It’s Time to Admit a Hard Truth – Dick Grayson Should Be In the Trinity and Wonder Woman Shouldn’t

Wonder Woman is one DC’s most popular character, the female superhero who became a superstar and set the standard for every woman who came after her, as well as the ones around her. Her popularity meant that she would survive alongside Superman and Batman, the three of them becoming DC’s Trinity, the group around which the rest of the DC Multiverse coheres. However, DC hasn’t always been the best about making sure she was at the level of the other two. In fact, it often seems like they go out of their way to hold her down, or at least keep her a rung below the boys. If you go back to the earliest days of the publisher, you’ll see that it was never Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman out there fighting evil and leading the charge – it was Supes, Bats, and Robin.

Dick Grayson was the first sidekick. He was immediately a smash hit, with young readers seeing themselves in the young hero. He became an icon and soon, he was adventuring alongside Batman and Superman. He’d be a co-star of one of the most popular comics on the stands for years, a place he would be again when New Teen Titans debuted. He’s now known as Nightwing and he’s become one of the most popular characters in superhero stories. Everyone knows his name, everyone has played him in video games, everyone has seen him in cartoons. He’s been in movies and numerous solo comics. He’s an icon on another level and it’s about to admit the hardest truth of them all – he should have been in the Trinity instead of Wonder Woman. In fact, when it comes right down to it, he basically was but there’s more to all of it than just Dick good, Wondie bad.

Dick Grayson Was In the Trinity Before Wonder Woman and He Should Be Again

Before I get to far into this, I want to say that Wonder Woman is definitely on the same level of importance of Batman, Superman, and Dick. She’s an icon and she broke new ground many times over the years. Wonder Woman has become comics’ greatest warrior, but when it comes right down to it, she’s not as big of a leader of the metahuman community as you’d imagine someone of her stature should be. She’s about the fight, about doing, about the work of life. She should always have a seat at the table, she should just never be there because she has something more important to do.

The same can’t be said of Dick Grayson. His history as Robin and Nightwing has shown him as a character who was at his best when he was with others. He was a natural star, grabbing attention with his colorful costume and flashy acrobatics. He’s worked hard to get to the top but he’s also worked hard to help others get to his level. Wally West wouldn’t be the same hero without his example; none of the Teen Titans would. He was always meant to be a part of something and it honestly felt like he was being groomed for the Trinity from the beginning.

Back in the Golden Age, Batman, Superman, and Robin were the three most popular characters in DC Comics. Everything they were in sold like hotcakes, so the publisher put out World’s Finest Comics, a book that brought the three characters together. This was like putting out a book with Batman, Absolute Batman, and Superman in 2026. It was a guaranteed bestseller and it put one picture into everyone’s minds – Superman, Batman, and Robin working as a unit at the forefront of the battle against evil. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman was having bondage-themed adventures or working alongside the Justice Society. There are levels and those are different.

Robin’s history with Superman and Batman is one thing that has stayed consistent throughout the changes to DC history. In fact, Superman has played a massive role in Dick’s life. He was one of his earliest role models and he helped Grayson see that he didn’t have to become Bruce, he could be something else. He could be a top rank hero, but he didn’t need the darkness. He could be the laughter in the night, the smiling daredevil who’s about to save the day. Even his identity as Nightwing came from his time with Superman; Nightwing was the name of a Kryptonian legend, and an identity that a powerless Kal-El used to fight crime in the bottle city of Kandor.

Nightwing would become a solo hero in the ’90s and since then has been continually published as a solo star. His time as Nightwing has made him even bigger than ever and he spent the ’80s as the star of the bestselling book in comics – New Teen Titans. He was the face of the next generation of heroes and he acted as their voice with Superman and Batman. His role in the superhero community is a lofty one and it’s one that belongs in the Trinity. He’s the one that everyone looks to leadership from the front, the noncom of the Justice League. However, he’s still an officer.

The Trinity has never really made sense, but you can look at it as the three most important leaders. Supes sets the standard for the superpowered heroes, Bats for the vigilantes, and Wonder Woman for… who exactly? The Amazons? There’s like ten other ones that have left the island and get seen often. Nightwing makes more sense in this place, because he’s the leader of the next generation of heroes. He’s an important part of the overall hierarchy. He always represented youth and promise, and he’s grown in stature since then.

Changing the Trinity right now is honestly impossible. Wonder Woman is so linked to the other two in the minds of the fans that taking her out of it would be a major incident. I say incident, because a lot of people would not be happy about it. However, the Trinity as a concept has always been flawed. They’re the leaders, but not everyone listens to them. They’re mostly symbols, but even then, they are nowhere near equal. In order for it to start making sense, it could be time for Trinity as we know it to die.

This doesn’t mean that it has to go completely away, but it might be time to make an official change. Wonder Woman doesn’t really need to be there, but Dick does. It might be time to expand it and to change her role in it. She’s still one of the most important heroes around, but even in the big events, it often feels like Bruce, Clark, and Dick are the ones upfront. Things might be best if she took the role that she excels in – the lone warrior, solving the problems of the others, called in when they need the best. I’m not here to slander Wonder Woman, but it’s time that Dick took his rightful place in the DC Universe, with the two men he’s been helping lead things for years.

Dick Grayson and Wonder Woman Prove How Flawed the Trinity Concept Is

Once upon a time, Dick Grayson was at the top of the DC Universe and it felt right. He was there alongside Superman and Batman, a place where he would stay as the years went on. I used to love books where everyone’s delegating responsibilities and Batman is having Dick doing all the work of herding and preparing the heroes. Bruce knew who he could depend on and he knew who everyone else trusted the most. He believed in his ward. By contrast, Wonder Woman is there because she’s the hammer. Unless they’re fighting one of hers, she’s mostly there because she’s the best fighter around.

DC has treated Dick as a bigger member of the Trinity over the years without putting him in the top spot. Look at how far he’s gone in other media and compare that to Wonder Woman. While he’s not been the star of too much, he’s always there. It’s always felt like they pay lip service to Wonder Woman with her place in the Trinity to make her look important while they do little to nothing with her. Dick has always been the workhorse, the one up front, the multimedia icon. He should have always been a member of the Trinity, but it’s probably too late for that.

Do you think Dick should be in the Trinity? Should I be castigating for even thinking this? Sound off in the comments below.

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