This article is about the publication history of the DC Comics fictional character Dick Grayson, who has been portrayed in comic books as Robin, Nightwing, and Batman.
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He was first introduced in Detective Comics #38 (1940) by Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Robin's debut was an effort to make Batman a lighter, more sympathetic character. DC Comics also thought a teenaged superhero would appeal to young readers, being an effective audience surrogate. The name "Robin, The Boy Wonder" and the medieval look of the original costume are inspired by the legendary hero Robin Hood, as well as the red-breasted American Robin, which parallels the "winged" motif of Batman. Dick Grayson was born on the first day of spring, son of John and Mary Grayson, a young couple of aerialists.
In his first appearance, Dick is an 8 year-old circus acrobat, and with his parents make up the "Flying Graysons". While preparing for a performance, Dick overhears two gangsters attempting to extort protection money from the circus owner. The owner refuses, so the gangsters sabotage the trapeze wires with acid. During the next performance, the trapeze from which Dick's parents are swinging snaps, sending them to their deaths. Before he can go to the police, Batman appears to him and warns him that the two gangsters work for Tony Zucco, a very powerful crime boss, and that revealing his knowledge could lead to his death. When Batman recounts the murder of his own parents, Dick asks to become his aide. After extensive training, Dick becomes Robin. They start by disrupting Zucco's gambling and extortion rackets. They then successfully bait the riled Zucco into visiting a construction site, where they capture him.
Robin's origin has a thematic connection to Batman's in that both see their parents killed by criminals, creating an urge to battle the criminal element. Bruce sees a chance to direct the anger and rage that Dick feels in a way that he himself can not, thus creating a father/son bond and understanding between the two. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, DC Comics portrayed Batman and Robin as a team, deeming them the "Dynamic Duo", rarely publishing a Batman story without his sidekick; stories entirely devoted to Robin appeared in Star-Spangled Comics from 1947 through 1952.
1964s The Brave and the Bold #54 introduces a junior version of the Justice League of America (an all-star superhero team of which Batman was a part). This team is led by the modern-day Robin, residing on Earth-One, was joined by two other teenage sidekicks: Aqualad (sidekick of Aquaman) and Kid Flash (sidekick of The Flash), to stop the menace of Mr. Twister.
Later, the three sidekicks join forces with Speedy and Wonder Girl in order to free their mentors in the JLA from mind-controlled thrall. They decide to become a real team: the Teen Titans. By virtue of the tactical skills gleaned from Batman, Robin is swiftly recognized as leader before the Titans disband some years later.
In 1969, still in the Pre-Crisis continuity, writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams return Batman to his darker roots. One part of this effort is writing Robin out of the series by sending Dick Grayson to the Hudson University and into a separate strip in the back of Detective Comics. The by-now Teen Wonder appears only sporadically in Batman stories of the 1970s.
In 1980, Grayson once again takes up the role of leader of the Teen Titans, now featured in the monthly series The New Teen Titans, which became one of DC Comics' most beloved series of the era.
Dick continues his adventures with Batman, and begins studying law at Hudson University. However, Robin loses interest in his studies and starts to take on solo missions, and finds himself to be a capable crime-fighter. Shortly afterward, the mysterious Raven summons Dick Grayson and several other young heroes to form a new group of Titans. Robin assumes leadership, and moves out of the shadow of his mentor.
Dick, now 19, realizes at that point that he has grown up: he no longer relies on Batman, and he and the Dark Knight disagree on crime-fighting methodology. Robin's newfound independence and Titans' duties in New York leave less time for his former commitments in Gotham. He also drops out of Hudson after only one semester. Dick also rediscovers his self-worth among the Titans. Batman, however, is less than pleased. He informs Grayson that if he no longer wants to be his partner, then Dick would have to retire as Robin. Furious, hurt, resigned, and confused, Dick Grayson left Wayne Manor—but not for the last time. Helping him through this difficult time are his fellow Titans, including Starfire, a beautiful alien that Dick eventually falls in love with. He hands over leadership of the Titans to Wonder Girl, and takes a leave of absence from the team.
(In pre-Crisis continuity, the "parting" between Dick and Batman is entirely amicable. Dick passes the mantle of Robin over to Jason Todd voluntarily, in a memorable scene wherein he states that "Robin will always be the second part of Batman and..." Bruce gives every impression of being pleased with his ward's coming of age, and maintains this attitude until the post-Crisis retcon that rewrites the origin of Jason Todd and the circumstances of Dick's departure from the role.)
In pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity, the maturing Dick Grayson grows weary of his role as Batman's young sidekick. He renames himself Nightwing, recalling his adventure in the Kryptonian city of Kandor, where he and Batman meet the local hero of the same name.
Nightwing: Secret Files & Origins #1 and Nightwing: Year One tell the full post-Crisis version of how Dick Grayson gives up his identity as Robin (having been "fired" by Batman). Uncertain what to do with his new-found independence, Dick considers giving up fighting crime to study law, but he could not imagine his life in any other way. Turning to someone that he knows would understand, Dick asks Superman what he should be, if not Robin. In reply, Superman tells a tale of long ago on Krypton, about a man who was cast out of his family, just like Dick. He dreamt of a world ruled by justice, and set out to protect the helpless and victimized as Nightwing. Dick then decides to honor the legendary Kryptonian by renaming himself Nightwing. This tale retroactively erases the notion that anyone else before Grayson and Bette Kane ever held the titles of Nightwing and Flamebird, except for the birds and the legendary figures named after them.
In an adventure in which all of his Titans teammates are captured by Deathstroke the Terminator and delivered to the H.I.V.E., Dick reveals his new identity of Nightwing and helps to free them with the help of Jericho. Grayson finally moves out of the shadow of the Bat, and would lead the Titans through some hard times. He endures brainwashing at the hands of Brother Blood; his relationship with Starfire would suffer due to her marriage of state; and he would be deeply affected by the fact that Batman trained a new Robin (Jason Todd), only for him to be killed at the hands of the Joker (in the "Batman: A Death in the Family" story arc).
