The Not-So-Dark Knight? JUDD WINICK Talks Dick as Batman

[RonnieThunderbolts]

From Newsarama (http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090807-winick-batman.html):

Judd Winick: "I'd say first and foremost, Dick's playing a role. It's been discussed for years that actually, Bruce Wayne is the disguise and Batman is the man. In this case, he's many times removed. Dick Grayson is not Batman. And I think that's what he's coming to grips with. Is he going to merely play the role? Or does he need to embrace Dick Grayson as Batman and truly find out what that is? So it's an entirely different dynamic.

I think that's the biggest difference. Dick became Nightwing. That's who he is. Dick Grayson has an outer life and an inner life as somebody else. Batman is just this full-on, obsessed, damaged, dark individual, this weapon of revenge that Bruce created. Dick isn't like that."

I liked the interview, I think that Judd has an insight on the character, and I look forward to the completion of this arc and to his next arc as well.

[Mia]

Yeah I agree. His points are very insightful and apropos. I am not a fan of Winnick as a writer. But he has done well on Batman.

[WorstThingUS]

I, for one, have never bought into this "Bruce Wayne is the disguise" mentality. Without Bruce Wayne there is no Batman. Batman is the extension of Bruce Wayne but he did not exchange one for the other. If you put Bruce Wayne in a giant bunny suit and but him out on the streets of Gotham, he'd act the same way. And even in that awesome moment on Batman Beyond where he indicated differently, he did it with a smile.

With that in mind, Winnick's observation isn't all that impressive and it doesn't make his writing any better. Yeah, I'm hater.

[Psavell2]

I'm not a Winick booster, but I liked #687 alot, and #688 seemed like the beginning of an enjoyable arc. I see it as kind of a prequel to Batman And Robin, despite a few inconsistencies, like Alfred saying in Batman and Robin #1 that Dick was starting his first week as Batman, while in Batman #688 it's stated that Batman has been back for three weeks. I can ignore small details like that, just as long as Commissioner Gordon doesn't end up having two first meetings with the new Batman.

[Name Already Taken]

I'm not a Winick booster, but I liked #687 alot, and #688 seemed like the beginning of an enjoyable arc. I see it as kind of a prequel to Batman And Robin, despite a few inconsistencies, like Alfred saying in Batman and Robin #1 that Dick was starting his first week as Batman, while in Batman #688 it's stated that Batman has been back for three weeks. I can ignore small details like that, just as long as Commissioner Gordon doesn't end up having two first meetings with the new Batman.

Splitting hairs there dude :biggrin: . Many different authors will not catch the same detail for the discerning fan when an ed may not catch it before it goes to print, especially when a comic tries to expand and rebrand to bring in a broader audience with the hype after an event or status change.

From 2 issues, I'm liking Winick's current take with Grayson as Bats. Sure I have my own critique on it, but in regards to the interview paraphrased by the OP, Bruce has always been the facade, acted out by Batman for social settings as the playboy billionaire by day, while the calculating Batman was the real Bruce after his parents died by a lamplight at night. After year one, and likely before, Bruce only felt comfortable and able to exert his primary drive while under his cowl, every thing else bare faced appearance wise was just him going through the motions once he got back to Gotham as the inheritor of a wealthy family that had good will and a legacy. Bruce Wayne is the show, Batman the arbiter of his true personalty, once he established it.

[ryerye17]

I love Judd Winick

[SpideyZERO]

Great interview. Can't wait to read more of this arc!

[carabas]

I, for one, have never bought into this "Bruce Wayne is the disguise" mentality.I think it's complete nonsens. An so says Ed Brubaker.
It might be what Bruce believes at times, but that do't make it true.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/Gugenheimer/BM1.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/Gugenheimer/BM2.jpg

[Mia]

From Batman is just this full-on, obsessed, damaged, dark individual, this weapon of revenge that Bruce created. Dick isn't like that.[/I]"
.

You see I've always had a problem with the explanation tht BW is the mask. But I like the way that Winnick explains it.

I think that Bruce Wayne, the billionaire businessman/womanizer is partly him. But I think that Batman is the real in him, In terms of his primal self. Being Batman really allows him to 'let his hair down'. Which being Bruce Wayne does not allow him to without getting into trouble.

