Dick Grayson

Latest revision as of 05:57, 20 July 2023

Dick Grayson in Nightwing v4 #1.

Dick Grayson is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Pre-Crisis, Earth-2

Becoming Robin in Detective Comics v1 #38.

'Richard Grayson

Grayson blamed the deaths on Zucco from conversations he overheard. Wayne recognized a similar tragedy in his own earlier life and decided to take Grayson in. Deciding to channel Grayson's rage and grief into action, and partially protect Grayson from Zucco, Wayne began training Grayson in further more extensive acrobats and fighting techniques. When Wayne felt Grayson was ready to use his skills, Wayne gave him the costumed identity of Robin, the Boy Wonder. (Detective Comics v1 #38) However, Bruce never had the intention of allowing Dick to become a crime-fighter. Due to Dick's insistence, Bruce trained him in criminology and investigation. The final test came when the Gotham Police could not capture some criminals and they had to assist them. Unfortunately, Batman was captured by the criminals and Robin was forced to work alone to rescue Batman. After this impressive feat, Batman allowed Dick to become his permanent sidekick. (Batman v1 #32)

His unscrupulous uncle George Grayson along with his wife Clara Grayson returned in his life when they claimed that Bruce Wayne was an unfit guardian. As a result, Wayne lost custody of Dick who fell under the care of his uncle and aunt. It was revealed that the court case made against Wayne was part of a fraudulent ploy to extort $1 million dollars but it failed allowing Bruce to regain custody of Dick Grayson. (Batman v1 #20)

Grayson later tried at being a comic book writer during a time with Crescent Comics. (Batman v1 #35)

Batman and Robin came to run into a criminal called Mr. Camera who used photographic equipment to commit crimes, but were unable to catch him on a number of occasions. He foresaw that Mr. Camera would try to steal a 3-D camera during a demonstration, and attended the event in his civilian identity. When Camera made his move Bruce and Dick changed into Batman and Robin in the alley behind the theatre, and followed Mr. Camera to his lair, apprehending him. Unfortunately for them Mr. Camera was fond of recording their crimes, and his goons had tipped him off that Batman and Robin came from the alley where he had one of his cameras set up. He knew they must have changed there, and said he'd hidden the film, but after getting out of prison and exposing it he'd expose their identities. Months went by without a word from Camera, but one day he sent a threatening note; he'd told a trusted prisoner the location of the film, and bragged that when his friend was released in a month he'd expose their identities. The Dynamic Duo had to get ahead of the story, so Dick revealed his identity to his classmates, changing into costume, and performing acrobatic tricks. The media hounded Bruce, who said Dick was only trying to impress a classmate he had a crush on, and said he'd prove he was not Batman. Alfred was supposed to dress up as Batman and meet Bruce for a press conference, but he broke his leg after falling in the snow, so Bruce appeared to the press and directed their attention to Batman and the Batplane on a roof, and had a civil conversation with the hero before he flew off. He'd pulled off the hoax by having Robin remote-control the Batplane while he used ventriloquism to 'speak' to a snowman dressed up as Batman, and incinerating it with a thermal bomb before the Batplane took off. It turned out his scheme was for nothing because Mr. Camera's photos were badly underexposed. (Batman v1 #81)

Following the discovery of ancient Indian artifacts in the Batcave, Batman and Robin travelled back in time 300 years into the past, with help from Professor Nichols. There they learned that the Batcave was previously inhabited by Jeremy Coe, an Indian spy and helped him escape the Indians and report back to his superiors at Fort George before returning to their own time. (Detective Comics v1 #205)

