DC Comics Are So Exaggerated To The Point That Very Talented Writers Cringe Writing Fanfiction For It

But also my favorite thing to do is incorporate Dicks fanon character into his canon one

Because he would

Dick, despite being one of the most competent, well known and respected members of the hero community

He Is famously easy to underestimate

Like cartoonishly so to the point where the people who do feel like idiots to us

He’s so easy to underestimate that people who are aware of his skill either by direct combat or receiving a file on it will proceed to violently underestimate his abilities.

The first 2 instances that come to mind are

-the fact that deathstroke let him train Rose because slade knows how good Dick is but somehow doesn’t clock that the man that he’s been fighting for I believe it was at least 4 years (depending on timelines and when you believe the blockbuster storyline happened in relation to Judas contract) would be capable of manipulating his daughter into turning against him

Spryal. There is literally a scene where Dick collects DNA evidence in front of Helena because he’s cracking jokes and using a lollipop to do it. Not only is it in front of Helena it’s also INFRONT OF MINOS.

he’s canonically so good and making you see things that aren’t there and not see things right in front of you that he was a prodigy with the Hypnos facial tech.

There are more I’m sure but those are the most memorable ones in my brain.

But it’s also pretty prominent in his dialogue vs internal monologue

Where is dialogue is very wise-cracking and punny (let’s not talk about the term nightwinging it) his internal monologue is far more analytical and if it isn’t it falls more along self critical or caustic sarcasm.

Dick Grayson is the character who is most likely to play into that fanon characterization of him anytime he is not in a position where he needs to be in charge.

Like Dick does use the fact that he has a pretty face and a nice smile and a strong moral viewing of right and wrong to trick people into thinking he’s naive and not definitelyyyy not outwitting them.

He’s talked about how he’s the nice bat and the friendly one who will stop for a chat but when he puts his foot down it better not be in your neck.

And he absolutely would play up technical incompetence and being poor at life skills if it made him easier to talk to giving him more access to information.

Especially among the more anti hero and broader hero communities.

I mean Dick is canonically talked about as the one you go to with your problems when he literally told people he has files on how to take them down and then proceeded to SHARE the files.

That’s how much trust he’s built up in his community.

Anyway that’s not the reason that the fanon characterization exists but it’s a reason I find it very interesting in general.

Like there is a TikTok series where the canon and fanon bats meet and I genuinely if Canon Dick met Fanon Dick he would absolutely steal some of those lines and use them next time he needs a morally ambiguous older man who understands he might be a challenge but seriously how big of a threat could nightwing be to underestimate him.

I’m about to ruin your guys day. Let’s talk about canon and fanon. Dick Grayson edition. I’ve realized that some people don’t actually know what’s canon and what’s fanon. (It’s okay to like what’s fanon more than what’s canon, but I want to clear some things up)

Cooking: Dick can actually cook! Literally everyone says that he can’t cook, but he can! He has cooked for his younger brother (Tim Drake) numerous times! I’m pretty sure he’s cooked with the Titans too.

Singing: Dick is one of the only batfam member’s who can sing. In fact Dick is good at literally everything. (Not EVERYTHING but he can do most things)

Kindness: Don’t get me wrong Dick is a sweetheart but some people make it seem like he’s sweet, in a very dumb way. My point is that he’s nice, but not to the extent people make it out to be.

Brothers: This has to do with Dick and Tim, but I still want to add it. Most people think that Tim’s favorite brother is Jason. This is not the case. Tim is the closest with Dick. After Jason died, whatever Dick didn’t do for Jason, he did for Tim. He even trained Tim.

Ps: Tim even grew up with Dick as Robin.

Imagine Dick actually adopted Jason. Like that's so chaotic— especially when Jason comes back from the dead.

12 year old Jason: Hey, Dick? Since I'm adopted by you, does that mean you're my father?

18 year old Dick: ...I'm still too young to called dad so no, I'm just your legal guardian.

Jason: Okay, dad.

Dick, tearing up: Please no.

——————

Jason after resurrection as Red Hood: I am your son.

Dick dating Wally: Tf?????? How would I— JASON?

