Nightwing


 * This article is about Dick Grayson, the first Robin. For the second Robin, Tim, see Robin.

Nightwing (real name Richard "Dick" Grayson) was the first Robin. The former protégé of Batman, he is the current leader of the Team.

Personality
In his early days as Robin, despite being only 13, he was more experienced than his fellow sidekicks. By then he had been training under Batman's wing for four years. Despite Batman's influence on Robin, the two have very contrasting personalities. While his mentor was cold and very serious, Robin's demeanor was quite the opposite. Robin was naturally a very lighthearted individual who seemed to take joy in nearly everything that he did. Despite his immaturity, he could get along very well with people who were older than him, and tended to act more maturely whenever he was tasked with a certain level of responsibility.

When simply interacting with his friends, Robin behaved in a jovial and oftentimes "little brother"-like role, in which he joked freely about his teammates, and even made fun of them when they made mistakes. He had a particularly close friendship with Kid Flash, with whom he was able to joke and often treated like a brother of sorts. Robin also seemed to take great pleasure in creating back-formations, by removing "prefixes" from commonly-used words such as "disturbed" and "overwhelmed" to create neologisms.

Despite his childlike behavior at times, Robin was a natural tactical thinker, often coming up with plans for the Team on the fly, and figuring out complex situations faster than many of his teammates. He was also very pragmatic and preferred to think ahead. During the Team's brief scuffle with Guardian, Robin took the liberty to activate the elevator to escape instead of fighting alongside his Team, had no qualms about Miss Martian delving into his mind to retrieve his memories, and took a break from running from Red Torpedo and Red Inferno to download the Cave's blueprints.

Robin initially considered himself to be the natural leader of the Team, citing his longer experience as a hero. However, this experience and his strong working relationship with Batman led him to mistakenly assume that the other members of the Team would understand and follow his plans without him explaining them. This unfortunately caused problems on their first mission against Kobra and Bane. He subsequently claimed that Aqualad would be a better leader for the Team. While Aqualad accepted the role, he stated that both he and the rest of the Team expected Robin to eventually take the mantle, due to the fact he was more suited for the job.

After the trauma of watching his teammates die in a simulation, Robin opened up to Black Canary during a therapy session. He did want to be the leader and wanted to someday become Batman. But after sending his friends to their "deaths" in the simulation, he no longer desires to become like Batman. He did, however, grow up to become Nightwing, and eventually stepped up as leader of the Team.

Physical appearance
When he was a 13-year-old vigilante, Dick was fairly short for his age, and had a slight, lean, well-toned build, since he was an acrobat and skilled at martial arts and gymnastics. He had short black hair and dark blue eyes. He typically wore either a mask or sunglasses to cover his eyes, depending on his current attire. At 18-years-old, Dick has grown considerably taller, roughly the same height as Batman and as well-muscled.

Clothing
His original Robin uniform was comprised of a red tunic, black pants, boots and gloves, all of which seemed to be made of a sort of protective body armor, that still allowed him great mobility. On his tunic, a stylized "R" symbol was visible, and around his waist he wore a gold colored utility belt with various pouches for his equipment. He donned a cape that was black on the outer lining but pale yellow on the inside. To protect his identity, Robin wore a black stylized domino mask at all times. While sporting the mask, his eyes appeared completely white. His short black hair was left unkempt, hanging over his forehead.

As Nightwing, his uniform now comprises a black tunic, black shoulder pads, black pants, boots and gloves. On his tunic, the chest is adorned with a blue bird. He wears a black utility belt.

Early life
Richard "Dick" Grayson is the child of the acrobatic circus family "The Flying Graysons" of Haly's Circus. His parents, along with his older cousin and aunt  fell to their deaths in a trapeze "accident" caused by mob boss Zucco on , when he was 9. The only survivor other than Dick, who did not participate in the fatal routine, was his uncle Rick, who was very badly injured and unable to care for him. Richard has since lived with Bruce Wayne and made the transformation to Robin under Bruce's training (eventually bringing Zucco to justice together). Batman's main motivation was to make sure young Dick would not grow up to be like him.

Robin intensely fears that he might not be as fearless as his family (both biological and adoptive) is supposed to be, and is afraid he has to fill Batman's boots.

July 2010
Batman and Robin stopped Mister Freeze from wreaking havoc in Gotham Park. Robin distracted the villain, and Batman attacked him from behind.

Robin, Aqualad, Speedy and Kid Flash received a tour of the Hall of Justice, the Justice League's faux headquarters. But Speedy soon informed them of the true base: the Watchtower, an orbiting satellite, and voiced his distaste of being treated like a sidekick. Soon after Speedy's departure, the Justice League was called away on a mission, and a secondary emergency, a fire at Cadmus Labs, arose. The young heroes decided to infiltrate Cadmus (based on Batman voicing his long standing suspicions about the lab) where they uncovered a hidden genomorph project. They also discovered Project Kr and the pod containing Superboy. They released him, but were taken down by him.

The three sidekicks were captured and about to be cloned by Dr. Desmond, but Superboy had a change of heart, and broke them out. They made their way to the top floor together. Robin outsmarted Desmond by hacking the Cadmus systems, which gave them a head start. Desmond ingested the Blockbuster to stop them, but Robin outsmarted him again. He asked his teammates to blow up pillars, and blew the roof with explosive batarangs. Their enemy was crushed.

The Justice League had responded to the commotion, and found the Cadmus facility destroyed. Batman was not pleased with their antics, but all protégés confronted their mentors. They complained about the way they had been treated and stated that together they had formed a powerful Team, and that it was time they were treated as partners rather than sidekicks. Batman demanded three days to come up with a plan.

With two and a half of the three days gone, Robin had grown impatient, and asked Alfred about what Batman was doing. The butler did not know, but assured Robin he would come up with a plan, as promised.

Batman and the League eventually acceded to the idea, and opted to turn the group of teen heroes into the Justice League's covert black-ops Team. They then gave the new team their own headquarters in Mount Justice and introduced them to their fifth member: Miss Martian.

While trying to find information about Cadmus on the Batcomputer, Robin found information about the planned assassination of Farano Enterprises CEO Selena Gonzalez. He asked Aqualad and Kid Flash to help him stop them, so they could practice as working as a team.