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Dick's origins and history, like Bruce Wayne's, remain relatively unchanged, save for a few minor details. He is now a 12-year-old acrobat who witnesses the murder of his parents, an event which is further expanded upon in later comics. Prior to the incident, he and his family meet a 6-year-old Tim Drake, who would cross paths with him one day, and his parents, Jack and Janet Drake. In Legends of the Dark Knight #100, following the murder, Dick confronts the man who cut the ropes, only to be struck violently across the face. Batman, who is investigating the crime at that time, saves the boy and attacks the assassin. Dick gets a mild concussion and passes out. He is treated at the hospital and sent to a juvenile home, where he is abused by several inmates. After this injustice is discovered, he is moved to a Catholic orphanage, as explored in Batman: Year Three. He tries to escape but is stopped by Batman, who assures him he will not be there for long. Shortly afterwards, Bruce Wayne, now feeling sympathy for the boy, has Dick removed from social services and placed as his legal ward. Originally, he only adopts the boy as a legal charge, since Dick does not want to replace his deceased father. Shortly after meeting Bruce, Dick discovers Bruce's playboy, womanizing image in Year One: Robin Annual, and he comes to conclude that his adoption was just to gain positive publicity for Wayne. The latter parts of Batman: Dark Victory revealed his discomfort and lack of belonging at Wayne Manor, as an investigating Bruce was never around much, leaving Alfred Pennyworth as the main caregiver and only confidante.
Dick runs off from Wayne Manor to seek his parents' killer. Dark Victory reveals that he traces Zucco's whereabouts, fights off his guards, and confronts them with force. Unfortunately, this causes him to receive a beating, prior to a rescue by Batman. Upon regaining his senses, Dick learns he is in the Batcave, Bruce Wayne then reveals his identity to the boy. Bruce offers him the job of being his sidekick. By a candlelight oath of justice and perseverance, Dick readily accepts the offer and begins his training under Batman.
Bruce teaches Dick fighting techniques and detective skills for a grueling three months, all the while helping him on the streets at night as Robin. Finally, he has to pass one final test: "The Gauntlet". Dick has to elude The Dark Knight on the streets of Gotham for one full night without any outside help. He eventually succeeds, simultaneously bringing gangster Joe Minette to justice. Grayson takes to the streets as Batman's full-fledged partner in crime-fighting: Robin, The Boy Wonder. Together, they stop Two-Face and The Hangman and bring Tony Zucco to justice. By the end of the case, Bruce officially adopts Dick as his son.
Dick enjoys his first year as Robin, regarding the job as an adventure until a confrontation with Two-Face serves as a rude awakening for the young hero. The villain captures Judge Lawrence Watkins (previously version of the story was Gotham's newly elected district attorney Aldrich Meany[1]) and Batman, and has each suspended from a hangman's noose in a "double gallows death-trap". Robin, trying to save the judge, convinces Two-Face to flip his trademark coin on whether or not Watkins would hang. Robin wins the flip, but Two-Face "honors" the deal by drowning the judge instead. Robin is unable to prevent Watkins' death, and receives a beating at the hands of Two-Face; a beating that Batman witnesses, still tied up on the platform. Eventually, Batman frees himself and apprehends the villain. This event, however, emotionally scars the young crime-fighter. Rather than see Dick be further endangered, Batman "fires" his partner, sidelining the 13-year-old Boy Wonder for a while, only to bring him back shortly afterwards. Four years later, when Dick is 17, he is shot in the shoulder by the Joker, which scares Batman into finally ending Robin's career as his partner. Seeking emancipation, Dick moves out of the mansion and joins the Teen Titans full time.
One night, after Jason Todd has become the new Robin, he goes out alone to try and take down some drug dealers who have set up shop in a warehouse. He is discovered on the roof and knocked through the skylight. As the criminals are closing in on him, the thug who knocked him through the skylight is thrown through it as well. The drug dealers at first think it must be Batman, but it is Nightwing, who had been keeping an eye on the new Robin. After helping Robin defeat the crooks, Nightwing tells Robin to tell Bruce they need to talk. The next morning, Bruce tells Jason that Nightwing was the original Robin, but he had kept his true identity a secret from Jason because he felt it wasn't his place to reveal Nightwing's true identity. After Jason leaves for school, Nightwing shows up to talk to Bruce, and finds out why he had been replaced. After several cover stories about how Jason had nowhere else to turn, and that Gotham had become too dangerous for him to continue fighting crime alone, Bruce finally tells Dick that it was because he missed him.
Later that night, Robin finds the same group of drug dealers where they have set up shop in a new location, and to his surprise, Nightwing is there waiting for him. Nightwing gives Jason his old Robin costume, and tells him he will grow into it eventually. They then agree to bust the criminals together, side-by-side.
Bruce and Dick remain at odds with each other for some time, due to feelings of hurt and betrayal. This increases after Jason's death. While serving with the New Titans, he is searched out by a now-teenaged Tim Drake, who has only one goal on his mind: for Nightwing to reprise the role of Robin. Dick flatly refuses, as he feels he can't take a step back to a position he has outgrown. It is Dick's refusal to return to the role that starts Tim down the road toward becoming the new Robin. After weeks of persuading and proving his potential, Grayson returns to Batman to plead Tim's case, with help from Alfred. Due to their arguments and the realization that Batman needs a Robin, Tim Drake becomes the third Boy Wonder.
Later on, various members of the Titans are abducted by a rogue Jericho and the Wildebeest Society. This adventure affects the team immensely. The group enters into tumultuous times, where members come and go. Longtime friends are maimed or destroyed, but Dick perseveres through it all, remaining as the heart and center of the team. After these events, Nightwing adopts his second costume.