——————

Bruce: All of you are my sons.

Jason: Technically, I'm your grandson.

Damian and Tim: ?????? What.

Dick: Technically he's right. You've been a grandpa since I was 18.

Bruce: ...Fuck, I forgot about that.

Damian and Tim: WHAT THE FUCK?????

——————

Bruce and Jason arguing:

Bruce: You're grounded!

Jason: TF? You're not my dad, Dick is!

Dick: Please, for the last time, I'm not really your dad.

Jason's dramatic ass: GASPS?! I'M ADOPTED?!

Current Bruce Wayne meeting All Star Batman and robing Bruce Wayne

C! BW: …im- im sorry I must’ve misheard you bound to happen with the cowl… do you mind repeating what you said

ASBAR! BW: I don’t let Robin upstairs and make him hunt rats and bats for food in the cave

C!BW suddenly understanding why Jason kills people: … do. You. Now

ASBAR! Bat: yeah why?

C! BW about to turn into Joe chill and end that world’s Wayne’s:…. I see

Or

ASBAR! BW: I’m sorry what?? Did?? You?? Say??

C!BW: I gave Dick a hug and told him? I was proud of him

“He would not fucking say that” is a Schrodinger’s phrase when it comes to Batman. There is probably Batman run where he would say that. There is also probably a run where Batman would kill the other Batman for saying that.

HUH??? Dc??? Is being??? Nice???

First they gave dick a personality again, now they’re teasing Donna and Roy back together???

And THEN???

NOBODY SAY SIKE I WANT TO BELIEVE

Dick Grayson being a fox in beast world is wrong

(Working with actual animals instead of the furry ones in the comic bc I can)

I disagree okay

Dick Grayson is 1000% a massive dog that’s like 99% wolf dna 1% dog dna. Massive terrifying ass canines with the slightly slanted reflective wolf eyes that look like satan himself came down and designed the Grimm okay. He also is the massive dog that behaves like he’s a Pomi sized puppy stereotype

My evidence for this

- have you ever seen big dogs jump 10 feet in the air to go cuddle their owners. Dick 100% does the big dog defying gravity for sake of human affection and also too see if can vibes big dogs exude

- he is very very sweet but also if he crashes out he’ll rip you esophagus out with his teeth (90s nightwing)

- he absolutely scruffs cat!Damian with his teeth

Follow up to this:

Tim is a Robin

Damian regularly tries to eat this Tim

Steph is 100% a Goldie (best girl)

Jason is the chihuahua that thinks a big dog as Robin

Jason RH is a rottie

Cass is a lil friendly church mouse (silent, adorable, can bring down the plague) or a rlly pretty rainbow snake your choice

Babs is a cat bc she and cats both sleep as close as humanly possible to computers

Now some of you might be like “Bruce is a bat, Bruce is a Great Dane” wrong

Bruce has been herding around the league and his collection of tiny bird themed children that’s a whole as Shepards dog

we do a little silly

Dick:….

Jason:….

Tim:….

Dick: okay so was anyone gonna tell me Bruce is dating Joe Chills daughter or was I supposed to figure that out by myself.

Jason: HES WHAT

Tim:???????

Damian: I think I just threw up in my mouth

Cass: …is this that Freud guy you were telling me about?

Steph: somehow worse? I think?

Jason: Idk where does dating the daughter of your parents murderer fall on the Oedipus scale of morality?

Tim: more importantly where did you find out this information?

Damian: please tell me it’s a tabloid so I can bleach my brain of this conversation.

Dick: Babs tipped me off that something was up and I stalked em for a week

Tim: Ah classic

Jason: you really have one trick Grayson

Dick: Hey! No I do infiltrations, Tim and Cass are the stalker duo

Cass: *nods*

Jason: so… Bruce is actually dating the kid of the guy who offed mama and papa Wayne. That’s cold. I’m a little impressed actually.

