Misplaced Pages

#256743

83-483: The youngest in a family of acrobats known as the " Flying Graysons ", Grayson witnesses a mafia boss, Tony Zucco , kill his parents to extort money from the circus that employed them. Bruce Wayne takes Grayson in as his legal ward and trains him to become his partner, Robin. Grayson also works with former Batgirl Barbara Gordon and established himself as the leader of the Teen Titans . As Nightwing, he continues to lead

166-585: A Talon himself. William Cobb forces Ric to wear goggles and puts Dick under his spell. As a Talon, Grayson fights off other Nightwing heroes. A Nightwing hero name Connor Red shoots at Grayson's mask, making his eye visible. Connor Red pleads for mercy saying he has a family, and as the sun comes up Dick Grayson suddenly breaks out of his grandfather's control. Dick Grayson starts to remember his adventures as Nightwing. Ric defeats Talon, and saves his girlfriend Bea. Afterwards, he journeys to Switzerland to learn more answers about his past from Dr. Haas, who attempts to use

249-566: A conference. Nightwing confronts him alone in the ruins of a circus in Paris. Raptor reveals that he grew up in the circus as a child and fell in love with Dick's mother, Mary, as they stole from the rich and powerful in Paris. Raptor watched over Dick in the shadows as he grew up, and developed a hatred for Bruce Wayne as he represented everything he and Mary were against and felt it was dishonoring her memory to have Dick raised by him. Dick defeats Raptor and rescues Bruce in time. After joining forces with

332-399: A different kind of Batman; more concerned with inspiring hope than fear. The new team of Batman and Robin is the focus of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely 's Batman and Robin series. Their dynamic reverses the classic dynamic of Bruce and Dick, by having a lighter and friendlier Batman paired with a more intense and dark Robin. During this period, Dick Grayson as Batman also features as

415-424: A family of trapeze artists , whose child Dick is adopted by Bruce Wayne (Batman) and becomes Robin after their deaths. The Flying Graysons have been featured in several media adaptions outside of comics, commonly as part of Robin's origin story . The Flying Graysons are a group of trapeze artists at Haly's Circus, consisting of father John, mother Mary, and son Dick Grayson. Crime boss Tony Zucco murders

498-444: A makeshift Nightwing costume. The toxin eventually killed Raya, though Nightwing tried in vain with an anti-toxin to save her. Nightwing then discovered that Joker left a message on Raya's abdomen that he was targeting Haly's Circus next. However upon arriving there, Joker unveils his plan to burn the circus to the ground and then infects Nightwing with his gas which not only causes him to experience hallucinations of Jimmy and Raya but he

581-675: A newly rebuilt subway. Meanwhile, a criminal hacker called the Prankster tortures, maims, and kills criminals con men who are untouchable by the police. The Chicago story is later abruptly ended by Nightwing's role in a larger company-wide crossover event. After the Crime Syndicate invades Earth-Prime after the " Trinity War " Justice League storyline and defeats the Justice League, the DC crossover story Forever Evil depicts Nightwing's capture by

664-626: A possible link between the murder of the Flying Graysons and the Crown Prince of Kravis. Journeying to Kravis, Nightwing helps to topple the murderous Kravian leader and prevent ethnic cleansing, while learning his parents' true connection to the Prince; they witnessed the original Prince being killed and replaced with an impostor who became as bad as his predecessor (although Zucco killed the Graysons before

747-587: A series of gang wars, Blüdhaven is destroyed by the Secret Society of Super-Villains when they drop Chemo on it. During the battle of Metropolis , Grayson suffers a near-fatal injury from Alexander Luthor, Jr. when he shields Wayne from Luthor's attack. Originally, the editors at DC intended to have Grayson killed in Infinite Crisis as Newsarama revealed from the DC Panel at WizardWorld Philadelphia: It

830-421: A series of murders and remaining as he recognized that the city needed protection. He remains the city's guardian for some time, facing foes such as Blockbuster and new villains such as Torque , and even becomes a police officer so that he can make an impact on the city's criminal activity in both parts of his life. Later, Grayson divides his duties between Bludhaven and Gotham after a devastating earthquake and

