//ABILITIES:■ PEAK HUMAN CONDITIONING | Grayson possesses the peak athletic strength and endurance of a man who regularly engages in intensive physical exercise. As such Grayson possesses the normal human strength of a man that has intense physical workouts at the height and weight of 5"10 175 lb. While he relies more on speed and agility than strength, Grayson has shown incredible strength throughout the years. On a peak day, Grayson can press lift 350lbs, basically meaning he can lift twice his own weight above his head. Grayson's human conditioning also grants him something in the way of durability, though more specifically it's through the fact he's used to enduring pain and can ignore and work through it. This can give the impression to lesser minds that he's superhuman.
■ CHARISMATIC | Probably one of the most charistmatic people you will ever meet, despite living with Batman for five years, Dick still retains his bright and sunny disposition and as such is very easy to get along with. The former circus boy is very much still a charming performer and is a huge flirt, something that is generally returned from members of the opposite sex and even those who aren't. Grayson makes the clothes fall off faster than Tequila.
■ STEALTH | Grayson is capable of breaching high security facilities without being detected. He can even sneak up on Batman himself on occasion. He is also skilled enough to even sneak away and keep hidden from Speedsters such as Jesse Quick or others with abilities that allow them to survey environments precisely and quickly.
■ WEAPON PROFICIENCY | Due to his training with Batman, Grayson has been taught and displayed skills and proficiency in various weaponry ranging from shurikens (which the Batfamily uses in the forms of Wing-Dings and Batarangs), to eskrima sticks and staves to swords and even bows to various modern firearms.
■ BEST BUTT IN THE DCU | Dick Grayson has the finest ass in the entire world. It's a fact, deal with it.
//SKILLS:■ MASTER ACROBAT | Grayson is a prodigious natural athlete, possessing a peak human level of agility/acrobatic skills. He is generally regarded as the greatest human acrobat in the world. Batman himself is an incredible athlete in agility, but even he can admit that Grayson's skill surpasses his own. Grayson is the only person on Earth who can do the quadruple somersault (formerly one of three, the other two being his parents).
■ MASTER MARTIAL ARTIST | He is a master of many martial arts disciplines with an emphasis on Aikido, Jeet Kune Do, Escrima, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Wing Chun, Hapkido, Jiu-jitsu, Shotokan Karate, Savate, Kendo, Ninjitsu, Boxing and Tang Soo Do . He has effectively combined the martial arts he has mastered into a unique style that suits his strengths. This makes him a challenging opponent for even the world's best martial artists.
■ MASTER OF DISGUISE | Taught by the Batman in the art of disguise, like his mentor, Grayson had mastered the art of disguise by the time he was 21. Grayson has used many aliases to infiltrate the underworld or just to go undercover in public situations. However unlike Batman, Grayson doesn't keep a standing collection of identities and instead invents them on an as needed basis.
■ EXPERT DRIVER | Grayson is proficient at driving many vehicles like cars, motor bikes, trucks and he is also skillful at driving jets, helicopters and auto boats and small ships.
■ EXPERT ESCAPOLOGIST | Due to his training with Batman, he possess extreme skill in escapology. Grayson has shown such proficiency as escaping a straightjacket in 4.5 seconds and was able to use a Tibetan Mind Technique to escape virtual reality. Grayson has even been able to escape a maze faster than Wally West due to his training under Batman.
■ EXPERT MARKSMAN | Grayson is skilled enough to use modified Shuriken (Wing-Dings) to hit thugs at a great distance with his eyes closed, despite even giving him a head-start and disarm others with his wingdings. He is also capable of using firearms, as he was trained by Batman to do in order to gain a better understanding to disarm those who use them.
■ SKILLED DETECTIVE | Grayson is a world class detective, though not quite as proficient as Batman. In light of that, Grayson has been said to be third to Batman who is widely regarded as the 'World's Greatest Detective'. Grayson was able to solve a riddle by the Riddler before Batman himself even figured it out and this was before Grayson had become Robin. Furthermore, he has been known to solve mysteries and cases in a speed that even impresses his mentor. Barbara Gordon even commented that he was able to solve 4 cases in "America's Most Wanted" in a single morning and solved a homicidal case that went unsolved for 14 years.
