Think sunshine and acrobatics! Dick's a natural charmer, always cracking jokes and winning friends. He's super skilled at flips and fighting thanks to his circus past. But don't be fooled by the smiles, he's also a brave leader who stands up for what's right, just like Batman taught him. He's not perfect though, sometimes he takes on too much and gets worried, but everyone loves him anyway. Like a ray of light in Gotham's darkness, Dick Grayson is the hero who brings hope and laughter. (Personality Type: ENFJ. Enneagram: 6w7. Zodiac Sign: Ares) Origins Early Life When Dick Grayson was a child, he was an acrobatic prodigy travelling with the world-famous "Haly's Circus" along with his parents John and Mary Grayson. The three performers, known as the Flying Graysons, were one of Haly's most famous acts, a fact that went to Dick Grayson's head. Grayson, becoming rather pompous, began to drive away his closest friends Raymond and Raya. During a major blackout in Gotham City caused by the Riddler, Grayson, who had decided to see a movie while Haly's Circus was in Gotham, was caught alone in the streets. Working with a couple of other kids, Grayson managed to survive the blackout and return to his family at Haly's camp. From the experience Grayson learned not to take his friends for granted and apologized for treating them so poorly.[3] Haly's Circus hid a dark secret, having been training assassins for the Court of Owls for decades. Unknown to the young acrobat, Grayson had been selected to become the newest Talon for the Court; being groomed to replace Alton Carver. Dick Grayson's parents were eventually killed by the mobster Tony Zucco on his mother's birthday,[4] leaving the acrobat an orphan.[4][5] Unable to work as an acrobat anymore, Grayson left the circus, unknowingly escaping his fate of becoming a Talon. Robin: Boy Wonder After being transferred to the Wayne Care Center, Bruce Wayne would occasionally check up on Grayson and help him out. While Grayson seemed to be recovering well from the tragedy, he would actually sneak out at night in order to conduct his own investigation into the whereabouts of Tony Zucco. Grayson would encounter Batman at various times, and the Bat helped Grayson with his investigation, empathizing with his similar tragedy.[4][5] Eventually, Batman brought Grayson to the Batcave and shared his identity as Bruce Wayne. Wayne then offered to help Grayson bring in Tony Zucco,[5][4] a notion that Alfred Pennyworth was reluctant to accept.[4] Grayson accepted Wayne's offer and Wayne began training him over a period of a few months. After initially having trouble accepting a name, he finally settled on Robin, a reference to an adoration his mother had for the bird.[5]One night, Batman was tracking the Assassin Lady Shiva before the hero was ambushed and bested by her in combat. Donning his costume early, Robin arrived at Batman's position for his first mission in the field but was no match for the assassin, who spared his life and said they'd meet again.[4] After six months of training, Dick joined Bruce out on patrol for the first time, but after Dick disobeyed Bruce's orders to stay out of harm's way by taking down a thug he was fired. The next day, Dick informed Bruce that Tusk was planning a robbery at the docks that night in hopes of getting a second chance, but after being rejected, Dick decided to go anyway. After taking out some of Tusk's men, he was captured by Tusk himself, fortunately Bruce showed up just in time. Dick then followed Tusk in a helicopter, after a fight ensued, he managed to knock Tusk into the ocean. Bruce then showed up, deciding to take Dick back as his sidekick.[6] Early in his career, Robin aided Batman in stopping the debuting Scarecrow who was causing Fear Toxin outbreaks across Gotham. The due pursued Scarecrow on an extended mission to bring him to justice. Eventually, Batman came across Mother and The Orphan and their human trafficking operations. Batman decided to keep Mother's crimes a secret from Dick, due to him seeing similarities between him and her child soldiers.[7]In his second year as Robin, Dick crashed the Batmobile while escaping Firefly. Even though Batman was ultimately pleased with how Dick acted in the field, he was banned from driving the Batmobile.[8] At some point, Grayson partnered up and bonded with another teenager Batman had taken under his wing named Barbara Gordon, also known as Batgirl.[9] The pair developed romantic feelings for each other, though they did not engage in an extended relationship.[10] Teen Titans Dick eventually went on to join a team on teenage superheroes known as the Teen Titans. The founding group consisted of Robin, Kid Flash, Speedy, Aqualad and Wonder Girl.[11] At some point, Dick assumed the identity of Red X.[12] Another person would later steal the identity from Dick, the Teen Titans came into conflict with the new Red X multiple times before he disappeared and was presumed dead.