913-403: A series of their starring writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez , later additions to the team would include Changeling (Beast Boy), Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire. The New Teen Titans are run by Marv Wolfman, George Perez, and editor Len Wein. With Marvel outperforming DC Comics in sales, the then-new President of DC Comics Jenette Khan brought in the aforementioned team who would choose to use

SECTION 10

#1732845117257

996-425: A shell group name for Spyral due to tampering with their technology when a rogue Minos AI worked to take over the intelligence organization. In DC's Rebirth, elements of her history are changed; while having also been trained by Catwoman, she was also a cohort of Catwoman that was sent to prison after attempting to break out Catwoman with Giz. The pair served their time and joined a Bludhaven-based support group called

1079-513: A three-legged pit bull puppy whom Grayson adopts, naming her "Haley" (although Drake immediately dubs her "Bitewing"). Like Batman, Nightwing has faced various villains ranging from common criminals to outlandish supervillains. While the character has primarily fought other Batman villains, he also has established villains that primarily oppose him. In addition, certain Batman villains have specific enmity with Dick Grayson. In DC's Rebirth, Giz's history

1162-560: Is adopted by Bruce Wayne (Batman) and becomes Robin after their deaths. The Flying Graysons have been featured in several media adaptions outside of comics, commonly as part of Robin's origin story . The Flying Graysons are a group of trapeze artists at Haly's Circus, consisting of father John, mother Mary, and son Dick Grayson. Crime boss Tony Zucco murders the Graysons after the circus' owner Jack Haly refuses to pay him protection money. Following this, Bruce Wayne adopts Dick, who becomes his sidekick Robin. In Blackest Night ,

1245-704: Is broken by Bane during the Knightfall story arc, Bruce selects Jean-Paul Valley (or Azrael ) as his replacement as Batman as he does not want to burden Dick with the role and fears that Dick may go after Bane in revenge. However, when Valley proves to be too unstable to be Batman, Bruce undergoes a rigorous recovery and training program with the aid of Doctor Shondra Kinsolving and Lady Shiva to restore him to full health, defeating Valley with Dick and Tim's aid. However, feeling that he needs to re-evaluate Batman and his mission after Valley's defeat, Bruce leaves Gotham once again, after appointing Dick as his successor during

1328-421: Is changed, and is a man of Asian descent; while working to break out of Catwoman with Mouse, the two were caught and sent to prison. Eventually, he is released and joins a former villain support group known as the "Run-Offs". In this new continuity, his real name is revealed to be "Brendon Li" and is dating Mouse. He works with Nightwing briefly until he is killed by a group called the "Second Hand", which existed as

1411-625: Is not his fault. Dick becomes bitter about his loss. After he used excessive force to bring down some criminals that tried to plunder valuables from the remains of the circus, Damian, who has been monitoring him, can talk some sense into Nightwing, which helps him recover. Nightwing is later deeply affected by the death of Damian following his murder at the hands of Damian's clone, the Heretic, in Batman Incorporated . With Damian's death and potential resurrection becoming an obsession of Batman's, Dick

1494-476: Is now living under the assumed identity of Billy Lester, an assistant to the mayor. Soon after arriving in Chicago, Dick meets his new roommates, a photojournalist named Michael and a computer specialist named Joey. After leaving the apartment to meet with Johnny Spade, a borderline criminal who steals and sells information, their meeting is interrupted by the police. A short chase results in the accidental destruction of

1577-462: Is opposed by Blockbuster as well as a new villain, Heartless, who steals peoples' hearts to sustain his own life. He is supported by Barbara, who reclaims her mantle as Batgirl; Tim Drake, once again operating as Robin; the Titans; Jon Kent , who is publicly operating as Superman in his father's absence; and two unexpected new allies: the new mayor of Bludhaven, who is his previously unknown half-sister, and

1660-594: Is paired with a vigilante named Raptor and the two plan to bring down the Court of Owls from the inside. Barbara criticizes Dick's willingness to trust him and does not agree with his methods. Though Raptor seemed willing to play by Dick's rules of not killing, he tricks Dick into agreeing to a plan that results in the deaths of all of the Parliament of Owls in Sydney. After knocking Dick out, Raptor goes to Gotham and kidnaps Bruce during