■ SKILLED HACKER | He is skilled enough to hack into the Batcomputer emergency override codes during a time when he and Bruce had a falling out following his evolution from Robin to Nightwing. During his travels with Kori, Grayson also hacked a Alien Terminal with the use of the Tameranian Language he had learned from former teammate and romantic interest Starfire.
■ SKILLED MULTI-LINGUIST | Having had the finest education as Bruce Wayne's ward, he speaks with fluency in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Farsi (Persian), Mandarin and Cantonese, and has some knowledge of Romany and the alien language of Tamaran.
■ SKILLED TRACKER | Gryason has been trained in hunting techniques by Batman who learned by the way of the African Bushmen (the Ghost Tribes of the Ten-eyed Brotherhood, among others). As such Grayson's skills are quite considerable both in natural and urban environments.
| | T H E F L Y I N G G R A Y S O N S | |
Born on the first day of spring during one of Gotham's rare sunny days, Richard John Grayson was handed into the hands of his loving parents who looked down on their son overwhelmed with pride. Upon first looking at her newborn baby boy, Mary called the boy her 'Little Robin', relating to his birth on the Spring Solstice. This term of endearment would imprint on the young Grayson for his entire life.
Like his father, Richard comes from a line of Romani descent. The Graysons were the ancestors of a roaming gypsy family who had been part of the circus for longer than any written record could tell. However unbeknownst to them, the Graysons were also the descendant of one of Gotham's most deadly legends, a man by the name of William Cobb. Cobb lived most of his life as a Talon, a highly feared enforcer for a group that has been all but long forgotten save for the haunting rhymes told to children who disobey their parents. As such the history of William Cobb fell into obscurity, lost in a history of circus performers and Romanies.
As his parents had, Richard or as he preferred to go by, Dick lived his whole life travelling from city to city in Haly's Circus. Trained by his parents, Mary and John Grayson, Dick was taught to be an acrobat and began performing at an early age, wowing crowds with his natural prowess on the trapeze. Together with his parents who were both world renowned acrobats, Dick would begin his introduction to performing at a young age and essentially from birth was trained to be a performer in the circus. His mother's nickname for him only became further enforced as Dick learned to perform on the trapeze, as Mary would constantly comment how he reminded her of a Robin while flying through the air in his red leotard. Together they were collectively known as the 'Flying Graysons' and were recognized as being one of the biggest shows in the circus business. In fact the circus' owner Jack Haley often remarked that the Grayson's were the biggest asset to the circus' business. Known for performing without a net, the 'Flying Graysons' true trade mark was their signature quadruple somersault, a move that only the three Graysons were known to be capable of performing. Growing up in the circus, Dick made several friends with the children of the other performers such as Jimmy, Zane and his childhood crush Raya Vestri.
Travelling the world with the circus, Dick became very cultured and outgoing though his education did suffer as he was only taught what those around him knew. None the less, his quick mind grasped onto most concepts quickly and Dick was recognized among the other performers as being a very sharp kid. At the age of fifteen, Dick found himself in Gotham City as the circus rolled into town for its annual performance. Dick had only ever performed in Gotham a few times previously, but that said having heard of Gotham's reputation for crime he had always been understandably nervous about leaving the circus grounds to explore the city like he had in Paris, New York, and numerous other locations. However, staying at the circus gave the boy a unique opportunity as he was able to meet a young fan of his by the name of Timothy Drake. At the time, Timothy was only about four years old, but none the less he remembered seeing Grayson's performances in previous years, wanting nothing more than to soar through the air like the older boy did. Having his picture taken with Tim and his parents, Dick wandered off through the circus to kill time before his family's show that evening.