Tim: Clark was RIGHT THERE

Dick: so was Selina

Steph: we could’ve had a Step wonder mom

Cass: you’re not adopted

Steph: is Wonder Woman was in this family I’d marry into it

Tim: *nods solemnly* Bernard would understand

Jason: Talia was there

Damian: that might be worse actually

Tim: nothing is worse than this

Dick: actually I might agree with Damian

Dick: anyway zatanna

Jason: didn’t you date her

Dick: that’s another timeline ignore it

Tim: Constantine

Damian: Dent

Dick: I’d take viki vale over this

Jason: same

Dick:…hey Duke can see into other realities right

Jason: depends on the writer..

Dick: when does he get back from his families

Tim: he stops by for 45 mins to steal some pastries and check his gear before patrol

Dick: … wanna see if we can get him to look into other realities and see the worst person Bruce has dated

Jason: yes

Tim: yes

Damian: no

Cass: yes

Steph: yes

Dick: you’re outvoted Damian I’ll see all of you tomorrow at the cave bright eyed and bushy tailed!

I love how severely Jason refuses to differentiate between Bruce and Batman while also refusing to acknowledge that Nightwing and Dick Grayson are the same dude

SEE

This is where I get annoyed bc I love cracking jokes about dicks dating life

But this is how I 100% feel about it

Dick loves flirting, he’s a flirty guys I’m pretty sure he’s flirted with everyone from raptor to batwoman (before ID reveal)

Dick and his friends flirt with one another all the time

But like dick has has 3-4 very serious relationships and only 2 have been genuinely consistent throughout his 80 year tenure as a character

Tim went through that in a week

And I feel like people seem to equate dicks friendly flirty personality + being canonically very very good looking as sleeping around.

Now personally I live laugh love demisexual Grayson it’s my drug feed it to me

But if you want/headcanon him sleeping around fine live your life

But be SO FR OKAY the scenes where dick is explicitly like “what are you doing”

“I don’t like this”

“I feel uncomfortable”

Are very obviously not him cracking a joke. It’s just him being like a normal person who does not want people looking at him like a ribeye

-oh but dick slept with babs b4 his wedding to Kori. Okay and babs has been pregnant with Bruce’s child, and been married to Tim.

Dc writes out of character shit to keep the plot moving we been knew, literally everyone agrees it’s not in character for him and it’s never been in character for him

I usually don't talk too much about it cuz it's kinda an awful trope to be honest, but, I was seeing this so much lately, and I just can't with this-

The amount of people who think Dick has had many partners and is a playboy when many of the women (and some men) they use as examples are women who have kissed or touched him WITHOUT his consent is... It's horrible.

I don't know why people think it's normal or a "reward" that so many people have crossed Dick's boundaries just because they tend to portray these people as visually attractive.

Today I just saw a compilation of this kind of situations, and there were 35 photos, and many more were missing. Each image was more uncomfortable than the last.

TW: I'll post some of the comic panels on this topic, they get progressively more uncomfortable, it's nothing that explicit, but still.

In the photos you can see the @ of the account where I got the panels from.

There are many more (like Catalina or Liu panels), that are even more explicit situations, but I think this gets the point across.

I saw people trying to justify Dick being a playboy by saying that maybe he hypersexualizes himself in response to trauma (a real response, it can happen), but this would make more sense if the authors did it on purpose and with that intention, but that is not the case. They don't sexualize Dick's character to give depth to his trauma, they barely even talk about it AT ALL.

So that definitely doesn't excuse it, at least not as a justification from the authors, now if they use it as HC it makes more sense, but only thanks to the fans' interpretation. If it were entirely up to the authors, there is no reason for Dick to be sexualized, not beyond fanservice.

And I hate it.

It's very different to create a sexy character than to sexualize them to the point of objectification.

Dick in TT: manipulates his friends

Dick in YG: manipulates his friends

Dick in New teen titans: manipulates his friends and also villains

Dick in solo run: manipulates enemies

Dick in team up runs: manipulates team

Everyone canonically when dick is manipulative: 😮

Us the readers when Dick is manipulative: 😮

Us the reader when Dick is trying to be manipulative but fails and ends up manipulated: 😮😮😮

"I headcannon Dick as manipulative" you and the writers of Nightwing babe