[Buried Alien]

I agree that there is a real Bruce Wayne who is not necessarily always Batman. This is not the billionaire playboy, which is clearly a put-on identity, but the guy who is a "father" to Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian and a "son" to Alfred. In the privacy of Wayne Manor, when they are discussing personal issues and not the work of crimefighting, that's not Batman: that's the real Bruce Wayne.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Don Quixote]

I don't think Bruce Wayne is a disguise. He's just a facet of the man, as is Batman.

I agree that the billionaire playboy thing is, more or less, an act. He's clearly not the frivolous man that his countless relationships and his supposed skiiing and sailing trips would have people believe. But he is a real person. It was Bruce who raised Dick and Tim (along with Alfred, of course), not Batman.

I always like to look at Tomasi's Nightwing run as a great example of who Bruce is. He clearly cares about his family, he's proud of them, he's unwinding and spending time with Dick, Tim and Alfred that isn't about catching criminals. Granted, we don't actually see him doing too many of those things, probably because some DC editor thinks it would make him look weak or something, but the evidence that he does do those things is there on the page.

It's that duality that makes him such an interesting character. Well, more like triality if you include the playboy persona. I don't think people should boil it down to 'Bruce Wayne isn't real, only Batman is.'

Anyway, it is still a contrast to Dick Grayson. He's never really needed to create another persona when fighting crime. He's always been himself, pretty much, whether wearing his mask or not. It will be interesting to see how he deals with the pressure and expectations of being Batman. I really hope the DC writers don't fall into the trap of writing cowled Dick almost the same as the would Bruce.

It should be clear to people like Superman, the Titans, the JLA etc, that they're not talking to Bruce, they're talking to Dick.

[F1uke]

So according to Judd, it looks like Morrison won't be on #700, since it's Winick until
#691, and then Daniel is coming on for his arc, then Winick is coming back for a 5 or 6 issue arc, going well over #700


I love Judd Winick

The way he talks in interviews, so does Judd Winick

[nepenthes]

I think Ego portrays the Bruce/Batman thing the best. They're two halves that clash and argue with each other. They make a deal: Bruce will bear the burden of whatever happens as long as Batman agrees not to kill anyone.

[Captain Jim]

So according to Judd, it looks like Morrison won't be on #700, since it's Winick until
#691, and then Daniel is coming on for his arc, then Winick is coming back for a 5 or 6 issue arc, going well over #700

Maybe, although it isn't entirely clear yet. It may even be that DC revised their original plans because of the unforeseen popularity of Dick Grayson as Batman.

[mosdef]

I think it's complete nonsens. An so says Ed Brubaker.
It might be what Bruce believes at times, but that do't make it true.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/Gugenheimer/BM1.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/Gugenheimer/BM2.jpg

Where is that from?

[carabas]

Where is that from?Batman #604, which inexplicably got left out of the Murderer/Fugitive trades, as this is pretty much the emotional pay-off of that entire event.

[Vic Vega]

The "Bruce Wayne as mask for Batman" trope is what DC's been pushing since Dark Knight.

There is a point to it.

Nearly everything that Bruce did: the women he dated, the parties he went to,charities he donated to all were either in the service of furthering his double identity or accomplishing some aim he had as Batman.

Maybe the pre-crisis Batman had Julia Remarque and Silver St. Cloud to show for his life as Bruce Wayne but the Modern Era Bats is a monomanic.

Dick Grayson is not.

He bought a circus because he wanted to. He worked with kids in the Wolfman run because he wanted to. Neither of those things served a aim of Nightwing's.

Winnick's made a valid point and furthermore his Dick Grayson sounds the way I expect him to sound. More so than Morrison's version who doesn't sound like either Bruce or Dick to me.

The chatter box sparring scene between Damien and Dick is how I expect Dick to act.

[Lemurion]

Maybe, although it isn't entirely clear yet. It may even be that DC revised their original plans because of the unforeseen popularity of Dick Grayson as Batman.

I agree - I think they had a fixed beginning and ending - but are padding the trip because of how well Dick Grayson is working. I really want to see how sales of B&R #2 compared to issue #1.

Also - since it has now been confirmed that B&R is an ongoing, Morrison may be finishing his story there.

[Munkiman]

I may not be fully comfortable with the "Bruce Wayne is the disguise" thing, but a lot of what Winnick said about Dick still rang true to me. I liked the previews, too. I was going to focus more on Morrison's Batman & Robin, but now I think I'll be picking up the solo Batman title, too.

And anyway, I'm not a huge Damian fan, so I might end up liking this more.