Born into a world-class trapeze act dubbed The Flying Graysons for Haly's Circus, Dick Grayson's life was taken on an abrupt detour during a performance in Gotham City. Having stiffed the local mob boss Anthony Zucco from protection money, the Circus was made a victim of Zucco's retribution when John and Mary Grayson's line was severed with slow-acting sulfuric acid, plunging the couple to their deaths. While Dick was able to identify Zucco's thugs with ease, the corrupt GCPD didn't want to act against a man with direct ties to them, leaving the case to be marked unsolved. It wasn't until Zucco decided that the boy had to be silenced that Grayson crossed paths with the masked vigilante The Batman, saving his life during an attempted hit. Offering the chance to bring Zucco to justice himself by The Caped Crusader, Dick readily accepted the hero's training and guidance. Eventually, after taking down Zucco as a team, Grayson was formally adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne and sworn in as Batman's partner: Robin, The Boy Wonder.

For seven years, Dick dutifully stood at The Dark Knight's side and absorbed as many skills as possible. But while the latter was still heavily burdened by his own childhood loss, Dick remained undaunted and regularly charged into battle with a grin and one-liners that mocked his enemies. It was this difference in approach that began to seed cracks in the relationship between mentor and apprentice, as Batman descended further against the madness of Gotham's criminal underworld with a jaded spirit. While Robin was able to make his own path as he matured, regularly teaming up with fellow vigilante Batgirl, his need to appease his adoptive father eventually created a rift when Two-Face nearly killed him during a mission. The shock of nearly losing his ward prompted Bruce to become increasingly overprotective, barring Robin from operating with him in a shrewd attempt to lead Dick away from his volatile line of work.

Instead of tempting Dick to give up the life, it just forced him to leave the nest. Setting himself up in the city of Blüdhaven, the former Boy Wonder has found it to be a difficult transition - after a month on his own, Robin has only realized that the city is as hopelessly corrupt as Gotham, if not worse. While he pines for a return to the streets he's begun to consider a second home, he knows that living in the Shadow of the Bat makes turning back an impossibility. For the first time in his young life, it truly feels as if the acrobat is flying without a net.

If Batman is one of the most iconic heroes DC has to offer, then Robin is the reason that the character has longevity. He's the heart and soul of the DCU to me in alot of ways, taking the idea of Bruce Wayne and throwing aside all the torment that holds him back. And my very first RP character was Nightwing many moons ago, so getting to play a version of Dick on the verge of embracing that mantle is an appealing prospect. What I hope to do is explore the character as he exists at this crossroads, feeling particularly unsure about his future and not quite ready to give up certain aspects of his past, even if they reveal him to be more like Batman than he'd care to admit.