PERSONAL DATA
Alter Ego: Richard John "Dick" Grayson
Occupation: Adventurer, bartender
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives: Jesse Chambers Grayson (wife), Haley Grayson (daughter), John Grayson (father; deceased), Mary Grayson (mother; deceased), Terry Grayson (son from parallel reality), Jenny Grayson (daughter from a parallel reality)
Group Affiliation: Former leader of the Teen Titans, and the New Titans. Former partner of Batman. JLA.
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
HISTORY
Born on the first day of Spring into a family of circus performers, Richard John
Grayson learned acrobatic skills at an early age. Dick was a member of the famous
acrobatic team The Flying Graysons of the Haly Circus. Before one appearance in
Gotham, in which The Flying Graysons were the main attraction, they were asked to
pose for a photo opportunity with the Drake Family, including their young son Tim.
From that time on Tim's one and only hero in the world was Dick. During the
Graysons' portion of the show, Dick's parents John and Mary, fell to their death after
their trapeze snaps. All while many of Gotham's elite, including billionaire socialite
Bruce Wayne, and the young Tim Drake watched on.
Their deaths were not an accident, but actually planned by the
gangster "Boss" Zucco, who was running a local protection
racket and Haly refused to pay. Dick overhears gang members warning Haly of
further accidents and makes a vow to avenge his parents death. Batman, while
investigating the murders, overhears Dicks vow and takes the boy under his
protective wing so that Dick will not hurt himself. Batman takes Dick to the
batcave where Dick asks to become Batman's partner in crime-fighting. Getting
the consent of Dick's nearest relative, Bruce Wayne becomes Dick's legal
guardian. He then proceeded to train Dick to the peak of physical and mental
perfection. When the time was right, Bruce gave Dick a costume and dubbed
him Robin. As Robin, the Boy Wonder, Dick captures Zucco, and who is sent to the electric chair.
After many adventures with the Dark Knight and establishing himself as
a crime-fighter in his own right, Robin soon met other teenage
adventurers and formed the first group of Teen Titans. The original Titans
was composed of the most well known sidekicks in the DC Universe: Kid
Flash, Wondergirl, Speedy, Aqualad, and Robin as the leader. Through the
Titans, Dick gained additional experience through adventures against new
criminals, both at home and on other worlds.
Soon after his graduation from high school he left Gotham City and
Batman for college at Hudson University. After a few months Dick
dropped out and drifted around for a while, finally returning to Gotham
City. Upon his return he went to Bruce and struggled to get Bruce's
respect as an adult. It was during this time period, that Robin was shot in
the shoulder by the Joker, after which Bruce deemed the life of a
superhero too dangerous for Dick. Thus ending Dick's career as Robin.
Upon leaving the cave, and Robin forever, He moved to
New York to became leader of The New Teen Titans.
Adopting the name Nightwing and a new costume Dick set
out to face a deadlier and darker world. While serving with the New Titans, Dick was
searched out by an older Tim Drake, who had only one goal on his mind, for Dick to
return to Robin. It was Dick's refusal to return that Tim started down the road toward
becoming the new Robin. After weeks of persuading and proving his potential, Dick
then returned to the Batman to plead Tim's case, with help from Alfred. Due to their
arguments and the realization that the Batman needs a Robin, Tim Drake becomes the
fourth to wear the red and green (following a young Bruce, Dick, and Jason Todd).
And, Dick gains a little brother.
In recent history Nightwing has returned to Gotham on more than one
occasion to lend a hand. The most notable time was following the breaking of
the Bat by Bane. After Bruce's injury he asked the vigilante formerly known
as Azrael, Jean Paul Valley, to fill in as the Dark Knight. Dick returned to
investigate the new guy in town, and to find out why Bruce would intrust the
job to an outsider. He even helped to bring in Jean Paul, after he had let a
criminal die, while as Batman. After Jean Paul was finally defeated by a
recovered Bruce, Dick was asked to fill in as the Batman, so that Bruce could
sort out some things. This time as the Batman was probably most beneficial
for Dick. He finally realized he and Bruce's differences, and that he had to be
his own man.
Nightwing can currently be found as the new, and overwhelmed,
protector of Bludhaven, a city worse than Gotham in many ways, and
"big brother" to Robin III (Tim Drake). Bludhaven is far enough
away from Gotham for Dick to be his own man, yet close enough to
Dark Knight if needed. In the near future, he will also be joining
with the new JLA.
Most recently, Dick did something amazingly impulsive that changed his life forever. He asked Jesse Quick on a first date, when there was no romantic tension yet building between them. The two went on a mad drunken rampage through Las Vegas and woke up in the morning married. This event has caused both heroes' lives a good deal of upheaval, but remaining committed to each other, they plan to make their marriage strong.
Thanks to a mixture of speedforce enhanced meta-genes and magical tampering, Jesse gave birth to their first child, Haley, exactly one month after the two heroes woke up married.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
On the I.Q. scale, Nightiwng is a bit below Batman's near genius level, but he is in no way a slouch.
With regards to his detective skills, they are second only to the Dark Knights. What he lacks in raw
intelligence, he makes up for in superb leadership skills.
An excellent hand-to-hand combatant, Nightwing learned his fighting skills from the Batman, thus
their skills are very similar and a blend of various styles. But in general, their fighting styles favor
Aikido and Jeet-Kune-Do.
Nightwing's style does differ with respect to his being a near-flawless gymnast and greater natural
athlete. These traits lend themselves toward a more flowing, free form style of combat. Thus making
Nightwing an excellent hand-to-hand combatant.
His current costume houses numerous concealed devices: swing lines, med.-kit, tazer, etc., all of
which are contained in his gauntlets and boots. Also included in the suit are holsters, located on his
back, for a pair of escrima fighting sticks.
Among Nightwing's means of transportation are his customized car and boat. For a long time
Nightwing also had a costumized motorcycle.