Dick's world suddenly changed that fateful night. It was one of the biggest shows of the year as Haly's Circus had once again returned to Gotham City to help ring in the New Year. But Gotham wasn't the same place it was twelve years ago, not that it was some shiny metropolis then either, yet the city had managed to become worse. Stumbling across an argument between the circus' owner Mr. Haly and a well-known and feared crime lord by the name of "Boss" Tony Zucco. Dick hide in the shadows as he heard Zucco threaten Mr. Haly unless the circus's owner paid protection money. Being an honest and moral man, Haly refused not knowing the horrors he had released. 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. A burden of guilt came over Dick as he stood there, the realization that he could have warned his parents washing over him, downing him in anguish as he collapsed into bitter sobs.
| | R O B I N: T H E B O Y W O N D E R | |
Shortly after the tragedy of his parent's death, Dick was placed in an uncaring juvenile services system, reportedly on the grounds that social services was full. While in the juvenile systems, Dick found himself dragged into numerous brawls where he was beaten up by a number of the inmates. He was eventually passed onto a Catholic orphanage where he stayed for a couple miserable months. Though life seemed to have taken a permanent turn for the worse for the young boy, seemingly out of nowhere, infamous billionaire Bruce Wayne rescued Dick by adopting him.
Dick insisted on only being adopted as his ward, because he did not want to replace his deceased father with the billionaire who he only knew from the tabloids. In fact, Dick originally believed that Bruce only adopted him for the good press and this was further supported by the amount of time that Dick found himself spending alone in the near empty mansion. Living with the billionaire at first felt like Dick had won the lottery, but after several weeks of growing loneliness, Dick's bitterness began to resurface. Growing frustrated by the lack of attention from his new guardian and the mystery still surrounding his parents' death, Dick snuck out of Wayne Manor one evening to solve the crime on his own - only to stumble upon Gotham's mysterious Batman, who was also investigating the murder. Feeling it would be cathartic for Dick to apprehend Zucco, the Batman allowed Dick to work with him, acknowledging their similar parallels in life.
While working with Batman, Dick began to get a familiar sense about the mysterious man. An expert in reading body language, a skill inherited from the circus and playing up to crowds it didn't take Dick long to deduce that Bruce Wayne and Batman were actually the same individual. Exploring the mansion for further clues, Dick eventually found himself stumbling upon the Batcave where Batman himself was awaiting his arrival. Bruce offered to train Dick, turn Dick into a crime fighter in his own right and pass along each and every skill he himself possessed. Wanting to honor his parents, Dick wholeheartedly agreed and was put through a rigorous training regime. Exercise after grueling exercise nearly brought Dick to his knees, but the young acrobat managed to excel through all combat and physical based training. Where Dick struggled however was the more academic departments although he eventually overcame these obstacles once he was able to put his own perspective on them.
Continuing their hunt, the pair succeeded in tracking down Zucco, and confronted John and Mary's murderer. However, Batman and Dick were unable to apprehend Zucco as the mobster died of a heart attack seconds before his arrest. But the night was hardly over as the nature of its events had allowed Batman to see a reflection of himself in Dick. A thirst for justice he could temper into an unstoppable force, Batman made the young boy the offer of a lifetime; the chance to stay on as his crime-fighting partner. Accepting wholeheartedly, Dick chose the name Robin, after the nickname his mother gave him, and his training began.
Bruce taught Dick fighting techniques and detective skills for a grueling six months. Despite the intensive training, Dick had still not been allowed in the field since the night the death of Boss Zucco. But fate had a different idea as Batman's found himself caught in the trap set by one of his many rogues. Stubborn still, Bruce refused Alfred's suggestion to send Dick into the field, but fearing for Bruce's safety and having complete confidence in Dick, Alfred made the decision to disobey Bruce and presented Dick with his first costume. Leaping into action, Robin managed to rescue Batman proving his competence once and for all.
With the rescue of Batman, Dick was finally deemed worthy to hit the streets. However Bruce had one final test for Dick to pass - "the Gauntlet". Dick had to elude the Dark Knight on the streets of Gotham for one night - from sundown to sunrise - without any outside help. Dick succeeded while simultaneously bringing Gotham gangster Joe Minette to justice. From that point on the two would patrol Gotham together and the name Robin became simultaneous to that of Batman. Just as the dynamic duo were becoming well known, rumors of a female Batman began to circulate Gotham however neither paid them much attention at the time despite the rumors becoming more persistent as time went on.
