Confident: Not Arrogant
A post I loved was going around on how confident Dick is.
I just wanted to add that he’s confident but there’s also a humbleness to his confidence that is very uniquely Dick Grayson. Dick is confident without the arrogance. He’s confident with a purpose. Even when he’s not confident he exudes it to lift other people up or at least is usually open to talk about how unconfident he is which in itself takes a certain amount of confidence.
He expresses a very ‘us’ mentality and uses that phrasing a lot when talking to people unless he’s blaming himself for something.
[Batman #688]
“We’re going to have to learn.”
When Dick is Batman we as the reader know how unconfident Dick is but he still wears the cowl and goes out there as well as mentors Damian with as much confidence and humbleness he needs to admit his own shortcomings and works through them with Damian.
[Batman: Gates of Gotham]
When Tim feels down about screwing up Dick answers in a very Dick Grayson way, “Everyone’s made mistakes on this one. But we’ve come this far and we’re in this together.” He acknowledges Tim’s mistakes but he reminds him that everyone has made mistakes even himself, and that he’s not alone here.
You can even tell this trait in him just by his positioning and body language, he lets the kids sit in the Batchair, he talks things out with them, he leans casually even in the Batsuit. A lot of time’s in comics it seems that the batfamily is on Bruce’s mission but with Dick he clearly shows ‘we’re’ on a mission ‘together’.
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That humble confidence is also what allows him to be able to see things from other peoples perspectives, and especially why he’s usually written as not condescending towards young heroes and speaks up for them against the Justice League even.
[Teen Titans v3 #6]
“Flash, you were one of us.”
[Teen Titans v3 #33]
“Stop looking at me like I’m one of those statues. I’m a Titan like you.”
It’s again because of how humble he is that Dick is not opposed to getting help when he needs it,
[Nightwing #141]
Being picked up or carried,
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Or saying thank you to anyone that helps him.
[Nightwing #141]
[Nightwing #144]
He gets angry, he makes mistakes, yet Dick also doesn’t hold back on apologizing for things when he’s done something wrong.
[Convergence: The New Teen Titans]
[The New Teen Titans #31]
Multiple times he’s snapped at people and then snapped right back and said he’s sorry for it because he’s strong enough emotionally that he can apologize if he’s wronged them.
Lastly we see that Dick can work with the big guns, heck he can lead the big guns, but he’s never arrogant when he stands beside them. One of my favorite moments that shows this so clearly is when Dick and Superman are in the park together and the police officer that finds them only cares about getting a picture with Superman.
[Nightwing #141]
Dick doesn’t even hesitate, he doesn’t think or say anything about it because he doesn’t need that validation from people, he knows how amazing he is and how amazing Superman is. There’s no jealously there, actually he doesn’t stop smiling the whole time.
[Robin: Year One #3]
“Style, grace… and a bit of flamboyance, but without the obtrusiveness and pitfalls of arrogance.”
It’s shown even in the way he fights.
Yes there are other characters that have some of these traits as well but for Dick there are SO MANY examples of Dick doing these things, it’s very much ingrained in his character. That’s Dick Grayson. He may have insecurities but for the most part he is confident but not arrogant, from what I’ve seen even though he’s one of the most loved characters he’s also one of the most humble characters in the DCU.