However, his relationship with Starfire becomes strained, and problems in Gotham demand Nightwing's attention. Impulsively, he proposes marriage to her. The two wed, but the ceremony is interrupted by Raven, now reborn as an evil avatar of her father, Trigon. Her brutal attack on Starfire triggers changes in Dick and Kory's relationship. She is implanted with a demon "seed" which causes her to leave Earth and go on a spiritual journey.
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne — paralyzed after losing a brutal fight with Bane — leaves the mantle of Batman to the unstable Jean-Paul Valley (Azrael). Nightwing is angry and hurt that Bruce did not ask him to fill in while instead choosing the "nut job altar boy", but Bruce claims to have chosen Valley because he figured Dick was now his own man and would not willingly take the responsibility. In truth, Bruce simply did not want Dick to have to face Bane. Dick intervenes with the new Robin, Tim Drake, and when Bruce returns to Gotham, he brings Valley down and once again takes up the mantle of Batman. When Grayson returns to the Titans, he finds it has changed. The government had interceded, placing Arsenal, the former Speedy, as leader of the team. Nightwing steps aside and leaves the Titans, concentrating on problems in Gotham City.
In the "Prodigal" arc, Bruce Wayne, still recovering from his broken back, asks a reluctant Dick to substitute for him as Batman for a time. He accepts. During this time, Dick is able to confront Two-Face and lay some demons to rest. He also establishes a friendship with Tim Drake, whom he later considers a little-brother figure and friend. Bruce eventually heals and returns to Gotham to reclaim his role as Batman. For the first time in years, Bruce and Dick begin to repair their relationship.
Based on Nightwing's increasing popularity, DC Comics decided to test the character's possibilities with a one-shot book and then a miniseries.
First, in Nightwing: Alfred's Return #1 (1995), Grayson travels to England to find Alfred, who resigns from Bruce Wayne's service following the events of KnightSaga. Before returning to Gotham City together, they prevent a plot by British terrorists to destroy the undersea "Channel Tunnel" in the English Channel.
Later on, with the Nightwing miniseries (September 1995 to December 1995, written by Dennis O'Neil with Greg Land as artist), Dick briefly considers retiring from being Nightwing forever before family papers uncovered by Alfred reveal a possible link between the murder of the Flying Graysons and the Crown Prince of Kravia. Journeying to Kravia, Nightwing (in his third costume) helps to topple the murderous Kravian leader and prevent an ethnic cleansing, while learning his parents' true connection to the Prince.
In 1996, following the success of the miniseries, DC Comics launched a monthly solo series featuring Nightwing (written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel), in which he patrols Gotham City's neighboring municipality of Blüdhaven.
At Batman's request, Dick journeys to this former whaling town-turned-industrial center to investigate a number of murders linked to Gotham City gangster Black Mask. Instead, he finds a city racked by police corruption and in the grips of organized crime consolidated by Roland Desmond, the gargantuan genius Blockbuster.
With a defenseless city to call his own, Nightwing decides to remain in Blüdhaven until Blockbuster's cartel is broken. This allows him to be close enough to Gotham to still be part of the Batman Family, and far enough as well to have his own city, adventures and enemies. He takes a job as a bartender to keep his ear to the ground and worked closely with Oracle (Barbara Gordon) in an effort to clean up the town. He also uses the trust fund left by his parents to finance his activities as Nightwing along for emergencies, however as a civilian he prefers of earning his own incomes as Haly Circus' owner and a bartender (later a police officer) as Dick already became weary of being dependent of his mentor and Starfire's incomes before Bruce Wayne inform him of his parents' saving accounts. Blockbuster places a sizable contract on Nightwing's head shortly thereafter, while Grayson plies the unscrupulous Blüdhaven Police Inspector Dudley Soames for information on the kingpin's dealings. Also during his time in Blüdhaven, Nightwing helps train a violent but enthusiastic street fighter called Nite-Wing.
As Dick settles in the city, his activities eventually led to his building of an arsenal comparable to that of his mentor, including state-of-the-art transportations; an automobile called Nightbird and a glider called Winger. He also purchased an abandoned automobile factory and his apartment building as his secret bases of operations.
After Nightwing settles in Blüdhaven, a galactic threat comes to Earth, reuniting former members of the Titans together to save their friend Cyborg, and prevent him from putting the Earth in jeopardy. They enter into conflict with their mentors and friends in the Justice League, but are able to come to a truce and save Cyborg while preserving the safety of the planet. After this adventure, the group decides to re-form, with Nightwing returning to the role of leader.
Meanwhile, Dick joins the Blüdhaven Police Department in efforts to rid the city of its corruption from the inside. On the personal side, Dick and Barbara's once flirtatious Robin/Batgirl relationship is changing. When Gotham is quarantined from the rest of the United States and becomes a virtual "No Man's Land", Nightwing is sent to secure Blackgate Prison. Afterwards, Dick recuperates at Barbara's clock tower, and the two grow even closer, entering into a romantic relationship.
Some time after "No Man's Land" ends, the JLA disappears on a mission to locate Aquaman and Atlantis (The Obsidian Age). Before they vanish, Batman instigates a contingency plan, in which a handful of heroes would be assembled to create a new JLA, consisting of Nightwing, Green Arrow, the Atom, Hawkgirl, Major Disaster, Faith, Firestorm and Jason Blood. Nightwing is chosen to be leader until the original JLA are found, leading the group against the powerful Atlantean sorceress Gamemnae and helping to revive Aquaman to ask for his help in sinking Atlantis, but subsequently returns to the reserve list, although Batman comments that Nightwing's ability to handle the responsibility of League leadership shows that he is capable of more than what he is at present.
For several years, Nightwing leads various incarnations of the Titans and becomes the most respected former sidekick in the DC Universe. However, in the Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day crossover, a rogue Superman android kills Lilith and Troia, an event that tears apart both Young Justice and the Titans. At Troia's funeral, Dick declares he is tired of seeing friends die and disbands the team, officially ending the Titans. A few months later, Arsenal persuades Nightwing to join a new pro-active crime-fighting team: the Outsiders, who would hunt villains, acting as co-workers rather than an extended family. He reluctantly accepts.