Enjoying his first few years as Robin, Dick regarded the role as much as a job as he did it an adventure until a confrontation with Two-Face served as a rude awakening for the young hero. The former District Attory Harvey Dent turned supervillain had captured the new District Attorney along with Batman. Suspending both from a hangman's noose in a 'double gallows death-trap', the rescue of the pair fell squarely on Robin's shoulders. However in trying to save the D.A., Robin used a batarang to cut the rope of the noose failing to account for Dent's obsession with the number two. To Robin's dismay it was a two-fold trap as he watched the floor give way, dropping the D.A. to his death. Devastated at his own failure, Robin was taken by surprise by Two-Face. Savagely beaten while Batman was forced to watch, Robin was left defenseless while Two-Face took no mercy on the young boy. Freeing himself, Batman jumped to Dick's aid, quickly putting an end to Two-Face's assualt.. This event, however, scarred the young crime-fighter, haunting him for years to come. Rather than see Dick be further endangered, Batman chose to "fire" his partner and sidelined the Boy Wonder.
| | T E E N T I T A N S: A L E A G U E O F T H E I R O W N | |
Feeling disgruntled and disrespected by Batman, Dick decided to seek out other young heroes he had encountered during his time as Robin and realized they too felt under appreciated and ignored. Wanting independence and freedom from their mentors, the young heroes banded together in much the same way as the Justice Society and Justice League of America had before them. Branding themselves 'Titans', the team operated out of the eye of the League taking missions that Dick knew first hand Batman would never allow the League to touch. Hand picking his team, Dick sought out Wally West (Kid Flash) and Garth of Atlantis (Aqualad). This team was later expanded when the trio found themselves overwhelmed on the sands of Kahndaq. Joined by the Amazon Donna Troy (Wondergirl) and the recently rogue Roy Harper (Speedy). Making it out of Kahndaq as a team, the Titans finally caught the attention of the Justice League.
While Batman and Dick nearly came to blows, Superman stepped in and negotiated a deal between the Titans and the League. Superman's own protege would act a liason between the Titans and the League. With reluctant agreement from both Batman and Dick, the Kryptonian Kieran Kent (Seraph) was added to the team. Still the Titans were hard fought to meet acceptence from the world around them. However their acceptance finally came after an event with an alien organism left the Justice League under the control of a creature that wished to conquer and enslave the Earth. Working together fluidly as a team, the Titans managed to free their mentors and alongside them repel the potential alien invasion. After these events, Superman, Batman, Flash Aquaman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the league placed their support towards the idea of the young men and women becoming a heroic group, and the Titans were officially sanctioned by the Justice League. Dick himself would became continue to lead the team with Batman returning Dick's former identity as Robin to him. Despite a series of successful adventures and missions the team would eventually disband after only a few years together.
Returning to Gotham, Dick continued his adventures with Batman, as his former mentor welcomed him back. It was at this time that the rumors of a female Batman came to a head and Bruce and Dick sprung into action to investigate. Coming upon the female apprehending a pair of criminals, the Dynamic Duo confronted the Batgirl. While Bruce reluctantly agreed to train her, Dick became immediately smitten with the redhead and much to Bruce's chargin would go out of his way to both flirt and attempt to impress the older girl. However Batgirl took no interest in the much younger Robin and repeatedly pushed him away.
Batgirl wasn't the only thing new in Dick's life upon his return to Gotham. Having received a private and very privileged education from the finest teachers, paid for and provided by Bruce, Dick had completed a high school level education and upon his return to Gotham began attending college at Hudson University despite the commute to New York. Dick had chosen Hudson in an effort to assert his independence from Bruce. Robin started to take on solo missions as well, and found himself to be a capable crime-fighter in his own right.
Before Bruce could realize it, Dick was also becoming a man. His failure with Batgirl eventually lead Dick to dating other girls. In particular Dick found himself attracted to one of the daughters of Gotham's socialites. While Dick Grayson enticed her, Dick soon found out that the young Bette Kane was heavily infatuated with Gotham's Boy Wonder. Meeting her as Robin, Dick used his secret identity to score with Bette only for Batman to confront him. Yelling at Dick, words were exchanged between the two with Bruce accusing Dick of manipulating the girl, being irresponsible and compromising their identities while Dick reminded Bruce that he does the same thing with Catwoman on a regular basis. In addition to this confrontation, their idealisms began to differ as Dick looked towards moving forward while Bruce was still firmly tethered in the past.
