Do you think Bruce truly favors Dick from the other Robins?
Theeeee safe answer is, āNo, he loves them all equally,ā and Bruce himself would probably never admit to playing favorites and would probably hate to think that heās biased in that regard, honestly.Ā
In my personal opinion, Bruce does favor Dick over the others, and I do think thereās a canon basis for this. This idea was explored in the Infinite Crisis storyline.
āAnd your favorite. Subject Betaā Grayson, Richardā Nightwing.ā ā Infinite Crisis #4
OMAC is the speaker here, which is a program Bruce created that ended up backfiring on him. Therefore, Dick isĀ canonically referred to as Bruceās favorite in comics and we could technically drop the argument there. I also feel like this is suggested in the Under the Red Hood storyline in Batman #650 when an explosion happens in BlĆ¼dhaven.
He even begs to Jason, which is utterly bizarre coming from Bruce and says a lot. I know a lot of people donāt like the idea that Bruce would have a favorite, so I want to emphasize that Bruce does care deeply for every other person in his extended family ā I think the difference is that Dick is arguably what saved Bruce from himself in the early days. Dick was this child that lit up Wayne manor and offset the darkness of Bruceās life. In Bruceās first year as Batman, itās suggested that he had some suicidal thoughts and tendencies (and even after his first year this idea is sometimes explored, such as inĀ Ego). Blood CW for this next panel, which Iāll type below since itās difficult to read.
āIdiot. Iām an idiot. Shot and stabbed like an amateur. I turn the wheel of the car. Itās slippery with blood. My Blood. The blood of an idiot. I recount the night, if only to keep myself awake. Iāve already blacked out once. Thereās too much blood. Just likeā¦ like eighteen years ago. Just like in the alley. [ā¦] In the headlights I can see the property. I pull in too fast. Cave in the back of aĀ ā57 Chevy that was my fatherās. My fatherāsā¦ I limp towards his study, leaving small red pools behind me. Fatherā¦ Iām afraid I may have to die tonight.ā ā The Batman Files
Bruce was in a darker place at the beginning of his career, and he seemed to haveā¦ less of a drive to fight and a will to live, I guess. He seemed self-destructive and didnāt have clear goals. When Dick entered Bruceās life, Dick had an immediate impact and gave Bruceās life direction and meaning. To pull a cliche, they basically saved each other.
Dick was the first Robin, and he knows Bruce the best and has been there the longest compared to any of the other Batfam members, exempt to Alfred. I think Dick will always hold this unique spot in Bruceās life because of the difference he made early on, and I donāt blame Bruce if he does regard Dick with this sort of bias since people canāt help that. Of all Batclan characters, Dick is the one that Bruce [talks about and thinks back on the most], and many people speculate that Dickās death is the [only thing that can get Bruce to kill].
Bruce does care a lotĀ about the others, though, and I donāt want to diminish that. Bruce spiraled into this reckless depression after Jasonās death, which lasted for a while and caused Dick and Bruce to be estranged for a bit. In Batgirl Vol 1, Bruce seemed immediately drawn to Cass as a father figure, more so than any of the others in my opinion. I think Bruce cares a lotĀ about the people in his extended Bat family, but he canāt help singling Dick out a bit because of the history they share together and because of the early impact Dick made.
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