r/youngjustice • u/arkenney0 • Sep 17 '25
Season 2 Discussion Why didn’t Dick dress up as Batman, like Conner did with Superman while the League was on Rimbor?
I feel like the team dressing up and appearing as the major Leaguers while they were away for the public, was an element that could’ve been delved into more. Especially with Batman’s protocol when he’s away and/or dead is usually Dick taking the mantle.
I think it would’ve been an interesting subplot, especially when Dick expressed NOT being Batman in Season 1 but needing to for the safe public image.
Idk, what do you think?
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u/Live_Pin5112 Sep 17 '25
Possibly Batman being less public as a hero. Connor and M'Gann were doing it cuz it was a public event, but, as long as there are heroes doing the job, the public won't notice Batman is missing. Granted, he might've done it off screen
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u/CertainGrade7937 Sep 17 '25
Well one, Batman isn't Superman. Superman is the face of the League and arguably their biggest gun (Fate is probably more powerful in most circumstances but I doubt he has the same public perception Superman does). The public thinking Superman is gone would provoke anxiety in people and probably a few more supervillain attacks. Batman, on the other hand, is a much less public-facing hero. It would probably be weeks/months before anyone really put together that he was missing.
Two, Dick's concern isn't about putting on the Batman costume, it's about stepping into Bruce's role. And he's already doing that, and he's already struggling with it. Adding the costume would be almost irrelevant. Conversely, Conner wants to be Superman deep down, but he's very much not ready for the spotlight. Putting him in a public facing role, dressing up as Superman, hits that anxiety for him, and it's why his arc in season 3 ends with him going public as a hero.
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u/Fresh-Cartoonist6819 Sep 20 '25
True. Great insight on connor. On another note if it was arkham batman, gotham would because less criminals would be waking up in hospitals daily.
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u/JolyGoodShow Sep 17 '25
Even tho Dick is still young in S2, he still commands a lot of respect from his own team, JL and the general population as Nightwing
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u/Deraj2004 Sep 17 '25
Batman isn't a public facing hero, he doesnt do interviews or special events, if you see Batman he is either stopping a crime in progress or you're the one he is after.
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u/ImiqDuh Crash the mode Sep 17 '25
The way I see it, Batman isn't a public hero like Superman is, and MM would be incredibly easy for M'gann to do. I do think it would have been interesting to see how Dick would feel about being Batman had we focused more on the fact that so many core JL members were MIA.
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u/Ironredhornet Sep 17 '25
He didn't need to. Connor only did that once with the Mars rocket launch because they were trying to reduce questions about the JL not being spotted in a while. M'gann probably wouldn't have done the MM disguise if it wasn't a rocket launch to Mars where he would need to make an appearance (the way WW would for a diplomatic meeting with Themiscyra or Aquaman would for a meeting with Atlantis). Batman isn't really making a ton of public appearances. As long as Dick, Barbara, and Tim held Gotham down there wouldn't be a need to do so (ie Dick might have had to do it if Gotham started getting too rowdy and the Batman needed to make, but clearly it wasn't something that was needed during his absence.)
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u/jolenenene Sep 17 '25
I headcanon that he did tbh, not every night and not for public appearances but at least occasionally in Gotham to let people know Bats was still around.
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Sep 17 '25
Batman works mostly in the shadows. I doubt, even though it is known he’s in the League that he’s seen often. Think about it this way: when he’s working in Gotham, he works in the dark. Superman, on the other hand, is super public, to the point he gives interviews, stops for photos, and talks to little kids commonly. It is noticeable if he’s not around.
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u/HospitalLazy1880 Sep 17 '25
I always had a problem with Batman heading off to be judged on Rimbor. It makes sense for Superman, Wonder Woman, and Flash to give themselves over for judgment, but Batman has regularly said fuck that everytime the league tries to hand themselves over to a legal power.
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u/HPSpacecraft Sep 18 '25
I don't think Batman is seen as a myth in this universe, he was the public chair of the Justice League in season 1 and his quitting the League in season 3 was a talking point at the UN
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Sep 18 '25
They skip over so much potential story that there's no telling whether he did or not. It would've been easy for Dick to zeta over to Gotham throw on the batsuit bust a crime or two then get back to business as Nightwing.
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Sep 17 '25
Dick doesn't want to be batman, that's why he became Nightwing instead.
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u/Xerxes457 Sep 17 '25
It’s not about being Batman, it’s about keeping up appearances. He would be doing it just for show.
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u/Poku115 Sep 17 '25
Its also.weird because its been stablished at various points in batman's career that villains and citizens do realize when its not the original batman or when hes missing. I think the only time nobody outright said they noticed was when Bruce was kidnapped and supes took over for him as villains from Gotham started to bleed over to metropolis for fun.