1743-566: Is presumed dead. As Batman, he moves back to Gotham and takes on Damian Wayne as his partner, who becomes the fifth Robin. He also becomes the leader of the Justice League , joined by teammate Donna Troy . Following Wayne's return, both simultaneously maintain the Batman identity. In 2011, Grayson returned to the Nightwing identity with DC's New 52 publishing event. In 2014, he abandons the Nightwing identity to serve as Agent 37 , Batman's mole in

SECTION 20

#1732845117257

1826-492: Is reportedly impossible to escape from alive. When Batman and Lex Luthor arrive to free him, Lex stops his heart to fool the system so he can disarm it. However, Batman, enraged over what Lex has done, attacks him. Luthor explains it is not too late to save Grayson. In an uncharacteristically heroic moment, Luthor injects Grayson's heart with adrenaline, which successfully revives Grayson. Cyborg enters, having defeated Grid, and Grayson joins Batman, Cyborg, and Catwoman in freeing

1909-569: Is shunned by Bruce when he tries to tell him to move on, in Batman and Nightwing (a retitled Batman & Robin #23). Later, the Nightwing series changes its setting to Chicago, Illinois. Sonia Branch reveals to Dick an e-mail that indicates that her father Zucco is still alive. After giving the address to Red Robin to try and track down who sent it, Robin uncovers that Zucco is residing in Chicago. Nightwing moves to Chicago to find and arrest Zucco, who

1992-415: Is soon attacked by the other members of Haly's Circus that were also affected by the toxin allowing Joker to capture him. In the aftermath, Haly's Circus is gone, with Dick breaking as a result of having lost his investment. While the other circus members survived since Joker used a different Joker venom on them, they blame Dick and decide to leave after Raya and Jimmy's funeral, though deep down they know it

2075-496: Is stated that Dick was adopted at 16 as opposed to as an adult due to the DCNU's timeline existing for only five years. Dick Grayson is shown in flashbacks as Robin with a revamped version of the Robin costume in Nightwing (vol. 3) #0 (November 2012) and Batman and Robin (vol. 2) Annual #2 (March 2014). In his civilian identity, he is attacked by an assassin named Saiko who insists that he

2158-605: Is the fiercest killer in Gotham. The series Batman Incorporated relaunches with a second volume, continuing its story while taking into account the New 52's continuity changes; Dick is now depicted as Nightwing, and not as Batman, but the change is not addressed in the comic itself. In Nightwing , Dick inherits the deed to the circus from a dying C. C. Haly and begins a relationship with his childhood friend acrobat Raya Vestri. Saiko tortures Haly for information on Nightwing's secret identity, and

2241-542: Is writing Robin out of the series by sending Dick Grayson to Hudson University and into a separate strip in the back of Detective Comics . The by-now Teen Wonder appears only sporadically in Batman stories of the 1970s as well as in a short-lived revival of The Teen Titans . In October 1980, a new roster of the Teen Titans was featured in DC Comics Presents #26 featuring Robin, Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash. Given

2324-630: The Final Crisis , Nightwing closes down shop in New York City to return to Gotham, where – after the events of " Battle for the Cowl " – he, initially reluctant, assumes the identity of Batman and finds a new Robin in Damian Wayne , Bruce Wayne's biological son. In the stories that followed tended to feature Grayson reckoning with themes of identity, family, loss, history and legacy, as he established himself as

2407-854: The Titans TV series, portrayed by Brenton Thwaites . Loren Lester voiced Robin in Batman: The Animated Series and as Nightwing's first screen adaptation in The New Batman Adventures , Jesse McCartney voices Grayson as Robin and Nightwing in Young Justice: The Animated Series , Sean Maher voices Nightwing in the DC Animated Movie Universe , and Michael Cera voices a cheerful Grayson as Robin in The Lego Batman Movie . The character

2490-541: The Court of Owls plant a bomb inside Damian Wayne, they can blackmail Dick into officially joining their organization, although all sides are aware that Grayson intends to try and use his new position against them. The Grayson series ended in issue #20, wherein the final issue, it was revealed that all knowledge of Dick's identity was erased from most of the world with one of Spyral's satellites, allowing Dick to resume his superhero activities as Nightwing once again. Starting with

