Character Spotlight: Dick Grayson (DC Comics)

From Boy Wonder, to Teen Titan, to Caped Crusader.

Dick Grayson

Robin is by far the most well-known sidekicks in comic books and the most popular incarnation is the original Robin, Richard "Dick" Grayson. Introduced in April, 1940, fans of the boy wonder have watched him grow up over the years. From Batman's plucky young ward to the serious leader of the Teen Titans, to darker hero of his own mantra; Dick Grayson is the perfect representation of the importance of continuity in comic books. Unfortunately, few are familiar with this character's origins or the different roles he's played in the comics. Today, the most famous Flying Grayson takes the spotlight once again.

Creation
The Boy Wonder made his first appearance in Detective Comics #38 only about a year after Batman's first appearance. The character was introduced to attract younger readers to the comic while adding a lighter tone to the dark stories of the early Golden Age. This move immediately doubled the sales of Detective Comics, however, the slightly campier tone that developed in the comic during the 50's caused readers to speculate on the nature of the Dynamic Duo's relationship. The character was not only based on the red-breasted bird, but also on the character Robin Hood who was a childhood favorite of artist Jerry Robinson.

First Appearance of Robin

Origins
Dick Grayson was the youngest member of Haly Circus in which he and his parents performed a family acrobatic routine. The circus planned a performance in Gotham City where the Flying Graysons would be the main attraction and many of Gotham's elite were invited to attend including Bruce Wayne. The night before the show, however, Dick overheard crime boss Tony Zucco threatening the circus owner into paying his gang for protection money. Haly  refused to be threatened and didn't give in to Zucco's threats. As a result Zucco sabotaged circus equipment. The night of the show Dick watched helplessly as the trapeze his parents were performing on broke sending them falling to their deaths. Now an orphan, Dick blamed himself for not warning his parents in time.

Some of the circus performers offered to take care of Dick, but because he had been a witness to Zucco's threats, Police Captain James Gordon, who was in charge of the case thought it wouldn't be the safest decision. Taking pity on the young boy as he had also been orphaned at a young age, Bruce Wayne offered to take Dick into his care. Dick had very little attention from his new caretaker as Bruce would frequently disappear without explanation. This coupled with his frustration over his parent's murder remaining unsolved, Dick snuck out one night in order to investigate the scene himself. Arriving at the circus late at night, Dick happened to run into the vigilante Batman who was investigating the crime scene as well. Seeing himself in the boy, Bruce decided to take him under his wing and revealed his identity to him. Given the opportunity to be trained by Batman and accompany him as his ward, Dick accepted and aided Batman in confronting Tony Zucco who, in the stress of the moment, died of a heart attack.

The Dynamic Duo

The Boy Wonder
Dick was thrust into the crime fighting scene when he was forced to defend the Batcave until Batman arrived from Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Mr. Freeze who had stumbled upon the cave while escaping through an underground tunnel system.
This coupled with the completion of "the Gauntlet"(a test in which Dick must elude Batman in the course of one night), Batman officially swore him in as his new partner in crime fighting.

Dick enjoyed the excitement of being Robin until an encounter with Two-Face gave him the reality check that this wasn't all fun and games. Two-Face had captured Gotham's newest District Attorney and Batman suspending them both from a hangman's noose. Dick used a batarang to cut the D.A.'s rope but had forgotten about Two-Face's obsession with the number two. The D.A. was dropped into a hidden tank of water (part of a two-fold trap). The man drowned and Dick was beaten by Two-Face until Batman was able to free himself and save him. This event left Dick scarred for life.

The Teen Titans

As a teenager, Dick began taking on solo missions in order to prove that he was capable of fighting crime on his own. A short time later, Dick was recruited by the mysterious empath, Raven to lead the newly formed version of the Teen Titans, a team Dick had once been a part of but was currently disbanded. The new team consisted of former members Dick, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl, as well as newcomers the Changeling (aka Beast Boy), Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven. As Dick also began attending college at Hudson University. This as well as his membership to the Teen Titans, who were stationed in New York City, left Dick with very little time for his commitments in Gotham City.

 Batman ended Dick's career as Robin after the Joker had shot him in the shoulder. It was then that Dick realized that he had grown up and was no longer dependent on the Dark Knight whom he disagreed with frequently on their crime fighting methods. This led to Robin leaving Wayne Manor and spending more time with the Titans even though he had passed leadership on to Wonder Girl, in order to help him try to rediscover his own identity. Dick even went so far to talk to Superman. He explained to the man of steel that he couldn't imagine his life without being a crime-fighter, but was unsure of how to do it if he couldn't be Robin. Superman told him a story of a Kryptonian that had been cast out by his family (similar to Dick) and forged a new identity for himself, striving for justice and protecting the innocent of Krypton. The hero's real name was unknown but came to be known as Nightwing.

A New Identity

The Original Nightwing Costume

When the newest member of the Teen Titans, Terra, revealed herself as a traitor aiding their arch-enemy Deathstroke (aka. Slade Wilson) in the capture of the Titans, Dick was the only member to escape. The Titans were taken to the headquarters of a malicious organization known as the H.I.V.E.. Knowing he was the Titans only hope, Dick dawned the costume of a new crime-fighting identity he had been working on: Nightwing (inspired by the name of the Kryptonian hero). Teaming up with Deathstroke's son Joseph Wilson who operated under the name Jericho, the two of them infiltrated the H.I.V.E. headquarters and defeated Deathstroke and the H.I.V.E. henchmen. Nightwing, Jericho, the Titans, and the captured Deathstroke escaped, but Terra was killed in the destruction of the headquarters. Dick soon retook leadership of the Titans and offered membership to Jericho.

