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Richard "Dick" Grayson is one of the main characters of the DC Animated Movie Universe. He was the first Robin, partner of Batman, from when he was a boy. In his adult years, Grayson took on a new costumed identity Nightwing.
He was voiced by Sean Maher.
History[]
Early life and time as Robin[]
When he was a boy, Dick worked at a circus. Following that, he was fostered by Bruce Wayne, who he helped fight crime as the vigilante Robin. Eventually, he moved on to his own solo activities as Nightwing, leaving behind his Robin outfit to be put on display in the Batcave.
Son of Batman[]
Nightwing stopped Damian Wayne from killing the defeated and severely wounded Ubu. After a prolonged battle Nightwing managed to subdue and tie up the boy, although he ended up with a number of sizeable sword cuts. Later, Nightwing piloted the Batwing to rescue Batman, Talia and Damian.
Nightwing and Robin[]
Dick and Damian were called upon by Batman to find and capture the Scarecrow since he had to help the Justice League. The two tracked Scarecrow down and defeated him in his warehouse.
Batman vs. Robin[]
While Batman was out on patrol Dick came over to keep an eye on Damian. The two sparred in the Batcave and argued over who was Bruce's real "son". Damian ended up defeating Dick in combat.
Later, while Dick was talking to his girlfriend "Kori", Damian sneaked out of the mansion. When Bruce returned from an almost fatal encounter with the Court of Owls Dick stitched him up.
Later when the Talon attacked the Wayne Manor and the Batcave, Nightwing and Batman fought them off however during the fight Dick was seriously injured and eventually subdued by Talon. After Talon was stopped and Damian left to find himself Dick chastised Bruce for letting him go alone but Bruce assured him Damian would come back when he was ready.
Batman: Bad Blood[]
Nightwing was en route to "the Tower" and visit Starfire after weeks of not seeing each other. He was delayed by the appearance of Blockbuster in a red light district. Blockbuster threw vehicles at Nightwing but missed. Nightwing made his way to Blockbuster and hit him in the chin with a knee and assaulted him with his staves. Starfire distracted Nightwing by saying she almost forgot what he feels like. He took a kick from Blockbuster and was propelled into a construction site. Nightwing threw out a throwing star at a crane and severed the wrecking ball. It landed right on top of Blockbuster. Nightwing was about to resume his trip to "the Tower" but Alfred Pennyworth sent him an emergency call. Nightwing begrudgingly cancelled on Starfire and drove to the Batcave instead. He eavesdropped on Pennyworth posing as Bruce Wayne at a Wayne Enterprises board meeting. Once the feed was cut, Nightwing teased Pennyworth to watch the "bloody hells" and give himself away. Pennyworth wasn't amused.
Nightwing asked how long Batman was gone. Pennyworth replied two weeks, one day, and 15 hours. Nightwing remarked it wouldn't be the first time. Pennyworth agreed but Batman should have contacted him already. He worried the surge in criminal activity would only increase in Batman's absence. Nightwing made the hard call and donned one of the older Batman suits. He drove to the docks and interrupted Black Mask's operation unloading a weapons shipment. More of Mask's men converged on the site but Robin suddenly appeared and jammed Mask's own weapon causing it to blow back in his face. Batman wasn't pleased. Modest as ever, Robin criticized Grayson's impression of Batman and insisted he needed his help. Batwoman continued following the Batmobile but Batman and Robin confronted her in an alley. Batwoman deduced he was really Nightwing then admitted she witnessed the real Batman's death. She showed them the ruins of the warehouse where she and Batman fought a gang of supervillains.
