How Did Dick (Grayson) Became the Hottest Thirst Trap in Comics?
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This week’s Thirst Trap Thursday asks the all-important question: is Dick Grayson sexy? According to comic book history buffs and casual fans, the answer is a resounding yes – but there’s more to the tight-bummed character than meets the eye!
When someone says sexy comic book characters, the mind conjures images of scantily clad women in tight costumes contorted into back-breaking butt shots.
But Dick Grayson – formerly known as Robin, the Boy Wonder – hits all the same notes. He fights crime and navigates life while serving up a gratuitous butt pose or two, which is welcome eye candy for nerds that love a tight ass.
RELATED: Actor Brenton Thwaites Brings Big Dick Grayson Energy to ‘Titans’
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Everyone Loves Dick (Grayson)!
Dick Grayson’s leap from Batman and Robin to sex symbol status has been something of a phenomenon for DC Comics.
Initially introduced in 1939 in Detective Comics as a wide-eyed sidekick to the so-serious Batman, Dick Grayson’s Robin era captured the hearts of people everywhere. But as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed our young Robin was, comics fans will know that there was no shortage of controversy.
The character launched the era of a thousand sidekicks, all who took their tropic cues from the boy wonder from Green Arrow’s Speedy to the Human Torch’s Toro.
Without getting too into detail about the issue, fans and armchair theorists went back and forth about the latent homoeroticism of the idea of this older rich dude living with his young, undeniably twinky sidekick. This matters only because it started a ripple effect within DC Comics and all other stories of the same medium.
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To keep things brief, this obsession with the existence of homosexual undertones (this was the 50s, after all) birthed the CCA, or the Comics Code Authority. For the uninitiated, the CCA tended to impose strange and strict rules on what “could” and “could not be,” essentially censoring characters, art, and the experience of comics.
But on the other hand, this did eventually lead to Dick Grayson’s transition from Boy Wonder to the leader of the Teen Titans, which is where his rise to sex symbol status really starts to pick up.
The Most Iconic Butt In The DC Universe: From Boy Wonder To Nightwing
Long-time readers of comic books will know that Dick Grayson has been heralded for two things. The first is that he was the Boy Wonder and Batman’s first sidekick.
The second, arguably the more notable talking point is that Dick Grayson is hot, especially when he shed his short green shorts and traded them for the body-hugging Nightwing suit.
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Now, dear readers, the preoccupation with Nightwing’s butt isn’t something we made up. Dick Grayson really did transform from being the butt (ha!) of a joke or two about his tiny shorts to having arguably the greatest superpower in the DC Universe: his ass.
He played the part of a full-time superhero while entering the collective consciousness of fans as the first male sex icon to ever appear on the page in such a spectacular way. The fixation with superhero Nightwing’s butt bloomed (quite literally) into a cultural phenomenon that’s taken over Twitter feeds and eclipsed the stormy legacy of Gotham City.
Superheroes: A Look Into The Artist Interpretation Of Mr. Grayson
Here’s the thing about characters from the DC Universe, or really any fictional character: we see them the way their artists want them to be seen. One of the main reasons “Dick Grayson is hot” has become so widely accepted as truth is because the Nightwing comics have reinforced this notion, one full-page art spread of his chiseled rear at a time.
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The Rise To Prominence: Robin To Nightwing
The first time Dick Grayson’s Nightwing ass took its rightful place as the most iconic keister in DC was in 2009’s Secret Six #9, which was written by Gail Simone. During this brief cameo in the series, Simone reminds readers of his strong ideals in a passionate monologue, but the real draw was his lovingly illustrated derriere.
See for yourself: Nicola Scott draws Nightwing with his shoulders drawn back with his stuff on display, echoing the ever-popular “boobs and butt” pose usually attributed to the female characters in a series.
It started over a decade ago when I drew him in the Secret Six. pic.twitter.com/z4XksErI7r
— ⚡️Nicola Scott⚡️ (@NicolaScottArt) February 1, 2021
But Mr. Grayson was sexy long before Nightwing strolled onto Secret Six, and this was largely because DC gave him the chance to grow up alongside his storylines. From his young male ingenue persona in the Batman comics to the spirited and fiercely caring leader of the Teen Titans, he served as the link for many young readers also getting to know themselves as independent people with unique sexualities.
