Bruce & Dick & Character Building in Titans #50

Teen Titans #50 marks the end of the illustrious first Wolfman/Pérez run on the series and features a brilliant character scene between Nightwing and Batman that showcases the incredible talent that made the Wolfman/Pérez work so special in the first place. #TeenTitans 1/11

Robin’s transition to Nightwing is built up slowly throughout the course of the Titans franchise as the story of a young man seeking to escape the shadow of his beloved but emotionally distant father-figure, a perfect vehicle for exploring “Teen” self-discovery. 2/11

The simple one-page scene opens with a group of amorous on-lookers staring at the dynamic duo from afar, thus establishing the kind of panoptic pressures under which the Batman/Robin relationship is and has always been negotiated. These are public figures. 3/11

Dick, hunched over, stares out across the balcony at the middle distance obviously troubled, despite the joyous occasion that the issue marks, an occasion that features another great scene of platonic love between Dick and Donna. 4/11

Bruce shows enough emotional intelligence to ask Nightwing if something is wrong and Dick quickly brings up the question of adoption – spurred by the knowledge that Bruce had pursued adopting Jason, but never Dick. Point blank, he asks Bruce Why? 5/11

From there the cinematic genius of Pérez shines through with a single long panel of Dick’s face hovering in grim anticipation over Bruce’s potential response – a pregnant pause that reveals the long-buried emotions here coming to the surface. 6/11

Bruce’s response is nuanced: on the one hand he is able to reflect on how his dedication to the Batman role blinded him to his responsibilities as a surrogate father, but on the other hand, “I guess I never gave it much thought back then” is a somewhat cruel answer. 7/11

This aspect of his response reflects the emotional neglect that is clearly haunting Dick in this scene, and, by extension, throughout the entire series. But Bruce’s statement can also be read as a self-awareness on the Batman’s part. 8/11

This reading is enhanced through Bruce’s immediate acknowledgment of his love for Nightwing, his pride in Nightwing, and – quite notably – the fact that he calls Dick “son.” Nightwing is not depicted as jubilant in reaction, however. He doesn’t even have his eyes open. 9/11

What follows is a gracious thank you and toast to their divergent futures. The scene lingers in ambiguity, then, between the surface words of love and thanks and the underlying elements of resentment and uncertainty. 10/11

In this ambiguity, the scene achieves a profound representation of a deeply nuanced father-son relationship. It’s a great character moment, rooted in deep continuity, that shows the inimitable maturity that Wolfman and Pérez were able to generate in the series. 11/11