2573-570: The Crime Syndicate , who exposes his secret identity to the world. Following their escape from the Syndicate, Batman and Catwoman decide to rescue him. He then is invited by Owlman to help defeat the Crime Syndicate, which he accepts. Nightwing is severely beaten by Ultraman and is attached to a device from a parallel world known as the Murder Machine, which is controlled by his heart rate and

Dick Grayson - Misplaced Pages Continue

2656-470: The DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016, Dick returned to being Nightwing with his black and blue costume, his Spyral contacts having wiped all global evidence of his dual identity and the bomb removed from Damian. He uses his new skills and expertise in espionage moving forward. Nightwing is prominently featured in two Rebirth books: the fourth volume of Nightwing , his solo book, and Titans , where Dick teams up with

2739-569: The Earth-Two Robin accordingly adopts all of the earliest stories featuring the character from the 1940s and 1950s, while the adventures of the mainstream Robin (who lived on " Earth-One ") begin later and with certain elements of his origin retold. However, during the Earth-Two stories, the age that Dick became Robin changed to 13 during the 1950s. Both were depicted as separate, though parallel, individuals living in their respective universes, with

2822-549: The Kryptonian city of Kandor , where he and Batman meet the local hero of the same name. In post-Crisis continuity, he is fired by Batman after being shot by the Joker and becomes Nightwing. He maintains this identity during his role in the Teen Titans and occasionally returns to assist Batman and his successors as Robin in the form of Jason Todd and Tim Drake, Tim, in particular, becoming a younger brother figure to him. When Bruce's back

2905-414: The murder of his own parents , Dick asks to become his aide. After extensive training, Dick becomes Robin. They start by disrupting Zucco's gambling and extortion rackets. They then successfully bait the riled Zucco into visiting a construction site, where they capture him. Robin's origin has a thematic connection to Batman's in that both see their parents killed by criminals, creating an urge to battle

2988-581: The "Prodigal" story arc. While acting as Batman, Dick is left with a clearer idea of the psychological stresses Bruce must endure in the role, as well as facing some of Bruce's newer enemies—such as Killer Croc, the Ventriloquist, and the Ratcatcher—while settling his long-standing issues with Two-Face. In Nightwing: Alfred's Return #1 (1995), Dick Grayson travels to England to find Alfred Pennyworth who had resigned from Bruce Wayne's service following

3071-456: The "Run-Offs". In DC's Rebirth, the character was re-introduced with most of his origin intact although he is instead cast as a reformed villain as part of the Run-Offs and a closeted homosexual. Originally, the character was intended in his "Ghostwalker" incarnation and appears as a primary antagonist in the third Nightwing series with his origin explored. However, the story was scrapped due to

3154-567: The "older" Earth-Two character eventually reaching death in Crisis on Infinite Earths . 1964's The Brave and the Bold #54 introduces a junior version of the Justice League of America . This team is led by the modern-day Robin, residing on Earth-One, and was joined by two other teenage sidekicks, Aqualad (sidekick of Aquaman ) and Kid Flash (sidekick of the Flash ), to stop the menace of Mr. Twister. Later,

3237-533: The Bat-Family when Bruce Wayne is amnesiac after his resurrection against the ruthless villain known only as "Mother", who, it is revealed, briefly met with Batman early in Grayson's career as Robin, believing that he shared her views on using trauma to make people stronger. Mother intends to trigger a global collapse with the reasoning that the survivors will rebuild a stronger world after being broken by tragedy and without

3320-567: The Batcave, Bruce reveals to Dick that the current Talon is his great-grandfather William Cobb. During the Night of the Owls event Dick faces Cobb, who was revived while protecting Mayor Hady. Following the event, Dick decided to keep Haly's Circus in Gotham and plans to invest in turning an abandoned amusement park into their new location without Bruce's money. He works with Sonia Branch, the daughter of Tony Zucco,

3403-515: The Family " crossover event across the Batman -related comic books led to a major shift in Nightwing's status quo. During the storyline, one of Dick's friends Jimmy Clark, who worked as a circus clown, was murdered by the Joker because Joker felt like Jimmy was a knockoff of him. Nightwing later discovers Joker broke Raya out of prison, infected her with his Joker venom, and forced her to fight him while wearing