The three encountered Hook and Black Spider, but were easily taken down, and captured along with Selena Gonzalez.

They escape because Robin's utility belt had not been taken, and eventually succeed in capturing the assassins. Gonzalez was nowhere to be found, however.

Reviewing their mission, Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash realized they had been had: there were more assassins waiting outside. The woman they were supposed to protect was dead.

Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash helped Speedy defeat Brick. After his defeat, the three heroes attempted to convince Speedy to join their team, but he refused.

Returning to Mount Justice, Red Tornado suggested the kids work on team-building skills. They reveal their real names to each other, Robin being the exception: he was under orders of Batman to keep his identity secret. They took a trip in Miss Martian's Bio-Ship to explore the surroundings, but were alerted to a commotion at Happy Harbor Power Plant. There, they found Mister Twister. They suffered a defeat because Miss Martian thought he was Red Tornado in disguise, trying to test them. The rest asked her to stay behind, but that did not help them either. They eventually managed to defeat Mister Twister by working together.

Kid Flash invited Miss Martian for a night watching the stars at a campfire. It turned into a camping trip for the entire Team, mere yards away from the entrance to the Cave. To pass the time, the young heroes told each other the stories on how they became a superhero.

Batman sent the Team to Santa Prisca to investigate the illegal super steroid Venom. They snuck past the defenses and took out two groups of guards: one from Kobra, and one including Bane himself. Robin and Aqualad discussed their findings, and agreed that Kobra was hoarding Venom. He nominated himself as mission leader, an idea Kid Flash was not happy with, considering him too young. Bane used the disagreement to offer his help—he would get them into his old factory. Aqualad agreed.

In the factory, Robin ran ahead to the computer lab. He hacked the systems, and with Kid Flash's help, found the true reason behind Kobra's presence: they were mixing Venom and Blockbuster formula to create a new, more powerful, Kobra Venom. Robin and Kid Flash had to abandon the lab because their teammates were found out. He made it to the drop-off area where Sportsmaster's helicopter was waiting and sabotaged it. He found Kobra, who would not fight him, but sent Shimmer instead. During the fight, Robin was forced to retreat as Aqualad called for a retreat.

Back at the mine that lead them into the factory earlier, Aqualad lectured Robin about what he did wrong. Robin conceded, and suggested Aqualad be the leader. He approved, but promised it would only be temporary, as he thought Robin was made for command. With the leader now chosen, Aqualad planned a counterattack.

Robin would head to Kobra. He easily dispatched Shimmer this time, but Kobra was a different league entirely. He is defeated quickly, but Kobra was forced to retreat when his forces were overpowered by the rest of the Team.

When they returned to the Cave, Batman grilled the Team for their actions, but praised them for being able to react to sudden changes.

Batman and Red Tornado sent the Team to Salt Flats to stop a robbery of plutonium. They were met by Psycho-Pirate, who used his Medusa Mask to induce anxiety into all members of the Team. Robin grew up in a family of fearless people—first the Flying Graysons, then Batman. He was afraid he would not be necessary to anyone—not to Batman because he was afraid, and not to the Team because he was the youngest. He was snapped out of his trance when Kid Flash took away the Psycho-Pirate's mask. It was just in time for them to engage the Psycho-Pirate's newly arrived ally, Atomic Skull. After a short fight, the Team secured the plutonium, but Atomic Skull escaped.

August 2010
During the Team's martial arts training from Black Canary, Robin watched gleefully as she first took out Kid Flash, and later Superboy twice. The training was cut short by Batman, who briefed them on a battle the League just had, and a task he has for the Team.

Robin and Superboy were assigned to guard a shipment of body parts of Amazo, an android that could mimic the powers of anyone it encountered. But during the transport to New York City, they were attacked by MONQIs. Though he managed to fight off several of the small robots, they got away with the cargo, with Superboy in pursuit. Robin realized the MONQIs were tracking the Amazo parts with GPS. Hacking into a commandeered MONQI, he discovered the parts were en route to Gotham City. With the rest of the Team too far away on their way to Boston, Robin went ahead. He was joined by Kid Flash, who could easily run the distance.

The android was reassembled, and Robin and Kid Flash followed it to Robin's school, Gotham Academy. There, they found Superboy fighting the robot and proceeded to help. The three heroes worked together to defeat the robot, and Robin noticed they had help from a mysterious archer.

During the debrief, Robin confronted Batman about not being trusted to do their own missions. Upon comparing arrows, Green Arrow proved that the arrow that saved Kid Flash wasn't his. They suspected it was Speedy that saved them.

The Team proceeded to enjoy a day of fun on the beach, without Kid Flash who was stuck in school back in Central City.

The Team was gathered by Batman and the League to meet their new teammate Artemis. Red Arrow—the former Speedy—gave them the mission to protect Dr. Serling Roquette. During her imprisonment by the League of Shadows, she had been forced to create a nano-robotic infiltrator called the Fog. She was now working on a virus to stop it, but needed protection.

While the rest of the Team guard Roquette, Robin and Superboy went after the fog with the Bio-Ship. STAR Labs had already been destroyed, but Dr. Roquette managed to deactivate the nano-infiltrators before information from Wayne Tech computers could be taken.

Captain Atom gave the Team a lecture on espionage. The Team was obviously bored by all the information, so he instead gave them a cold case from the Vietnam war: the possible framing of Air Force captain Nathaniel Adams. The Team accepted.

While Miss Martian posed as a JAG officer to talk to Wade Eiling, the judge at Adams's trial, Robin hid in a ventilation shaft to observe them.

Robin and Miss Martian checked on another party in the trial, Shirley Mason. She had been murdered. Miss Martian examined the body, and found an old picture lodged under the body. Robin programmed his wrist computer to identify the people on it.

They met up with Superboy and Kid Flash outside the home of Duk Trang, the first person on the picture that could be identified. They found someone else there too: Rako. After Miss Martian and Superboy went in first, Robin and Kid Flash joined. They lost, and Trang was murdered.

With two witnesses dead, the Team regrouped at Bibbo's Diner to discuss their next move. Robin analyzed the photo found on the body of Mason; two people who were not yet dead were Enos Polk and Henry Yarrow. He would investigate Yarrow with Kid Flash and Superboy.