Grayson proposed they should all work together but Batwoman declined to join the "cult" and glided back to the city. On the drive back, Robin insinuated Grayson wanted to Batman to be dead so he could keep the suit on. Grayson braked and gave him an earful about how he wanted nothing to do with it. Pennyworth made contact and played Batman's file on Batwoman. But he and Grayson were surprised to learn she was Katherine Kane. The next night, he and Robin responded to Lucius Fox's security breach alert at Wayne Tech. They entered the sub-level 3 vault and battled Heretic's gang. However, Batman could not pursue with Robin electrocuted into submission and Fox bleeding out. Grayson later visited Fox in the hospital. Luke Fox, his son, demanded to join the war against Heretic but Grayson turned him down and said it wasn't his call. That night, as Batman he found Kane in a bar and sent her an anonymous text to meet him on the rooftop. He revealed his secret identity to Batwoman and admitted he had a childhood crush on her. Batwoman remarked she thought he was annoying.
Batwoman told Grayson about the night Batman saved her life and how she vowed she would never need someone to save her again. Grayson understood but believed she didn't have to be alone as a result. Pennyworth alerted Grayson of Robin's sudden disappearance. Batman and Batwoman followed Robin's tracker to the Sisters of Perpetual Grace convent outside the city. They were met by nuns armed with M-60s and katana blades. Somehow, Grayson convinced Batwoman to use rubber bullets. As the battle continued, Batwing came to their aid. Tusk informed Talia of three intruders. Talia ordered a retreat but left Bruce and Damian Wayne behind. Batman had Batwing blast the front doors in. He made his way through the compound and encountered Hellhound. Hellhound did a series of stances but debris rained down on him. He encountered Bruce and Damian Wayne and helped them outside. However, the convent began to collapse. Batman struggled to hold onto the grapnel line Damian and Bruce clung to but he soon fell as well. Batwing saved them and flew them back to stable ground.
Without so much as a thank you or acknowledgement of Batwing and Batwoman, Bruce Wayne ordered Robin and Nightwing back to Gotham. A week later, Wayne informed Damian, Pennyworth, and Grayson they would pursue Talia after he finished hosting the World Tech Summit. Grayson felt they shouldn't wait and instead call in Kane and Fox to help. The conversation became heated between Wayne and Grayson about including them and telling Kane their secret. Pennyworth commented he was gone and Grayson had to make a judgment call and thought it was the right one. Wayne conceded but wanted it be family only going forward. Grayson revealed Kane was working the the hard drive they confiscated from the convent. Wayne wanted her out after she was done and declared he called the shots. After Wayne left the cave, Pennyworth noted he went through an extraordinary ordeal. Grayson stated they all did, too. He started a work out and called Kane to inform her of Wayne's decision. He tried to apologize but Kane told there was nothing to be sorry about.
A short time later, Nightwing and Robin met with Batwoman on a rooftop. She told them about how her brainwashed father tried to kill her. Nightwing suspected Wayne told Talia about the hard drive and the secret Wayne Tech vault earlier. Batwing arrived with the data he extracted from the hard drive. Nightwing noticed a list contained names of vice-presidents, military officials, and corporate leaders and realized Talia planned to brainwash them all at the summit. They infiltrated the Watchtower Initiative above the city. Nightwing declared first priority was evacuating the attendees but Talia cut them off with her team. Nightwing was forced to battle a brainwashed Batman. Batman eventually broke Nightwing's left shoulder and soundly bested him. Talia tossed him a gun and ordered him to execute Nightwing. Robin appeared and deduced Talia was all about control. Talia ordered Batman to kill Robin first instead. Nightwing pleaded with Wayne not to kill because he never killed. Not to let her win or take his soul.
Talia retorted she cleansed his soul and took away his trauma. Nightwing declared Batman brought them all together because he understood their pain and lonliness better than anyone could. They needed a family. They needed him. Batman struggled with the gun. Nightwing continued and admitted he wasn't just a mask, he was a man and the best man he ever knew. Batman held the gun to himself and stammered he couldn't fight the programming. Nightwing implored him to fight it for the boy who lost his world in that alley. Talia drew her sword and was about to kill Nightwing herself but Batman shot it out of her hands then fell over. Nightwing and Robin tended to him as Batwoman decked Talia. Batwing arrived. Talia was surrounded. She pulled a grenade and declared she would have Wayne in death. It was just a ploy and Talia got away in her transport but to crash into the ocean when Onyx attacked her for putting the Heretic down. A short time later, back at Wayne Manor, Grayson thanked Pennyworth for lunch and was about to depart for the Tower. He noticed Pennyworth was observing Bruce and Damian Wayne having a heart-to-heart outside over Talia's death.