Dick Grayson - Misplaced Pages Continue

3486-606: The Graysons after the circus' owner Jack Haly refuses to pay him protection money. Following this, Bruce Wayne adopts Dick, who becomes his sidekick Robin. In Blackest Night , the Graysons are temporarily resurrected as Black Lanterns . Nightwing (vol. 4) reveals that, prior to marrying Mary, John had a daughter named Melinda from a brief relationship with Tony Zucco's wife Meili. The Flying Graysons appear in Batman Forever , with John Grayson portrayed by Larry A. Lee and Mary Grayson by Glory Fioramonti. This version of

3569-452: The Graysons are temporarily resurrected as Black Lanterns . Nightwing (vol. 4) reveals that, prior to marrying Mary, John had a daughter named Melinda from a brief relationship with Tony Zucco's wife Meili. The Flying Graysons appear in Batman Forever , with John Grayson portrayed by Larry A. Lee and Mary Grayson by Glory Fioramonti. This version of the group also consisted of Dick's brother Mitch (portrayed by Mitch Gaylord ), who

3652-621: The Justice League from the Firestorm Matrix. After the defeat of the Syndicate, Grayson is seen with Batman in the Batcave . Batman tells him that he has to send him on the most dangerous mission he could undertake, requiring that Grayson fakes his death. Upon the latter's refusal (saying he can't do that to his family), the two have an all-out brawl during which Batman tells him Spyral is in possession of multiple secret identities and could kill his friends and family. As Bruce monologues about knowing

3735-535: The Teen Titans characters in a bid to revitalize sales. During the comic's run, the series was among DC's most popular selling books. outperforming much of the other titles featuring more popular characters. During his leadership of the Titans, however, he had a falling out with Batman, leading to an estrangement that would last for years. In the pre- Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity, the maturing Dick Grayson grows weary of his role as Batman's young sidekick. He renames himself Nightwing , recalling his adventure in

3818-478: The Teen Titans, the Titans, and the Outsiders . In the second volume of his eponymous series (1996–2009), he becomes the protector of Blüdhaven , Gotham City 's economically troubled neighbor and the locale the character is most associated with. He has also been depicted as a protector of Gotham, New York, and Chicago all of which he continues to return to. Grayson has taken on the identity of Batman several times. In

3901-641: The aftermath of Batman: Knightfall , he was not offered the role while Wayne was recovering from a broken back, because he felt Nightwing was a hero in his own right and not an understudy. But after the events of the Zero Hour miniseries, Grayson fills-in as Batman, beginning in Robin (Vol. 2) #0 (1994) and extending through the Batman: Prodigal storyline in 1995. Grayson assumes the mantle following " Batman R.I.P. " (2008) and Final Crisis (2008–2009), when Bruce

3984-548: The area and works with them to find the true culprits. After solving the case and clearing their names, Dick begins dating their leader Shawn Tsang, known as the former criminal the Defacer. Shawn is kidnapped by Professor Pyg after Dick discovers she might be pregnant with his child, and he teams up with Damian to track Pyg down and rescue her. After Shawn is revealed not to be pregnant, she ultimately breaks up with Dick, who focuses his efforts on taking down criminals such as Blockbuster,

4067-428: The circus owner. The owner refuses, so the gangsters sabotage the trapeze wires with acid. During the next performance, the trapeze from which Dick's parents are swinging snaps, sending them to their deaths. Before he can go to the police, Batman appears to him and warns him that the two gangsters work for Tony Zucco , a very powerful crime boss and that revealing his knowledge could lead to his death. When Batman recounts

4150-422: The civilian identity of ICoV member Le Bossu, arranged for Nightwing to be admitted under the name of Pierrot Lunaire (another ICoV member) and be kept both heavily drugged and regularly beaten by staff to subdue him. Scheduled for an experimental lobotomy by Le Bossu himself, he manages to free himself and come to Batman's aid for the finale of the story arc. Following the events of Batman's apparent death during

