Dick Grayson (HBO Max Titans)

## Dick Grayson/Nightwing

> "*After I left, when I moved to Detroit, part of me was still back here... still trying to make sense about what happened to me, as a kid. I struggled. There was this darkness inside of me, and I didn't know what to do with it. It hurt me. And I hurt others. The whole time, I thought it was because of the way you raised me, the way you weaponized my childhood.*"
> ― Dick Grayson to Bruce Wayne
>
>

**Nightwing** (real name **Richard John "Dick" Grayson**) (formerly known as **Robin**) is one of the titular characters and the main protagonist of the HBO Max series, *Titans*. He is the biological son of Mary and John Grayson, the adopted son of Bruce Wayne/Batman, the adoptive brother of Jason Todd and the leader of the first and second incarnations of the Titans, a group of young vigilantes who fight crime. After the loss of his parents, Dick has fought crime, formerly being Batman's first sidekick. He later left to become his own hero in Detroit and reformed the team with Koriand'r of Tamaran, Gar Logan of the Doom Patrol and Rachel Roth to protect her from the Organization and prevent Trigon's return. After the villains defeat, the team is joined by other superheroes.  As the series progresses, Dick slowly brings down his walls, and takes on his second superhero identity in light of Slade Wilson's return.

He was portrayed by Brenton Thwaites, who also portrayed Prince Phillip in *Maleficent*, Jonas in *The Giver*, Bek in *Gods of Egypt*, and Henry Turner in *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales*, as Tomaso Sanelli portrays him as a young kid.

Dick Grayson is based on the character of the same name from DC comics and the first iteration of Robin.

## History

### Background

At twelve years old, Dick witnessed his parents' deaths as they fell from the trapeze that was burned with hydrofluoric acid, by Tony Zucco out of vengeance from Mr. Haley refusing to pay protection money for him. He soon swore to "repay" Zucco's  actions against his parents.  During a brief time, Dick was under the care of one of the members of the circus before eventually being adopted by billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and met Bruce's butler Alfred Pennyworth, who was somewhat reluctant with Bruce raising a child because his vigilante days as Batman. At times, the young Dick Grayson often snuck out of Wayne Manor to find clues to his parents' murder.  Sensing Dick's turmoil, Bruce revealed he was Gotham's protector Batman and offered him a position as his sidekick Robin. During his time as Robin, Dick helped Bruce fight many of his enemies. One of the villains included the Joker, Batman's arch-enemy and  among their rogue gallery. Dick confided with Donna that he feared they would never be able to stop him. Since learning about Batman's involvement, Bruce had held meetings with the rest of the Justice League at Wayne Manor.  During this time, Dick met Wonder Woman's sidekick, Donna, who promised to always be there for him whenever he needed her because Dick could never seek his adoptive father for advice. As a young adult, he met and fell in love with Barbara Gordon, where they joined together and fought Lady Vic and both became proteges of Batman.

Dick was later a member of the first incarnation of the Titans, with Donna Troy (HBO Max Titans), Garth/Aqualad, Dawn Granger, and Hawk. However, the team broke up with the deaths of Garth and Jericho at the hands of Deathstroke (Slade Wilson). Eventually, Dick left Bruce because he grew tired of his fighting methods. He moved from Gotham to Detroit, underwent training at a police academy and took up a job as a detective in the Detroit Police Department.

## Powers and abilities

* **Intelligence**

* **Detective Skills**

* **Police Training**

* **Peak Human Physical Condition**

* **Leadership**

* **Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant**

* **Master Martial Artist**

* **Master Marksman**

* **Master Acrobat**

* **Expert Driver**

* **Gadgetry**

## Relationships

### Family

* Mary Grayson † - Mother
* John Grayson † - Father
* Bruce Wayne/Batman - Adoptive Father, Mentor, and Former Crime-fighting Partner
* Jason Todd/Red Hood - Adoptive Brother, Former Rival, Former Teammate and Temporary Enemy
* Martha Wayne † - Adoptive Grandmother
* Thomas Wayne † - Adoptive Grandfather
* Dawn Granger (Trigon's Illusionary Reality) - Wife
* Johnny Grayson (Trigon’s Illusionary Reality) - Son

