Warning: Spoilers for World’s Finest: Teen Titans #6!
As they assert themselves at the front line of the DC Universe, Nightwing and the Titans have officially surpassed Batman and his Justice League. For the past year, DC has continued to promote the Titans as their new top team of their universe, with Nightwing being the face of a new era in DC Comics. This only makes sense, as Nightwing has always had a more natural leading style than the notoriously taciturn Batman.
As that transition between teams takes place, Batman spends World’s Finest: Teen Titans #6 by Mark Waid, Mike Norton, and Emanuela Lupacchino elevating and validating Dick Grayson for doing the one thing that Bruce can’t: lead a team successfully. As Batman says himself, “You led a team. I don’t know that I could do that.” Batman tells Dick this during his days as Robin, but the point still stands.
In fact, the point becomes especially pronounced considering that Batman gives Dick his props while he’s still Robin, a time during which Dick is painfully living in the shadow of his mentor — even while leading the Teen Titans. This moment can be contextualized as vital in Robin’s heroic progress, especially as Dick eases out of Batman’s shadow. This one moment paves the way for the student to surpass the master as the face of the DC Universe.
Batman Incorporated’s Leader Disbands the Iconic Team After a Huge Failure
Batman Incorporated was once one of the farthest-reaching parts of Batman’s lore, but after a huge failure, the team has been completely disbanded.
Nightwing Led a Team Where Batman Couldn’t
This series chronicles the humble beginnings of the Teen Titans within the universe of the Batman/Superman: World’s Finest series by Waid and Dan Mora. From the beginning of World’s Finest: Teen Titnas, the team’s chemistry wasn’t the yet the most cohesive, with their biggest point of contention being Robin’s reluctance to share his secret identity. Everyone else on the team knew who each other was under the mask, but due to the vow he made to Batman at the start of his superhero career, Dick refused. Going into this issue, the Titans were facing their toughest challenge yet and needed to be on the same page — which led to Robin making a major decision.
The Teen Titans finally become a cohesive unit after Robin decides to unmask in front of his teammates, opening the door for the success of their mission even as Dick knew Batman would never agree with his choice. Naturally, Dick later feels compelled to tell Bruce that he broke their sacred vow. Dick expects to be fired from his duties, but instead, Batman just grounds him for a month. After enforcing his punishment, Bruce leaves room for words of encouragement, telling this young version of Robin that his leadership skills are something that even Batman envies.
The Batman Approach to Leadership Doesn’t Work for Nightwing
This certainly checks out, especially from a historical perspective. Batman has led several teams in the past, including Justice League International, the Outsiders, Batman Incorporated, and others, but none of them are active in the current iteration of the DC Universe. Even in the official Justice League, he’s always been a co-leader and rarely — if ever — the sole leader. Even if he were the leader of the Justice League, the team is still on a break after the events of Dark Crisis. The Titans are still alive and kicking largely thanks to Dick’s leadership as both Robin and Nightwing, and under that same leadership, Nightwing has brought the Titans into prominence at the forefront of the DC Universe.
Batman tends to take more of a “tough love” approach to his leadership that doesn’t always translate into camaraderie. Batman is the kind of leader to punch his teammates in the face and then be surprised when their chemistry doesn’t improve from there. Even in the Bat-Family, tough love has never helped matters for his in-team relationships. For example, when Bruce Wayne was framed for murder during the “Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive” arc, Batman not only left his family in the dark and refused to clarify things to his sidekicks, but he was ready to discard his Bruce Wayne identity completely in favor of constantly being Batman without any input from his family members.
Batman’s Leadership Style Has Rarely Worked for His Teams
Batman has always been something of a one-man army throughout his superhero career. While he does play well with a select few heroes, he is naturally more of a solo hero than a team leader. Thus, that approach never quite translated whenever he has to join up with a team — or more importantly, whenever he has to lead a team. Even as a supporting player, Batman always has his own solo agenda, such as during the iconic Justice League story Tower of Babel arc — largely by Waid and Howard Porter — wherein he feels compelled to create contingency plans for his teammates in the Justice League.
Dick Grayson, meanwhile, has always treated his Titans teammates as equals, especially after realizing how well that formula worked. The start of World’s Finest: Teen Titans showcased Robin trying to lead his team with the kind of approach Batman would take: leaving his teammates in the dark and being overly harsh. His approach only worsened their bond and led to frequent in-fighting between him and other members. It isn’t until he decides to start doing his own thing and to do what he thinks is best to boost team morale that their chemistry starts to improve. Dick continues to take this approach with the Titans in current continuity, and that’s why the Titans have more of a family dynamic than the Justice League ever could.
Nightwing Has Officially Stepped Out of Batman’s Shadow
As any son who adores his father would do, Dick Grayson grew up wanting to emulate Batman when he first started being Robin. This series shows how allowing himself to be swallowed by Batman’s shadow just doesn’t work for Dick. He was trying to be Batman rather than himself without understanding the fundamentals of the Batman persona, especially as a leader. Historically, Dick started pulling himself out of Batman’s shadow when he was fired from Robin in Batman #408 by Max Allan Collins, Chris Warner, Mike DeCarlo, Adrienne Roy, and Todd Klein, making Dick’s fear of being fired in World’s Finest: Teen Titans a bit of foreshadowing. After being fired from his original role at Batman’s side, Dick dove deeper into working with the Titans and, in turn, eventually takes on the role of Nightwing.
In the same way that he has helped the Titans become a more cohesive team, the Titans have sharpened Dick, bringing out the best in himself. Despite idolizing his father, Dick Grayson grew up seeing the worst sides of Batman, and it inspired him to bring more compassion and sensibility into his role not just as an individual hero, but as a leader. These experiences helped Nightwing become the leader that Batman could never be, and if he never became that leader, the Titans wouldn’t be leading the DC Universe right now in the Justice League’s place..
WORLD’S FINEST: TEEN TITANS #6 (2023) | |
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World’s Finest: Teen Titans #6 is available now from DC Comics.
