When did Dick Grayson become a "cool" character?
 

As we know, Dick Grayson is one of the most popular DC characters out there. But how did he reach that point?

Dick Grayson's first major exposure to the public was the 60's Batman show, in which Robin was constantly portrayed as lame and lackluster with his, "Holy smokes, Batman!" dialogue. His terrible costume showing off his legs didn't help matters. That portrayal of Robin somehow stuck with the public for 40 years, making everyone think Dick was a lame character.

Obviously Robin's portrayal in Batman Forever and Batman and Robin certainly didn't help matters, as he was terribly miscast and poorly written in those two films as well. The Superfriends version of Robin was just as bad.

However at the same time Dick was used in Batman: TAS, and like all characters in the show, he was written a hell of a lot better. Later on Dick Grayson would be used as the leader in the Teen Titans cartoon which was adored by the public, as well as in Young Justice. Likewise the comics fixed Dick's Character around the time he became Nightwing, but again, the comics don't reach the general public as much as the shows. Most people never even knew there was more than one Robin, and Nightwing as a character is obscure for most people.

So when did Dick Grayson become really popular, and escape the terrible type-casting the 60's Batman show gave him?

Probably beginning with the 4 issue Nightwing series in the 90s, and then his first ongoing series that began in Bludhaven.

when they started to take the character seriously

His character started to mature in the '70s, but really took a turn when Marv Wolfman got his hands on him in the early 1980s. The Teen Titans books were the first time readers saw Grayson away from Batman for extended periods of time, and not only that, but as a leader, and not just a leader but an extremely capable one. It was the first step of really establishing Robin as his own character, and more fully integrating him into the larger DCU.

All anyone has to do is read the letters pages of those old Titans books to see how quickly fans took to Robin once he was out of Batman's shadow. The turn to Nightwing reinforced that, and his popularity started to skyrocket from there, but make no mistake, even before he ditched the cape for a disco collar he was already really popular. People just felt a little more comfortable saying they were a fan of the character once he wasn't wearing hot pants anymore.

The '90s run helped, but he was already getting over long before that.

I thought Robin was awesome in the movies! Yeah, I was 8, but I thought he was badass. With his motorcycle and his earring... Those are my fond memories of the character, anyway. (Unless Grayson is also the Robin on Teen Titans Go! - the best show on television.)

If you watched the original Teen Titans cartoon, it was confirmed that Robin is Dick Grayson. He becomes Nightwing in a future episode.

Ah. I see.
Yeah, it's probably pretty messed up to have never watched Teen Titans, but watch every episode of Teen Titans Go!, but that's what I've done...

The humor in the original is pretty much the same, only difference is that show actually has a plot and fighting scenes.

Dick Grayson is my favorite DC character (the second being alfred)

You said Dick

Dick Grayson generally seems cooler when he's not second fiddle to Batman.

Still I really like "good" classic Batman and Dick stories. Something about Dick being younger and learning the ropes from Batman for the first time is just cool.

Considering we know what Dick Grayson became, its almost nostalgic in a sense to go back and view his early years as Robin.

i'd say it was during the Marv Wolfman/George Perez New Teen Titans series. good stuff too.

He was ever a cool character? O_o I figured he had always been a Dick.

Hmm...choices choices

Classic Dick or Joker's Boner?

Homer : "Baby on board , something something , Burt Ward !" :lol::P

Yea... perhaps his perception amongst the DC comic book community has improved. But the rest of the public still looks upon him as a joke. And video games such as "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" and the "Lego Batman" series aren't helping matters any. The only decent portrayal I've ever seen of the character outside of comics was in "Batman: The Animated Series" from the 90's.

Dick was portrayed well in Teen Titans and Young Justice cartoons too. In fact he was the leader of their teams.

I admit I haven't seen Young Justice. I hear it was good though so I believe you there. But from the dozen or so episodes I've seen of Teen Titans, I think all characters were off the wall goofy, including Robin. I don't know if I would consdier that "cool" necessarily. Maybe? It doesn't make me respect him anymore at the level a Nighwing reader would. I can say that much.

Robin was a serious and strong leader in the show. The show itself was a comedy but it had serious moments.

I'm talking about the original Teen titans from 2003.

Sometime he got rid of his disco outfit as Nightwing. He was pretty cool in the Animated series, that episode with Tony Zucco he straight up out-badass-ed Batman.
Even in the Teen Titans he was an able and legit leader.