SDCC: Thursday’s Batman Panel
Jason Todd not a Ginger! The Dick Grayson/Starfire romance is not ret-conned! And more…
From CBR’s report:
On Nightwing: “Higgins joked that he wasn’t very excited about writing “Nightwing” before honestly admitting that the character is his all time favorite. “Dick Grayson is at a point right now where he’s had more exposure than he’s ever had…and he’s basically taking back on his own purpose and identity,” the writer said. “The thing I always say about the book is that Dick’s an acrobat, so that kinetic energy is something we really want to embrace.”"
On Red Hood and the Outlaws: “Lobdell spoke on “Red Hood & The Outlaws” saying that while he’s not known for doing dark comics, he’s taking the Red Hood, Starfire and the rest of the cast out into the broader world. The book was described as a fun look into the lives of damaged characters.”
“Lobdell said that the choice to put together Starfire and the Red Hood was confusing to him when Editorial presented it to him, but “When you see it on the screen, it looks like they’ve been together their whole lives…what’s been really fun about Starfire in particular is that too often she’s been written as a hot girl with orange skin, but in this series she’s trying to grasp what humanity’s about. Unfortunately she’s chosen Jason [Todd] and Roy [Harper] as her examples.” Starfire’s history with Dick Grayson has not been erased, but the focus for now is to keep her established as her own personality.”
From Comics Alliance’s report:
On Red Hood: Lobdell said he “doesn’t do dark,” so this is going to be a “fun” book about a bunch of damaged characters, starring Jason Todd, Starfire and Arsenal.
On Red Hood’s Hair Color: Scott Lobdell stated that rather than red, it’ll be black, leading to Morrison proclaiming that “Gingers need a hero too! Ron Weasley is not enough!”
On Starfire: Lobdell stated that he wants to shift Starfire away from being fully integrated into human society, and show her more alien side. He also said that her history with Dick Grayson remains intact, and she wants to learn more about humanity, but may have chosen questionable teachers in Jason Todd and Arsenal.
and now, some relaunch art, from Red Hood and the Outlaws:
and Nightwing:
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A fun book with an alien trying to learn about humanity… why not just use Miss Martian?
Because Miss Martian doesn’t have big boobs and a Beyonce-butt?
So, we’re taking two of DC’s most disaffected anti-heroes, and droppign them into a sitcom? as well as playing up the “star fire was an abused, raped prisoner of an intergalactic war” angle at the same time?
Yeah, let me know how that works out for you.
I agree, Starfire is one of the more mistreated and underutilized characters in DC (basically at the opposite end of the spectrum from characters like Cassie Cain who got run into the ground for their coolness) but I don’t think this is the best venue to explore that.