The widening gyre between Batman and Robin only became worse as Dick was shot and injured during a confrontation with the Scarecrow. Subjected to a near lethal dose of fear gas, Batman put Dick on 'Cave Arrest' out of fear of seeing him further injured. However left alone in the cave, Dick discovered that Bruce had been training a boy by the name of Jason Todd in secret which he assumed was meant to replace him. Bruce tried to explain that they were at war and Jason was a soldier for their crusade, some much needed back but Dick refused to hear any of it. The conversation got heated as Dick began to run down Bruce's crusade calling him a 'Scared Boy hiding up a blanket' and saying that 'Bruce Wayne could do ten times more for Gotham than Batman ever could.' After a final sucker punch and a dramatic exit, Dick Grayson left the Batcave.
Dick realized at that point he had grown up: He no longer relied on Batman and, in fact, he and the Dark Knight disagreed on crime-fighting methodology. His newfound independence and Titans' duties in New York left less time for his former commitments in Gotham City. He had also dropped out of Hudson after only one semester. Without Bruce, Dick was out on his own but was more than capable of taking care of himself. Alfred had been kind enough over the years to teach Dick the domestic side of life and revealed to the young man that Bruce had been given control of a trust fund that Dick's parents had created for him. This trust fund had been left in the hands of financial expert Lucius Fox who had grown it into a modest fortune for Dick. Thanking Alfred for everything, Dick embarked away from Gotham.
| | N I G H T W I N G: O U T O F T H E S H A D O W | |
Spending nearly a year backpacking through Europe, Dick took it upon himself to return to his Romani roots and explore the world as they had, living as a nomad and travelling from town to town. The experience was wholly enriching and exactly what Dick had needed on his trip of self discovery. Returning to North America, Dick avoided Gotham and instead went to New York. It was here that Dick met and enjoyed a whirlwind romance with fashionista Cheyenne Fremont. Though their romance came to an end, the two parted on friendly terms and Dick continued his journey eventually coming into contact with a Tamaranian named Koriand'r. Kori, as she preferred to be called opened Dick's eyes to the further wonders of the world as he was able to live vicariously through her optimistic and naive point of view about Earth. The two became rather passionately involved and were almost married at a Vegas Chapel until the ceremony was disturbed by the interruption of a localized zombie apocalypse. However despite intending to continue their romance, Dick returned to Gotham when Alfred contacted him regarding Barbara, the former Batgirl and his first love.
In his quest to break the Batman, The Joker had crippled Barbara Gordon but it was Dick who was out for revenge. A burning fire inside his chest once again united Batman and the former Robin on the same path. There wasn't a waking hour that Dick didn't stop by the hospital sitting at Barbara's beside. It was during this time the two became quite close, Barbara beginning to see Dick as more than the annoying kid who had a crush on her. As Barbara regained her independence, Dick continued on his trip, summoned to the aid of a mysterious young girl by the name of Raven.
The daughter of a Demon named Trigon, Raven had escaped her father's clutches and sought out the Titans believing the former teen heroes were her only hope. Reuniting with Kieran, Wally and Donna, they were joined by newcomers Raven, Terra and Beast Boy. Repelling the demon, Dick rediscovered his self-worth among the New Titans. Batman, however, was less than pleased. He informed Dick that if he no longer wanted to be his partner, then Dick would have to retire as Robin. Dick left Wayne Manor after this falling out. Helping him through this difficult time was his fellow Titans, as well as Barbara who urged Dick to not allow Brucer to define him. Realizing his journey was far from over, Dick handed over leadership of the Titans to Kieran and departed.
Uncertain what to do, he turned to someone he knew would understand: Superman. Travelling to Metropolis, Dick sought out Superman who much to Dick's surprise recognized the former Boy Wonder. Showing Dick the city, Clark and Dick eventually sat down for a meal where the two heroes had a heart to heart, sharing their frustrations about Bruce and ended the night with Superman sharing a story he heard about a Kandorian hero who not unlike Dickwas cast out by his family. The man had dreamed of a world ruled by justice, and set out to protect the helpless of Krypton. His true identity was never revealed. He was known only as Nightwing.
