Dick Grayson

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Character
Name: Dick Grayson
Occupation: Superhero, circus acrobat, police officer
Relationships: Mary and John Grayson (mother and father); Bruce "Batman" Wayne (legal guardian, adoptive father, crime-fighting partner); Clark Kent (friend); Teen Titans (friends and teammates); Koriand'r/Starfire (major love interest); Barbara Gordon (major love interest); Batfamily; Damian Wayne (brother, sidekick)
Fandom: DC Comics, Batman, Teen Titans; Batman: The Animated Series/DC Animated Universe; Nightwing; Teen Titans (animated TV series), The Batman, Young Justice (TV series), LEGO Batman
Other:
night wing by samuraiblack (2012), here as Nightwing, based off his Young Justice costuming
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Richard John "Dick" Grayson is the original and most famous Robin, and later goes on to become the hero Nightwing. At different times he has also taken the mantle of Batman. He appears in many different media related to Batman, Teen Titans, and DC Comics.

Canon

Comics

Dick Grayson was introduced in Detective Comics #38 in 1940, and has remained a staple of Batman mythos in the 80 years since.

He was born as the son of John and Mary Grayson, a young aerialist couple, and part of the "Flying Graysons". In his introduction story his parents are murdered and in the process of solving the case of their murder becomes Batman's partner as well as the ward of Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne. Later the character was used with other mentored characters in the Teen Titans title, where Dick as Robin took a leading role. His role as part of the Teen Titans later leads to a split between him and Batman and he goes on to become the hero Nightwing. He was popular enough to get his own ongoing book as Nightwing in 1996. During the Prodigal Son story line and later during the events of Batman Reborn, when Bruce Wayne was thought to be dead, Dick also took on the costumed identity of his mentor.

Batman (1966)

In the three-season TV series and 1966 spin-off feature film, Batman, the Dick Grayson version of Robin was portrayed by Burt Ward. He later provided the voice for animated versions of the character, and the actor's likeness was used in tie-in comics and crossover mini-series.

Burtonverse

Dick Grayson first appeared in the 1995's Batman Forever, portrayed by Chris O'Donnell. He takes on the persona of Robin after his parents and older brother was murdered by Two-Face at the annual Gotham Circus. He discovers Bruce Wayne's identity as Batman, he joins Bruce in crime-fighting. O'Donnell reprised the role in the 1997's sequel, Batman & Robin where Robin has grown frustrated with playing second fiddle to Batman and feels held back as his overconfidence causes Batman not to trust him.

DC Animated Universe / Batman: The Animated Series

In the 1990s animated series we see Dick's transition from Robin to Nightwing, and the mantle of Robin is taken over by Tim Drake. Dick is also in a romantic relationship with Barbara Gordon (Batgirl).

Teen Titans

Dick is Robin in this series, and he is the leader of the Teen Titans. His main love interest is Starfire, this relationship will later become canonical.

The Batman

Dick is a young boy in the series, and features a similar background to the comics in that Dick is adopted by Bruce Wayne. The biggest change in the series is that Barbara Gordon as Batgirl becomes Batman's sidekick first, before Dick becomes Robin.

Arkhamverse

Nightwing is a supporting character in the Batman: Arkham video game series, and is a playable character in some segments.

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

Dick Grayson, and his Nightwing identity, is featured in the film as a supporting character. He returns with additional scenes in the interactive movie Batman: Death in the Family (2020).

Young Justice (2010)

Dick is Robin at the beginning of the series, and was the leader of the team at one point, but later steps down. After a five year time skip, Dick has transitioned to the persona of Nightwing, and takes more of a supporting role.

Gotham Knights (2022)

Nightwing is one of the main characters of the 2022 video game Gotham Knights.

Fanon and common tropes in fan works

  • Bruce Wayne: exploring his relationship with his adoptive parent, be it positive or contentious
  • Robins: concentrating on his relationship with the other Robins, Jason, Tim, and Damian, often with him taking on a mentoring or protective role. Although, sometimes these roles can become combative, especially as his brothers mature and want to choose their own paths
  • Batfamily: focusing on his interactions with the other members of the extended Batfamily
  • Crossovers: Usually only within the larger DC universes, there appears to be only a very small amount of fic that takes place outside of DC, the most common being in the Marvel universe
  • Cereal: Dick is a cereal-powered hug-maniac
  • The Hawkeye Initiative: Some fans have expressed confusion over the Hawkeye Initiative, claiming that Dick Grayson, canonically the most beautiful human man in the DC Multiverse, already fulfills the purpose of an attractive male character contorting his body in a skin-tight outfit, and would be better fit for such an initiative.

Relationships

Gen Relationships

Pairings

Dick is one of the Little Black Dress characters who is shipped with many other characters. On the slash side Bruce/Dick, Dick/Tim and Dick/Jason are probably the most common as they are intra-Batfamily pairings, but he's also paired with Roy Harper (aka Speedy and Arsenal), Garth (aka as Aqualad and Tempest), with other (former) Teen Titans, and with other superheroes whom he is friendly with in canon such as Clark Kent (aka Superman), and many others. The character is also popular with het pairings, especially with some of his different canon love interests like Barbara Gordon and Koriand'r, but is also shipped with other female characters.

In the DCAU, he is mainly shipped with Barbara Gordon, his main love interest, however some shipped him with Catwoman.

In the Teen Titans cartoon, Robin mainly shipped with Starfire and Raven. Slade/Robin is a common slash pairing, particularly in darkfic.

In The Batman series, Dick/Babs is a popular pairing.

In the Young Justice (TV series) fandom, Robin/Kid Flash, Robin/Superboy, Robin/Artemis and Robin/Zatanna (DickZee).

Fan works

Fics

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Teen Titans, Young Justice fic? Examples of Batman Reborn era fic?

Arts

Vids

Meta

Example Art Gallery

Archives and Fannish Links

LiveJournal Communities

Tumblr

Deviantart

Mailing Lists

  • BLUDHAVEN
  • Nightwing (mailing list) Nightwing; archive link (created December 1998) Description: "This list is for fans of Nightwing, the orginal Robin - sidekick to Batman. FANFIC IS WELCOME! Even though the list is mainly for Nightwing all discussion of the non-powered DCU characters and the Titans is welcome here - so if you want to chat about Green Arrow, Arsenal, Black Canary, Oracle, Robin, the Huntress - anyone except the Bat (he has enough going on elsewhere) stop on by! Because the talk can sometimes be for adults - please no one under 17."

Resources

References

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