4233-570: The conspirators could do anything about it). In the aftermath, Dick returns to his role as Nightwing, recognizing that, for all his problems with Bruce, Bruce never made him become Robin or join his crusade, accepting that he imitated Bruce's example because Bruce was worthy of imitation. In 1996, following the success of the miniseries, DC Comics launched a monthly solo series featuring Nightwing (written by Chuck Dixon , with art by Scott McDaniel ), in which he patrols Gotham City's neighboring municipality of Blüdhaven , relocating there to investigate

SECTION 50

#1732845117257

4316-446: The crime boss who murdered Dick's parents, into getting a loan for this plan by investing his entire trust fund despite being a high-risk due to Saiko's recent attack. The problems arise because of the guilt Sonia feels towards her father's actions and many members of the circus are afraid for their lives because of the previous disasters and accuse Dick Grayson of being a flake, making it hard for those who choose to stay. The " Death of

4399-530: The criminal element. Bruce sees a chance to direct the anger and rage that Dick feels in a way that he cannot, thus creating a father/son bond and understanding between the two. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, DC Comics portrayed Batman and Robin as a team, deeming them the "Dynamic Duo", rarely publishing a Batman story without his sidekick; stories entirely devoted to Robin appeared in Star-Spangled Comics from 1947 through 1952. The character history of

4482-530: The crystal back, Bea uses it to allow him to fully regain his memories as Dick Grayson. Returning to his role as Bludhaven's protector, Grayson is informed by Barbara Gordon that he has been bequeathed a fortune by Alfred Pennyworth, accumulated during his years of service to the Wayne family. He decides to use this newfound wealth to establish a philanthropic foundation to revitalize Bludhaven, while continuing to fight corruption and crime as Nightwing. In both efforts, he

4565-475: The crystal to alter his memories once more. However, an explosion seemingly sends her down a river to her death while Ric can retrieve the memory crystal she used on him. During the "Joker War" storyline, the Joker steals the memory crystal and uses it to brainwash Grayson into believing he is the Joker's adopted son, "Dicky Boy" and turns him against the Bat Family in his latest war against Batman. After Barbara gets

4648-519: The death of Blockbuster prompts Nightwing to leave Bludhaven due to his crisis of conscience; Blockbuster was killed by a vigilante Tarantula . Nightwing did not stop this even when he had the chance because he was in a depressive state after Blockbuster repeatedly attacked his loved ones. This caused him to have an anxiety attack that put him in a near catatonic state, which Tarantula took advantage of and sexually assaulted him. While Nightwing returns to Gotham to heal after assisting Batman in dealing with

4731-585: The director of Spyral, after having been chosen by Helena Bertinelli to serve as a new candidate. However, Dick serves as a mole under Batman due to their agenda of unmasking heroes by collecting the Paragon organs, organs which contain the DNA of the Justice League and bestows meta-bioweapons the ability to use their powers. He assists Spyral's agenda to know more about Minos and his endgame, resulting in Spyral attaining most of

4814-468: The event of his League being defeated, Batman described Nightwing as the only person he could have picked to lead the new team. Eventually, the original League is restored, and Nightwing departs along with some of his League-although others remain as some of the original team take a leave of absence-although Batman notes that his leadership of the League proves that he is ready for more responsibilities. However,

4897-634: The events of Forever Evil , which featured a major status quo change for Dick Grayson. This version of Prankster was intended to be a complete reinvention of the Superman character of the same name. However, the character would eventually exist concurrently with the former incarnation despite sharing the same name, the relation between the two currently unknown. Brett Booth Flying Graysons The Flying Graysons are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . They are

4980-676: The events of the KnightSaga . Before returning to Gotham City together, they prevent an attempted coup d'état against the British government that involves destroying the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel . Later on, with the Nightwing miniseries (September to December 1995, written by Dennis O'Neil with Greg Land as an artist), Dick briefly considers retiring from being Nightwing forever before family papers uncovered by Alfred reveals

5063-453: The group also consisted of Dick's brother Mitch (portrayed by Mitch Gaylord ), who was killed by Two-Face alongside his parents. Flying Graysons posters appear in the Batman: Arkham series. Flying Graysons The Flying Graysons are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . They are a family of trapeze artists , whose child Dick

