In a Comic Book Resources interview previewing his upcoming run on Batman and Robin, featuring the return of Jason Todd (the Red Hood), Judd Winick is asked about writing Dick Grayson in costume as Batman:
Newsarama: In your head, is Dick Grayson as Batman a different character than Dick Grayson as Nightwing?
Winick: Oh yeah. It's how he presents himself. When he puts on the Batman costume he’s Batman, he’s not Nightwing, he’s not Dick Grayson. He is representing the persona of Batman. It’s the whole thing, and people can debate this but I believe it, that Bruce Wayne is the mask and Batman is the real person. That’s how I choose to look at Batman. Dick Grayson is not that at all. Dick is first a person; he has a life, and Batman is not only a persona he puts on, it’s actually Bruce’s persona. He is maintaining the legend. Yes, some of his own nuances will be coming out here and there, but for the most part? Batman is a costume he puts on, and always remembers that.
I agree completely, which is why I can not accept Dick as the Batman, and I long for the day that he returns to his own distinct identity, whether as Nightwing or something else. (Same for Bucky as Captain America, which I've said before.)
While I'm here, let me just add that I love the way Judd Winick writes Dick Grayson, both as Batman and Nightwing (including as leader of the Outsiders). We are lucky to have had many writers finally get him right, including Peter Tomasi at the end of the Nightwing run, and Scott Snyder on the current Detective Comics run, but Winick just nails it.
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