As soon as they came to Yarrow's house, it exploded. Kid Flash created a whirlwind to suck the oxygen out, and found a body which he believed to be Yarrow's. In the remains of Yarrow's exploded house, they found evidence leading them to an abandoned airfield in Utah.

There, they found the culprits behind both the framing of Adams and the recent murders: Yarrow, Rako and Alec Rois. Robin snuck away while Yarrow boasted, and attacked him from behind. Yarrow got away and fired several shots, but Superboy managed to block them all. One bullet ricocheted back to Yarrow, mortally wounding him. Miss Martian extracted the memories from the dying man.

The Team reported their findings to Captain Atom.

Batman and Robin set out to stop the League of Shadows from hijacking a rocket. Ra's al Ghul had its original payload changed with a diamond lens that, once in orbit, became a weapon of mass destruction. Robin dealt with several Shadows minions before helping out his mentor in his fight against Ubu. While Batman got past Talia and listened to Ra's as he explained his plans, Robin snuck up behind him and removed the lens from the rocket's nose cone. Ra's lunged at him, but fell down the tower with the lens.

Robin attended the funeral of Kent Nelson at the Tower of Fate.

Dick joined Bruce when Lucius Fox called them over at the Wayne Foundation to investigate a strange canister with mud in it. When it turned out to be Clayface, they quickly changed into their costumes and battled the new menace. Unfortunately, they were outmatched. Clayface fled into the sewers.

Batman and Robin headed to a rendezvous point after Batman urged the Team to go there. They had to track Clayface until Batman could come up with a solution.

Robin met up with his teammates and investigated the sewers, but they did not notice Clayface until it was too late. Clayface escaped.

The Team regrouped in the Bio-Ship. They discussed strategy, and Robin suggested splitting up. Aqualad, lost in thought, agreed.

Clayface hunted down the entire Team, one by one. He created two copies of Kid Flash to confuse Robin, and attacked him from multiple sides.

The Team was defeated, only Aqualad was still conscious, but barely. Batman intervened and soundly defeated Clayface.

Batman requested a talk with Aqualad—just Aqualad—following the Team's defeat by Clayface. That did not sit well with Robin.

Still not pleased about his treatment earlier in the day, Dick abreacted his anger by working out, unaware that Batman was watching. To mend fences, Bruce challenged his ward to a basketball match.

September 2010
The Team had been sent to investigate a power surge in the Bialyan desert. They reached their destination and established a camp, and Miss Martian went to the Bialyan encampment to investigate. Psimon noticed her mental presence and attacked the Team's telepathic communication network. As a result, the last six months of memory were purged from their collective memories. Robin woke up a day later, alone and lost, with only snippets of memories of the briefing by Batman the previous day.

Robin noticed a checkpoint on his map, and headed there. He had to fight off a patrol of soldiers before the rest of his teammates arrived. They discussed the six month memory loss, but did not come up with any way to resolve the problem. Miss Martian probed their collective minds for clues, and found two missing members: Superboy and Aqualad. Robin, Kid Flash and Artemis went looking for Aqualad.

By now, the three had reached the Bio-Ship. There, Artemis tended to Aqualad.

After the ordeal in Bialya, Artemis, Kid Flash and Robin took the Zeta-tube home.

On his first day of the new year at Gotham Academy, as Bette looks on, Dick ran up to the new student Artemis Crock to take a picture of her. His actions were questioned by his friend Barbara.

Later in the day, Robin approached Artemis at the hidden transporter, and questioned why she was here, as she was supposedly Green Arrow's niece, and should be in Star City.

Upon arrival at the Cave, Robin and Artemis ran into unidentified attackers. They had to hide in one of the Cave's air vents. Downloading Cave security camera files, he discovered that Kid Flash, Superboy, Aqualad, and Miss Martian met the unknown attackers earlier, but four security cameras were shot and he could not see what happened to them. Artemis and Robin made their way to the library, where they learned that their attackers were robots resembling Red Tornado. Red Torpedo flooded the hallway, but Robin stabbed him and dropped his cape on him to distract the robot.

In another air duct, the two discussed the odds of their rescuing their teammates. On a speaker, Red Torpedo informed the two that they had ten minutes to surrender or their teammates would be executed. While Artemis was fearful of defeat, Robin kept a clear head. Robin deduced that the machines could be shorted out by an EMP generator. With help from Kid Flash over a comm link, Robin managed to create a pulse device from material found in the medical lab. He hooked it up to the central generator, but the circuit was broken. Before he could finish it, he was swept away by a tidal wave. Though Robin planned on pretending to drown to get close to the robots, he blacked out. Artemis managed to start the EMP by firing an arrow directly into the wiring.

After the attack of the cave, Robin demanded answers on how the Cave was discovered. Upon hearing that his leader, Aqualad, had withheld knowledge of a mole from the Team, he, along with Kid Flash, Artemis, and Superboy turned on Aqualad. Before anything got out of hand, Batman assigned the Team a new mission. They had to investigate animal attacks in India.

After the Team landed in Northern India, Robin and Kid Flash headed off on their own to investigate, deliberately ignoring the commands of Aqualad. While investigating, they were attacked by giant vultures, whom they theorized were enhanced with Kobra Venom. After dealing with the vultures, they were telepathically contacted by Aqualad. Robin and the rest of his teammates expressed their anger at Aqualad for not trusting them. It was not until Aqualad commanded his team to follow his orders, and vowing to put his position up for debate after the mission was over, that Robin and the others calm down.

They reached the hideout where Captain Marvel was being held captive. After dealing with some opposition, the Team broke in, disrupting the Brain's experiment on Captain Marvel. After a short battle, the Brain retreated, doing so by activating a device to turn off the lights and disappearing with Monsieur Mallah.

Later, when the Team convened at the Bio-Ship, Robin questioned Aqualad on why he kept knowledge of a mole a secret. After receiving an answer that warranted the withholding, Robin and the others voted to keep Aqualad as leader.

October 2010
In light of the plant attacks on Metropolis, Gotham City, Star City, Paris and Taipei by the Injustice League, Batman assigned the Team a mission to destroy the central control system.

Moments after reaching the Injustice League's hideout, the Team's Bio-Ship was attacked by Count Vertigo and Black Adam, forcing them to leave it behind. When they were confronted by the two assailants, Robin and Miss Martian were ordered by Aqualad to leave and complete the mission objective.