The story stuck with Dick and he took up the mantle of Nightwing stopping crime on the road before returning to Gotham upon learning of the death of his successor, Jason Todd. Joining Batman in the manhunt for the Joker, it was Dick was reminded Bruce of his one rule, his vow to never take a life. The line they swore not to cross. Turning the Joker over to the proper authorities, Dick returned with Batman to the cave. Though the visit was short, as Dick turned to leave, Alfred stopped him, presenting him with a gift as he had so many nights ago. With a small peek and a smile, Dick thanked his surrogate grandfather and headed back out on the road.
Rejoining the Titans, Nightwing had moved out of the shadow of the Bat and resumed leadership of the team. Battling against new foes and former friends, Dick lead the Titans through several hard times before once again taking a leave from the team upon hearing that Tony Zucco had returned from the dead. Learning that Zucco had not actually died but rather passed into a coma. Batman had feared Dick would want the gangster dead, so he "protected" the boy by telling him that Zucco had died. After spending nearly seven years in prison with good behavior, Zucco applied for parole, in exchange for becoming a state informant of mob activity. His real intentions, however, were to retrieve a ledger containing his secrets. Just as Dick arrived to see him step out of the prison, he was gunned down by an enemy mobster from a helicopter. Despite catching the assassin and getting some closure to his parents' deaths, Dick was upset with Bruce for lying to him and keeping him away. Bruce explained that this was not his intent.
Feeling hurt and betrayed, Bruce and Dick would remain at odds with each other, never fully sorting out their strained relationship. While serving with the Titans, Dick was sought 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 Pennyworth. Due to their arguments and the realization that the Batman needs a Robin, Tim Drake becomes the third Boy Wonder.
Soon after, various members of the Titans were abducted by the Wildebeest Society. This event shook up the team in a big way. The group entered into tumultuous times, where members came and went, longtime friends were maimed or destroyed, although Dick persevered through it all, and remained the heart and center of the team. But Dick's relationship with the Titans became strained, and problems in Gotham demanded Dick's attention. Growing apart from the team, it was ultimately decided that it would be best if Dick handed leadership off to someone else until a time he could fully dedicate to them.
Meanwhile, in Gotham, Bruce Wayne was nearly killed by the villain Bane who had crippled him by breaking his back. Unwilling to force Dick to come back and believing that Dick deserved to be his own man, Bruce opted to give the mantle of Batman to the unstable Jean Paul Valley, with Tim Drake, the new Robin to guide him. Unfortunately Jean Paul proved too much for Tim to handle, and Dick returned to help. Dick intervened with Tim Drake, and when Bruce returned to Gotham healed and ready to become Batman again, the three of them along with Catwoman brought Valley down and Bruce re-assumed the mantle of Batman.
Still recovering from his broken back, Bruce asked Dick to substitute for him as Batman for a time, a request which Dick accepted. During this time, Dick was able to confront Two-Face and lay some demons to rest. He also established a wonderful partnership with Tim which allowed for their brotherly bond to flourish. Bruce eventually returned to Gotham to reclaim his role as Batman. Before taking back the mantle however, Bruce admitted to Dick the reason he had not selected him for the role of Batman originally and for the first time in a long time, Bruce and Dick began to heal their strained relationship. Bruce's respect for Dick was at last obvious.
| | T H E B A T T L E F O R B L Ü D H A V E N | |
Investigating a crime in nearby Blüdhaven, Nightwing saw that the city was just as bad, if not worse as Gotham. After discovering twenty-two dead men had floated into Gotham's south harbor, Dickdecided that he should leave Gotham and move to Blüdhaven. It didn't take long after the move for Nightwing to realize that Blüdhaven was what Gotham was before Batman arrived. Brimming with corruption to the highest levels of power, it seemed to be that whatever was too coarse or too awful for Gotham, would end up in the 'Haven. Due to his investigative training with Bruce, Dick was able to quickly discover that all the corruption in the city leads directly to the crime lord Blockbuster.
