365 DC Comics Heroes & Villains Paper Cut-Outs
Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson grew up in the circus. He and his parents composed the Flying Grayson, a world-renown trapeze artists. Even as a child, Dick possessed peerless acrobatic skills and he and his parents awed crowds as the main attraction of Halley’s Circus.
When the circus came to Gotham City, the ambitious crime boss known as Tony Zuko attempted to extort the show into paying a protection racket. Zuko’s threats were ignored, enraged over being slighted, Zuko had his goon sabotage the trapeze lines. The lines snapped in mid act and a helpless Dick was forced to watch his mother and father fall to their deaths.
Bruce Wayne had been in attendance on that fateful night. Having experienced a painfully similar trauma, Wayne empathized with the orphan and offered to take lad in as his ward; later formally adopting Dick as his son.
Bruce recognized Dick’s need for vengeance and worried that it would consume him if not properly steered and sublimated. As such, Bruce revealed himself as Batman and offered to train Dick to be his crimefighting sidekick. Dick accepted and chose the alias of ‘Robin’ (this was a nickname Dick’s mother had for him).
Together Batman and Robin were able to bring Boss Zuko to justice and the criminal was sentenced for the murders of Dick’s parents. Robin continued on as Batman’s partner as the Dynamic Duo embarked on countless adventures.
Robin would later help to form the Teen Titans, a group composed of the sidekicks of older heroes, including Kid Flash, Aqualad, Speedy and Wonder Girl. He would also having many adventures on his own as well as missions that saw him teaming up with heroes such as Batgirl, Superman and the Justice League.
As Dick grew into a young man his relationship with his father became strained. Needing to branch out and be his own man, Dick cast aside his role as Robin and took on the new identity of Nightwing; carving out a place of his own in protecting the Gotham neighborhood of Blüdhaven.
As Nightwing, Dick continued to lead the Teen Titans. He was involved in a number of romances, most prominent of which were relationships with Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) and Princess Koriand'r (Starfire). Ultimately leaving the Titans, Dick form a a new iteration of The Outsiders.
During a time in which Bruce Wayne was believed to have died, Dick stepped in and donned the cowl as Batman, taking on Bruce’s biological son, Damian, as Robin. During his time as Batman, Dick served as the leader of a new version of The Justice League. Although he performed admirably in his time as The Dark Knight, Dick was happy to return to the role of Nightwing once Bruce Wayne was revealed as alive.
More recently, Dick inherited a significant fortune from the estate of Alfred Pennyworth. He used this money to revitalize Blüdhaven, offering affordable housing and services to community that had been marginalized for far too long. Dick has continued to protect Blüdhaven while at the same time serving as a part of the Titans as wells as the Justice League Unlimited. He has also reminded his romance with Barbra Gordon and adopted a puppy named Haley (aka ‘Bitewing’).
Numerous actors have portrayed live action versions of Dick Grayson. This includes Douglas Croft, Johnny Duncan, Burt Ward, Chris O'Donnell, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Brenton Thwaites.
The hero has additionally appeared in many animated television series and features films, voiced by actors Casey Kasem, Burt Ward, Loren Lester, Scott Menville, Eve Sabara, David Paul Grove, Jesse McCartney, Johnny Yong Bosch, Michael Cera, Harvey Guillén, Grey DLisle, Shane Haboucha, Keith Ferguson, Carter Rockwood, Jerry O’Connell, Jack DeSena, Sean Maher, Adam Croasdell, Jason Marsden, Zach Callison and Neil Patrick Harris.
Dick Grayson first appeared in the pages of Detective Comics #38 (1940).