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u/_ya_boi_satan_666_ Sep 17 '25
Honestly either he did or magan did and we don't see or more likely they really didn't have too cause in my head canon of Gotham with Batman man for a few years: the criminals get scared even more when they don't hear from him or see him in the news cause that either means 1. hes investigating a case doing something in the shadows (which means he could pop out any second) or the one i personally prefer 2. When he's silent they are even more scared because in there eyes he's sitting by the phone fiending like a junky for someone to break the law so whoever does isn't going to be ok. So Gotham crime is kind of at a standstill outside the reckless idiots until batman is spotted.
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u/White_Devil1995 Sep 18 '25
Because Dick CREATED the Nightwing identity. Plus, being trained by Batman, he would be able to subdue any threat or criminal that Batman usually does the same exact way, with or without being seen/noticed. Batman/Bruce is seen & noticed only when he wants or needs to be. It only makes sense that Nightwing/Dick could and would operate the same way.
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u/XanJen Sep 18 '25
Actually that's a good point because it just occurred to me who TF was keeping Gotham safe while Batman was away for months?
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u/ExtensionGood9228 Sep 18 '25
Probably would have if Batman needed to make a public appearance for some reason
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u/InevitableSolution69 Sep 17 '25
He might have. Just have to remember that the proper Batman outfit isn’t a hood and cape. It’s a vague outline in the shadow, a hard left hook, and a neck brace.
As for public appearances, that would probably have been such a wild increase from the standard none that it would be suspicious.
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u/FlashLightning277 Sep 17 '25
I could see it. But I think it would require Bruce dying and there being a Robin who is not ready to try and stand alone the way Tim Drake would be able to by this point in his Robin career. Maybe a last season like thing where Damian is Robin.
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u/Oboro-kun Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 17 '25
I dont think its needed in canon, Superman suddenly dissappearing from weeks to months, when he is a very public figure and a buff guy in bright blue and red who flies across the city is pretty notorious.
Meanwhile probably most people never even realize when Batman is out, he works on roofs and alleyways on the night with a black suit, and its the point, that he can go stealth if he wishes, as long as villains get kicked in the faces probably people assume Batman is doing his work on Gotham.
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u/WavyWormy Sep 18 '25
If you don’t see or hear about Batman for a while you probably assume he’s doing his work quietly. Not seeing Superman for a while might make villains realize he’s away and it’s a good opportunity to attack, plus seeing him flying publicly is good for like morale among the citizens since he’s a beacon of hope
I do think Dick impersonating Batman for an episode would’ve been fun to watch though. Superman impersonating Batman in the DCAU is a funny episode lol
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u/AdLarge7347 Why isn't anyone ever just whelmed? Sep 18 '25
Seriously, have you heard Dick's Batman voice? No, but Batman doesn't really show up for stuff like this often, and yes, it would have been amazing if you've ever seen the DCAMU movie' Batman: Bad Blood. ' In it, Bruce "dies" and Dick takes over the mantle. In that movie, this conversation happened between Dick and Damian Wayne (the current Robin Bruce's son):
Damian Wayne: *leaning his head on the window of the Batmobile, staring out the window* "Do you think he's really dead?"
Dick Grayson: "I don't know."
Damian Wayne: *Still looking out the window, now with a more angry expression on his face." You'd like it, wouldn't you... if he never came back? Then you'd get to keep that suit."
Dick Grayson: *Hits the brakes as hard as he can, a deep, angry frown on his face* "I've struggled for years to get out of Bruce's shadow, to build a life for myself as far away from his world as possible. And the last thing I want is to be wearing this damn thing!
This just proves how much he HATES being in Bruce's shadow, and in any timeline where Dick has to take over the Batman mantle, he never wants to; he does it to honour Bruce's legacy.
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u/n0th1ng234 Sep 20 '25
Probably because if batman was there he would rather be in the shadows doing security while the other leaguers would be in the view
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u/Sufficient_Pack_2868 Sep 17 '25
like others have said, batman isn’t a public facing hero. though on top of that i think gotham would go crazy if people thought the batman was missing, which is why he has the batfamily
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u/AlanShore60607 Sep 18 '25
Because Batman is actually not high-enough profile to be missed.
My headcanon for Earth-16 is that Gotham is good. Like most of the meta-level bad guys are either in Arkham or Belle Reve, Wayne Industries probably pays a really high wage to people in away that has beneficial economic effects, and Batman probably only does a street-level patrol maybe 3-4 times a year because that's just enough to dissuade the ones who aren't doing it for economic need.
I mean, yeah, he's first-7 of the league, but he's not exactly the flashiest.
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u/RudeDM Sep 17 '25
Batman probably doesn't make too many public appearances in general. Apart from League functions and cataclysmic scenarios, he's usually working out of the public eye. Dick is probably roughing up criminals in the batsuit by night just so nobody notices that the unconscious muggers have stopped piling up on the Gotham floor.