Grayson made a full recovery. Batwoman caught up with Nightwing on her motorcycle as they made their way to the Gotham City Police Department headquarters to meet up with Batman and Robin. Batwing soared over them. They all noticed a police chase down below involving the Penguin and joined in the pursuit.
Justice League vs. Teen Titans[]
Nightwing was tasked with bringing Robin to "The Tower". On their way they debated on the use of a team.
Later Grayson is seen flirting with Starfire over a video chat. Kori expressed her frustrations over Damian's poor social skills and peer relations. He then unintentionally gave her the idea to use fun to resolve the team's issues, evidently confused by her sudden excitement.
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract[]
After putting in some thought into their relationship, Dick bought an apartment in the city where the Titans are and asked Starfire to share it with him.
Nightwing has rejoined the Titans, who now consist of Koriand'r (now Starfire), Beast Boy, Raven, Blue Beetle, Robin II and Terra. Their current mission is to break into a H.I.V.E. facility and take it out. Nightwing considers how to break in, until Starfire tells him that Terra will sneak them in with her geokenesis.
Below ground, Nightwing debriefs the team, explaining that his purpose of leaving the Titans before was to exclusively spend his time studying H.I.V.E; they are radicals and extremists who won't think about sacrificing themselves if it means killing them. Soon in the battle, Nightwing and Starfire tagteam and take out two suits. Seeing a control room, Nightwing races up to it, while the rest of the Titans fight the suits. Trying to break into the control room, Nightwing is covered by Starfire, who knocks out H.I.V.E. goons with her starbolts. Multi-tasking, Nightwing mentions that now's a good time to talk about taking the next step in their relationship. They manage to break in, and Nightwing starts downloading the files. Before Nightwing can finish what he was telling Starfire, the rest of the Titans enter the room, having defeated the H.I.V.E. exosuits. Seeing it's not going to get any better, Nightwing asks Starfire to move into his new apartment with him; he gives her a key. Starfire accepts the key, gladly. Beast Boy thinks Nightwing and Starfire believe they're too good to live in the tower with them now. Terra quips "Yeah That's the takeaway from this."
In the Titans' computer room, Nightwing programs the computer to compile the data taken from the H.I.V.E. base with the data taken from two previous bases they attacked. The computer notifies him about new information on Brother Blood. After seeing the news interview with Brother Blood
Nightwing is surprised by Robin, who notes that Ra's al Ghul would have been impressed with Blood for being able to manage both a world-wide cult and H.I.V.E. However, Nightwing explains H.I.V.E. and the Church of Blood are the same thing; Blood only makes them look separate. Robin offers congratulations to Nightwing, seeing Starfire as an equal partner for him. Starfire arrives next, fresh out of the shower, asking about the progress about the information; Nightwing explains that he programmed the computer to inform him when it finds relevant data. Robin notes it's not the worse idea he's had, earning annoyance; he thought it was a compliment. Terra arrives, snarkily repeating Robin. As Robin leaves, he is surprised by Beast Boy, who is wondering where Jaime went.
At a group training session
At Titans Tower, Starfire is packing up her belongings; she reflects on an amulet she had since childhood. Nightwing comforts her. Suddenly, the entire tower begins shaking; Starfire moans "not again." They, Beast Boy, Robin and Raven rush to Terra's room, where she is convulsing in her sleep and calling upon her powers. Raven attempts to calm Terra's mind, awakening her; she rudely tells them to leave her be. Nightwing and Starfire leave; she notes the nightmare earthquakes are semi-frequent.
