Inheritance :DC Universe

DC Universe

by Devin Grayson

The award-winning author of the " Gotham Knights" comic pens this second book in an explosive four-book series featuring the greatest comic book heroes from the DC universe. Original.

Genres: Comics, Superheroes, Fiction, Dc Comics, Batman, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Devin Grayson is an avid gamer, former acting student, and enthusiastic reader fortunate enough to have turned a lifelong obsession with fictional characters into a dynamic writing career. She has a B.A. from Bard College, where she studied creative writing with novelist Mona Simpson. Best known for her work on the Batman titles for DC Comics, Devin has been a regular writer on Catwoman, Nightwing, and The Titans, and contributed to the award-winning No Man’s Land story arc. With the publication of Batman: Gotham Knights in March of 2000, she became the first (and, sadly, only as of 2020) female to create, launch and write an ongoing Batman title.

Additional career highlights include the launch of the critically acclaimed series Omni for Humanoids, Doctor Strange: The Fate of Dreams, an original novel featuring Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme, and USER—a highly personal three-part, creator-owned miniseries about gender identity and online role-playing, originally published by Vertigo and newly available as a collected edition hardcover through Image. Devin is also the creator of Yelena Belova, a Marvel character staring in the upcoming MCU Black Widow movie (played by Florence Pugh), Damien Darhk, a DC character now appearing regularly in CW’s Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow (played by Neal McDonough), and Catalina Flores, a DC character recently featured as the super-villain Tarantula in The Lego Batman Movie.

Frequently cited for compelling character development and nuanced exploration of complex themes, Devin’s work has been showcased in mainstream media such as USA Today and Working Woman as well as in alternative press such as The Village Voice, The Advocate, and Curve magazine. Over the years, she has written in several different media and genres, from comic books and novels to video game scripts and short essays. She is currently working on an original graphic novel for Berger Books.

Devin lives in Northern California with her husband, step-son, devoted Early Alert Canines Diabetic Alert Dog, and somewhat less devoted cat. Openly bisexual, she is a passionate advocate for the GLBTQ community, as well as being a committed environmentalist, and a public speaker for T1 Diabetes awareness and Diabetic Alert Dogs. She is always happy to take on a new challenge, especially if it involves making some new fictional friends.

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of this book far more than I thought I would. It focuses more on 'the sidekicks' than it does their mentors. It does "move back and forth" in the lives of Nightwing, Arsenal, and Tempest, talking about their lives before and after Batman, Green Arrow, and Aquaman became a part of their lives; the author does it in such a way that it does not interrupt the overall narrative as much as it could have. I liked how it goes a bit into the emotional side of what the young men were going through as they grew up under the tutelage of super heroes. I also thought the title was a nice play on words, as it could have various meanings over the course of the narrative. I think she did a great job in describing each character as well as how they interact with each other over the course of the book.

There was one moment, though, that had me really confused and I think was a typo? Aquaman surfaces in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (34) and starts swimming "east" towards the "East Coast" to meet Green Arrow in Gotham Harbor (35)?!? How does that work? Perhaps Aquaman in the water is like Superman in the air - "super-duper fast" or the editor missed something, there.

The book does touch on the 'elephant in the room' of older, single men taking on "attractive", young boys as their wards and behaving as sexual predators (47-48). Arthur and Ollie are talking about their former wards, and Ollie makes a joke of the accusations, blowing them off as being nothing more than gossip and assuming the worst of the heroes. It was an interesting response on Ollie's part (and, no doubt, went with his character) that he would blow off the accusations like that; I felt it showed that the accusations were so far beneath the heroes that it did not merit any other kind of response.

One thing I thought that the author did a great job of was describing how each ward looked up to his guardian, only to experience a severe letdown and sense of betrayal. Robin, Speedy, and Aqualad were each described as having been 'found' at a weak moment in their lives and in need of a strong, safe, supportive "father-figure", and how Batman, Green Arrow, and Aquaman entered their lives at the "right" moment to become the sidekicks' "new father-figure". So it was an interesting revelation of how each character went through periods of hero-worship, pride, doubt, and anger with their respective guardians. Interestingly enough, each of the "sidekicks" wrestled with abandonment and "betrayal" by their guardians [Robin's seemed to be more from his insecurities and growing frustrations with Batman than the other two with their mentors]; Speedy and Aqualad were abandoned by their mentors and were justifiably angry at the abandonment and betrayal.

