Nightwing: Year One is a fun comic with a lot of great moments, fun DickBabs teasers, and works as a fantastic solo-Nightwing introduction. However, it sanitizes the original Dick-Bruce-Jason confrontation and robs us off the richer 1980s Post-Crisis relationship.
Let me explain.
N:YO opens with Dick having left the Titans on temporary leave to find himself now that he is no longer Robin. He reaches out to Superman. He returns to Haly's to explore his roots. Both events lead to him taking the name Nightwing and wearing the dark blue-medium blue suit we see below. And then he returns to Gotham, introduces his new identity to Babs, Jim, Joker, and a variety of goons with every intention of continuing to work in Gotham.
And then he meets Jason.
First! I want to say, Jason is so lovable in this. He is so cocky!! I want to pinch his cheek and give him a noogie. Maybe flick his nose Haha! What a little rascal!!
Now on to the meat and potatoes:
Like the original 1980s story (Batman (1940) #416), there is resentment. But it's a cold resentment. He's upset but he's jaded. Dick thinks "I should have expected this" as he quietly grinds his teeth.
As the story progresses, Dick forges a brief partnership with the new Robin while trying to save Alfred and fight Killer Croc. Eventually reaching a quiet acceptance of the new status quo before recording a farewell speech to Bruce and riding off into the sunset, abandoning Gotham to return to the Titans.
It's all very different from the original post-crisis rewrite of Dick & Jason's meeting in Batman (1940) #416.
There Dick runs hot there. He's betrayed. He's angry. He confronts Bruce and refuses to leave until he hears the truth Bruce is too scared to admit. And when Bruce tells him to get lost, he grieves. This is a painful moment in the epic that is Bruce & Dick's relationship. And its all the better for it.
As the issue goes on, Dick meets Jason one last time, offering him the Robin suit and his phone number. A lifeline for when Bruce gets to be "too much." But you can tell it's more an act of empathetic kindness than any real attempt to foster a relationship with his new "brother." There is no follow up. Dick doesn't try to foster a relationship. He's a distant lifeline that Jason never grabs.
(Partially because Jason is scared of Dick. Jason sees Dick is much better than him and immediately worries that Dick is here for "his old job." Which is very inline with Post-Crisis Robin!Jason. Post-Crisis Robin!Jason is a very nervous young man. He's afraid of losing what he's gained and that persists until it costs him everything in Death of the Family.)
To be honest, I prefer the original.
A defining feature of Jason’s Robin era is how isolated Jason and Bruce are from the wider DC hero community. Nightwing is gone. Batgirl exists but doesn’t work directly with Batman. Huntress isn’t part of the family. Selina comes and goes. Most of Gotham’s other heroes and anti-heroes won't appear until post-Tim.
While Jason occasionally fights alongside the Titans, he’s never truly one of them. He’s Nightwing’s plus-one, not a teammate. He never builds a peer community the way Dick, Tim, and Damian do as Robin. That absence is unique to Jason, and it explains a core element of Bruce & Jason's relationship: their co-dependence.
Nightwing: Year One flattens the Dick-Bruce-Jason dynamic.
On Dick and Bruce’s side, we are robbed of the explosive confrontation between Dick & Bruce that will lay the groundwork for their poor relationship in Batman: Year Three post Jason's death and subsequent painful reconciling post-Batman: Prodigal.
It also severs the small but vital connection between Dick and Jason—the lifeline never meant to be taken. Without it, Dick’s grief over Jason’s death becomes far more self-centered. In N:YO, Dick never even attempts a relationship with Jason while he’s alive. By contrast, Batman (1940) #416 frames Dick’s guilt as the regret of a genuine missed connection.
The greatest loss, however, is how N:YO reframes Bruce and Jason entirely. Instead of a lonely man clinging to a grieving child, as in Batman (1940) #416, N:YO presents Jason as a cocky wild-child who demands the Robin mantle and needs to be "saved" from his "worst impulses." For fucks sake, Dick jokingly asks Bruce "did you pick him up before the Joker could?"
In Batman (1940) #408-411, we see Jason as a nervous, well-meaning kid doing what he can to get by, who sees a chance at a better life if he accepts the Robin mantle and dedicate himself to Batman's crusade. Hell, Batman (1940) #416 directly states that "Bruce made Jason Robin to save him from himself" is a lie and pure cope so Bruce doesn't have to confront the fact that he is endangering a child because he's lonely!
Of course, canon is flexible. It twists and turns with the flow of time. We pick the stories that appeal to us and construct the narratives that we enjoy. Batman (and all DC/Marvel) is similar to many mythological storytelling patterns of civilizations past.
But one thing I really do love about the OG 1980s post-crisis stories about Jason and his death is that Jason was a victim as much as he was a hero. Its so unique and makes his Robin tenure so much richer.
I know people love the "Robin is Magic" Jason of the Silver and Bronze age; the lighthearted second Boy Wonder who danced across the page with a fun school life and a perfect father.
But the Post-Crisis 1980s retelling, in my opinion, offers a much deeper story: the story of a child desperate to do his best, wrestling with his anxieties/traumas while trying to find his place in a new family after the devastating loss of his first one, alongside a wounded mentor who tries (and fails) to do right by him. Until, ultimately, it all ends in tragedy.
