Though he was eventually "replaced" by Helena Wayne after Flashpoint, the other Dick Grayson commands a symbolic position in Batman lore as the "original" Robin from Earth 2. As the Golden Age foundation of the character, this Dick Grayson was the basis for everything that came later: every dynamic seen in every Robin can be traced back to him. Earth 2's Grayson was also the first Robin to take over from Batman on his retirement, first representing the promise that sidekicks were inherently designed to take over from their "bosses". Importantly, this Robin also stayed as Robin, rather than being swallowed up as a new Batman (an idea much more charitable to the sanctity of original characters than the Nolan-like replacement theory), forming a team with Huntress. And to top off his appeal, he would go out with a bang, by making the ultimate sacrifice when he was killed trying to save civilians in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
C.B. Jacobson pops up at What Culture every once in a while, and almost without fail manages to embarrass the site with his clumsy writing. When he's not here, he's making movies, or writing about them at http://buddypuddle.blogspot.com.
