Ok, but consider an AU when after Bruce kicks Dick out, Dick immediately takes up the Nightwing mantel and Gotham goes a bit wild.
Joker bragged in Arkham that he shot the Boy Wonder and no one has seen him fir months. He's cackling about finally getting rid of the runt. The other inmates start attacking him for hurting their favorite menace.
Rumors leak about Joker's attack and so when months later a new Robin is seen the citizens of Gotham are distraught at a confirmation that their Robin is gone. It doesn't matter how much Jason looks like Dick or how he tries to act like Robin, everyone knows at the first sight that it's a 'fake' Robin. Their Robin has years more experience and better fighting. Their Robin does flips and jokes. Their Robin has a self confidence this kid doesn't have yet.
So then when Joker breaks out of Arkham to escape the constant abuse of the other inmates and create general mayhem, the citizens smile bloody. Someway, somehow during a terrorist attempt Joker is shot multiple times, killed, has his head cut off and set on fire. The cameras can't pick up what happened because of the crowd and no one says a word. Joker is finally killed because no one messes with Gotham's Robin.
Then Nightwing swoops in when he hears what happened to reassure the city that he is still alive. He is smothered by hugs from civilians. People ask why he left them. It's revealed that Bats fired him and told him to leave. Civilians start pushing Batman into garbage cans when they see him or give him lectures or cold shoulders. Jason decides to take up a new bird moniker like Bluejay and Gotham accepts and protects their new bird. He never dies and his belief in Robin Magic lives on.