Later, Nightwing works on the data they got from H.I.V.E.; Robin surprises him. Thinking it's about Terra's lack of control, Nightwing is surprised to hear that Robin is distrustful of her. Starfire and Raven arrive nest, with Raven backing Robin up as she has sensed something off about Terra since she tried looking into her mind. However, Nightwing agrees with Starfire that Terra deserves a chance to be helped. Robin tells them that making choices with their hearts will lead to deaths. Hoping Raven feels different, Starfire gives a hopeful look; however, Raven just follows Robin out of the room.
At Nighwing's apartement, he and Starfire unpack her belongings, which include a lot a weapons. They have a playful fight, which is interrupted by a text from Damian, surprisingly, which says he's working solo. Nightwing adds that Damian approves of them, prompting Starfire to kiss him.
The Titans celebrate Terra One year anniversary where they all enjoy the party, with Nightwing's computer interrupting his dance with Starfire; it turns out that a scientist that is supposed to be dead has his personal lab still being paid for by Blood. The Titans are planning to capture the scientist working on the energy drain machine for Blood. The Titans sneak into the lab, finding the scientist packing up notes and deleting his computer files. They attempt to stop him, but the scientist blows up his computer and releases drones to keep them occupied. Raven chases after him, while the rest of the Titans fight the drones. Eventually, the Titans destroy all the drones as Raven returns with the scientists as a hostage. A barely functioning drone comes back online and swiftly kills the scientist with a laser shot through the chest; it was being controlled by Deathstroke. The Titans open the briefcase to find pictures of them. Back at the tower, Nightwing and Starfire go through the notes, finding that H.I.V.E. has been studying them through all the Titans' attacks on their bases. However, the exact purpose for doing so was lost with the computer data that was blown up.
They inform the rest of the Titans to be careful and keep an eye out just in case H.I.V.E. makes an attempt to attack them when alone. Nightwing tries calling Damian to warn him, but can't get an answer. The next day, Nightwing talks with Starfire over the phone; she doesn't know how to cook, so she asks him to pick up some takeout. Nightwing decides to check on Gartfield and Jaimie. The moment she hangs up, she finds a present outside their home addressed to her from him. At the same time, Jaime heads to the soup kitchen to cook the meals for the day. Beast Boy heads to do his talk with Kevin Smith, and finds a Do Not Press button. Later on Nightwing checks the soup kitchen and the radio talk, finding Jaime was shocked unconscious and later heads Metro-Con where he figure that Beast Boy couldn't resist pushing a button, which released knock out darts. Nightwing heads home, finding Starfire gone. Deathstroke attacks. Nightwing falls out of the window, saving himself from a deadly drop at the cost of dislocating his shoulder from grabbing a ledge. Deathstroke follows him, attempting to knock him out. Fed up with the chase, Deathstroke shoots him, knocking Nightwing into the river. Nightwing surfaces close by, slamming his shoulder in the pier to relocate it. He heads to Titans Tower, where he finds Raven's room destroyed by Terra.
At Blood's HQ, in the middle of the Titans draining ceremony however, Nightwing drops in and damages the controls before Blood can fatally drain his teammates. An explosion occurs, scaring the cultists into fleeing. With the exception of Terra, the Titans free themselves. Robin and Nightwing chase after Deathstroke, both hoping for some payback. Terra wakes as the Titans fight, becoming blinded by a blood-lust towards Slade for betraying her; she blocks Robin and Nightwing and tries crushing Slade.
After it's collapse, Beast Boy returns and digs Terra out of the rubble. She wakes, smiling happily before dying of her internal injuires. Beast Boy and the Titans mourn.
Batman: Hush[]
Nightwing appears in this movie, helping Batman defeat the mysterious supervillain Hush (who's actually the Riddler).
Justice League DARK: Apokolips War:[]
After being killed by a Paradoom alongside with most of the Teen Titans except Starfire after she became a cyborg, along with Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Mera and Hawkman, courtesy of Darkseid, Damian Wayne dipped him in the Lazarus Pits in order to survive, but unfortunately, that caused him to become psychotic, so he is held captive from trying to kill anyone. After Darkseid is destroyed, Nightwing is last seen with the last surviving and freed heroes with Starfire cradling him before Flash runs off to re-write everything to undo Darkseid's actions.
Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans[]
Nightwing appears in this movie, where he meets the Dick Grayson from the Go! universe and the Dick Grayson from the 2003 universe.
Personality[]
Unlike his mentor, Dick is shown to be more easy-going and approachable, even in his Nightwing identity. He's also rather talkative, taunting Damian during their sparring session and conversing with Kori as they were infiltrating a H.I.V.E base. Despite his demeanor, he does take matters seriously if the situation presents itself. Dick also holds a high regard for Bruce as he was his mentor and surrogate father, though he has stated that it wasn't easy growing up under his tutelage.
While his first interactions with Damian were extremely antagonistic, not helped by Damian violently fighting him due to "interrupting" the boy's investigation, the trajectory was destined to improve. Due to Damian's ego and sense of entitlement, Dick struggled to relate to him; though, as the young Wayne matured, even slightly, their relationship improved. Eventually, they became akin to brothers, with Dick being a caring older brother, looking out for and helping his younger brother face the challenges of teamwork and social interactions.
In addition, he has no desire to inherit the mantle of Batman, wanting to be his own man rather than live in Bruce's shadow, displaying great disdain for filling in for Bruce when he disappeared.
While committed to superhero activities, he is also interested in civilian lifestyles, including romance, even with an abnormal partner such as Kori. He is deeply in love with Kori, enjoying her eccentricities from being an alien, and happy to help her adapt to Earth. He is susceptible to physical temptation to an extent, as when he is torn between vigilante work/babysitting duty, and intimate action with Kori, he finds it a genuine struggle to choose (which is perhaps representative of Starfire's literally out of this world beauty); despite the temptation, he will always adhere to responsibilities. He is dedicated to Kori, their relationship starting some point shortly after their first meeting; they had gotten to the stage of cohabitation in an apartment, as opposed to merely to dormitory style lodging of the Titans Tower. They enjoyed each others company, no matter what they were doing, though did thoroughly enjoy sexual intercourse with each other; due to her alien origin, Kori would sometimes make comment that she mistakes an innuendo, but only makes it seem as such due to her attempts to "correct" it, which mildly embarrassed her and Dick, though he was more amused, while other Titans would range from amused, to feeling awkward, to intrigued.
It seemed likely that the relationship between Dick and Kori would have progressed further, however, Darkseid's conquest of Earth changed that, with her becoming a mind-controlled cybernetic Fury, and him dying, then resurrected by a Lazarus Pit, which drove him mad. Despite the tragic turn, once Kori was free, she lovingly stroked his hair as he lay upon her lap, showing his connection with her was so strong that she still cared for him, hoping to reach through the mindless state.
Skills and Abilities[]
- Master Combatant: Dick was trained by Batman in melee, close quarter and unarmed combat. However, he usually has blunt weapons, such as his escirma sticks.
- Peak Human Condtion: Due to rigorous training, he is much stronger, faster and more resilient than any normal human. He can overpower most combatants with ease and withstand great amounts of punishment that would be heavily weakening humans.
- Master Acrobat: Dick has also demonstrated superb nimbleness and agility, being able to perform nearly superhuman feats of agility. This makes him skilled in acrobatics and gymnastics, as well as parkour and free-running, which he incorporates in fighting and moving across cityscapes.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Dick Grayson first appeared in Detective Comics #38 created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson.
- .In the comics, he's open to Damian becoming Robin and gladly supports and guides him even before he got the mantle. Here he's a rather standoffish jerk who would prefer to avoid Damian if at all possible and is vehemently opposed to Damian becoming Robin. Damian didn't exactly make the best first impression, though, so his attitude is understandable.
- In the first four Batman films, he's seen wearing his Pre-52 Nightwing costume. In Judas Contract, however, his outfit changed to his New-52 costume.
