Could Jericho Have Had a Crush on/Awakening with Nightwing In New Teen Titans Under Different Circumstances? A Speculation

Greetings DCEA :wave: 🏻 Stepping away from some Ra’s posts to work on a few Jericho posts. I thought I would discuss something I found stated from the New Teen Titans co-creator, George Peréz Found Here. In this forum/interview, Peréz stated how it was initially planned to have Jericho as gay, but Wolfmann ultimately advised against it as he would have came of “too stereotypical”, because Jericho is a wide eyed artist (to paraphrase).

For a moment, I’d like to speculate if they had gone this route, what character might they have Jericho feelings for (requited or not). Now, I don’t know if I’d see them hooking Jericho up with someone during this time. Not that they couldn’t/wouldn’t if given the chance, but given that this was in the eighties, I have some reservations as far as them going that far.

This is all speculative, so bear with me. Obviously, I wasn’t there when New Teen Titans was in the works. Nor am I in Wolfmann and Peréz’s heads.

But for a moment, let’s assume they did go through with making Jericho gay in New Teen Titans. And for the sake of when New Teen Titans ran, let’s also assume they played it safe and said, “he is gay and the audience is aware, but we’re only going to take this so far to avoid controversy”.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the actual speculation.

First, Why Dick?

So the reason I went with ol’ Dickie boy here, is because, out of all the Titans, Jericho seemed the closest with like three of them: Kole, Raven, and Dick. He was kind of linked with Kole romantically, but I don’t think they officially got together. Raven, saw a kindred spirit in Jericho and Jericho seemed to care for her as a friend.

And then there’s Dick. Dick was the first Titan Jericho met.   The first to know his story. And out of all the Titans, Jericho spent the most time with Nightwing. While this would mostly be circumstantial, they’ve had enough to bond.

If it weren’t for Dick, Jericho may not have figured out that he could hop from body to body. And during the whole Arranged Marriage thing with Starfire, Jericho tried to be a friend for him the whole time.

And out of all the Robins, it seems that Dick was the only Robin he really connected with. Jason was dead. Jericho was kinda crazy and didn’t think Tim (and kids/teens) shouldn’t be a hero. And it would seem Jericho likes Damian the least. At least in Rebirth.

Plus, with how involved Dick was involved with the drama that is the Wilson Family, he’s be one of the few people who could handle a Wilson.

Crush or Awakening

It could honestly be either or depending on direction.

If it were a crush, it could have started when they first met. Dick has always been presented as this attractive character.   Of course, looks wouldn’t be the only thing I’d see Jericho liking. Dick’s personality would be another. Dick was a leader. Confident and (usually) in control. He’s also fun and kind hearted. A little hot headed, but well meaning. A crush would mean, he already knew he was gay, but maybe it wasn’t stated in before this.

The same things would go into an Awakening (physical attraction, personality, how they connect). Except here, maybe Jericho wasn’t entirely sure if he was gay (or bi).   Over time, he realizes it and accepts it and (ideally) the Titans accept this. Much like Kole did when she found out he was gay in Convergence. It could also be a revelation that was finally talked about and accepted (idk if they did in the past).

For story purposes, I could see them going with Jericho having and awakening.

Would Dick Return Jericho’s Sentiment?

Realistically, probably not. With DickKori being the juggernaut that it is, I don’t see Woltmann and Perez having Nightwing returning the feeling. That said, I don’t see Nightwing being aggressive about Jericho loving/crushing on him. Rather, I could see him maybe being flattered, even if he can’t love him the same way. Dick would also, probably be glad that he was able to help Jericho open up and accept this part of him.  

However, if they did decide to let Dick reciprocate the affection, I could see them doing a story exploring it in a (hopefully) tactful way. It could have been a revolutionary arc for the time, ending in a way that felt natural (because I feel like that would be retconned at some point for *insert reason* unlike say Midnighter, who has been gay since his nonDC days).

In conclusion, if Jericho was gay in New Teen Titan, like originally planned, I could see a storyline addressing it and Dick potentially being at the center of it. I hope you guys enjoyed this little speculation. I tried to be as tactful and insightful as possible. It may not have bern as long as I had expected, but I hope I got my point across well enough. I know it’s not a topic I normally do, but it’s something I thought would be interesting.

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