It was even more interesting to read how the "sidekicks" interacted with their mentors now that the young men had become adults and heroes in their own right. While a recognized leader in the meta-human community, Nightwing still deferred to Batman in practically everything. Roy Harper [Arsenal] barely respected Ollie [Green Arrow]; he tried to have a "confrontation" with Ollie at one point in the novel, but Ollie failed to completely grasp what Roy was trying to tell him. I felt the worst for Garth [Tempest]; I was hoping that Arthur [Aquaman] would attempt to repair the breach of betraying Garth's trust and friendship, but it failed to happen. If it did happen; it was not well done and easily missed. Ollie came across as the most immature of the six heroes; he seemed to make a joke of everything and not able to grasp underlying currents of anger, frustration, or disappointment. On the one hand, that could be just Ollie's way of dealing with uncomfortable situations or avoiding a confrontation altogether, but he still came across as the least mature of the six characters.

The author even talks about how Slade Wilson had a son and was forced to kill him. This is eventually followed up with a 'touching scene' as Wilson is drifting into unconsciousness where he is fondly remembering his son interacting with Richard Grayson. It was a really weird moment in the book. I could not quite decide if it was 'out-of-character' or not for Slade Wilson, but as the author no doubt has 'more experience' in writing about this character than I have in reading about him, I am sure she knows what she is writing about in describing him this way.

All of that to say the author did a nice job revealing the anger and frustration two of the sidekicks were still experiencing with their mentors even as adults. The book clearly revealed the mentors to be human and imperfect, but it also showed that, especially in Batman's case, that the mentors had tried to do what they thought was right by their wards. Which kind of begs the question: what were they [the guardians] thinking? I mean, in Bruce Wayne's case, his parents were killed when he was a youth, so he had the life of an orphan growing up under the tutelage of the family butler while he trained himself to become the ultimate human crime fighter/detective once he reached adulthood. At least Bruce's past would explain [although not necessarily justify] how he reared Richard Grayson. Arthur Curry and Oliver Queen? Oliver clearly should not have taking Roy Harper under his wing; he was irresponsible as an adult and showed Roy little, if any, personal interest beyond Roy being a sidekick. I do not know enough about Arthur Curry's past to be able to comment on him and his interactions with Garth.

Even then, it was kind of funny that out of the three mentors, Batman would have been up for 'Best Father of the Sidekick's Life" award based on how the three wards turned out as adults. I mean, let's face it. What kind of guardian/father/"father-figure" regularly puts a young boy into hazardous situations on a regular basis where the boy could be injured or killed? It is "just" funny/sad that Oliver and Arthur are portrayed in such a bad (poor) light as to make Bruce look like "Father of the Year" material.

I thought the author did a nice job of compressing decades of "history" and backstory for each character when writing this novel. It was well done. The story had a nice 'twist' to it, in that the President's surviving son Dabir is experiencing "survivor's guilt" and hires Deathstroke to assassinate him. I did not see that one coming, that is for certain.

So, while I enjoyed most of the novel, there were some parts I did not enjoy quite as much. For example, in a book that seems to pride itself on pushing 'tolerance' and not being offensive, it has no problem making a snarky comment about Christians (73) while trying to be 'racially sensitive' about Native Americans not being called "Indians" (79). I realize it is no doubt 'true to life' in this regard (as Christians can, and often are, prone to making snarky comments about other people; clearly, nobody human is perfect), but it still seemed unnecessary.

I realize Roy Harper did drugs; I have no problem that the author may have gone deeper into detail as to the emotional aspects of why Roy might have started doing drugs. However, the author seemed to focus excessively on the addicted-aspect of Roy's life. I felt she could have cut that part of the book shorter, that it was not as necessary to the overall narrative. Perhaps, though, she was trying to get across how low Roy had sunk in his addiction; hence, the length of that part of the narrative.

