Kory (a throwback to what led up to them becoming a real couple in NTT). Kory would be hesitant at first because she has trauma. (Her sister betraying her, her parents just watching and letting her get taken away from her enslavers and her 1st break up with Dick) She trusts Dick as a friend but not as a lover. She’s scared the relationship will fail again but Dick is persistent and promises to earn her trust. She would later agree to try again on the condition that they take things slowly. They would go on dates, have flirty banter and then officially become a couple.
But Kory won't move to Bludhaven. Instead, I'd keep them in a long-distance relationship in Nightwing’s book so In Nightwing’s solo, Dick would still work alone and Kory would only be referenced through calls, video chats, and rare visits but In Titans they would still be physically together all the time.
Eventually, I would give Starfire her own solo comic. Leading up to this, Kory would tell Dick and the Titans that she needs to go on an important solo mission in a different city but After she goes there, due to circumstances, she finds out that she has no other choice but to stay there permanently for the safety of the people. She'd have her own house, meet her own friends and build her own agency there. She'd also have her own career back which is her being a famous supermodel with many fans. She would be the main star in her own city.
When she informs Dick that she’s leaving the Titans and moving there, it would be an emotional goodbye for the team but Dick would commit to making their relationship work. Dick would travel to her city just to see her which would then lead to him becoming one of her supporting characters in her solo.
(Yes, I know it doesn’t make sense that Dick is in Kory’s city while still operating in Bludhaven in his own book but that kind of place/timeline inconsistency already exists in current comics 😅. If you read the current Titans comics, you'd see that Dick is with the Titans but if you read his solo, he’s only with Barbara so let’s do the same thing here.)
So yeah, in Nightwing’s solo, Dick works alone with only mentions or references to Kory.
In Starfire’s solo, Dick appears as a supporting character depending on the story arc.
They would date for 5 years before Dick proposes and then they would get married.
After that, I’d launch a new comic titled Nightwing and Starfire. In this book, Dick and Kory are a married couple who choose one city as their main home (either Bludhaven or Kory’s city) but they also travel to other cities and countries, going on superhero adventures around the globe together. I also like the idea of them building trusted orphanages (given the fact that Dick was an orphan) and running an anti-human abuse/trafficking operation (given the fact that Kory was a slave)
But I would not cancel Nightwing’s and Starfire’s solo comics. They would remain ongoing and mainly focused on them as individuals. In Nightwing’s solo, most of the time Dick still operates alone in his story arcs while Kory is either in space (working on missions with the Justice League) or in other countries (since models do photoshoots and runways in places like Italy or France) or busy doing other things that would be shown in her own solo comic.
So there would be three books: a Nightwing solo, a Starfire solo and a duo book for them.
I'd also definitely produce a lot of Dickkory variant covers.
After the comic book stuff, I’d greenlight a Nightwing and Starfire animated series where they’re already an established married couple and have kids (Mar’i, Jake, and a third baby) so They’d be like DC’s version of The Incredibles, a family of superheroes. Dickkory kids would also have their own circle of friends like the Titans kids Lian Harper and Iris West.
Damian would also be a supporting character, but he wouldn’t be older than Mar’i. He’d be the same age as her.
Overall, I know this would never happen because I don’t work for DC lol but hey if there’s anyone here who is or will potentially become a DC writer or DC employee someday and wants to do the same thing for DickKory, if DC gives you the authority to change the status quo or write an Elseworlds story for them, feel free to take any of my ideas here. I just really want them back together again
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