Outsiders writer Judd Winick takes a more Batman-like approach with Nightwing as team-leader, making him refuse any other kind of relation with his teammates than the direct work.
Dick plays a key role in exposing the corruption in the Blüdhaven Police Department. Despite reaching his original goals, Dick continues as a police officer during the day while spending nights as Nightwing, pushing himself to his limits and straining his relationships. The line between his police work and his vigilantism began to blur, and ultimately Amy Rohrbach (his friend and superior officer, who knew his secret identity) fires him rather than let him continue using questionable methods.
Wrongfully blaming Nightwing for the death of his mother, the mob boss Blockbuster bombs Dick Grayson's apartment complex, ruins Haly Circus, and promises to kill anyone in Dick's life. When the vigilante Tarantula arrives, Nightwing chooses not to stop her when she shoots the villain dead. He enters a catatonic state after this action, and Tarantula takes advantage of his emotional trauma to have sex with him — essentially a rape.[2] At length, Nightwing shakes himself from his depression and takes responsibility for his inaction. He captures Tarantula and turns himself in to the police. Amy, however, feels the world needs Nightwing free and so prevents him from being charged.
Dick has destroyed the police corruption and removed the greater part of organized crime from this city, but his role in Blockbuster's death is still a source of tremendous guilt for him. He retires from crime fighting, with Tim Drake and Cassandra Cain as his replacements.
Grayson moves to New York, where he works closely with the Outsiders. After "insiders" threaten both the Outsiders and the newest incarnation of Teen Titans, however, Nightwing realizes that the team has gotten "too personal" and quits.
Due to a crisis of conscience, Dick adopts the new villainous persona of Renegade in order to infiltrate Lex Luthor's Secret Society of Super-Villains. This ruse includes Nightwing aligning himself with his long-time enemy Deathstroke in order to track the manufacturing and distribution of Bane's venom serum and to keep tabs on the Society's activities in Gotham and Blüdhaven. He also begins training (and subtly converting) Deathstroke's daughter Ravager.
Deathstroke takes revenge on Nightwing when Blüdhaven is destroyed by the Society. The Society drops the super villain Chemo on the city, killing 100,000 people. Dick tries to rescue survivors but is overcome by radiation poisoning, only to be rescued himself by Batman. Nightwing confides that he let Blockbuster die and asks Batman to forgive him. Batman tells him that his forgiveness does not 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.
Batman then entrusts Nightwing to alert other heroes about the danger that the Crisis poses. Dick flies to Titans Tower, but due to the chaos resulting from the Blüdhaven disaster, the OMAC onslaught, and other Crisis related events, the only hero who answers his call is Conner Kent. Together, they locate and attack Alexander Luthor's tower, the center of the Crisis, only to be repelled by Superboy-Prime. Prime is ready to kill Nightwing when Conner intervenes, sacrificing himself to destroy the tower, ending the destruction of the Universe.
During the Battle of Metropolis, Nightwing suffers a near-fatal injury from Alexander Luthor when he attempts to save Batman's life. Originally, the editors at DC intended to have Dick Grayson killed in Infinite Crisis as Newsarama revealed from the DC Panel at WizardWorld Philiadelphia:[3]
| “ | 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 tragic 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. | ” |
Saved by the Justice Society, Nightwing recovers with Barbara at his side. As soon as he's able to walk again, Batman asks him to join him and Robin in retracing Bruce's original journey in becoming the Dark Knight. While Nightwing is hesitant, due to his engagement with Barbara, she encourages him to go and returns his engagement ring so he can make an honest decision for himself. Barbara feels that it is important he rediscover himself, and until he does they're not yet ready to be married. They part on good terms, though before he departs Dick leaves her an envelope containing a photograph of them as Robin and Batgirl, along with the engagement ring on a chain and a note promising he'll come back to her one day.[4]
Soon after his journey with Batman and Robin ends, Nightwing returns to Gotham, following Intergang's trail. He works with the new Batwoman and Renee Montoya to stop Intergang from destroying Gotham, shutting off dozens of fire-spewing devices spread across the city.
One year later, Dick Grayson returns to New York City (his previous home base with the Teen Titans) in order to find out who has been masquerading as Nightwing. The murderous impostor turns out to be the former Robin, Jason Todd. Grayson leads the Outsiders once again, operating undercover and globally.
Nightwing follows an armored thief named Raptor, whom he suspects is responsible for series of murders. Later, Raptor himself is murdered in a manner similar to the other victims by an unseen contract killer, who proceeds to bury Grayson alive. Nightwing frees himself, wondering the relation between his experience and a mysterious voice who tells him that he is "supposed to be dead". Nightwing is having trouble finding things to keep him busy during the day due to the cast on his right arm. Incapacitated from his injuries, he tries without luck to find jobs, which forces him to take a job as a low-paid acrobatic instructor at a local gym, and continues to research into the mysterious assassin.
At one point, Dick agrees to attend a party for Bruce and their relationship seems to flourish. Bruce praises Dick for his success on the Raptor case, and also mentions to look into the Landman Building which hosted ex-Lexcorp scientists; most likely those who worked on the Raptor project. Dick also continues to keep a close brotherly relationship with Tim Drake, and helps Tim deal with his many losses during the last year.
After dealing with the Raptor issue, NYC is plagued by a villainous duo called Bride and Groom. Nightwing begins pursuit of these two after some grisly murders, including that of the Lorens family (close friends of his after the Raptor incident). Dick began to get obsessed with finding them, not knowing how far he was willing to go to take them down. Eventually, he formed a makeshift team with some "villains" to find them. They located them, and after killing some of his "team," Nightwing chased them to a cave, where Bride began a cave-in and the two are trapped there.