Crooks committed several inside jobs, and Bruce and dick hoped the hospital charity event they were attending would be the next target. A large model of a proposed new hospital tumbled down the stairs, and Bruce grabbed it, wrenching his arm, and allowing the crooks to rob the event, but prevented anyone from getting hurt. Vicki Vale was covering the event for Vue, and Batman reviewed her photos, spotting banker Jackson Barrow pushing the model. He talked to Barrow, who had an alibi, and realized that mob makeup man Martin Weir was creating disguises to allow the robbers access to events. Vicki was determined to track down Weir with them, but Batman feared she had seen his arm in a sling and realize he was Bruce Wayne. He used a super-scientific radio from his hall of trophies given to him by the Batman of 3055 to contact the hero, who said he'd be happy to stand in for Batman while he healed, and offered to speed up the healing process with scientific massage. Batman 3055 almost rammed the Batmobile into a freight train because he assumed it was jet powered and could jump over the plane. Vicki joined their investigation, and Batman 3055 was a ladies man who enjoyed flirting with her, making her nervous. Robin had to keep distracting Vicki while he used futuristic devices like a jetpack and truth vapor to learn Weir's location. They captured Weir, and foiled the last job he set up, a racetrack robbery, but Vicki was absolutely convinced Batman was an imposter because he was an inch shorter than the Batman she knew. Batman, whose arm finally healed, switched places with Batman 3055 and showed Vicki he wore high leather soles when doing electrical experiments, explaining the disparity in height. Batman 3055 returned to the future, saying the past was too hectic for him. (Detective Comics v1 #216)

As Dick Grayson, he became a full partner in the law firm of Cranston and Grayson. It was as the prominent lawyer that Grayson became elected to serve as Ambassador for the United States to South Africa in the late 1970s. Grayson would continue to be active as Robin for most of the intervening years. After the death of Bruce Wayne, Grayson reconsiders his earlier decision and thinks to re-adopt the Batman role but Helena convinces him not to do so. (Adventure Comics v1 #463)

Pre-Crisis, Earth-1

Richard Grayson

During his time as one of the Flying Graysons, he met and befriended a clown by the name of Waldo Simpson with him being a close friend of the family to the point that he was like a godfather. (Batman v1 #337)

The young Dick Grayson and his parents John and Mary were trapeze artists that worked for the Haly Circus. Like many establishments in the area, the Circus was threatened by protection racketeer Boss Zucco who has threatened the owner to join up for "protection" to avoid accidents from happening at the circus. When the owner would refuse, Zucco would arrange for an "accident" to happen, which would cause Dick's parents to fall to their deaths. Witnessing this tragedy in the audience is Bruce Wayne who's own parents were killed by criminals. Confronting Dick in his identity as the Batman, Bruce would offer the boy the chance to personally avenge his parents' death. Adopting young Dick as his ward, Bruce would train the boy physically and mentally to be a crack crime fighter much like the Caped Crusader. Once fully trained, Batman would present Dick with a costume that Bruce had worn previously as a young man. Taking on Bruce's previous mantle of Robin, the new boy wonder would help Batman prevent Boss Zucco from destroying the Canin building. During the battle, Zucco would be photographed by Robin pushing one of his own men of the partially constructed building, ensuring that he would go to jail for murder, thus avenging his parents. (Batman v1 #213)

Post-Crisis

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Richard Grayson was a twelve-year-old circus acrobat, the youngest of a family act called The Flying Graysons of The Haley Circus. Dick joined the act at a very young age, having been trained in acrobatics from birth. While on tour in Gotham City, he overheard "Boss" Tony Zucco, a well-known and feared crime-lord, threaten the performers unless the circus's owner paid extortion money. The owner refused, and that night Dick watched in horror as his parents' high wire snapped, sending his parents hurtling to their deaths, all while many of Gotham's elite watched on. Young Dick felt responsible, because he didn't warn his parents in time. (Batman v1 #436)