Robin and Miss Martian soon found the central control system, but were quickly assaulted by Poison Ivy and Ultra-Humanite, and the former captured the two using her plants. After freeing themselves, they battled until Miss Martian used the Bio-ship to free their captured teammates, who were being shipped above them.

While his teammates fought the Injustice League, Robin and Miss Martian headed to the central control system and destroyed it by planting explosives. This warranted the attention of Joker and Atomic Skull. With the entire roster of the Injustice League against them, the Team was slowly overpowered until the arrival of the Justice League, which prompted the Injustice League to surrender.

The Team was introduced to Zatanna, and Robin was immediately smitten by her. The Team engaged in a telepathic conversation with his team on Red Tornado, which was discovered by Zatanna. Robin and his teammates voiced their frustration on being left out on the search for Red Tornado, but were told to not intervene, as it was the League's responsibility. The Team, however, disobeyed orders and unanimously decided to search for Red Tornado themselves, taking Zatanna along with them, under the auspices of giving Zatanna a tour of Happy Harbor. While in the Bio-Ship, the Team turned to Kid Flash for a starting point on their search.

Thanks to a favor from Hugo Strange, the Team was able to interrogate Professor Ivo, as he had a long-standing rivalry with T.O. Morrow, and would know where Morrow was. After his refusal, and the failure of Miss Martian to read his mind, Zatanna used her magic to force Ivo to disclose Morrow's exact whereabouts.

After making it to Yellowstone Park, they were quickly confronted by Red Tornado. Red Tornado blew a message onto the ground, informing the team to act as if they were defeated during their battle against him. When the battle was over, Red Volcano appeared, evidently cognizant of the show they were playing, prompting Red Tornado to fly away, leaving the team to face Red Volcano.

Their attempts to defeat him were fruitless, as the memory files of Red Tornado that were downloaded into Red Volcano and his superior processing speed allowed him to anticipate all their moves. It was not until Red Torpedo, Red Inferno—who both ultimately sacrificed themselves—and Red Tornado teamed up that he was defeated and sent plummeting in a sea of lava. After Red Tornado dealt with the ash clouds of the erupted volcano, they repaired him.

Batman and Martian Manhunter devised a telepathic training exercise to see how the Team would deal with an alien invasion without support from the Justice League or fellow heroes. The telepathic training strayed from its parameters after the "death" of Artemis, when Miss Martian's subconscious mind took over and led her to believe that Artemis had actually died. Her emotions overwhelmed the simulation, and affected her teammates by making them all believe that everything they were experiencing was real. The Team headed back to Washington, D.C., where they found Martian Manhunter buried under the rubble of the Hall of Justice. The alien invaders soon reached their location and attacked them. This resulted in the destruction of by the Bio-ship and "death" of Aqualad. Robin assumed leadership and developed the plan to target the mothership that landed in Smallville.

After reaching Smallville, Robin, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Martian Manhunter infiltrated the mothership while Superboy acted as a distraction until he was "killed". There, they headed for the power core, whereupon Robin planted explosives. As they were leaving, they were discovered, which prompted Robin to order Miss Martian and Martian Manhunter to leave. Robin and Kid Flash rushed into battle as the ship exploded, and were "killed" in the process.

Robin awoke from his coma along with his teammates after M'gann was shocked awake by Martian Manhunter, visibly distraught over what he had experienced.

During Robin's therapy session with Black Canary, he admitted that he was traumatized by the event. He had finally become leader, but ended up sending his friends to their deaths—an action that has ultimately dissuaded him from ever aspiring to be the leader in the future. He distanced himself from his previous life-long goal of being like Batman, since he realized that he did not have the drive to sacrifice everything for the sake of the mission—the very same drive that made Batman who he is.

On Halloween, Batman called a meeting with Robin, Aqualad, Red Tornado and Red Arrow to discuss the possibility of a mole. Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash were already ruled out as the mole by Red Arrow. While discussing Artemis, Robin let slip that he knew much of her secret already.

November 2010
Robin was at the loading bay when Batman and Zatara abruptly disappeared before his eyes.

Robin confirmed that based on social media, everybody above the age of eighteen had vanished around the world. He encouraged Zatanna to try her father's sorcery locator spell, and showed her footage of her father locating the Injustice League headquarters a month earlier.

The Team attacked Klarion, but Robin's batarangs did not penetrate Klarion's force field. He was quickly knocked unconscious by the Lord of Chaos, and did not regain consciousness until the battle was over. He protested Nabu's plan to keep Zatanna as his permanent host, to no avail.

Dick helped Zatanna move her belongings to her new room. When she requested for privacy, he gave her a long look before leaving.

Wally had been dropping hints about his birthday all week, so the Team organized a 'surprise' party for him. Robin knew full well his best friend wasn't as surprised as he pretended to be. During the party, he hung around Zatanna, inquiring if she had any problems settling in.

The party was interrupted by Batman, who had a new mission for the Team: five ice fortresses were blanketing the North American continent with snow, and the Team would join the Justice League in destroying them.

Robin, Batman, Aquaman, Aqualad and Flash successfully destroyed the first ice fortress.

Kid Flash had not been in the mission to destroy ice fortresses; instead, he had to deliver a donor heart to Queen Perdita. Afterwards, Robin looked Wally up in his souvenir room, and congratulated him on saving an entire country on his own.

Batman briefed the Team on their newest mission: Rumaan Harjavti, the democratically-elected president of Qurac, had uncharacteristically allied himself with Queen Bee, the dictator of neighboring Bialya. In two days, Qurac would be absorbed by Bialya, leaving Queen Bee as the sole monarch of the unified country. Queen Bee had the ability to control men, but she has not left Bialya. The Team was tasked to investigate the situation. Since Aqualad was busy helping Aquaman, Batman appointed Robin as mission leader.

The Team arrived at the Quraci-Bialyan border, which was abuzz with activity. Bialyan tanks had begun to cross the border, and had caused the animals on a border wildlife sanctuary to stampede. Robin acquiesced to Miss Martian's plea to help two civilians in harm's way, but insisted on maintaining stealth to prevent an international incident.

