YMMV / Grayson

• Alternative Character Interpretation: This being a series about mind erosion and deception, it's impossible to determine how much each character is acting of their own volition and how much is due to them being subjected to a Hypnos trance. In particular, Alia is introduced as Tiger's loyal partner (and former lover), but she later indulges in torturing him during the "Nemesis" arc. Was she always a deranged Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, or did she lose her moral compass because Elisabeth brainwashed her?
• Broken Base:
  • The premise of the series is one, with some thinking it's a nice change to differentiate the character from other Batman clones while others want him back as Nightwing.
  • The Race Lift of Helena Bertinelli. Some point out that she now looks more like how an actual Sicilian woman would look like than her previous depiction, while others are bugged about the change as a deliberate case of affirmative action. Some, however, are just bugged about how she has differences from the pre-New 52 Helena Bertinelli. Still others, due to these differences, choose to see her as a separate character from pre-52 Bertinelli and like her in that regard.
  • The fill-in creative team taking over for the last three issues have resulted in divided opinions over whether or not they've able to keep up the momentum from the previous team. While the story is fine (obviously using notes from Seeley and King), the dialogue is a particular point of contention: Some think it's trying too hard to ape the previous style. Others think it succeeds in capturing the playfulness of the series while being serious.
• Character Rerailment: As of issue #12, a lot of the Batfamily relationships that have been missing or mishandled since The New 52 have been restored. Specifically, Barbara and Dick's relationship is given great importance to the two, Jason Todd is a Black Sheep who wants his family's approval but hides that fact, and Damian and Dick finally acknowledge the other's death and return in their own respective series!
• Complete Monster: Otto Netz, aka Doctor Dedalus, is the evil intelligence pulling the strings behind the Spyral conspiracy. Growing bored with the lack of large-scale conflicts in modern times, he founds both the covert operations agency Spyral and the terrorist society Leviathan, with the goal of kick-starting an endless cycle of violence by pitting the two organizations against each other. Uploading his consciousness into Spyral's database, Dedalus becomes the A.I. "Spyder", who searches for a suitable vessel for him to possess by brainwashing the agency's leaders and manipulating his own daughters. After possessing Helena Bertinelli, Dedalus coldly disposes of his offspring and unveils his plan to brainwash the entire planet, bringing about a world war for no reason but to quench his bloodlust.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Lotti is pretty well-liked for being spunky and naming Dick's butt cheeks, while still not coming off as a Creator's Pet.
• Even Better Sequel: Reactions for Kyle Higgins's run of Nightwing were mixed between So Okay, It's Average and pretty good. However, the general consensus among fans and critics is that Grayson is one of DC's best books of the New 52.
• Fanfic Fuel: There are multiple time skips throughout the Paragon arc, inviting readers to imagine what missions Dick was assigned to. For example, the infiltration of Checkmate's headquarters is only briefly shown in a panel, and the retrieval of Superman's organ is only alluded to in a single line of dialogue.
• Genius Bonus:
  • The final panel of #11 centered on a statue of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. It draws a parallel to the situation between the sisters Dr. Frau Netz and Agent Zero.
  • The poem which the Big Bad recites in issue 19 is "The Second Coming", by William Butler Yeats, an appropriate nod to his own resurrection.
• Memetic Mutation: Fans have not failed to notice how the Dick/Helena duo has a number of similarities to Sterling Archer and Lana Kane.
• Paranoia Fuel: The series revolves around the Spyral organization, a top secret intelligence agency that employs state of the art technology to brainwash, hypnotize and deceive its targets. Its tech includes a nearly undetectable nanomachine that can spy on people and devour them on command.
• Tainted by the Preview: Nightwing undercover as spy! Expect covers show him holding guns, the setup was in a Crisis Crossover that basically crippled his old title and the finale to that series amounts to Batman and Nightwing beating each other bloody. The gun issue WAS however swiftly addressed in the first issue, and Dick has shown extreme hesitance, even outright refusal, to shoot it. And three issues in, Grayson has been among DC's most highly praised and best-selling titles.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Helena Bertinelli being Race Lifted into a dark-skinned Sicilian, more so because Helena Wayne was allowed to keep the Huntress look (which would make sense as Helena Wayne should look like the daughter of Bruce Wayne). A similar case to Wally West, with Bart Allen, DC's preferred Kid Flash, getting to keep the iconic Kid Flash look, or how Barry Allen got to keep being the Flash due to being the preferred Flash while Wally was reset.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Alia returns to frame Dick Grayson and start a spy war, was working for Doctor Netz and is even set up as being the new Nemesis. Not only that, but she has a very personal connection to Dick. Unfortunately, she only reappears in the final arc, has no dialogue with Dick and is later unceremoniously killed by Tiger.
• Too Good to Last: Many consider it to be one of the best Dick Grayson stories, but the run ends prematurely in order to make way for Rebirth, an event which saw the protagonist once again take the mantle of Nightwing.
• Vindicated by History: The Futures End tie-in originally received very harsh reviews, mainly due to its unusual Back to Front structure, which made the story nearly incomprehensible on a first read. However, dedicated fans who took the time to decipher the hidden messages in each page and piece the narrative together came to consider it as one of the most rewarding reading experiences of the entire series. Years later, the issue has been reevaluated as one of the best tie-ins of the event and a solid story in its own right.
• Win Back the Crowd: Despite pre-launch negative reaction, critical and fan reception to the series has been highly positive. High points of praise include clever writing, Mikel Janin's art, Tim Seeley and Tom King's deep respect for the character, their understanding of the Bat-Family, and the 60s James Bond vibe.

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