While violence is to be expected (it is about superheroes and villains, after all), some of the actions taken by the heroes seemed to require some kind of consequence. There is a bar fight that Ollie instigates to ostensibly "acquire information" as to Deathstroke's whereabouts. During the fight, he shoots the bartender in the hand with an arrow (his excuse is that the man had a shotgun). The man was attempting to protect his establishment from further damage being caused by Ollie's initial actions and he is injured (possibly maimed) for his actions. There are no repercussions for Ollie's actions; neither does he offer an apology or to reimburse the man's medical bills that will be incurred due to the injury. I suppose it reveals something less-than-heroic about Green Arrow, but there should have been some kind of consequence for his actions. Well, it would have been nice if there had been some kind of consequence for his actions; I do realize that many people do not suffer consequences for bad (wrong) decisions that they make on this side of eternity.

Probably the 'worst' break in the narrative occurs when Arthur locates Garth to obtain Garth's assistance in resolving this caper. Garth was almost an unnecessary character in the book; he does not come in until nearly the end. His special powers are needed, though, in the end. It is kind of funny, but so much of the book focuses on Nightwing and Arsenal and their past lives/experiences that it seems as if more time should have passed when Aquaman tells Tempest that Tempest's assistance is required. When "Part IV" of the book is reached, it "feels"as if the narrative really should have been over by that point, it is such a breaking point.

Another "humorous" aspect of Part IV is that everybody sees Aquaman as being worthless and of no use whatsoever, by and large. The fact that nearly three-fourths of the book has gone by with barely a comment about Aquaman kind of lends credence to the fact that author's do not know how to write this character. The only reason why Aquaman and Tempest are in this story is because two boats are involved; Aquaman is first contacted in order to provide protection for a USCG cutter, the Heron. Tempest is only contacted because a second boat might also be [and becomes] an item of interest and the two "water-heroes" are said to be needed to contain the second boat (which is has been taken over by a small army of Quracan mercenaries wanting to do Gotham harm and cause a war to erupt between Qurac and the United States).

I did think it was odd how the author had Garth interpret the hug shared between Dolphin [Garth's wife] and Aquaman as being "too familiar" for comfort (278). To me, it seemed to imply some kind of impropriety between the two characters that was unnecessary. I realize that "lately" comic book authors seem to really enjoy pressing "sexual boundaries" and showing characters as having multiple partners and affairs [depending on the character], but to have Garth react in such a way seemed unnecessary and inappropriate for this narrative. Perhaps in the comics Dolphin and Arthur had a prior relationship that Garth either knew about or was unaware of, but it still seemed an unnecessary slur on Dolphin's character [let alone Arthur's].

Finally, one last comment about Garth. I felt like his 'backstory' was too rushed, in comparison to the other two sidekicks. Just as Garth (and Aquaman) felt tacked on to the story to appeal to a wider audience of fans, so did his backstory. Perhaps if there had been some kind of "closure" between Arthur and Garth, if the breach in their relationship had been repaired, it would have been 'enough' and acceptable. But as it was, the way Garth is presented, and the lack of closure, just seemed poorly written. It could have been some kind of partial-closure, some kind of attempt at mending the breach, but nothing happened -well, nothing of consequence. I just think it is too easy for authors to go the route of "blood takes precedence over an adopted child" in writing stories as opposed to "adopted is just as much a part of the family as full-blood child". I realize the author of this book is writing her narrative based on years of comic book history that has already happened, so it is not all her fault.

I think that while the author may have tried to write the story in such a way to 'justify' or 'explain' why adult males would willingly expose children to hazardous situations on a regular basis, the book goes a long way to actually revealing that these mentors were negligent in how they reared their wards. They were supposed to protect their wards, not expose them to danger. I know as a youth I used to have daydreams about being a superhero more than a superhero's sidekick, so I do 'get it' in that giving a superhero a sidekick can somehow inspire a young child reading a comic. As a child, I never considered the dangers or potential injuries a sidekick would have experienced. I focused on the "cool, heroic" aspect of 'the job' and not the downside(s). hahahah Having grown up reading comics most of my life, I (think I) "get" what the author is trying to do in this novel, but, in trying to look at it realistically, those guys were crazy and, no doubt, criminals, to some extent, for what they put their sidekicks through!