Nightwing, along with a group of former Titans, are summoned again by Raven to aid the current group of Teen Titans battle against Deathstroke, who was targeting the latest team in order to get at his children, Ravager and the resurrected Jericho. Nightwing and the other former Titans continue to work with the current team soon after the battle with Deathstroke so as to investigate the recent murder of Duela Dent.
When the Outsiders were targeted by Checkmate, Nightwing agrees that his team will work with the organization, so long as their actions in Africa are not used against them in the future. The mission however does not go as well as intended, resulting in Nightwing, the Black Queen and Captain Boomerang being captured by Chang Tzu. Later, Batman is called in by Mister Terrific who then rescues Nightwing and the others. Afterwards, Nightwing admits to Batman, that while he accepts that he is an excellent leader, he is not suited to lead a team like the Outsiders, and offers the leadership position to Batman.
Batman accepts the position, however he feels that the team needs to be remade, in order to accomplish the sorts of missions that he intends them to undertake. As such, he holds a series of try outs for the team. The first audition involves Nightwing and Captain Boomerang who are sent to a space station under attack by Chemo. During the mission, a confrontation erupts between Nightwing and Boomerang, who has grown tired of fighting for redemption from people like Batman and Nightwing. After taking a beating from Nightwing, he manages to throw him into a shuttle heading for Earth and quits the team. Afterwards, Nightwing furiously confronts Batman. Batman does not deny his actions, and states that this is the sort of thing that the new Outsiders will have to deal with. At this, Nightwing resigns completely from the Outsiders, which Batman feels is best, judging Nightwing too good for that sort of life.
In order to help himself regain a sense of purpose, Nightwing opted to stay in New York City again, and play the role of the city's protector. He takes on a job as a museum curator; and uses the museum as his new base of operations. During his short time there, Dick finds himself once again confronted with Two-Face, who years ago delivered Dick's greatest defeat. This time however, Dick soundly defeats Two-Face.
Nightwing joins a new team of Titans, with the same roster of the New Teen Titans, to stop an as-yet unnamed offspring of Trigon from enacting his vengeance over Raven and the Titans, of every generation. Nightwing yet again leads the team, and they manage to stop the sons of Trigon from accomplishing their first attempt at global destruction and again a few days later.
Following the defeat of Trigon's sons, the Titans are approached by Jericho who had been stuck inhabiting the body of Match, Superboy's clone. The Titans managed to free Jericho, but found themselves once again in trouble, due to the fact the Jericho's mind had become splintered due to all the bodies he had possessed in the past. Torn between evil and good, Jericho possesses Nightwing's body in order to keep from being captured. During this time, Jericho forces Nightwing to relive all of his greatest pains. Soon after the JLA arrived intent on taking Jericho in. Unfortunately they fail to apprehend him.
Following this, Nightwing decides to leave the team again, due to the events of the "Batman R.I.P." storyline and Batman's apparent death, as Nightwing feels his attention is better aimed at protecting Gotham City. Before leaving, Starfire asked Dick if he still has any feelings for her. Starfire reveals Dick's answer to Donna Troy that he has moved on.[5]
As a precursor to "Batman R.I.P.", at the New York Comic Con 2008, DC Comics gave away pins featuring Nightwing, Jason Todd, and Hush with the words "I Am Batman" beneath them.
During the storyline, Nightwing is ambushed by the International Club of Villains. He is later seen in Arkham Asylum, frothing at the mouth and presumably drugged, believed by the staff to be Pierrot Lunaire, a member of the Club. Scheduled for an experimental lobotomy by Arkham himself, he is spared by the Club of Villains taking hold of the Asylum, wanting to use him and Jezebel Jet, Bruce's fianceè at the time, as bait.
As Jezebel's capture is revealed to be a red herring, due to her being a part of the Black Glove, Nightwing's lobotomy is still pending, but he manages to escape by besting Le Bossu, and joining the fray between the Batman Family, the International Club of Heroes and the Black Glove itself. While he's forced to witness Batman's dragging down Simon Hurt's helicopter and seemingly die in a fiery explosion with his foe, he's shown holding Batman's cape, discarded during the fight.
Following the events of Batman's apparent death during Final Crisis, Nightwing has closed down shop in New York so as to return to Gotham. He has opted to give up on having a normal job, and instead intends to put all his effort into protecting the city. After his returns he confronts Two-Face and Ra's al Ghul, proving to two of his mentor's greatest enemies that he is an equal to Batman after he defeated them. He also find himself being tasked to raise Bruce's biological son Damian with Alfred.
During the events of the Battle For The Cowl, Nightwing is said to have become a lot less emotional and unapproachable. He is seen by the Bat-Suit display cases, still mourning the loss of Batman. Nightwing is said to be resisting the idea that someone needs to take up the mantle of Batman, in spite of arguments from Robin and Alfred Pennyworth that it is necessary.[6] It is later revealed he has no objections to becoming the new Batman, but was ordered not to in Bruce's prerecorded message for him, saying that Nightwing and Robin could carry the torch.
Robin later informs Grayson that someone is masquerading as Batman, using similar weaponry to their own. Nightwing is later forced to rescue Damian after he is ambushed by Killer Croc and Poison Ivy. However, Nightwing's glider is shot down, and the two are forced to crash land into a skyscraper. In order to give Damian time to escape, Nightwing offers himself up to the hit squad that is after them. He is about to be shot when he is rescued in a hail of gunfire by the Batman impersonator.
This eventually leads to Dick confronting Jason Todd, who has been posing as Batman. After a long battle between the two, Jason refuses Dick's help, while hanging on to a protruding ledge over Gotham's bay, Jason lets himself fall into the water. After returning to the cave, Dick - having concluded that Bruce's previous instructions have been invalidated due to the evidence they have seen regarding the need for Batman's significant psychological impact on the people of Gotham - assumes the identity of Batman, with Damian as the new Robin.[7]
Dick Grayson assists the Gotham Police Department by using the Batmobile's nets to capture a gang of gunmen. After depositing the criminals next to Commissioner Gordon, Alfred and Dick speak over the radio about taking up the mantle of Batman due to Bruce Wayne's apparent death. Grayson abruptly ends the conversation, while Damian Wayne is angry at Dick for driving the Batmobile. "Only Batman drives the Batmobile," he says.