SECTION 60

#1732845117257

5146-658: The hindrance of parents to force their ideals on them, but Grayson and the rest of the Family can defeat her, Dick affirming that Batman helps the Robins become their people who can avoid the mistakes he made in dealing with his trauma rather than Mother's belief that she and Batman each teach people to use their trauma to define themselves. After the storyline, Dick meets with the restored Batman, assuring Bruce that, unlike Mother, he never forced his ideas on them, but simply gave them all an example that they chose to emulate while avoiding following it so exactly that they became like him. When

5229-545: The leader of the Justice League , joined by former Titans and Outsiders teammates Donna Troy , Jesse Quick and Jade , in a run by the writer James Robinson . After an intense confrontation with the Club of Villains and the mysterious Doctor Simon Hurt (who has established fake evidence that he is Bruce's father Thomas Wayne ), Hurt is defeated when Bruce returns to the present. However, Bruce leaves Dick to continue to act as Batman in Gotham with Damian as his partner while he sets up

5312-465: The magnitude of what he's asking, Dick reiterates his refusal to keep his survival from his family. He finally gains the upper hand, winning the fight. However, Dick's pyrrhic victory brings him no satisfaction as he feels compelled to take on the mission, even as he tells Bruce, "if you make me do this, things can never be the same with us again." The Nightwing title concluded in April 2014 at issue #30, and

5395-456: The nefarious spy organization Spyral. He returns to being Nightwing as part of the DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016. Grayson has appeared as Robin in other adaptations: the 1943 serial played by Douglas Croft , the 1949 serial , the 1966–68 live action Batman TV series and its motion picture portrayed by Burt Ward , and played by Chris O'Donnell in the 1995 film Batman Forever and its sequel, Batman & Robin . Grayson appeared in

5478-424: The new 'Batman Incorporated' program, Bruce publicly identifying himself as Batman's financial backer to justify a global Batman-themed operation where he funds multiple other vigilantes. Dick Grayson is re-established as Nightwing following DC's Flashpoint crossover event, after which the publisher relaunched all of its titles and made alterations to its continuity as part of an initiative called The New 52 . In

5561-556: The new status quo, Bruce Wayne is once again the only Batman, and Dick, like the other members of the adoptive family, is a few years younger. Dick, despite being 19 is drawn a bit shorter than in his pre-relaunch frame. This is likely due to adding believability to his acrobat past. His origin story remains the same (Bruce Wayne takes him in upon his parents' murder by Zucco) except that Dick prodigiously talented at reading body language, allowing him to deduce Batman's secret identity upon their first meeting. According to various interviews it

5644-426: The night Dick's parents were murdered, and Saiko attacks by detonating a massive explosion. It is then revealed that the circus has been training assassins for years, and Saiko was a childhood friend using Raya as an accomplice. Grayson had been selected to become a new Talon for the Court of Owls, but when Batman adopted him, Saiko took his place. The killer plummets to his death and Raya turns herself in. Returning to

5727-456: The old man dies in Dick's arms after telling him the circus holds a terrible secret. Investigating leads, he tracks down a supervillain named Feedback, who used to be a childhood friend but does not learn anything. Following Haly's clues, he finds a mysterious Book of Names in the circus that has his name on the last page. Later the circus announces they will be doing a memorial show on the anniversary of

5810-462: The other original Teen Titans after Wally West returns to the universe; through Wally, Dick remembers events of his life before Flashpoint and The New 52 . After the Titans are forcibly disbanded by the Justice League, Dick creates a new Titans team after the rupture of the Source Wall consisting of Donna Troy, Raven, Steel (Natasha Irons), Beast Boy, and Miss Martian . In his solo book, Dick

5893-468: The pre- Flashpoint Superman to defeat the latest attack of Doctor Destiny , Dick contemplates checking out Bludhaven, based on Superman's reference to how the pre- Flashpoint Grayson acted as the city's guardian for a time, and ultimately decides to go there. While there he meets a supervillain rehabilitation group called the Run-Offs, all of which were villains he and Batman defeated in the past. He finds that most of them are being framed for crimes around

5976-500: The returning Raptor, the Judge, and Wyrm. During one of his nightly patrols with Batman, Nightwing is shot by KGBeast and nearly killed. As a result, he suffered from severe memory loss and attempted to build a new life in Bludhaven. He changed his name to Ric, gave up being Nightwing, and became a taxi driver that frequently went to bars. With Bludhaven suffering from an increase in crime from