The book seems to have been written with Arsenal as the primary focus/character (most of the pages involving the sidekicks' backstory focuses on Arsenal) with Nightwing being an important secondary character. I did like how the author mixed things up a bit by having Nightwing team up with Green Arrow and Arsenal teaming up with Batman. It created for some interesting interactions between the two sets of characters. Oddly enough, Batman did not seem to be a 'main character' in the book, in terms of interactions and whatnot between the characters. And yet, even though he was not a "primary" character, Batman still seemed "more important" in the book than either Aquaman or Tempest.

I do think the book would have been better if Arsenal would have taken some responsibility for his actions. Yes, Oliver Queen let him down and disappointed him by leaving Roy Harper behind while taking a road trip with Hal Jordan. That still does not change the fact that Roy made the choice to become addicted to drugs instead of seeking further help for how he was feeling abandoned deep inside. Yes, Oliver Queen was a horrible father figure and provided no discipline or boundaries or support for Roy; sure, Oliver failed to provide for his ward by providing him with a (relatively) safe, secure home environment in which Roy could thrive. It does not change the fact that Roy also made choices, some of which were horribly bad, and that if he (Roy) wants to 'move on' and "grow up" he needs to take responsibility for what he did, for the decisions that he made as opposed to blaming Oliver for everything bad (especially the drug use) that happened to Roy. But that is just how I see it. Bad things do happen to people; not denying it. But Roy's blaming Oliver for Roy's drug habit was a bit much. If Roy wants to be seen as a responsible adult, he is well past time taking responsibility for his actions and decisions.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was clearly written to reach out to a wider audience than just fans of the comics, and it held my interest throughout most of the novel. I will say this, it did seem to be a bit 'slow' at the beginning, but it did not take long for the story's pace to start picking up steam. Even the 'back-and-forth' between each sidekick's past and present did not seem to slow the narrative down that much.

[Emilou · Rating 1 out of 5]

I find it very strange that this book is about Batman, Aquaman and Green Arrow's sidekicks: Robin/Nightwing, Speedy/Arsenal, and Aqualad, but they aren't in the cover and aren't mentioned by name in the description on the back. The marketing team for this book obviously didn't think fans like these characters and thought that nobody would buy the book if they were on the cover.

That being said, I have no qualms about the author's skills or their knowledge of the characters. They did a good job. But the book was kind of boring considering it was mostly flashbacks. I learned a lot about the characters (except Nightwing since I already knew his story), so it felt like this book was more for the benefit of the casual fans that didn't know these character's backstory. It was disappointing because I bought it because I thought it would be about Batman, and it was really disappointing to buy a book with Batman on the cover and he wasn't even in a tenth of the book.

But a lot of Green Arrow's role in this book made me laugh. He's such a jerk and should never be in charge of anyone, least of all children.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the better (and best written) of the DC Universe prose novels from fifteen or so years ago. It's a world-saving story starring Batman, Green Arrow, and Aquaman, but the focus is clearly on the sidekicks and their relationships with their adult mentors. Robin/Nightwing, Aqualad/Tempest, and Speedy/Arsenal are the stars of this show. It's a character- rather than an action-dominated tale, but there's nothing wrong with that, and it's a treat for pre-52 DC readers.

[Sierra Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first DC non-comic novel I ever read. I admit, I only got it because I am a devoted Nightwing fan so I will buy pretty near anything with Dick Grayson in it. That said, I am very glad I did purchase this book.

The combination of personalities, especially if one considers Batman and the Green Arrow, were wonderfully handled. The author, who did have issues with staying consistent on the comics, handled the characters well. Anyone who didn't know the backstories of Robin, Speedy or...Aqua Lad will be entertained in a brief glimpse of the past and what links these now grown men to their mentors. Of course, any book with the inclusion of Deathstroke as the villain will have superb action and this one didn't disappoint.

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

How could I resist this? After reading the back, I quickly bought it. I mean, come on, Batman, Green Arrow, Aquaman, their former sidekicks, and Deathstroke = why haven't I read this sooner?

