Why do I love Dick? Oh, I'm so sorry. That's a horrible pun to start with. I thought about doing this whole Christmas themed post about some obscure character or maybe changing the lyrics of a Christmas song to match comic book characters, but when I looked within myself for a truly meaningful post to write, I could only find one. I've talked about it on recording, but never by writing. And-in fact-this topic I'm here to discuss didn't just kickstart my love for Nightwing, but my love for all of comic books! So today, only a few days from Christmas, I want to tell you all about the time I was Robin, and my father was Batman.
Before I was a year old my parents got divorced. It wasn't anything nasty or spiteful, they just realized there wasn't any love anymore, not like before I was born. You'd think I'd grow up resentful or that or maybe I'd blame my birth, but I was raised to be optimistic. Unlike a lot of divorcee fathers, my Dad stuck around, he actively raised me and spent time with me as much as he could. My father lived in the basement of my Grandmother's house where he had kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. What's kind of nice is that my Uncle owns that house now so I can still visit a childhood home whenever I want. My Dad kind of spoiled me, I guess he felt like I deserved to be. Of all the toys he bought the most, Batman was the common superhero in his household. He had action figures, Batmobile models, all four films, and a few 90's era comics. My introduction to Batman was through my father's interest in a more down-to-Earth, badass superhero like Batman. But a more important introduction was to Robin.
Now the next part of the story is really heavy on my relationship with my father and later my brothers on his wife's side of the family, so I wanted to give my Mom a mention. My mother is the most amazing woman in the world, right next to my Ma who beat lung cancer three times. Take that Jane Foster. My Mother was my common caregiver, she was single for most of my childhood, and she wasn't perfect. I hate saying that, but she knew as well as I did. Not like it mattered. She was still the best mother in the world. Even if I shared a love of movies and comics and video games with my father, my mother still taught me how to be a good person, how to respect people, how to laugh and how to show people how much you care. I owe her everything for what she taught me and my younger brother Ben. The two of us are who we are because of her strength and courage. And I love her with all my heart. But she's no Batman so...!
Surrounded by all this Batman and Robin stuff, I-a wee lil' Raffi-imagined my Dad as Batman and myself as Robin. It's all well and cute of me, but in hindsight I think we can all sleep better at night knowing my father isn't Batman. Thank God for that. But it was something different. Superman was still awesome, but he worked alone. Spider-Man was interesting, but he worked alone. Batman and Robin weren't just partners, they were family! Father and son, just like me and Dad. And yeah, I was as much a dork back then as I am now so I won't pretend this was just a child's fantasy, it was a desire to see myself and my father as larger than life. Above normalcy.
Then, when I was around ten years old, I didn't see things that way anymore. It was childish, it was silly, that was just the sad, lonely fantasy of a kid with no friends. A kid who could remember the original 151 Pokemon better than a math quiz. A kid who knew who The Scarecrow was, but didn't know why Ben Franklin was so important. I started growing up and I'm sure my interests shifted more towards video games or cartoons, "Teen Titans" being a big one for me. It allowed me to see Robin on his own, without Batman, and learn he didn't have to be with Batman to be a hero. He be alone or with his friends. At that point the internet was a thing (a usable thing) so I found myself Googling and reading about multiple characters, slowly building the encyclopedic knowledge I have today. Come to find out Robin was only the first Robin. The first Robin-Dick Grayson-grew up into a man and became Nightwing. I was immediately back to my old mindset. You're telling me there was a kid superhero who fought crime with his father-figure AND grew up into a badass solo hero himself!? From then on Nightwing was my absolute favorite. I didn't always draw the connection between him and myself, but I was becoming more independent into my teenage years and I could be happy knowing even the kid superheroes get to grow up and be their own people, just like me. But here's where it gets weird! When I was very young my Dad met a woman named Angie (who today is my Step-Mother. And with her she brought three kids, my step-brothers I'd know for most of my life.
Now this next part involved my Step-Family so I wanted to give a shout out to my fourth parent (yeah, I have four parents just like Superman) my mother's third husband Mark. Her second husband was Ben's dad, but I only got so much room to write. Mark is pretty awesome. He's been part of my life since the beginning of my teenage years and he took the job of step-dad like a champ. He wasn't too inclusive in my life, but when I needed to talk to him about something or I wanted to tell him something I thought was interesting he always listened and never made me feel stupid or bad for thinking the way I did. He'd made me feel stupid on multiple occasions regarding real-life, important stuff, but I know he only does so because he thinks I'm smarter than I appear and I appreciate that. And he's an excellent father to Ben. Again, the two of them have fought and pissed each other off, but at the end of the day Mark would put himself on the line for Ben and Ben loves Mark like a son loves a father and I can't help but think about our oldball family everyday. Four people with different last names, well, until he and Mom got hitched!
So there was the oldest Travis, the middle child Gage, and the youngest Christian. Now, Christian lives with Dad and Angie nowadays and Gage is living on his own with his son Aiden, but Travis passed away in his sleep when I was eleven. I think about him a lot, he was physically disabled so he was dependent on his family. And while I regret not being as close to him as Christian or Gage was, he's still in my heart. If it weren't for him I wouldn't have such a personal connection to the current Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes who is the caretaker of his disabled brother Gabriel. But back on Robin, I went on to read about the other two Robins that Batman adopted: Jason Todd and Tim Drake. For whatever reason I didn't draw a parallel to Jason's death and Travis', but that's for the best. Point is, I had two step-brothers and there were two more Robins after Dick. Again, mind blown. I become more independent from my father and he has two other sons to help raise. Dick leaves Batman, but Batman fathers two more troubled youths. That has to mean something. And later on when Damian Wayne was introduced as a ten year-old psychopath, and my brother Ben is ten years old and still a little monster? IT MEANS SOMETHING.
Now I'm not saying I'm going to steal a child and go fight crime. I can easily go pick up Ben and bring some masks I conveniently own. But Dick Grayson is still Nightwing to this day. He's been Batman, he's been a secret agent, but at the end of the day he's always growing and changing. He's with Batgirl, now Starfire, now this blue-haired girl. And that's the point. Nightwing is relatable because he's always growing, either through relationships, partnerships, teams, or just from aging and wearing a new costume. That's why I love Nightwing, but he reminds me of how far I've come as a person, how I've developed from someone's sidekick to my own man, my own individual. I own a car, I have an apartment, I have a girlfriend who loves me very much, a job that allows me to live happily. I have this. A website where I can talk about whatever I want! Silly stuff, emotional stuff, stuff that makes me feel smart or creative. I have the outlet for my thoughts and people actually read it! And I have all of this because I built them, I earned them, and I hold on to them for dear life. I have this life because my family gave me the tools with which I built my life. I wouldn't be my own man, if my family didn't make me one. That's why as high as I go, I know I'll never burn up. Because the people I love are my wings. My nightwings.
Thank you so much for reading.
Have a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.
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