Four weeks prior, Dick and Tim Drake are in the Batcave when Superman and Wonder Woman arrive. Superman has in his hands the very cape and cowl that Bruce was wearing when Darkseid's Omega Sanction hit him, and hands it to Dick. Superman then asks what Bruce's contingency plan was in case he died. Dick and Tim do not have an answer for him.
At a makeshift funeral, Dick tells Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary that no one can know about Batman's death. "They still need to think he's out there," he says. "Batman lives. Always."
Later, Doctor Phosphorus attempts to break in to Project Cadmus. Damian comes upon him, and is nearly killed before he is saved by Dick. In the Batcave later that night, Dick tells Alfred that he cannot stop Damian from patrolling Gotham's streets but that he cannot be out there on his own. At a bunker underneath the Wayne Foundation building, Dick explains that they must move their headquarters there as both a literal and symbolic representation: if Dick becomes Batman, he must honor Bruce Wayne while making the role his own. Two weeks later at the Gotham Bay Bridge, the Scarecrow has unleashed his fear toxin in a standoff with police and has taken hostages. Suddenly, blinded by a floodlight Scarecrow looks up and exclaims, "Stop it! I'll do them all right now! I will!" Dick Grayson is then shown fully formed as Batman, simply saying, "I know. That's why I'm here."
Dick and Damian have begun to develop a grudging respect for each other. Dick reveals he chose Damian as his partner because he does not see Tim as his sidekick but as an equal, while Damian needs guidance and a constant eye watching him, implying that Dick sees Damian as a chance to return the favor to Bruce for raising him since his parents' deaths by acting as Damian's mentor. After Tim leaves Gotham and assumes the identity of Red Robin, Dick tries to keep track of the former Boy Wonder's whereabouts despite Tim's attempts to avoid contacts with everyone in his life.
Three weeks in the future Dick is fighting an unknown assailant. The assailant knows Dick is not the real Batman and is beating him. Dick is defeated by Bruce Wayne's cowl and the assailant prepares to kill him.
In the present it then shows Dick complaining to Alfred about the costume, but still goes out in it. Dick stops one of Penguins shipments and is caught on camera by Two-Face. Two-Face notices that there is something different with Batman. He then questions himself why Batman would let himself get on camera, and then makes the conclusion that it is indeed not the real Batman.
Dick is attacked by Clayface and Lyle Blanco two henchmen given to Penguin by Black Mask II. Batman succeeds in the battle all the while Two-Face infiltrates the Batcave after he hired a teleporter. He drugs Dick with a sedative darts and concludes that the original Batman is dead. However, Alfred arrives and after subduing Two-Face's accomplice, saves Dick and helps him convince Two-Face that the original Dark Knight Detective is still alive somewhere hidden within the cave.[8]
In the aftermath of the battle, while taking down the cave's display hall, Dick finds a jumpdrive hidden beneath Jason Todd's memorial case. Dick then reviews it and discovers that it contains a case file of his parents. This discovery cause Dick to question what secret Bruce was trying to keep from him that involved his past.[9]
Batman and Robin are in a high speed chase happening in Gotham City, as criminals are speeding through a freeway when they are derailed by a new, flying Batmobile. After using the new Batmobile to pick up the assailants' car and drop it in the harbor, Batman grabs their apparent leader, Mr. Toad, from the water to interrogate him. After knocking him out, Toad awakens blindfolded, being held by his leg by Batman, seemingly far above the city. After being playful with nearly "dropping" him, Toad divulges that he thought the "air would be good" for his complexion. Batman then lets go, as Toad falls all of two feet, onto the top of a skyscraper as the police overtake him.
Later at Wayne Manor and in the Batcave, Alfred and Batman (now Dick Grayson out of costume), begin covering all of the pieces of hardware in the Batcave and leave for their new lair underneath Wayne Tower in the heart of the city. Inside, Damian makes it clear to Dick that regardless of his own young age, he would be ready to take the mantle of Batman if Grayson is not "up to it."
Later, while the new Dynamic Duo are on patrol, they decide it is time to test their new "para-capes." On the roof of police headquarters, Commissioner Gordon laments the apparent loss of Batman as the Bat-Signal shines brightly. Suddenly, jumping from the Batmobile, the new Batman and Robin fly through the clouds and the Bat-Signal toward police headquarters.[10]
Dick soon takes down Professor Pyg, and one of his Doll People are taken in by Red Hood, who names her Scarlet. Red Hood is eventually arrested and gives Dick the idea of resurrecting Bruce through the Lazurus Pit. Dick then goes to get Bruce's body.[11] After Dick locates one of the Pits' locations at the United Kingdom, he and The Knight placed the body within the Pit. Dick and The Knight, along with Batwoman and Squire, watches and a hand emerges from the Pit.[12] However, the man who resembles the original Dark Knight attacks them all. Dick notices the creature's fighting skills, along with its murderous nature, differs from the original Batman and realizes that this man is not his mentor but rather some sort of clone. The clone takes Dick's plane to Gotham, attempts to kill Alfred and Damian. Dick and Batwoman arrives just in time to save them, and the clone collapses after fighting them. Now knowing that the man they've buried isn't the original Batman, Dick, along with Alfred and Damian, now share Tim's hope that Bruce Wayne is alive.[13]
After, Tim Drake returns with more supporting evidences that Bruce Wayne is not only still alive, but lost in time. The Justice League believes that Darkseid's Omega Effect transported the original Dark Knight to an unknown point in time at the past. Dick believes that ever since Wayne found himself stranded in time, he left clues as an S.O.S. in the hope that someone in the future would realize what they are and arrive to get him. Alfred discovers something at Wayne Manor contradicting of the family records, suggesting that they could be clues of Bruce Wayne's whereabouts passed down through his family tree. Dick and Alfred believe that one of Wayne's supposed distant relatives in the past could be Batman himself, as most Wayne men share a strikingly resemblance. During his search, Dick found a secret chamber within Wayne Manor that belonged not to the original Batman, but apparently of a Thomas Wayne from the 17th century, suggesting that this is where he worshipped Batman, or perhaps is the Dark Knight himself. They discovered the Manor's original designs resembled the shape of a bat, like a "Batsignal."