The Team forcibly diverted the Bialyan military around the sanctuary, and rescued the civilians from the stampede. The boy, Garfield Logan, was ecstatic at being rescued by the heroes he idolized. His mother Marie, was far less excited. She worried that their rescue would trigger a retaliatory response from the Bialyans. Miss Martian stayed behind to assist Marie in rebuilding the fences, while the rest of the Team took Garfield and an injured oryx to the clinic.

The Team was unwinding at the main compound when it came under attack from Bialyan drones. The planes were destroyed by Miss Martian, but Garfield was caught in an explosion. In shock, he needed a transfusion of the rare O-negative blood type, which none of the Team have. Miss Martian volunteered to molecularly shape-shift her blood cells to save his life.

While the transfusion was ongoing, the downcast Team left Garfield's room to avoid distraction to the operation. Hoping to catch the news, they accidentally played a videotape showing the opening sequence of Hello, Megan!, discovering precisely where Miss Martian had taken her human name, form, and mannerisms from, and why "Conner" was her favorite name.

When Miss Martian joined them, Kid Flash quickly changed channels—the news showed the president at a conference. Superboy noticed Psimon directly behind him. Concluding that he was being mind-controlled, the Team resolved to free him.

The Team infiltrated the Presidential building, only to find a subdued Harjavti asking for Psimon and his daughter. They were accosted by Bialyan soldiers bearing Apokoliptan weapons. The soldiers planned to kill Harjavti, and pin the blame on the Team. Robin ordered the Team to form around Harjavti to protect him, but Miss Martian had already left to look for Psimon.

After taking out the soldiers, Robin and the rest of the Team tried to locate Miss Martian. When they had reached her proximity, they were taken out by a psychic attack. When they regained consciousness, Psimon was already defeated. Miss Martian blamed Psimon for blasting their brains, although she was the one who attacked them to prevent them from seeing her true White Martian form.

The next day, Robin hatched a plot to discredit Queen Bee. He had Miss Martian impersonate her, so that Harjavti could publicly rebuff her. In front of numerous cameras, she "vowed" to have her revenge.

Back at the Logan Wildlife Sanctuary, Garfield has recovered from his ordeal. Kid Flash confronted Miss Martian with the Hello, Megan! videotape. She explained that the show helped her past a difficult childhood on Mars. On Robin's request, she showed them her "true" martian form, but lied again: she showed a bald version of herself, with facial features resembling Martian Manhunter's.

December 2010
In the Cave, Robin briefed the Team on their latest mission: a string of high-tech robberies in Europe corresponded with the stops made by the Haly International Traveling Circus. He claimed Batman wanted the Team to join the circus to investigate.

The Team joined the circus as "the Daring Dangers", with Robin (Dan Danger) and Miss Martian (Dawn Danger) as flying trapeze arists, Superboy (Dean Danger) as a strong man, and Red Arrow (Dane Danger) and Artemis (Diane Danger) as expert marksmen. In their debut performance as the star attraction, Robin almost fell to his death after missing a fly bar, but was rescued thanks to Superboy's quick thinking and Miss Martian's telekinesis. He had inexplicably taken ill, after Ray the roustabout ruffled his hair for luck just before the performance.

After their performance, Dan Danger saw how Interpol agent King Faraday confronted Haly about the tech thefts. Since the Daring Dangers joined at Bruges, Faraday did not suspect them, although he warned them not to get too comfortable, as he planned to have the circus shut down.

Later that night, the Team staked out a warehouse at Bruges, hoping to find the criminal. Robin's assumptions that the thief would strike at this unprotected location—instead of several other locations which would be guarded by Interpol - proved prescient. Superboy spotted the thief, and the Team confronted him. Unfortunately, the thief escaped by blowing a large jet of fire towards the team - and a cache of ammunition. The resulting explosion and fire knocked out Miss Martian, and Robin himself was too weak to stand on his feet. The Team was forced to withdraw.

The next day, Faraday again confronted Haly with the robbery. The circus owner vehemently denied the accusations—he had done a bed check the night before, and everyone were in their bunks. This lie led the team to suspect that Haly was in fact the mastermind of the thefts. This irritated Robin, who became angered at the Team's inability to keep an open mind. He stormed out of the meeting, and walked by the railcars until he stopped in front of a poster of the Flying Graysons.

Just then, he received a call from Wally back in the Cave. Wally wanted to know why he wasn't included in Robin's team. He accused Robin of lying when he said Batman assigned the mission. There was no official mission, according to Red Tornado, so Robin had acted of his own initiative. He admitted to Wally that he was concerned about Jack Haly, a friend from his childhood days. He felt compelled to help prove that Haly had nothing to do with the global crime spree. Dick didn't want Kid Flash there because he knew Robin's backstory, and would question his objectivity. Wally countered that it's what best friends are for.

As the train departed Bruges for Geneva, Dawn Danger was suddenly afflicted with the "24-hour flu". She recounted how Ray the roustabout touched her before they boarded the train, prompting Dan Danger to remember how Ray touched him as well right before he got sick. Concluding that Ray was the Typhoid Mary spreading the flu, Dan left Dawn's cabin in search of the roustabout. He met Jack Haly, who told them Ray was sick with the flu.

However, Ray was not in his quarters. After examining the room, Dean Danger noticed soot from the warehouse fire in an empty elephant cage. When Diane Danger found Ray's face mask in a chest, Dan immediately ordered the Team to search for Ray. Upon hearing noise coming from a broom closet, Dan bursts in to discover a bound and gagged Jack Haly, who was knocked out by Ray right after they left Bruges. When he learned that Miss Martian's telepathy was out of commission, Dan Danger pieced together the truth: Ray was the Parasite, a supervillain capable of stealing powers and abilities with a touch while leaving his victims weakened.

Dan joined the Team atop the train in a confrontation against Ray. He revealed Ray's true identity as the Parasite, who admitted it readily. He then telekinetically pulled Dean Danger near him and drained his powers. Now endowed with Martian and Kryptonian powers, Parasite melted Diane and Dane's bows with heat vision, and flew away. Dan tried to stop him but was easily knocked away, though not before he surreptitiously pocketed Parasite's flash drive.

Changing into their superhero costumes, Robin hacked into the flash drive, learning that Parasite was working for Intergang, and the parts he had stolen could be used to make a black hole generator. The last piece required was a particle accelerator. Conveniently, the circus' next stop was Geneva, which happened to be where the large boson collider was located. It was clear where Parasite's ultimate destination was.