### Friends

* Haly's Circus
	+ Clayton Williams - Former Caretaker and Rescuee
* Becky Bond - Former Social Worker
* Alfred Pennyworth †
* Justice League
	+ Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
* Gotham City Police Department - Allies and Temporary Enemies
	+ Jim Gordon †
	+ Barbara Gordon/Batgirl - Love Interest and Former Partner
* Titans (First Incarnation) - Teammates
	+ Garth/Aqualad †
* Detroit Police Department
	+ Amy Rohrbach † - Partner
	+ Jessica Perez - Former Superior
* Titans (Second Incarnation)
	+ Koriand’r/Starfire - Love Interest and Close Friend
	+ Rachel Roth/Raven - Close Friend, Protégé, and Daughter Figure
	+ Gar Logan/Beast Boy - Close Friend, Protégé and Son Figure
	+ Hank Hall/Hawk - Teammate and Rival
	+ Donna Troy - Former Teammate and Best Friend
	+ Conner/Superboy
	+ Krypto
	+ Tim Drake - Teammate and Trainee
* Rose Wilson/Ravager - Former Teammate and Friend
* Jericho Wilson - Savior, Former Teammate and Friend
* Dawn Granger/Dove - Former Love Interest, Friend, Wife (Under Trigon’s illusionary world) and Former Teammate
* Doom Patrol - Allies and Temporary Enemies
* Jillian †
* Adeline Kane
* Eve Watson
* Benny - Contact
* Mati Matisse
* Blackfire - Former Teammate
* Rafi
* Luis
* Stu - Costume Designer
* Lily - Costume Designer
* Leslie Thompkins
* Janet Drake
* Jack Drake
* ARGUS
	+ Roy Harper
	+ Margarita Vee

### Enemies

* Tony Zucco - Parents’ Killer
* Maronis Family
* The Joker †
* The Penguin
* Mr. Freeze
* Ra's al Ghoul
* Slade Wilson/Deathstroke - Arch-Enemy, Attempted Killer and Attempted Victim
* The Acolyte
* Sister Catherine
* Graham Norris
* The Organization
	+ Trigon - Former Enthraller
	+ Angela Azarath
	+ Dr. Adamson †
	+ Nuclear Family - Attackers and Attempted Killers
		- Nuclear Dad †
		- Nuclear Mom †
		- Nuclear Stepdad †
		- Nuclear Sis †
		- Nuclear Biff †
* Nick Zucco - Attempted Killer
* William Wintergreen
* Dr. Light
* Lady Vic - Attempted Killer
* Bivens †
* Kane County Correctional Facility
	+ Len Armstrong
* Cadmus Laboratories
	+ Mercy Graves
	+ Walter Hawn (deceased)
	+ Lex Luthor
* Gizmo
* Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow
* Gotham City Police Department
	+ Fletcher - Attempted Killer
* Red Hood's Gang
	+ Trina Holmes
	+ Santiago Perez
	+ Raphelson Roberts

## Trivia

### In the comics

* In the comics, Dick was already Nightwing when Jason became Robin. In the series, however, they were both operating under the alias when they met. Dick didn't become his Nightwing persona until the end of Season 2.
* Dick Grayson was the first incarnation of Robin, along with Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne.
	+ Jason was the second Robin after Dick.
	+ Starting in Season 3, Tim Drake shows interest in becoming the next Robin, with Dick offering to train him to being his successor.
	+ Stephanie Brown, the fourth and only female Robin made a cameo in a picture when Bruce was looking for a new Robin shortly after Jason's murder. This makes Damian Wayne the only version of Robin to not debut in Titans this far.
* When Dick is in the Lazarus Pit, he sees a little girl who calls him "Daddy", revealing she is his future daughter. This is possibly a reference to Mar'i Grayson, Dick and Koriand'r's daughter from an alternate timeline, where he married Starfire.