Shortly after the tragedy, Dick was placed in an uncaring juvenile services system, on the grounds that social services were full. He got beaten up by a number of the inmates, and he was later sent to a Catholic orphanage. (Robin Annual v2 #4) Bruce Wayne rescued Dick by adopting him as his ward, because the boy did not want to replace his deceased father with the billionaire. (Batman v1 #439) Frustrated by the lack of attention from his new guardian and the mystery still surrounding his parents' death, Dick sneaked out of Wayne Manor one evening to solve the crime on his own - only to stumble into Batman, who was also investigating the murder. When Dick returned to the circus, he was confronted by Zucco's business associate, Eddie Skeevers who nearly killed Grayson, but Dick was saved thanks to Batman's intervention. After waking up in the Batcave, he is shocked to learn that Bruce is really the Batman. (Batman: Dark Victory v1 #10)

Robin

Nightwing

Eventually, Nightwing learned that Bruce was taken down by Bane and that he had chosen a total unknown called Jean-Paul Valley in his place as Batman. While Nightwing didn't agree with the decision, he trusted Bruce's judgement. (Batman v1 #500)

Three months later, he came to be approached by Arsenal about forming a team of superheroes but one where they had no emotional ties to one another. He believed this would help them respond to threats and prevent any fears of sending loved ones into danger. Harper came to help recruit for this team where their ranks included Grace Choi, Indigo, Jade, Metamorpho and Thunder where they came to operate from a bomb shelter in Brooklyn. (Outsiders v3 #1) Their first mission was to deal with an army of intelligent gorillas led by Gorilla Grodd who attacked Manhattan. (Outsiders v3 #2)

Batman

In the aftermath, he came to take the mantle and became the new Batman. (Batman: Battle for the Cowl v1 #3)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Richard Grayson

With his defeat fake, Batman asked Grayson to help a mysterious intelligence agency called Spyral that was investigating superheroes and determine the threat posed by them. The organisation was already looking to recruit Grayson to be one of their operatives where he served under the mysterious Mister Minos. (Grayson v1 #1)

He managed to recover from the hit but suffered amnesia leading to him forgetting most of his past. This saw him returning to Bludhaven where he began to operate under the name of Ric Gray. Without a place to live, he would break into peoples houses and sleep there where he would leave before the owners returned with him leaving money behind in compensation. Most of the time, he went to a local bar where he came to consider the people his friends. Around this time, Barbara Gordon met him and tried to help him remember his past though Ric refused to do so. (Nightwing v4 #50)

With his mind restored, he joined the rest of the Bat Family as they gathered to stop the clowns rampage in the city. They rallied under Nightwing with them brought together when Barbara Gordon had re-activated the Oracle system with herself in charge of it. This saw Grayson and the others confront Punchline as she led the clowns where they fought her and managed to defeat her leading to Alexis's arrest. (Batman v3 #100)

Overview

Personality and attributes

Later on, he abandoned the name of Robin and instead took the name of Nightwing for himself that was based on a name from Kryptonian legend told to him by Superman. (Tales of the Teen Titans v1 #44) At one time, he came to be referred to as the Target when he operated in an identity that could not be connected to Nightwing. (Nightwing: Target v1 #1) After Bruce Wayne's seeming death, he came to inherit the mantle of his mentor and became the new Batman. (Batman: Battle for the Cowl v1 #3) He later came to be an agent of Spyral where he was known as Agent 37. (Grayson v1 #1)

It was said that he had the same kindness in his eyes as his father whilst having a beautiful Romani smile like his mother. (Nightwing v4 #82)

Batman had taught, guided and trained him with Grayson owing him much. Dick had said that Batman had taken a frightened young boy and showed him how to become a good man. (Tales of the Teen Titans v1 #44)

Dick had said that he grew up in the shadow of Superman who taught him about honor, selflessness and the true meaning of the word 'hero'. (Tales of the Teen Titans v1 #44)

He had said that he was the sum of the many people that had influenced him and shaped his thinking as well as given him love. (Tales of the Teen Titans v1 #44)

According to one account, he had half-sister named Melinda Zucco who was the daughter of his father and a woman named Meili Lin. She was 23 years old when she was bought and brought to America by Tony Zucco who wanted to possess her. One day, he took her to the circus where she tried to escape from him with her being given shelter by John Grayson. The two had a brief relationship where she became pregnant with Grayson's daughter but was taken back by Tony Zucco with Melinda being born six months later. (Nightwing v4 #82)

Powers and abilities

Spyral Agent 37 in Grayson v1 #9.