Meanwhile, Damian's loyalty to Dick is complicated by his relationship with his mother. After Dick frees Damian from Talia and Deathstroke's control, Talia reveals that she has begun to clone her son after realizing that Damian has completely sided with Grayson, despite their apparently antagonistic relationship. The Wayne family also finds themselves being stalked by members of the Black Glove. Grayson also figures out that Oberon Sexton is the Joker.
Robin later arrives at Oberon's apartment, where Dick has apprehended the Joker. After they begin questioning him, the Joker reveals that since the death of "his Batman" he is no longer the "clown prince" he once was and took on the identity of Oberon to gain the new Batman's trust. Joker states to the Dark Knight that "if only you could trust me, just this once" and alludes that it is too late to stop the chain reaction he caused with the first little domino of death. As Gordon arrives on the scene, Joker leaves Batman with one final message that he only wanted to warn him, and he hopes he'll remember how he tried his best to help, and that everyone will die unless this Batman is as good as the last one. Damian is later called in to talk alone with the Joker, who is held by the GCPD. Damian unveils a crowbar and smashes it into the Joker's head, as he begins his own interrogation. Dick and Gordon race to stop Damian from killing the Joker. However, the Batmobile is shot down in mid-air by the Black Glove, and Dick is knocked unconscious, leaving Gordon surrounded by an army of Dollotrons.
After being kidnapped by the Black Glove, help eventually arrives in the form of the original Dark Knight. Bruce Wayne helps Dick and Damian defeat the Black Glove and the Joker. Wayne decides to allow Dick and Damian to continue as Batman and Robin, as he has new plans for his mission as the Dark Knight.
In the 2009 Batgirl series, Barbara Gordon is discussing her current relationships (or lack of) with her father over lunch. When her dad asks if there is someone special, Babs replies "It depends on which one of us you are asking." As she says this, she glances down at her phone with Dick's name. Batman notifies her of Stephanie Brown's activities as Batgirl.[14] However, Dick discovers that Barbara gave her approval of Stephanie as her successor. This leads to an argument between Dick and Barbara, as he still sees Stephanie as a reckless youth, remembering her role in causing a city-wide gang war.[15] Nevertheless, Dick, Damian, Barbara, and Stephanie find themselves having to work together to save Fernando Garcia, who has been kidnapped by some of Gotham's rogues.[16] The team-up is tense, but after working with Stephanie, and although he does not completely approve of her role as Batgirl, she reminds him of Barbara when she was Batgirl, and Dick allows Barbara to continue training her successor.
Firefly attempts to burn Gotham City, which allows Hush to escape, and a new character named Abuse tries to help Gotham. Eventually Firefly nearly kills Black Mask, but Zsasz stops him. Batman beats Firefly, but learns of Hush posing as Bruce. The JLA and Outsiders then give Hush rules to play by, while Black Mask gives Zsasz unlimited money to kill. Zsasz buys new clothes and the Broker sells him an apartment to kill people in. The Broker gives Batman Zsasz's location, after getting beat up by the bat.
Father Mark, a priest, goes crazy and attempts to kill Helena and Man-Bat, who are saved by Batman. However, it is Father Mark who takes out the criminal hired by Black Mask.
In the Batman Annual #27, Batman is inspecting a murder caused in Azrael: Death's Dark Knight when he finds Amon. Azrael and Batman decide to team up to stop him from killing Robin.[17]
In a 2009/2010 Tony Daniel story arc titled "Life after Death", Black Mask II has been cornered in the Devil's Square area of Gotham City by the National Guard. Black Mask's army of Arkham Asylum escapees are deteriorating without their proper medication, so he begins brainwashing innocent citizens to join his False Face Society. Batman and Commissioner Gordon are attempting to negotiate the release of the Devil's Square citizens that Black Mask is holding for ransom. Dick approaches Selina Kyle, requesting her to get specific information on Black Mask's hideout. Meanwhile, the villains Fright, Dr. Death and Professor Hugo Strange have been inducted into Black Mask's Ministry of Science, with the job of brainwashing the False Faces. Selina Kyle (Catwoman) isn't able to get informationn on the hideout, but points Dick to the re-emergence of Mario Falcone and the Falcone Crime Empire in Gotham. Mario was behind the killings of members of the False Face Society. To counter Falcone's attacks, Black Mask resurrects an old Batman foe named the Reaper. The Reaper, aided by Strange and Fright, goes on a killing spree, evening out the escalating gang war.
