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Revision as of 23:36, 4 December 2004 by 67.118.2.201 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Nightwing is, simply put, the original Robin with a different costume, and without Batman. He's still Dick Grayson, the acrobat with a penchant for bad jokes and martial arts who was raised by Bruce Wayne since his parents died during a circus act.
Grayson took the role of Nightwing after a falling out with Batman in 1984. The name came from an alias used by Superman in stories that, if not for these events, would have been forgotten. Using the new uniform and name, he continued to lead the Teen Titans (aka the New Titans or just The Titans) and he was replaced by a second Robin named Jason Todd, whose origin was almost exactly like Grayson's: he was a circus kid whose parents were killed. He looked just like him, too.
In 1986, a major problem with the time-space continuum called Crisis on Infinite Earths resulted in all of DC's main characters' origins being altered to some extent. The history of Nightwing was altered though changes in both Superman's and Batman's lives. The decision to leave Batman was basically the same, but since Superman had never been Nightwing, the name came from a story Superman told him.
Jason Todd's origin was also altered, so that he was a street kid, rather than a Grayson clone. In the original history, Grayson had given Todd his blessings, but in the post-Crisis continuity, he wasn't. However, after Todd was killed by the Joker, Nightwing did give his support to Tim Drake--the third Robin who had used his keen intellect to discover the true identities of Batman and Robin.
Between the emergence of Tim Drake and the Knightfall storyline, Grayson had somewhat avoided the Batman family. However, when a villian named Bane broke Batman's back and he called upon a disturbed fellow named Jean-Paul Valley (aka Azrael) to replace him, Nightwing tried to help Robin in putting him out of commission when he displayed an all-too sadistic streak. After the Zero Hour storyline, Grayson assumed the guise of Batman temporarily. Wayne eventually returned and Nightwing went on to fight crime in the city of Blüdhaven.
In the Timm/Dini cartoons of Batman, Nightwing only appears toward the end of the series (though he is referenced in Batman Beyond) as Grayson appears as Robin throughout most of the series (though his costume resembles that of Tim Drake). When his blow-up with Batman does occur, he is replaced by a Robin whose real name is Tim Drake, but he acts more like post-Crisis Jason Todd.
In the last two Batman films, Dick Grayson assumes the role of Robin, but does toss "Nightwing" out as a possible name at first.
In the Teen Titans cartoon, Robin's real name isn't revealed, but they seem to hint at it being Dick Grayson.