6059-459: The scattered organs. In a later story arc, Minos betrays Spyral and attempts to leak its secrets. To his surprise, he finds the new Agent Zero , who reveals that she, along with the upper echelon of Spyral, had used Minos to attract Dick into Spyral and kills Minos as he has outlived his life full of humor. During Batman and Robin Eternal , Grayson finds himself working with various other members of

6142-412: The subsequent decision to declare Gotham a No Man's Land , Grayson occasionally assisting his mentor and other members of Bat-Family in maintaining and restoring order in Gotham until it is fully rebuilt. When the Justice League vanished into the past fighting an ancient sorceress Gamemnae , Nightwing was selected as the leader of the reserve League created by an emergency program Batman had established in

6225-591: The three sidekicks join forces with Speedy (sidekick of Green Arrow ) and Wonder Girl to free their mentors in the JLA from mind-controlled thrall. They decide to become a real team: the Teen Titans . By the tactical skills gleaned from Batman, Robin is swiftly recognized as a leader before the Titans disband some years later. In 1969, still in the Pre- Crisis continuity, writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams return Batman to his darker roots. One part of this effort

6308-459: The vice of the 10th precinct, and Colleen Edwards, detective of the 14th precinct. During Year of the Villain , Ric is captured by William Cobb, his grandfather who is a Talon . A brain surgeon that Bruce hired to take care of Dick after he was shot named Dr. Haas was secretly a member of the Court, who was using a mystical memory crystal to alter Dick's memories and eventually shape him into becoming

6391-420: The vigilante's absence, a detective named Sapienza comes across Dick's abandoned hideout in the subway and decides to become the new Nightwing. Sapienza recruits a team of his friends in law enforcement to help him, and together they make a team of Nightwings using Dick Grayson's old uniforms. In addition to Sapienza, the team consists of Malcolm Hutch, the deputy chief in the Bludhaven fire department, Zak Edwards,

6474-400: The world. Seeley stated that the series will be "leaning into" Grayson's sex symbol status. The character's look also is redesigned with no mask, but a blue-and-black outfit calling back to his pre-New 52 Nightwing counterpart with an addition of a "G" on his chest, said to be reminiscent of the Robin "R". In the "Agent of Spyral" storyline, Dick (known as Agent 37) is enlisted by Mister Minos,

6557-461: Was again explained that Nightwing was originally intended to die in Infinite Crisis , and that you can see the arc that was supposed to end with his death in the series. After long discussions, the death edict was finally reversed, but the decision was made that, if they were going to be keeping him, he would have to be changed. The next arc of the ongoing series will further explain the changes, it

6640-503: Was designed by Jerry Robinson who drew it from memory based on Robin Hood illustrations by N. C. Wyeth . In his first appearance, Dick Grayson is an 8 year-old circus acrobat, and, with his parents, one of the " Flying Graysons ". Robin was born on the first day of spring, the son of John Grayson and Mary Grayson, a young aerialist couple. While preparing for a performance, Dick overhears two gangsters attempting to extort protection money from

6723-526: Was first introduced in Detective Comics #38 (1940) by Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane . Robin's debut was an effort to get younger readers to enjoy Batman. The name "Robin, The Boy Wonder" and the medieval look of the original costume are inspired by the legendary hero Robin Hood . Finger had named Dick Grayson after both the half-brother of pulp fiction character Frank Merriwell , also named Dick, and book editor Charles Grayson, Jr. The costume

6806-407: Was replaced with a new title, Grayson , which depicts Dick having given up his life as Nightwing at age 22 and going undercover as an agent of the Spyral organization where the former Batwoman Kathy Kane works. Written by Tim Seeley and former CIA counter-terrorism officer Tom King , the career change for Dick Grayson comes from the urging of Batman himself, who convinces him to remain dead to

6889-618: Was said. After spending some time away with Bruce and Tim to heal and rebuild after their harsh times before the Crisis, Dick relocates to New York but has trouble finding work as both Dick Grayson and Nightwing. During the Batman R.I.P. storyline, Nightwing is ambushed by the International Club of Villains. He is later seen being held in Arkham Asylum , where one of the surgeons, in reality also

#256743