The Team arrived at the building where the Collider was housed. Signs of Parasite's handiwork were immediately visible - the bodies of the building's guards were strewn out in front. Carefully making their way inside, the Team espied Parasite in front of the collider console. The villain had already activated the device, and a vortex started to form outside the building. Robin was devising a plan of action when the shield-addled Superboy lost control and angrily charged Parasite.

After Parasite defeated Superboy, he called out to the "Dangers". Robin staked their strategy on a guess that Parasite absorbed not just the powers and abilities, but also the weaknesses of his victims. He distracted Parasite by pretending to hack into the Collider console, buying enough time for Artemis to shoot an incendiary arrow around the flammable foam Red Arrow previously shot at him. The plan worked - Parasite was knocked unconscious thanks to Miss Martian's sensitivity to heat, allowing Robin to shut down the generator. King Faraday arrived, slapping an inhibitor collar on Parasite while thanking Robin for alerting him in advance.

Back at the Haly circus train, Dan Danger informed Jack Haly that the Dangers were leaving. By this time, the circus owner had realized who Dan Danger was. Calling him "Dick", he added that it was impossible to fake the sight of a Grayson on a trapeze. He requested for one final performance, a request that Dan was happy to grant.

While the Justice League inducted four new members amid great fanfare outside the Hall of Justice, Robin and the rest of the Team watched Cat Grant's transmission of the event inside. He received an alert on his wrist computer, and they left before the ceremony was over.

Robin had hacked Justice League systems to send him any alerts that pertained to Cheshire and Sportsmaster. The Team tracked the jet Cheshire boarded to a crash site in the Smokey Mountains. When the Team investigated the wreckage, they were ambushed by Cheshire, Riddler, and henchmen with Apokoliptan weapons. During the battle that ensued, Robin caught a glimpse of the shield-fueled Superboy flying, but did not press the issue. He scrambled up the hill where Riddler was gloating, and quickly subdued Shimmer. With Zatanna's help, Riddler was quickly defeated.

Batman congratulated the Team on their success, and brought the suitcase confiscated from Cheshire to the Watchtower for further study. The Team discussed the possibility of a mole again, based on Riddler's claim to have been tipped off. Aqualad was worried about Superboy's earlier behavior. An ultrasonic transmission from Luthor to Superboy cut that discussion short, as the young genomorph was summoned to Santa Prisca for additional shields.

Unwilling to deceive his team any further, Superboy came clean about his use of the shields, and revealed to the Team that he was only half-human with DNA contributed by Lex Luthor. And was now being summoned to Santa Prisca. This revelation prompted Artemis to confide to the Team about her own sordid family history. She, too, was being summoned to Santa Prisca. She had desperately tried to hide the true identity of her father (Sportsmaster) and sister (Cheshire), but to her surprise, Robin claimed he had known all along. For him, it didn't matter, because she was one of them.

The string of confessions finally gave Miss Martian enough courage to come clean. She was also being summoned to Santa Prisca by Queen Bee, who had been blackmailing her about her true Martian form. When she transformed into her hideous White Martian form, Robin and the other members, save for Aqualad and Superboy, were completely taken aback and stepped backwards in shock. Ultimately though, the Team accepted it in stride, Superboy even revealing he knew ever since their mission in Bialya—even before he and Miss Martian were a couple.

Robin was among the "reinforcements" who laid in wait while Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis sprung their trap on the Light. He took out Bane's henchmen, but had difficulty against the Venom-powered Bane. Zatanna created several illusions of the Boy Wonder, giving him an opening to cut Bane's Venom tube and knock the benemoth unconscious with a taser to the back of his head.

Batman briefed the Team on Red Arrow's treachery, and left for the Watchtower. Robin noticed something odd about Batman's behavior—he had never called the entire team "kids" before. When Red Tornado mysteriously shut down, Robin deduced that the fault laid with hardware, not software. Aqualad, Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis left to track down Red Arrow, while the remaining team members tried to reactivate Red Tornado.

Zatanna suggested that they transfer Tornado's consciousness into the "John Smith" body he had built for himself. Black Canary arrived just as the process was completing, giving John Smith enough time to issue a warning to evacuate the cave. Black Canary was subdued by Robin and Rocket, and everybody fled the cave on the Super-Cycle moments before Icon, Captain Marvel, and Doctor Fate arrived by Zeta-beam.

John Smith explained that the Justice League was under the thrall of Vandal Savage, a feat made possible through the use of an instrument he termed as Starro-tech. Fortunately, he had enough time to create a subprogram to prevent him from infecting others—explaining the cause of his shutdown. The Super-Cycle rendezvoused with the Bio-Ship, and Robin suggested that the now-reunified Team exchange notes.

The Team in infiltrating the Watchtower, after Red Tornado feigned mind control to shut down the security systems. His squad, composed of himself, Superboy, Wolf and Sphere cooperated in disinfecting Hawkman, John Stewart, Batman and Superman. The latter was only subdued after he was exposed to a sliver of Kryptonite Robin stole from the Batcave.

January 2011
As the New Year dawned, Zatanna pulled Robin over to kiss him, a New Year's tradition. He later joined the roundtable discussion about the location of the real Roy Harper, and the mystery of the six leaguers who were unaccounted for sixteen hours.

2011-2015
Dick became Nightwing, went solo, and passed his title as Robin to a successor. He also became the leader of the Team.

January 2016
Nightwing won a sparring match against Lagoon Boy, just before Delta Squad arrived home. Robin reported that they apprehended Clayface, and sent him back to Arkham Asylum. Captain Atom then contacted the Team that the UN building was under attack, Nightwing replied that the Beta Squad was close by. Mal Duncan sent them in.

Nightwing attended a briefing held by the Justice League about the alien attack on the UN. John Stewart explained their real problem was not Lobo, but his target, a Krolotean. Adam Strange explained about the Kroloteans, and his adventure on Rann. After he told that six members of the Justice League were wanted criminals on that planet, Nightwing reminded Batman of the missing sixteen hours from five years earlier. Nightwing offered that the Team would handle the mission, since the Justice League was not welcome. Captain Atom agreed.