He came to be classified as the finest human athlete. (52 v1 #25)

As Robin, he used to face greater danger for being more visible and being smaller. This led to him being forced to learn how to read people in a manner that even Batman did not with him looking to know how others felt or their next action by their faces or the smallest of movements. (Nightwing v4 #12)

Grayson was trained in a Tibetan mind technique that allowed him to determine that he was trapped in a virtual reality construct. (JLA/Titans v1 #1) It was shown that he was capable of fooling a polygraph. (Outsiders v3 #23)

He came to make modifications to his batons to make better use of his circus skills including grapples that shot out of it allowing him to swing across rooftops. (Nightwing v4 #44)

As Batman, he began to wear the Batsuit where modifications were made to it that used lighter materials that better suited Grayson's fighting style. (Batman v1 #688)

As a member of Spyral, he was outfitted with a Hypnos implant that allowed him to hypnotise others. Grayson demonstrated a quick mastery of the technology in a short amount of time. Though potent, the implants were dangerous as they could cause a two-way brain scramble if misused. (Grayson v1 #1)

Notes

• Dick Grayson was created by Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson where he made his first appearance as Robin in Detective Comics v1 #38 (April, 1940).
• In Nightwing Annual v2 #1 (1997), the character had a Romani heritage being introduced into his backstory.
• In Batman v1 #20 (1943), the Earth-Two Dick Grayson was shown to have had an uncle named George Grayson who was the brother of his father with the man married to woman named Clara Grayson. The pair claimed that they were in Europe when they heard that John Grayson had died which was why they did not take in Dick but in reality they wanted to use the boy to extort Bruce Wayne of his money.
• At WizardWorld Philadelphia, the DC Panel, "It 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 was said."
• Writer Scott Snyder had said in an interview on the character, "He’s the character that more than anyone else in the Bat-Family wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s not the best detective from an empirical standpoint, but he’s the best emotional detective out of all the former Robins, in my opinion. He’s someone who understands human psychology; he understands empathy. There are mysteries Bruce wouldn’t do as well on as Dick and he sometimes gets shortchanged in terms of people thinking of him as Batman-light. But I don't think of him that way. I think of him more as someone with a very different skill set as a detective and Gotham would look very different under his mantle."