[13] World's Finest At some point, Dick went on a date with Kara Zor-El. Unfortunately, the outing ended in disaster. At first, Kara spent a good deal of time trying to pick out an outfit for the occasion, only to discover when she arrived that Dick had arrived to the date in-costume. She percieved it as showing off that he was going on a date with Superman's cousin; he was unsure that she had a secret identity, and hadn't wanted to assume. Subsequently, she complimented the waiter's eyes, comparing him to Hal Jordan, which Dick percieved as flirting with the waiter. Dick then offered to cover the check, which they both thought came off as bragging about the Wayne fortune. Later, as Kara was telling Dick about the various kinds of Kryptonite, Dick interrupted, hungry, wondering when their food would arrive; Kara, as an empowered Kryptonian, didn't get hungry, leading to her frustration. Kara, hoping to smooth things over, asked about Dick's life; to which he told of his origin and the tragedy that led to him becoming Robin, leading to yet another awkward turn in the conversation. Subsequently, the date was interrupted by a car accident outside that resulted in a truckload full of bowling balls flying out into the street and an incipient bus crash. They managed to stop the incident, but not before getting soaked by a nearby puddle and covered and dirt. They attempted to resume the date, only for Dick to discover that he'd forgotten to pick up cash, and could not pay with a card without revealing his secret identity. Afterwards, they parted ways.[14] On His Own Years later, Grayson and his mentor had an argument,[15] resulting in Dick leaving Bruce's side and taking up a new identity as Nightwing- a name that had been inspired by a conversation a young Dick Grayson had with Superman.[16] Nightwing eventually left Gotham, occasionally returning to mentor the next Robin, Red Robin[17] and further train Batgirl.[18] At some point he moved to Bludhaven, where he bought an apartment building[19] and joined the Bludhaven Police Department for a period.[2] At some point during his time as Robin, Dick was confronted by Deathstroke, the world's deadliest assassin. Deathstroke made Dick an offer: guide Deathstroke's daughter Rose down the right path, so she doesn't follow in the footsteps of her father. In exchange, Deathstroke would stop trying to kill Dick and the rest of the Teen Titans. Dick accepted Slade's offer and began training Rose soon afterwards as Nightwing.[20] When Batman was apparently killed by Darkseid in one altercation, Grayson accepted the role as Batman for Bruce's sake and took Bruce's newly discovered son Damian on as his Robin.[21] They would form a close bond while working with each other, fighting against the likes of Professor Pyg, the Joker and Dr. Hurt,[22] until Bruce returned and retook the mantle.[23] Abilities Acrobatics: Richard Grayson was an acrobatic prodigy as a child, being part of the Flying Graysons act who were well known for conducting incredible acrobatic feats without the use of a net.[91] Espionage: Due to tutelage from Helena Bertinelli and experience from his tenure as an agent of the covert organization Spyral, he gained valuable espionage experience.[92][93] Genius Level Intellect: Having been personally trained by Batman, Dick is highly intelligent with advanced knowledge in various fields and is one of the most resilient and brilliant crime fighters in the world.[91] Aviation[94] Chemistry[24] Disguise: Trained by Alfred Pennyworth, Dick is proficient in the art of disguise. He was capable of impersonating the Joker[95] and Batman on occasion.[46][96] Driving[33] Eidetic Memory: Batman taught Dick the Memory Palace Technique, which allowed him to remember Raptor and deduce that Raptor was to blame for his own problems and not Bruce Wayne.[97] Escapology: Dick is an expert escape artist.[91][98] Forensic Science: Dick has an advanced knowledge of forensics due to his training with Batman.[99] Investigation: Trained personally by Batman, Dick is a world-class detective.[10][91] Law: Dick has a law degree.[100] Leadership: Due to his charisma and usual positive outlook, Dick has proven himself to be a natural leader.[101][91] Lock Picking[102] Multilingualism: He can speak English, German,[103] Russian,[104] and nine other languages.[105] Physics[106] Tactical Analysis: Dick is a capable tactician due to his training from Batman. He is also skilled in reading the body motions of others, allowing him to to anticipate the actions of multiple armed opponents and even Batman.[107][108] Tracking[26] Indomitable Will[45] Interrogation[26] Intimidation[26] Martial Arts: After being put through Batman's brutal training regime, Dick became a master martial artist, capable of going toe-to-toe with and defeating other deadly fighters, including Talon,[28] Midnighter by cheating[109] and even an unrestrained Batman.[110][92][111] Though not as skilled as Lady Shiva, she was left impressed with his fighting skill.[112] As part of his Robin training, Bruce taught Dick a technique called "language of combat", wherein he can communicate with others while fighting.