Dick was now a hero in his own mantra, leading the Titans through some of their darkest moments. However, his relationship with Batman was strained even further by the fact that Batman had taken up a new Robin, Jason Todd who was soon killed at the hands of the Joker.

The New Nightwing Costume (Designed by Alfred)

Dick then sought out by a young boy named Timothy Drake who had deduced Nightwing's identity based on his similar acrobatics to the late Flying Graysons. With this knowledge he was also able to piece together Batman's identity. Tim tried to persuade Dick to return to the identity of Robin in that he believed that Batman needed him just as much as Robin did. Dick refused which led to Tim to trying to prove his worth to Dick to train him to be the third Robin. Eventually, with enough persuasion, Dick pleaded Tim's case to Batman. Tim then underwent training from Bruce, Dick, and Alfred. Tim would later prove to be a core member in the next incarnation of the Teen Titans.

Soon in Gotham, Bruce was crippled by the new villain Bane who had broken his back and left him severely beaten. Reluctant to ask Dick to come back, Bruce recruited Jean-Paul Valley (aka the vigilante Azrael) to take up the identity of Batman while he recovered. However, Valley proved to be unstable and was corrupted by the power of being Batman, even going so far as to build a heavily armored Batsuit equipped with several lethal weapons. Dick was recruited by Tim to take down Azrael and when Bruce had recovered the three of them (with help from Catwoman) brought down Azrael and returned Bruce to the Batman identity.

The Dynamic Duo-Together Again

While Bruce still needed to recover from his broken back, he asked Dick to fill in as Batman. Dick agreed and he and Tim began to form a strong brotherly relationship. When Bruce eventually returned to reclaim the Batman identity, he admitted that the reason he had not originally selected Dick as his replacement was out of respect for his solo crime-fighting career. Having finally revealed his respect for Dick, he and Bruce began to mend their relationship.

Dick began to focus primarily on a solo career, relocating to Blüdhaven, a city outside of Gotham. Dick began to establish his own gallery of villains in this city, most notable the overly-muscular crime lord, Blockbuster. Dick also began to face of with the Teen Titans old enemy, Deathstroke, and the two formed a fierce arch-rivalry. Dick even had encounters with foes he had faced off with in Gotham City such as Two-Face and Scarecrow. Dick also began to build a romantic relationship with the former Batgirl (now Oracle), Barbara Gordon (Daughter of Commissioner Gordon).

Dick Taking on the Mantle of Batman

Shadow of the Bat
During the events of Final Crisis, Batman, operating with the Justice League, was supposedly killed by the New-God, Darkseid. As Dick and the rest of the Bat-family try desperately to bring order to Gotham in Batman's absence, a new Batman using lethal force rises up in a war on crime. After investigating, Dick learns that this new Batman is Jason Todd (the second Robin) resurrected from the dead. Having been resurrected in the Lazarus Pit (a pool of mystic chemicals that grants healing and longevity at the cost of sanity) by Talia al Ghul (daughter of Ra's al Ghul), Jason swore to do what Batman never could and end the lives of the worst criminals in Gotham. After a confrontation between members of the Bat-family that left Damian Wayne (son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul) wounded and Tim injured, Dick decided to confront Jason alone. In a battle that took place atop a moving train, Dick defeats Jason who escapes claiming that they would see each other again. After these events, Dick decides to take on the mantle of Batman.

The New Batman

After becoming the new Batman, to Tim's surprise, Dick chooses Damian to be the new Robin as he considered him to be an equal and believed that Damian needed mentoring and guidance, especially in his father's absence. Furious about this decision, Tim storms out of Wayne Manor and goes on a search to find evidence that Bruce is alive. He also adopts the new identity of Red Robin.

Dick soon learns that Damian is very cold and antagonistic, often criticizing him as unfit for the role of Batman. The more the two work together, however, the more Damian begin to support Dick in his endeavors, but still can be overly critical at times.

Within his career as Batman, Dick had faced off against Scarecrow, Two-Face, Penguin, Firefly, Hush, and most notably, the new Black Mask and Jason Todd. The Batman mantle proved only to last a few years as Bruce Wayne would return, having not been killed but trapped throughout the time stream. Dick would then return to the mantle of Nightwing after the events of Flashpoint, and leave Bruce as the one and only Batman once again.

Nightwing in his Redesigned Costume

Nightwing Once More
Dick has returned to and is currently operating in his Nightwing persona though he has slightly redesigned it in order to reflect a darker tone. He has once again pursuing a romantic relationship with Barbara Gordon (now Batgirl) and is an active member of the Bat-family. 

(*Comic Book Spoiler Alert*) 

His identity has recently been revealed publicly by the Crime Syndicate (an alternate Justice League from Earth-2) in the ongoing crossover event Forever Evil.

Recommended Reading:

Dick Grayson: Nightwing

• Robin: Year One
• Batman Dark Victory (read The Long Halloween first)
• The New Teen Titans Omnibus
• Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
• Batman: Year Three
• Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying
• Batman Knightsend
• Nightwing: A Knight in Blüdhaven
• Nightwing: FreeFall
• Titans vol.1
• Nightwing: the Great Leap
• Battle for the Cowl
• Batman: The Black Mirror
• Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison
• Batman: Night of the Owls Crossover

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