One of the most notable assertions of the then-Robin’s sexiness is how he handles his relationships throughout the DC comics he’s appeared in. Unlike the ever-broody Batman, he moves past his trauma and morphs into a genuinely caring hunk with the body of an Olympic gymnast.
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In short, he single-handedly breaks the rigid mold of a DC series protagonist and replaces it with the image of a slender, strong, and undeniably charming man unburdened by “traditional” masculinity.
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SIDEBAR: George Pérez and the objectification of Dick Grayson. Grayson’s transformation from sidekick to thirst trap was almost singlehandedly launched by New Teen Titans co-creator George Pérez who began drawing a sexy, older Grayson never seen before.
Above: “Do you even lift bro?” from Tales of the Teen Titans #44 July 1984.
Above: “Those legs… ????.” 1982 promotional New Teen Titans promotional poster.
Between the incredible musculature he added, Pérez also was attuned to the powerful effect of weaponizing a queer gaze of the character. You can clearly see it in the private commissioned BDSM sketch below.
And of course Pérez oversaw and designed his transformation into Nightwing.
Above: The debut of Nightwing in costume in Tales of the Teen Titans #44 and DC promotional poster and art for Who’s Who in the DC Universe. Below are four private commissions.
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Nightwing: Art Of The Chiseled Ass
It’s hard to talk about Nightwing as a DC character without acknowledging the ass mania he’s inspired. Here are some of our favorite bits of ass-tacular art featuring the ever-firm (in butt and in principles) Nightwing.
To start a healthy round of simping for the bodacious crime-fighter, here’s a look at one of Nicola Scott’s ever-famous prints released in 2019.
These booty-focused illustrations undoubtedly inspired artist Brett Booth, who illustrated the New 52’s Nightwing series, #20.
IMPORTANT: Out of all the Nightwing butts we’ve been graced with, Brett Booth’s is my favorite.
That is all. pic.twitter.com/x3ipOdKJkc
— ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????? (@kristinaebutke) September 23, 2019
The theme continues in Grayson #6, by Tom King and Tim Seeley. It features Midnighter, a character suffering from a condition that makes it hard for him to remember faces, correctly identifying Nightwing from his butt alone.
So relatable.
“Dick Grayson is one of the only heartthrob heroes for women and gay guys,” Mr. Seeley told the New York Times, “He’s a charming, flirty and good-looking guy, with a legendary good-looking butt.” In 2013, the character finished at No. 1 in a countdown of “The 50 Sexiest Male Characters” by the Comics Alliance website.
Above: Dick Grayson “selfie” sketch by Phil Jimenez.
The comic book writer and artist Phil Jimenez said: “Imagine Batman’s physical skills, analytic mind and weapons, mixed with Superman’s goodness and hope, and you get Dick Grayson. He’s the best of both those characters rolled into one sexy package.”
The character’s creators — Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson — had something specific in mind when they introduced him in 1940. “Robin was established to give children, who were perceived as the main audience for comics back then, an identification figure,” said Mr. Sanderson, the historian. His “brighter, lighter personality,” he added, made for a nice contrast with his brooding mentor.
Art of the ever-handsome Nightwing isn’t limited to illustration and comics. In 2017, Kotobukiya released a statue sculpted by Naoya Muto. Check it out for yourself:
New #Kotobukiya #IKEMEN “Handsome Men” Statue Series: #Nightwing https://t.co/lUoCcq1pxt pic.twitter.com/rzpsG3MI8J
— figures_dot_com (@figures_dot_com) September 27, 2017
Wrapping Up Our Nightwing Ass-Fest
Richard “Dick” John Grayson has filled many roles over the years: Batman’s Boy Wonder, leader of a group of superpowered teens, and even a secret super-spy. But more than anything else, he’s a fully fleshed-out character with a heart of gold and a legendary butt.
Oh, Dick Grayson. We hate to see him go, but we love watching him walk away.