Alternate Versions

• In Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table v1 (1998), Richard Grayson appeared in the alternate reality setting set on an Elseworld in Arthurian times. He was a young man whose family was killed during an attack from Mordred who attacked his village. Grayson was discovered by the Dark Knight who saw in Grayson a similar injustice as was done to him and decided to take the young boy as a squire to train him.
• In Planetary/Batman (2003) cross over, a Dick Grayson was shown to occupy the Wildstorm Universe on Earth-50. He was shown being affiliated with the Planetary organisation and was situated in their Gotham City office where a comrade of his was Jaspers (who resembled the Joker).
• In Trinity (2008), an alternate timeline was created after the Trinity were removed from history. On this world, the character was instead known as Richie Grayson who was a criminal and a member of Tony Zucco's mob.
• In Countdown: The Hunt for Ray Palmer: Red Rain (2009), the Earth-43 Dick Grayson was based on the story of Batman & Dracula: Red Rain. On this Earth, the Flying Grayson were killed by the vampire Batman as shown in DC Infinite Halloween Special. Dick grew up as an obsessive vampire hunter but was ultimately turned by Batman into a vampire where he became hi partner. He became a member of the Blood League that consisted of Batman and the other members of the vampire Justice League.
• In Batman Beyond Universe v1 #9-14 (2014), Dick Grayson was shown to reside on the world of the Justice Lords future that was set in a Batman Beyond style future. Commander Grayson headed the Justice Lords Task Force that sought to enforce their tyrannical rule of order on the world. In this world, he had married Barbara Gordon with the pair having a son named John with Grayson reluctantly following the orders of Lord Superman.
• In Earth-2: World's End (2014), a new version of Earth-2 Dick Grayson was introduced as part of the New 52 Multiverse. On this Earth, he was a reporter and married to Barbara Gordon who was a police officer where they had a son named John Grayson. During Apokolips onslaught on Earth, Barbara was killed during a riot and Grayson managed to take his son onto one of the fleeing evacuation ships. He was partly trained by this Earth's Ted Grant before accompanying the Wonders that got sent to Telos. During Convergence, he was with Earth-2 Batman who died and proved instrumental in convincing Telos to turn against Brainiac. In Earth-2: Society (2015), he adopted the cowl and became the new Batman of the new Earth that the inhabitants of Earth-2 had settled on after fleeing their homeworld.
• In Superman: American Alien v1 (2016), an alternate version of Dick Grayson was shown as the young ward of Bruce Wayne with him attending the Cerberus Summit where he encountered reporter Clark Kent.
• In Nightwing: The New Order v1 (2017), an alternate version of Dick Grayson was shown in this world. He was shown to had waged a campaign against superhuman people in the world where he established the Crusaders. These were a group of non-powered agents that arrested superhumans so that they could be placed on inhibitors that counteracted their abilities. At some point, he had a son with Starfire named Jake Grayson who he cared for and looked after where by 2028 he managed to neutralise 90% of the worlds super-powered population. Jake had manifested superpowers but kept them secret until his father witnessed them leading to him attempting to place his son on Inhibitor meds but his body was immune. He was eventually discovered by the Crusaders program who later apprehended the boy and killing Alfred Pennyworth when he resisted the arrest.
• In Batman Beyond v6 #25 (2018), an alternate possible future was shown in the time of Batman Beyond. Dick Grayson was shown to had become the Mayor of Bludhaven in this future.

In other media

Television

• In Batman, Dick Grayson appeared in the 1960s live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Burt Ward.
• In Batman: The Animated Series, Dick Grayson appeared in the setting of the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe where he was voiced by actor Loren Lester.
• In The Batman, Dick Grayson as Robin appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Evan Sabara.
• In Titans, Dick Grayson appeared in the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Brenton Thwaites.

Films

• In Batman and Harley Quinn, Dick Grayson as Nightwing appeared in the animated film with him being voiced once more by actor Loren Lester.
• In Son of Batman, Dick Grayson as Nightwing appeared in the setting of the DC animated film where he was voiced by actor Sean Maher.
• In Batman vs. Robin, Dick Grayson as Nightwing appeared in the setting of the DC animated film where he was voiced by actor Sean Maher.
• In Batman: Bad Blood, Dick Grayson as Nightwing appeared in the setting of the DC animated film where he was voiced by actor Sean Maher.

Video games

• In Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, Dick Grayson appeared as a playable character in the setting of the video game where he was voiced again by actor Loren Lester.
• In Young Justice: Legacy, Dick Grayson as Nightwing appeared as a playable character in the video game tie-in where he was voiced again by actor Jesse McCartney.
• In DC Universe Online, Dick Grayson appeared as an NPC in the setting of the MMORPG video game where he was voiced by actor Joey Hood.
• In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Dick Grayson as Nightwing appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Troy Baker.

Appearances

Grayson's various identities in Secret Origins v3 #8.

• Detective Comics v1: (1940)
• Batman v1:
• Teen Titans v1:
• New Teen Titans v1:
• Nightwing v1:
• JLA v1:
• Batman: Battle for the Cowl v1:
• Batman and Robin v1:
• Grayson v1:
• Batman and Robin Eternal v1:
• Nightwing v4:
• Titans:
• Nightwing: The New Order v1:
• Batman v3:

External Links

• DC Comics Entry
• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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