After the briefing, Zatanna and Rocket talked to Nightwing, Miss Martian and Superboy, and reminded them they still had an open invataion to join the League. In unison, they stated they were fine where they were.

Nightwing briefed the Team the mission to track down Kroloteans on Earth, and assigned the squads. He and Wonder Girl were Alpha Squad. Lagoon Boy, Blue Beetle and Robin were Gamma Squad; Nightwing gave Robin the position as leader, much to Robin's disagreement. Nightwing told him he was ready for the experience, but jokingly warned him not to die.

Nightwing with Wonder Girl traveled to Philadelphia on the Super-Cycle, but their targets got away.

After Gamma Squad found the Krolotean base and saved their hostages, the Team and Justice League arrived to help. Nightwing congratulated them for their success.

Nightwing was present at the return of Zeta Squad, and handled the debriefing.

Nightwing flew the Bio-Ship with a strike force to Malina Island, the Kroloteans' last base. After dropping off Aquaman and Lagoon Boy, Batman and his protégés broke into the base at ground level.

Nightwing cleaned the Manta-men off the top walkways. They were noticed by Manta, who ordered his men to attack the infiltrators. Nightwing was still on the walkways when Manta lost his helmet and revealed his true identity to Aquaman. He tried to reason with his old friend, assuring him that Tula's death was not their fault, but it was to no avail. Kaldur'ahm escaped to a lower level, where Nightwing and Superboy intercepted him. Kaldur had no plans to fight, and instead pointed them at a bomb that was primed to blow up in two minutes.

Unable to disarm the bomb, Nightwing called for a full evacuation. They regrouped at the Bio-Ship, and only narrowly escaped the bomb's blast radius. Nightwing debriefed Batman that the bomb was of alien, but not Krolotean origin. Batman felt finding out who planted it would be a responsibility of the Team.

Nightwing said his goodbyes to Batman, who left for Rimbor to stand trial for their actions under the Light's mind control, along with the other accused Justice Leaguers. Batman thought Nightwing had the harder of the two tasks.

February 2016
Nightwing took a day off from the Team for personal business: trying to persuade Red Arrow to clean his act up. With Green Arrow, Black Canary, Jim Harper and Wally West, he confronted his old friend on a rooftop. Wally and Dick dismissed Roy's comments that he was just a copy, and not their concern; they argued that the cloned Roy was the only Roy they knew. They never met the original. Unfortunately, their appeal was to deaf ears. Roy ignored them, and went back to his hide out.

Powers
Nightwing possesses no known superhuman powers, but instead relies on his physical conditioning, acrobatic prowess, and keen detective skills taught to him by the Dark Knight himself. As Robin he was also the Team's strategist, intellect, and most importantly, their hacker. Due to these skills, Nightwing is considered the most highly trained and experienced member of the Team, and has also been fighting crime the longest.

Abilities
Though Nightwing technically possesses no superhuman powers, his courage, skill, experience, determination and personal strengths are enough to make him a capable fighter.
 * Conditioning: Having undergone an evidently vigorous and intensive training regimen under Batman, Nightwing has exercised physical form to near-perfection for someone of his age for the purposes of fighting crime.
 * Speed: Nightwing is shown to be able to run at above average speed for a teen of his age.
 * Endurance: Nightwing's endurance is at the peak of a young man of his age and size.
 * Agility: Nightwing has proven to be at the peak of human agility.
 * Strength: Nightwing's physical strength is considerably higher than that of an ordinary teenager due to the conditioning he received from Batman. At just thirteen, when irritated he was even able to punch a sizable crater into a concrete wall, with no apparent injury.
 * Movement:
 * Master martial artist: Nightwing can take out his enemies with ease possessing his knowledge in martial arts and agility.
 * Master acrobat: Nightwing has proven to be able to perform complex aerial maneuvers.
 * Master of stealth: Nightwing is a master at stealth, capable of disappearing and reappearing without anyone noticing.
 * Escape artistry: Nightwing is capable of escaping from various traps and locks in impressive time.
 * Marksmanship: Nightwing is an amazing marksman, almost comparable to Artemis and Red Arrow. He utilizes his batarangs and rarely misses his target.
 * Mental:
 * Detective skills: Nightwing has shown astute deductive reasoning.
 * Vehicle driver: Excellent at motorcycle driving.
 * Master hacker and computer technician: Nightwing has shown that he is more than capable of easily gaining access to almost any computer or program he wants in a matter of seconds. Even at thirteen he was easily able to hack into both Justice League and Cadmus files with little to no effort on his part.
 * Strategic planning: Nightwing is a natural leader and tactician, able to analyze most situations and develop complex and effective plans during combative situations in quick instances.
 * Mathematics: Dick is a mathlete honoree, indicating that his mathematical skill is advanced for his age.
 * Mathematics: Dick is a mathlete honoree, indicating that his mathematical skill is advanced for his age.

Weaknesses
As Robin, Dick's small frame and lack of power was a weakness. Despite his intense training with Batman, he has usually had to resort to dodging attacks from superhuman foes, rather than taking them head-on like other sturdier heroes might. As Nightwing, he has since outgrown this weakness, although he is still an ordinary human being, and is subject to anything that would harm one.

While still operating as Robin, he displayed a lack of conventional team work, where during certain situations, he would disappear abruptly either to scout ahead or perform some other sort of task, without notifying anyone else. This is not due to any ego or inconsideration however, but instead because of the fact that while working with Batman, their partnership had grown to the level where they can anticipate each other's moves without having to vocalize them. While this worked well for him and Batman, this did not work with the rest of the Team. He has slowly learned the value of teamwork, and worked together with Artemis (in "Homefront"), Zatanna (in "Usual Suspects") and Superboy ("Auld Acquaintance") in the field.

As Robin his immaturity and childlike confidence in his own abilities had proved to be a weakness in the past, as he had impulsively attempted to combat opponents who were either superior in terms of fighting skills to his own or metahumans who were considerably dangerous, such as during his one-on-one fight with Kobra or a mind-controlled Superboy.

