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Dick Grayson is twenty-six years old when Bruce Wayne dies in the Crisis. He doesn’t want to take up the mantle. But he does. He’s a kinder Batman. In many ways a better one. He takes on Damian as Robin, and despite some growing pains, they click well. Barbara backs him up from the cave, providing him with the knowledge of every database in the city. He’d never admit it, but deep down, he knows that together, the three of them are a better team than any Bruce had ever put together.Dick Grayson is twenty-nine years old when he proposes to Barbara Gordon. Three years spent working side by side 24/7 brought them closer than they had ever been before, and finally brought him to the point where he was ready to take that step. She accepts.Dick Grayson is thirty-one when he ends the Joker. He had just found out that Barbara was pregnant. The Joker was loose, and Dick wasn’t going to risk the clown ever putting his child in danger. He had discussed it with Barbara first, and she had agreed that it was what needed to be done. Dick hadn’t enjoyed the act, but he had to admit that it had felt… satisfying. Jim Gordon sees it happen and threatens to shoot Dick. Dick unmasks and explains. Gordon accepts it and doesn’t shoot, but the Bat-signal comes down nonetheless. The rooftop meetings cease.Dick Grayson is thirty-two when his daughter is born. Mary Grayson. Dick can’t stop smiling for a week. He loves her so much. She is so small, and she grins whenever she looks at him. Barbara points out she has his eyes, but Dick notices that everything else is her mother’s.Dick Grayson is thirty-four when Damian leaves for college. They part amicably, and Dick assures him that he’ll always have a home in Gotham. That makes Damian smile. Dick takes a while to adjust. He’d never been Batman without a Robin before, and he’s sloppier than he should be. He takes a bullet to the shoulder. Barbara urges him to hang up the cape, at least for a few months, to let Tim take over. Dick shakes his head. “I’m making the city a better place for our little girl,” he says.Dick Grayson is thirty-nine when he is asked to lead the Justice League. He’s flattered but tries to turn it down. Superman takes him aside. He tells Dick that it’s what Bruce trained him for. It’s what he was born to do, and that there’s no one he’d rather have at the head of his team. That no one more qualified exists. Dick finally accepts.Dick Grayson is forty-three when he finally realizes he doesn’t feel like a stand-in anymore. He looks at himself, wearing the suit, in the mirror and realizes he doesn’t see Bruce’s shadow over him anymore. He just sees himself. Older than he ever thought he’d get. Happier too, he notes as Mary appears next to him, wearing her Robin costume for the first time.“You ready?” he asks, smiling.She nods as a huge grin crosses her face.Mary Grayson is eleven years old when she realizes what she wants to do for the rest of her life.