If you like the histories of the first Speedy, the first Robin, or Aqualad, you'll genuinely love this book. The book explores these original sidekick's past and their relationships with their mentors and even goes into the complexities of Deathstroke to some extent. The book focuses heavily on the Father Son relation and is a very moving read. Anyone who has read any titles with these characters will love Grayson's novel.

[Brannigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great. I love the characters in the book but they just didn’t come across as true to themselves in the book. I also didn’t think the threat was big enough to warrant three major heroes and their one time sidekicks.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been titled "Dick, Roy, and Garth Work Through Their Issues With Their Guardians, and Oliver Flirts With Dick" and it would have been accurate. Not much actual plot, just a lot of hilariously queer (unintentional?) writing and reminiscing.

[Haley Hair · Rating 2 out of 5]

They made Green Arrow a pedophile…

[Ryan Putley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meandering and anticlimactic

[***Dave Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Original review Aug 2006)

Overall 3/5
Story 3/5
Re-Readability 3/5
Characters 3/5

Another “themed” novel, this about the dynamic between fathers and … well, adopted sons. Though that includes some of the peripheral characters, the focus here is on three heroes: Batman and Nightwing (the first Robin), Green Arrow and Arsenal (née Speedy), and Aquaman and Tempest (formerly Aqualad).

The setting is an investigation into an assassination attempt against a young Arab prince, whose kingdom was mostly destroyed with a stolen nuke a few years back. But while that story drives most of the action, a good deal of the tale is told in flashback, the tales of the three erstwhile sidekicks, each of them adoptees/wards of their mentors for different reasons, and with different results.

The story is pretty well told — Grayson does good characterization — but not without room for criticism. It’s unbalanced, in the first place. The backstory (and even contemporary action) with Arsenal/Speedy is gone into in loving detail, taking up a disproportionate amount of the book. It’s good stuff, and adheres well to the canon (as much as I know of it), but it almost makes me wish that Grayson had just written that story and left the other two out of it.

The Nightwing/Robin tale is also well told, if not quite as much at length. Part of this may be just that it’s old hat. The story has been recapped eleventy-dozen times over the years, almost as much as Batman’s origin, and the emotional dynamic between the two heroes is also well-trodden. Plus, honestly, Nightwing’s much more of a straight-shooter (so to speak) than Arsenal, with far fewer traumas and flaws than the other, which makes for shorter, less-interesting stories to tell.

These two tales have a degree of interest because, for a good chunk of the novel, each erstwhile sidekick is teamed up with the other’s mentor — Arsenal with Batman, Nightwing with Green Arrow. This provides a bit of interest and contrast, and helps (slightly) illumine the older heroes as well. Grayson, who ought to know better, portrays GA as more than a bit of a ditz, more noteworthy for tall tales than actual effectiveness in crime fighting. Grayson does better with Batman, though not moving much deeper than the Grim Darknight Detective schtick. Maybe there’s some value there, as the tales ought to be focused on the “interitors,” the “kids,” rather than their elders.

The Aquaman/Tempest team-up is shortest and least satisfying of the three by far (such that I wonder if it was a matter of interest on Grayson’s part, or if it was tacked on by editorial dictate — “Hmmm, but I think we want to tell about three heroes, not just two”). I’m least familiar with the backstory here, so I can’t judge how close to canon it is, but Aquaman’s past is a nasty tangle of mediocre-selling comics anyway, so there’s been a lot of authorial and editorial churn, leading to more than a bit of a muddle.

How Aqualad, later Tempest (in yet another reboot) fits in there is even more difficult to work out in a coherent fashion, and Grayson doesn’t really try that hard, instead simply glossing over a lot of the details, focusing (briefly) on one key moment in the relationship between the two (and without much motivation presented at that) and leaving it at that.

Even their involvement in the plot is peripheral. Most of the real action takes place with the other four, with Aquaman (and Tempest) just sort of along for the ride.

The other disconnect here is the nature of the heroes. Aquaman and Tempest are super-human, possessed of strange powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Batman, Green Arrow, Nightwing, and Arsenal are mortal men, behind the costumes and the gadgets, and a tale told about them is going to differ in tone, style, and action level from one told about the others.