Living in Bludhaven, Dick found an apartment to rent as his base of operations, as well as taking a job as a bartender in order to better keep track of both the crime and corruption in the city. Finding himself frequently battling Blockbuster's minions, Nightwing discovered the crimelord had place a large bounty on his head. Unfortunately for Dick this attracted the wrong kind of attention leading to his own personal group of recurring enemies such as Stallion, Lady Vic, Brutale, and Shrike, all of who attempt to claim the bounty for their own. After several months of being alone in Bludhaven, he begins training another enthusiastic young man named Tad who was determined to follow Nightwing's lead and make a difference. But Tad's brutal methods soon lead him to unknowingly murder an undercover FBI agent, only for Nightwing to defeat him and send him to jail shortly afterwards. Contacting Barbara Gordon for information, Dick soon finds his childhood crush on her re-ignited, which she finally reciprocates leading to the two vigilantes to begin a relationship.
Blüdhaven was a long, uphill battle for Dick Grayson. He fought many victorious battles in Blüdhaven as its protector, and certainly made it a safer place, but he never won the war. The city, and his losses, took their toll on Nightwing, leading him to eventually adopt a grimmer outlook on being a hero. Deciding to join Blüdhaven Police Department in an attempt to get rid of the corruption of the city from within, Dick aimed to work on both sides of the law as Nightwing and an officer. As Grayson and Barbara's relationship continued to grow, Barbara slowly became annoyed with Dick who had become increasingly overprotective due to Blockbusters actions. This culminated in a fight about a female vigilante known as Tarantula, leading to their break up.
After his mother's heart fails during a rescue from Nightwing, Blockbuster comes to blame the vigilante for her deatH. Closely following Nightwing, Blockbuster eventually learned Dick's true identity and has Dick's apartment building blown up in order to kill everyone close to Grayson. Following the death of everyone in his apartment building except for Amygdala, Dick goes after Blockbuster dispatching his hired muscle and beating the villain. The vigilante Tarantula who arrives shortly after this, promptly aims her gun at Blockbuster intent on killing the crimelord. Despite having the choice to stop her, Dick decides to no such thing and Blockbuster is killed before his eyes. Suddenly awash with guilt for voilating the no kill policy, Nightwing, retreats to the roof where he begins having an emotional breakdown. Following him, Tarantula sexually forces herself on the nearly catatonic Grayson.
Due to the emotional trauma caused by the death of Blockbuster and the rape at the hands of Tarantula, Dick Grayson takes on a new suit and codename of Renegade and allies himself with his long time enemy Deathstroke. During his period as Renegade, Dick manages to keep tabs on the Society's activities in both Gotham and Blüdhaven. Deathstroke asks Nightwing to teach his daughter, Ravager, all the skills he knows. Nightwing takes Ravager out on many missions, but eventually Ravager grows suspicious and accuses him of being a hero. Under his instruction however, Nightwing begins to teach and instill the values of being a hero into the Ravager, which brought him into direct conflict with Deathstroke. Brokering a deal with Deathstroke, Nightwing agrees leave Ravager alone and stop teaching her to be a hero if Deathstroke leaves Blüdhaven alone. Deathstroke initially agrees, but eventually breaks the deal by releasing his mercenaries on Blüdhaven, just forty eight hours later while Nightwing was out of the city in Gotham. While in Gotham, Nightwing confides that he let the villain Blockbuster die and asks Batman to forgive him. Batman tells him that his forgiveness doesn't matter; Dick has to move beyond Blockbuster's death. Inspired by his mentor, he proposes to Barbara Gordon, who tearfully accepts his proposal with a kiss.
Returning to Blüdhaven, Nightwing is horrified as Deathstroke and his mercenaries have taken control of the city, unleashing martial law upon it and ordering anyone who knows the whereabouts or identity of Nightwing to turn the information over to the mercs or face punishment culminating in death. Calling in favours from the Titans, Nightwing brought them in, assisting him in freeing the city from the Deathstroke's grip. As the dust settled, Blüdhaven had been freed from mercenary control.
| | A L E A G U E L O S T | |
Continuing his roles as loyal protector to Blüdhaven and loving fiancé to Barbara Gordon, Dick has kept busy with helping rebuild his city in the wake of Deathstroke's assault. However with the disappearance of the League, Dick has found himself strained as he juggles his time between the 'Haven and helping Tim protect Gotham. Believing the Bat to be gone, crime has steadily been rising on both sides of the Bay. Believing that not only Gotham but the world needs a Batman, Dick is haunted each day by the rising need to don the cowl. Supported by Barbara, Tim and Alfred, Dick has decided to find his place among Bruce's peers to test the waters.
