For years, Batman and Robin were the closest of comrades. The Dynamic Duo! But, like many teenagers, Dick began to feel stifled by his guardian (and let’s face it, Bruce isn’t the easiest guy to get along with). Between going away to college and his time leading the Teen Titans, Dick was doing more and more crimefighting on his own and less with Batman. But as Bruce continued giving him orders and criticising his methods, Dick realized his mentor would never see Robin as anything other than Batman’s sidekick. After one particularly explosive argument, Dick handed in his costume and quit being Robin.
Using the trust fund Bruce had set up for him before their split, Dick set about starting a new life in nearby Belhaven. Wanting to forge his own identity, Dick recalled one of his finest hours: the now-famous battle in which he and Batman teamed up with Superman to save the world from the Brainiac Swarm. When Batman had been knocked off his mount, Dick had taken over riding the Nightwing, the biggest and baddest bird in the sky.
As Nightwing, Dick has made a point to take the lessons he learned from Batman and temper them with the lessons he’s learned from his other friends. He knows how to take his job seriously, and how to put the fear of god into his enemies. But he is also an effective and inspiring leader, and an open and trusting ally. He takes special care looking after the younger heroes he sees going through the same struggles he did–though he has a complicated relationship with Jason, the younger boy Bruce took in after he left, and who only gradually earned his respect and blessing. His new costume is stealthier and more intimidating than the one he wore as Robin, but with an even greater emphasis on maneuverability for his more acrobatic fighting style. He even added retractable glider wings to allow him to leap between buildings!
Tragedy would later bring Dick and Bruce back together. But as Nightwing, Dick is his own man who combines the dark and the light sides of crimefighting.