Batman and Robin stop some False Faces from stealing a shipment of pills from a hospital, many miles from Devil's Square. Dick then goes to attend Arkham Asylum's reopening gala to keep an eye on Tommy Elliott posing as Bruce Wayne, aided by the Huntress and Oracle. Also at the party are Dr. Arkham, Mario Falcone and Dr.Singh from Gene-Core, a company going into partnership with the Asylum. Oracle, angry at Huntress for kissing Dick, makes her go after a suspicious girl at the party. Unbeknownst to her, the Riddler was snooping around and following her. The girl breaks into Gene-Core's lab, then sets off a bomb, destroying the lab and much of the building. The explosion makes the Riddler regain his memory. Batman arrives at Gotham's Port, where he finds Gordon and Bullock examining the cut-up corpses of several Falcone gangsters. From this, Batman deduces that the Reaper has somehow returned. Dick and Alfred then discover that the girl who blew up Gene-Core's lab is a prolific thief, and goes by many aliases. Dick finds footage of the girl escaping the scene in a taxi, which Alfred traces to Devil's Square. Batman wants to get hold of the girl for questioning, so he gets past Black Mask's snipers and into Devil's Square. Batman asks some local street kids if they know the whereabouts of the girl. One kid, known as Baby D, tells Batman that he has seen her hanging out with the Penguin's henchman, Bossworth. Just as he is about to say more, Baby D, to the dismay of Batman, is shot and collapses into his arms.[18]
In Blackest Night crossover, Batman and Robin take Bruce's body as well as his parents' bodies to the Bat Bunker because there they believed will be safe. Deadman feels pain as his body becomes a Black Lantern and seeks Batman's aid. After Deadman alerts Batman, John and Mary Grayson arise, along the Red Robin's parents, Jack and Janet Drake. After alerting Red Robin of what has happened to the Drakes' bodies, Batman, along and Robin, and Deadman, saw the Batsignal in the sky with silhouettes of the Black Lanterns (reanimated versions of the original Batman's deceased rogue gallery members).[19] Batman, Robin, and Deadman respond by taking arsenals from the army reserve to combat the undeads. The Red Robin eventually arrives to aid the Dynamic Duo with a Batplane. After rescuing Commissioner Gordon along with Barbara Gordon and the surviving police officers, Batman and the Red Robin then find themselves face to face with the Black Lanterns who were once their parents, and the Batplane has crashed in the middle of a cemetery.[20] Dick and Tim sent Damian to Bat-bunker with the Gordons, while they bravely facing the Black Lanterns. They find that the Black Lanterns are replaying their respective tragedies with Tony Zucco and Captain Boomerang, who are also reanimated. While Tim lets his pain catches him off-guard after seeing his parents' bodies reanimated, Dick is painfully aware that his parents are not truly the real Graysons return from the dead and knows that the Black Lanterns need him and Tim to be in extreme emotional states before they can be feed from them. Fortunately, Deadman brings the demon Etrigan to save them. Dick orders Damian through their comm-link to send one of his Wingers with Mr. Freeze's gun, which he uses to cryogenically suspend himself and Tim. With the Black Lanterns unable to read any sign of life on them, the undead army retreats. Deadman later revives the former Boy Wonders after they left.[21]
During a battle with Yellow Wasp, Dick and Damian are approached by Donna Troy, who asks to speak with Dick. Just as Donna is about to invite Dick to join Kimiyo Hoshi's new Justice League, Dick interrupts her and tells her that he already heard the news from Cyborg. After joining, Dick helps Hal Jordan track down Green Arrow, whom is then recruited to take over Roy Harper's vaccant seat on the team.[22]
During his first on-panel mission with the new team, Dick leads the JLA into battle against a mind-controlled Atlas. In the midst of the fight, Dick mentions that it feels weird to be giving orders to a veteran like Hal.[23]
Dick is later seen working with Wally as the two scour Central City and Keystone City for Prometheus. After defeating a low level villain working for Prometheus, the two friends reflect on their time as Teen Titans, as well as their mutual experience of taking over for their dead mentors.[24]
It has been announced that after Bruce Wayne's return to the normal time stream, Dick Grayson will keep the mantle of Batman with him, acting as Batman in the issues of Batman, Detective Comics, Batman and Robin and Justice League of America; while Bruce Wayne will act as Batman in Batman Inc. and Batman: The Dark Knight. Just as Bruce Wayne expands his reach in a global sense, Grayson will continue to watch over Gotham.[25] Grayson will continue wearing the standard costume, while Wayne will use a new one to differentiate the two.[26]
In the Justice League: Generation Lost storylines, Dick is shown helping the heroes search for the resurrected Maxwell Lord. Unfortunately, Max uses his psychic powers to the utmost to erase all memory of himself from the minds of the entire world, including Dick. For some reason, Fire, Ice, Captain Atom and Booster Gold are the only ones who remember Max's existence.[27] Booster Gold tries talking to Dick about Max, but Max has mentally influenced the world into believing that Batman assembles a JLI team, Lex Luthor controlling the OMACs and Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) has committed suicide.[28] Later, Dick informed the Checkmate that Fire was attacking Max; Dick notices something about the mentions of Max.[29] Dick checks the computer monitor to watch the video footage of the Max from the cowl's camcorder, trying to figure out their fact. To his surprise, Power Girl witnesses Max a reference. They start investigating and tries to call Martian Manhunter, Green Lanterns, and among others attempt to restore their minds of Max existence, but then pause and forget all about Max from his influenced.[30] Dick assisted Power Girl in tracking C.R.A.S.H's whereabouts, they arrived at the arms dealers' hideout and threaten the man in charge about where C.R.A.S.H. was briefly sent for storage until final sale. After they take them out, Dick tells Power Girl has other work and leaves the scene.[31] Afterward, Dick and Power Girl are informed by Checkmate that messages indicate Magog thought he was being ordered by Checkmate to kill Captain Atom and them forensic evidence indicates Captain Atom may not have caused the explosion.[32] While Power Girl remembers Max's existence and goes to try and spread the word about Max, going so far as to exhume the corpse of Ted Kord so Dick can examine it. Dick refuses at first however only changing his mind with Bruce Wayne's arrival, who also remembered Max as well. Batman and Dick examine the body only to realize that Ted was indeed murdered. When Batman and Power Girl leave to join the rest of the JLI, Dick must connect the heroes among others.[33]
It has been announced that following the Flashpoint events, Dick will return as Nightwing, leaving Bruce Wayne as Gotham's Dark Knight once more. Dick will be 21 in DC's new universe, but still will have served his previous time as Robin, Nightwing, and Batman.