[113] After being briefly brainwashed, he retains the memories of a whole other life where he acquired lethal training under the Court of Owls' tutelage, becoming their best assassin.[114][115][116] Despite being heavily damaged and blood ridden, Dick still manages to best Deathstroke, in a round of combat.[117] Batman acknowledges that Nightwing's the toughest and best hand-to-hand combatant out of all the Robins, almost killing an already weary damaged Bruce in battle, when Dick was under mind control. [118] Bruce also admits that when fighting Dick he has a difficult time tagging him, but that Dick's offense is sloppy at times.[119] Even with a dislocated arm, Dick's capable of besting KGBeast in battle.[120] Boxing[102] Eskrima: Dick is a master of eskrima, a fighting style he frequently employs when wielding his dual batons.[24] Ninjitsu[4] Stick Fighting: Dick is a master of Bojutsu, a stick-based martial art that uses a bo staff. He was taught this fighting style by Batman, as part of his training.[24] Peak Human Condition: Through years of extensive and intensive training, Dick has achieved the peak of human perfection both mentally and physically.[93] His speed and agility is at a level that even surprised and impressed Wally West.[121] Seduction[47] Sewing[122] Stealth: Dick's stealth is second to Batman's. He successfully remained undetected by the likes of Alfred Pennyworth, Batgirl, Red Hood, and Red Robin; while in the Batcave.[123][31] Throwing: Dick is capable of throwing various objects and weapons with precision.[4] He has often thrown his escrima sticks to incapacitate his opponents. He has even done the same with the use of a gun. On one occasion Dick was able to make his escrima sticks ricochet 37 times before returning to him.[124] Weaponry: Due to his training with Batman, Richard is well versed in many melee weapons such as staffs,[4] escrima sticks and bladed weaponry such as swords.[28] Firearms: Dick is a master marksman, and is highly skilled in the use of firearms.[45] Swordsmanship[28][125] Paraphernalia Equipment Nightwing Suit: As Nightwing, Dick Grayson's costume is tailored specifically to his unique style of crime-fighting. It is made up of sturdy but flexible material that not only suits his strength, speed, and acrobatics but also is durable enough to withstand gunfire. His former costume was a stylized red "wing" across his shoulders and extending to his hands, coloring his two middle fingers, over a black torso and legs. He also has gauntlets much like Batman's suit. He also has variants of his costume with different design elements, one of which was an armored suit that sported a Bat Symbol, which has since been used by Red Hood.[126] His suit houses various hidden compartments for his gadgetry such as smoke pellets, fire extinguishing pellets, wing-dings and small bombs. The fingertips of the suit also enable him to use lockpicks[127] and a needle which can give chemical analysis.[128] Nightwing's Domino Mask: As Nightwing, Dick's domino mask is shaped just like his wing-dings. It has various capabilities such as being able to track the GPS coordinates of a cell phone, thermal vision, detect radio waves, and is capable of giving detailed analysis of scenes and fights. Nightwing's Gauntlets: Hidden within secret compartments lies Nightwing's gadgetry, in which a great majority seems to be hidden. He has various gadgetry in his gauntlets such as binoculars and they are occasionally used to store his Escrima Sticks. His gauntlets can also shoot remote bombs, a sonic device with his ear dampeners and a grapple line. Electric Shock: Dick's entire suit is wired to deliver a 150-thousand-volt shock through the gloves of the suit, however it only has enough power for a one-time charge.[25] EMP Mask: A highly advanced mask created by Lucius Fox, the mask is made of webbing that retracts light surrounding the wearer's head and artificially alters the appearance of someone's face. Richard has used it to sneak into Arkham Asylum and pose as Joker[95] and used it again to gain information on Lady Shiva.[30] Spyral Implants (Formerly): During his time as an agent of Spyral, Dick received various implants to better aid him in the field when he was on his missions.[92] These were shut down after he left Spyral. Hypnos: Hypnos are implants that enable the user to hypnotize others. Dick immediately displayed mastery in using Hypnos despite it normally taking years to master. However, it is revered as a dangerous implant which can cause a two-way brain scramble if misused.[92] Identity Protection: The implants make the user's face unable to be captured by surveillance cameras and a person's memory.[92] Transportation Wingcycle Weapons Escrima Sticks: Personalized by Richard himself, his escrima sticks are dual fighting baton-like sticks. He also later upgraded them so they could shoot a grappling line,[112] and even hold some smoke bombs. The sticks can also combine together into a bo-staff.[129] Electro-Blast: Dick's Escrima sticks are capable of emitting high voltages of electricity.[130] Wing Dings