Equipment
Like Batman, Nightwing carries a variety of weapons on his person that substitutes for superpowers and allows flexibility in attack type. Though he may have altered his arsenal since leaving the Robin identity behind, these previously included:




 * Batarang: Shuriken-like objects, acting like boomerangs, that are used as long range attack weapons with various uses, such as explosive, or ones that release gas. He also uses red batarangs similar in design to those of Batman.
 * Grappling gun: Hand-held devices that fire a grappling hook across far distances giving Nightwing the window to make hasty escapes and climb high objects and buildings. The grapple lines can be lengthened and pulled back utilizing the buttons on the gun.


 * Eskrima sticks: Another close combat weapon, these are twin fighting sticks that Nightwing uses.


 * Taser: Nightwing carries around a hand-held taser, that can be used both short range and long range. The exact voltage of the electrical blast is unknown, but it was enough to momentarily slow down Superboy.


 * Gas pellets: Tiny-marble like devices that gives off a thick gray smoke which allows Robin to make hasty escapes. Close contact with the smoke can be disorienting for enemies.
 * Rebreather: Nightwing uses it to breathe underwater.


 * Holographic computer: As Robin, he also had a computer interface and hacking cable attached to his glove which gave him easy access to building schematics and data files. There was a USB-cable that he can hook up to larger systems that allowed him access.
 * Lockpick: Nightwing stores a lockpick in his gloves.

Vehicles

 * Robin's motorcycle: As Robin, Nightwing had his own personal mode of transportation, a customized sports coupe motorcycle. When its battle mode was activated, the motorcycle split in half. The back half turns into a flying laser cannon that protected him from attack. It can also split into a pocket bike if the main body is heavily damaged and is activated through his glove computer.

Batman (Bruce Wayne)
Taken in by Bruce Wayne after the death of his biological parents, Dick Grayson became Robin, Bruce's partner in his crime-fighting work as Batman. He was only 9 years old when introduced to the field, and though the youngest, he is also the most experienced of the Team. Batman trained Dick with the specific goal of giving him support after the loss of his parents, and not grow up like he once did. His general opinion of Dick, although rarely stated directly, is high. When they worked in the field together, they behaved as a well-oiled machine, able to anticipate each other's moves, actions and plans, without the need to vocally communicate with each other.

Despite being his mentor, Batman seemed to treat Robin as a partner, rather than as a sidekick, and now treats Nightwing as a colleague, hearing him out when he states his opinion and even conceding to his points should they prove correct or logical. He also viewed Dick as a natural leader of the Team, but did not push him into the role.

Dick seemed to not only look up to Batman as a mentor but also as a father figure. He is proud to have been Batman's protégé and cared about living up to his expectations. He became rather jealous sometimes of the attention Aqualad got from Batman as leader of the Team.

Aqualad
As one of the oldest members of the Team, Aqualad was naturally the Team's big brother. This relationship was most obvious between Robin and Aqualad. While Aqualad was the mature rational older brother, Robin behaved far more impulsively and immaturely, which often resulted in Aqualad having to keep him in check. However, despite their extreme differences in personality, the pair of them got along very well, showing great respect for each other. When time came for the Team to choose a field leader, Robin initially saw himself as the most appropriate leader of the Team, citing his greater experience despite being the youngest member of the Team.

However, Aqualad explained that Robin's experience and his strong working relationship with Batman meant that Robin assumed his teammates could follow his plans without much explanation, whereas the Team really needed a leader who would be clear. Robin instead suggested that Aqualad should be the Team's leader, and Aqualad accepted. Nevertheless, Aqualad claimed that Robin was a natural leader and would one day be ready to take control of the Team. Despite this, Robin has been shown on at least one occasion to get jealous of the attention Batman gives to Aqualad due to his status as Team leader.

Kid Flash
Robin's closest friend in the Team and outside it is Kid Flash (Wally West), having met and been friends before the creation of the Team. Despite Batman's orders for Robin not to reveal his secret identity, Robin trusted Kid Flash to such a great degree that he has revealed his secret identity to him.

While they are obviously close, they enjoyed poking fun at and mock each other when one or the other fails at something.

Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred is the butler of the Wayne family and primary caregiver for both Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.

Zatanna
When Zatanna first showed up at the Cave, Robin was very quick to introduce himself to her, although in a far less "smooth" manner than he normally demonstrated. The two flirted throughout their adventure, and both looked forward to another mission with each other on the Team. After Zatanna's father was taken as the new host of Doctor Fate, Robin attempted on more than one occasion to help Zatanna through her loss. Zatanna also comforted Robin when he was distraught over the possible death of Speedy. She eventually kissed him, as part of the New Year's tradition.

Tim Drake
Tim is the new Robin, and Dick's successor as Batman's protégé. Tim looks up to him as his hero and Dick tries to be a good role model and give him the chance to prove himself. Even though Tim sometimes thinks that Dick thinks of him as a kid, like when he said that Dick only let him lead his first mission because it was Gamma Squad and he didn't expect much trouble.

Background in other media

 * Dick Grayson as Robin is considered the first official adolescent sidekick in comic book mythology. This is subtly hinted at in the show by stating the Robin has been working as a sidekick longer than everyone else.
 * In the comics' main timeline there have been four other Robins aside from Dick Grayson: Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne.
 * Greg Weisman stated that he chose Dick Grayson as Robin because Young Justice was sort of a Robin origin story and putting Jason Todd or Tim Drake would be doing injustice to the series.
 * In the original Young Justice comic series, the role of Robin was held by Tim Drake, rather than Dick Grayson. Dick Grayson as Robin, Nightwing and Batman meanwhile has been a member of such teams as the Teen Titans, the Titans, the Outsiders and the Justice League of America. The Dick Grayson of Earth-Two was also a member of the Justice Society of America.
 * This is the twelfth animated incarnation of Dick Grayson. Previous versions have included The Adventures of Batman, The Batman/Superman Hour, Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Super Friends, DC Animated Universe (Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures), Teen Titans, The Batman, Justice League: The New Frontier, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Batman: Under the Red Hood.
 * Young Justice: Invasion marks Nightwing's sixth animated appearance; he has previously appeared in the DCAU (The New Batman Adventures and Justice League Unlimited), Teen TItans, The Batman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Batman: Under the Red Hood.
 * Dick Grayson has appeared in several live-action mediums including The Batman and Robin Serials, the Adam West and Burt Ward Batman TV series, and in the films Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. Although he never appeared, Dick Grayson was also mentioned briefly in an episode of the series "Birds of Prey" as a former partner to Batman.