Richard "Dick" Grayson was the first sidekick of Batman, protecting Gotham's streets as Robin. A laid-back and energetic jokester, he later used his acrobatics and combat skills as Nightwing protecting Bludhaven.
History
Early Life
Together with his parents, Dick Grayson was a circus performer for Haley's Circus. After Haley refused to pay protection money to Tony Zucco, the mobster sabotaged the rig the Flying Graysons were about to use. Dick, and the entire crowd with him, watched as the line broke and his parents fell to their deaths. Dick was taken in by Bruce Wayne, who was present during the fatal show. It wasn't long before Dick struck out in order to find Zucco. In the process, he also found out his guardian was in fact Batman. He became the Dark Knight's sidekick, Robin.
Robin
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The split
The adventures the two had put a strain on his emotions, however. He became more and more frustrated by the stubbornness of his partner. This culminated in Robin resigning after he found out his girlfriend, Barbara Gordon, was Batgirl, and Batman had known for some time. Grayson left Gotham City to travel the world on his own, much like Bruce Wayne did in the years before he became Batman. While living abroad, Dick studied many different crime fighting techniques and re-examined his feelings about taking up the role of Robin again when he returned to Gotham. He eventually realized he had outgrown the role of Batman's trusted kid sidekick Robin, and set about developing a new heroic identity all his own.
Nightwing
When Dick returned to Gotham, he moved out of Wayne Manor and into a downtown loft above an abandoned warehouse. Money from a generous trust fund set up years before by Haley's Circus enabled Dick to buy the building and he has turned its top two floors into his own high-tech urban headquarters. Though Dick's fortune is small compared to the Wayne billions, he's got enough cash to keep his crime fighting alter-ego in state of the art weaponry for years. Though Dick still teams up with his one-time mentor, he often finds that despite their many differences, they are very much alike.
Even after Nightwing established himself in Gotham City as a powerful and mysterious force for good, he further showed his independence by moving to Gotham's sister city, Bludhaven.
The Future
A week after Tim Drake's abduction at the hand of The Joker, Dick returned to Gotham City intending to reconnect with those he cared about, namely Barbara.[3] The two quickly fell back into love and Dick even planned to propose. Batman confronted him and informed him that he dated Barbara while he was away. While he wasn't happy about this revelation, what set him off was learning that Barbara was pregnant with Bruce's child. Dick then attacked his former father figure.[4] With Barbara suffering a miscarriage, the three decided to go their separate ways.[5]
Dick's crime fighting career was cut short by a devastating injury. Decades later, a conversation he had with Barbara about his time as Nightwing was leaked to the public by one of her subordinates. Grayson eventually decided to admit the truth about his former identity; however, he not only left out his past as Robin and lied about not knowing Batman's real name; he also claimed he was part of an organization called "Batman Incorporated."[6]
Grayson was among the vigilantes that responded to Jokerz committing mass suicide bombings.[7] Teaming up with Neo-Gotham's versions of Batman, Catwoman, and Vigilante, the group first rounded up all the explosives.[8] Batman was able to convince Tim Drake to remotely disarm the bombs, but they were separated from Batman in the confusion.[9] The three found him battling Joker King in the in-complete wing of Gotham Mercy. The Joker's sister, Dana Tan, also arrived and was taken hostage. She was able to break free, but he pulled her off a ledge. Luckily, Batman was able to catch Dana, while Joker King got caught by some rope.[10]
Following Joker Night, Catwoman II and Grayson entered into a casual relationship. This relationship would be complicated; however, by Dick's desire to return to heroics.[11] He hoped to become a secondary mentor to the new Batman, believing he could fill any gaps in Bruce's teachings.[12] After an argument with Bruce, Terry went to Dick for help on a case, as Dick was the last hero to encounter the culprit, and ended up asking him for insight on his former mentor.[3] This disagreement would result in Terry splitting from Bruce.[13] He would eventually return to Dick, who got his wish and became Terry's teacher.[14]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Acrobatics: Grayson is a prodigious natural athlete, possessing a peak human level of agility/acrobatic skills because of his training as a trapeze artist.[15]
- Business Management[12]
- Driving
- Gymnastics
- Investigation: Grayson is a world class detective, second only to the likes of Batman.[15]
- Martial Arts: Trained by Batman, Grayson is a master of many martial arts disciplines,[15] including:
- Multilingualism: Along with English, Dick can also speak Portuguese.[18]
- Peak Human Condition
- Stealth: His training has made him a master at stealth capable of easily breaching high security facilities without being detected.
- Stick Fighting[19]
- Surveillance[20]
- Swimming[21]
- Throwing
Other Characteristics
- Missing Eye: In the future, Dick wore an eyepatch over his right eye.[22]
- Restricted Mobility: In the future, there was a bullet lodged near his spine.[23]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Nightwing suit: All black full body suit with a domino mask to conceal his identity.
Transportation
- Nightcycle: A modified Batcycle.
Weapons
- Batarangs: Grayson used Batarangs in his time as Robin, and as Nightwing he uses customized versions shaped like a bird.
Notes
- This version of the character is exclusive to the continuity of the DC Animated Universe and is an adaptation of Dick Grayson. The original character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane and first appeared in Detective Comics #38.
- Dick Grayson was voiced by Loren Lester. Joey Simmrin voiced a young Dick Grayson in the flashback portion of the two part "Robin's Reckoning" story.
- Nightwing made a cameo appearance as a figure on top of a building overlooking the highway in Bludhaven that Black Canary and Huntress were traveling on in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Grudge Match".
Recommended Reading
- Batman: "Robin's Reckoning, Part I"
- Batman: "Robin's Reckoning, Part II"
- New Batman Adventures: "Old Wounds"
- New Batman Adventures: "You Scratch My Back"
- The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years (Volume 1)
Related
- 184 Appearances of Richard Grayson (DCAU)
- 29 Images featuring Richard Grayson (DCAU)
- 22 Quotations by or about Richard Grayson (DCAU)
- Character Gallery: Richard Grayson (DCAU)
External Links
Footnotes
- ↑ Justice League Adventures #20
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Batman Beyond (Volume 4) #3
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Batman Beyond 2.0 #27
- ↑ Batman Beyond 2.0 #28
- ↑ Batman Beyond 2.0 #29
- ↑ Batman Beyond (Volume 4) #4
- ↑ Batman Beyond Unlimited #9
- ↑ Batman Beyond Unlimited #10
- ↑ Batman Beyond Unlimited #11
- ↑ Batman Beyond Unlimited #13
- ↑ Batman Beyond Unlimited #16
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Batman Beyond Unlimited #17
- ↑ Batman Beyond 2.0 #31
- ↑ Batman Beyond 2.0 #1
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Adventures in the DC Universe #14
- ↑ The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years (Volume 1)
- ↑ The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years #3
- ↑ The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years #3
- ↑ 'Batman and Harley Quinn (Movie)'
- ↑ Batman: "Bane"
- ↑ Batman Beyond 2.0 #6
- ↑ Batman Beyond (Volume 4) #3
- ↑ Batman Beyond Unlimited #12
Batman Family member This character is or was an incarnation of or an ally of Batman, and a member of the Batman Family. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Batman Family members" category. |
Outsiders member This character is or was a member of one or more of the teams known as the Outsiders. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Outsiders members" category. |
Titans member This character is or was primarily a member of the superhero team known as the Titans, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Titans members" category. |