Batman The Cult has some of the best panel work I’ve seen in an 80s comic!
Seriously guys! Please give it a read. Bruce is having a fascinatingly bad time. Jason shines as Robin. And Gotham deserves a nap and a smoothie. 10/10 it’s only failing is it’s only 4 issues long!
Damn. The current Detective Comics Arc (DC #1101-1106) is so fucking good and no one is talking about it.
Damian, my baby! If you are not okay, I am going to reach into the void and save you myself.
I know Bruce is all fucked up and I love the exploration of how necessary fear is. Lion is a great villain and a natural steppingstone past Scarecrow. But AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
All the additional cast was so cool! Clark getting Bruce's Kryptonite. Lois Lane's approach to information gathering vs Bruce. Mr. Terrific is quickly becoming a fav thanks to the movie, this DC run, his inclusion in Bat-Man of Gotham & DC KO. I love seeing him pop up all over the place and really need to pick up his run.
Here is some of my favorite panels as advertising:
The first image is from Detective Comics #1104. The second is from Batman 2025 #3. I know they exist in different timelines but wow is that whiplash strong!
Alright y’all. I’m doubling down. Robin and Batman: Jason Todd continues to be good actually. Yes, it could disappoint me and fail to stick the landing. But so far, I think it’s got a really interesting story to tell.
The art style, character design, and panel work is gorgeous. The dialogue is tight and well done. And the character work and story they’re trying to tell is so interesting!
(By the way, this is not spoiler free. Pls scroll on if you don’t want spoilers!)
TLDR: Every character is deeply flawed. Jason is having a very bad time. And Bruce is dropping the ball as a father. And it’s all so interesting!
Bruce and Alfred are shown to be deeply flawed caretakers in this series. They have several conversations where they go back and forth wondering if they’re doing right by Jason and if they’re the right people to care for Jason. Alfred criticizes Jason harshly in Issue #1. Bruce calls Jason broken in #2. It’s giving “I adopted a child and didn’t realize that child came with issues” that is so true to so many adoption horror stories. It’s painfully realistic.
And the book is not treating them as right. The argument between Bruce and Dick emphasize that.
One of the things that is so interesting in Issue #2, is Dick’s introduced. He arrives in the cave without any word of warning. Bruce is gone for JL work after a harsh confrontation with Jason where Jason asks if Bruce thinks he’s a murder and Bruce does not console him. And then Bruce is gone and here is Dick. Jason is not excited.
Dick is trying to be the person in Jason’s corner. Of everyone, he displays the most patience and kindness to Jason. He tries to cheer Jason up, remind him there is more to the cape than revenge. But he struggles to connect. It’s clear Dick is not around enough. At one point, he invites Jason to join the titans, which at first Jason seems excited by before he rejects it and Dick’s attempts at brotherhood. Jason claims Dick doesn’t care, that he doesn’t understand the pain of people dying. It’s harsh and says a lot about Jason’s mindset. Here is a deeply empathetic child who has been hurt badly and lashing out. Unlike Bruce, Dick doesn’t react with anger but he clearly fumbles the conversation. Ultimately, he drives Jason away.
Jason seems to be echoing an argument they have had before when he reminds Dick they aren’t brothers.
The way it’s framed… it implies Dick was the one who initially said they aren’t brothers. Jason is just echoing the hurt he’s experienced.
This isn’t the only time this happens. In the beginning of #2, Jason calls himself broken. Later Bruce calls him broken. It’s clear Jason has internalized the way people talk about him. Coupled with his very obvious C-PTSD symptoms such as flashbacks and nightmares… Jason’s mental health is very very low.
And like many members of the Batfam, when his mental health is low he turns to more morally dubious decisions such as agreeing to be trained under a killer.
Jason is scared of feeling powerless, of being hurt (again). He’s been Robin for less than a year. He’s spiraling. His guardians don’t understand him. He feels judged and alone and turns to someone who promised him power because he can’t see another way out.
I hope this is a catalyst for Bruce to get his head out of his ass and step up to be a stabilizing parent in Jason’s life. As Dick says, it’s too late to close the door. The only thing Bruce can do is either let Jason keep floundering or step through the door with him.
So I decided to continue on my Dick Grayson binge and just finished reading Dark Victory, Robin: Year One, Nightwing: Year One, The New Teen Titans Issues #55, #63, #110-114, and Nightwing (1995) so I can finally start reading Nightwing (1996).
Wow! I have so many thoughts. But to summarize here are my favorite through lines:
The idea that Dick was cold after his tenure as Robin & Starfire and the other Titans injected this love of life back into him was not something I knew. His refusal to deal with grief because it made him think of his parents and how much Robin was both a way to control his life and run away from it is interesting.
And I think my favorite thread was Dick’s fear that Robin & Nightwing had killed Dick. At 21 he doesn’t know who he is. He’s been hiding from his feelings for so long that now that Starfire is no longer there to distract him, he finally has to confront himself!
Now that I’m finally at Nightwing (1996), I’m really excited to read Dick’s “second coming of age” story! It’ll be fun to see him dedicate himself to Blud and grow closer to the Bats (I really did enjoy that little training arc we got with Tim in The New Teen Titans #65!)