Despite these flaws, Inheritance is a good read. The character bits are good, the action reasonable, the villainous plots interesting. I could see this being a comic book mini-series (3-4 issues) and working well, too, but beyond that, Grayson manages to get into the heads of some of the characters in a way that textual media like books can do (more easily) and visual media like comics cannot (without difficulty). I’ll likely read it again.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a Roy Harper novel then anything else; Grayson dwells on the backstories of the former Speedy, Robin, and Aqualad with uneven results. The emphasis is on Harper, now Arsenal, for most of the novel with an interesting POV to the events of Green Arrows early days and his going off with GL in the classic O'Neil/Adams run. The present day story involves Harper's relationship with Cherise, thus making him the lynch pin for the whole story. The novel eventually shifts gears to GA and Nightwing, although their present-day investigation is less interesting and feels less important then Batman and Arsenal's global adventuring. Grayson keeps this part of the story light with a portrayal of Green Arrow that is more carefree (and frankly not as smart) then in most comics. Oddly, but to much comedic effect, allot of homoerotic quips are shot of by Ollie. By the time Aquaman and Tempest make their token appearance in the novel, Grayson has little time but to recap the former Aqualad's tempestuous history grant Aquaman little more then a scuffle with Deathstroke at novel's end. The inclusion of the underwater heroes seems tacked on just to pad out the novel and really should have been either left out, or the novel made longer to give equal time. Overall the novel is worth a read for the hardcore Green Arrow fans, but those wanting Batman or Aquaman adventures should look elsewhere.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for comic fans. It's also a good book for someone who isn't a fan but knows a little about the characters. I'm the latter. I've always been a Batman & Robin fan but my love pretty much stops there. This was a fun read for me, it was well written and had some funny parts. My favorite parts involved the dynamic duo of course but I also found myself enjoying the bits featuring Green Arrow. On the downside I was fairly bored with the parts involving Aquaman and Dabir, thankfully the majority of the book wasn't about them.

[Debbie is on Storygraph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a little disappointing. I love Batman, and have always admired Devin Grayson (despite what she did to the Nightwing run). However, something about this book fell flat. I enjoyed the exploration of the backstories of each of the former sidekicks, but felt at the same time that they detracted from the main story. Worth a read if you're a die-hard DC Comics fan, but anyone else can probably take a pass.

[Lee Houston, · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batman, Aquaman, and Green Arrow team up with their proteges (Robin/Nightwing, Aqualad/Temptest, and Speedy/Arsenal, respectively) on not only a world saving mission, but possibly a soul searching one as one.
Devin Grayson is (was?) a great comic book writer, but it is a shame that she has not been more active in recent years (to the best of my knowledge). Then again, considering the current state of DC Comics and their "New 52"... :P

[Taters · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not that this was completely un-interesting. It was a good look into the heads of some characters I'm always curious about - heads and hearts.

However, Grayson's definitely used to writing for people who will then render into a visual medium. Her action sequences and descriptive passages lacked. Everything that was good happened inside someone's head.

[Math_camel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won't say anything that's already been said, because ya'll have said it better. This book must be read to be believed.

BUT: This is Grayson at her best, doing what she loves, (and goodness knows I'm not her biggest fan) it's all about the boys, their relationships and their childhoods, and I *still* reread my favorite parts. It's worth a rent at the very least.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent novel about the mentors (Aquaman, Batman and Green Arrow) and their now-grown sidekicks (Tempest, Nightwing and Arsenal respectively). One of the better books in this DC Universe line of novels.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Anyone who loves the DC heroes: Batman, Green Arrow and Aquaman; along with their past sidekicks: Nightwing, Arsenal and Tempest, will love this book.

[Bcpl · Rating 2 out of 5]

not a comic, read it by mistake.

[Dita D'inchiostro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recensione su -> http://ditadinchiostro.blogspot.it/20...

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a super hero book it wasn't bad. I like the parts talking about the back grounds of the Titan characters. The main story was ok, bit I think I liked the back story part better.