Nightwing

NIGHTWING[/div]



Real Name: Richard 'Dick' John Grayson



Alias: Nightwing



Identity: secret



Age: 23



Species: human







Physical Appearance: The first thing people notice about Dick Grayson is that he's incredibly handsome, and fit. Its something that he's used to women remarking on, both in and out of costume. A hint of his Romany heritage shows, although few people could pinpoint it just by looking. He stands at 5'10", and has the lean body with very well developed chest, shoulders and arms one would expect of a gymnast or acrobat. His brown-black hair is thick, but not especially long, as it would be hot or something to be used against him in a fight. His eyes are blue, and he has a friendly smile. When shirtless, his upper body is somewhat scarred from his years as Robin and Nightwing, something he plays off as a bad motorcycle accident.



For someone as good looking and wealthy as he is, Dick has remarkably poor taste in clothes, something that extended to his costumes(the first Robin and Nightwing costumes). Overall, he has a preppy vibe out of costume. He's notorious for wearing sweater vests, pleated pants, and loafers, and while his clothes are invariably nice, he just doesn't match them well. He has a penchant for wearing his old letterman jackets as well. Much more common, though, his attire is a polo shirt and jeans. For more formal occasions, he typically follows Alfred's advice about what to wear, as the older man's taste is beyond reproach. He relies on his female friends to help him out with clothes shopping, when he does it himself. Dick's current Nightwing costume is a black body glove, made from carbon nanotube fiber, which is stronger and more energy resistant than Kevlar, while being even lighter. He has a blue bird insignia on his chest, and lacks a cape or cowl. He wears a black domino mask to hide his identity. The gloves and boots are black, and have small compartments on them. He completes it with a black utility belt, modified to be lighter than the standard model Batman wears.







Personality: Nightwing has always been more playful than his mentor, Batman. When he first started out as Robin, he was very light-hearted, treating crimefighting almost as a game. While he's matured greatly, he's still largely the same wisecracking, fun-loving hero at heart. Its due partly to his nature, as he's naturally irrepressible, and partly because Dick came to terms with his parents' murder years ago. As a circus acrobat, there was always an assumption of risk, a chance that they or he might die. He's not obsessed with vengeance in the same way as Batman is, and genuinely enjoys his role as a costumed crimefighter.



He's always been serious about his responsibilities, something that leadership of the Titans has only reinforced. Whether as Robin or Nightwing, he's spent a great deal of time and energy turning the Titans into a team, and not just people who work together. He's far more trusting and open with other heroes than his mentor, and less ruthless, and as a result, arguably a better teammate. Where Batman is respected and feared, Nightwing is well-liked. He's sometimes joked that his superpower is the ability to network and make contacts with everyone, as he makes an effort to be on great terms with many heroes. He's taken special care to reach out to Jason Todd and Tim Drake, his successors as Robin, to be there for them as an older brother.



Lest anyone think that he's nothing like his mentor, the man who raised him, that couldn't be farther from the truth. He's still focused on the mission, stubborn, even dogmatic about his views. This of course leads to butting heads with Batman now that he's established himself as his own hero. While their overall goals align, Nightwing is less severe, less overtly menacing, and won't hesitate to call Batman out about his methods, though he prefers to keep their disagreements behind closed doors. He has a bad tendency to blame himself when anything goes wrong, and a refusal to accept that he has limits. He's very bad when it comes to being injured, as he rarely allows himself to recover before suiting up again.



Out of costume, Dick Grayson is still finding his way. His civilian life is still important to him, its not the mask he uses for cover the way Batman uses Bruce Wayne. He's a ladies' man, and tended to do a lot of casual dating, prefering to keep things from getting too serious. He likes his job as a bartender, easy to do morning and early afternoon work that pays well, leaving him time for his evening activities. He's friendly, and actually a nice guy. As much as his costumed persona is informed by Batman, so too is Dick Grayson a fan of Superman. He tends to spend a lot of time out of costume with the various other Robins, Oracle, Huntress, and Batgirl, or with his former Teen Titans teammates.



While he's been interested or involved with a number of women in the superhero community, another sign of Dick's maturation is his engagement to Barbara Gordon. While the relationship is somewhat tumultuous, he's committed to making it work and building a life together with her. He remains good friends with his longtime former girlfriend, Starfire, who is also friendly with Barbara. One pitfall might be Huntress, who works closely with Oracle and once had a one night stand with Nightwing.



Perhaps most importantly, Dick Grayson is not defined by his parents' death in the same manner that Bruce Wayne is. Whether its by design, as Bruce did not want Dick to grow up seeking vengeance, or because the risk of death had always existed in the circus, or just Dick's natural happy-go-lucky tendencies, he's gotten over being orphaned, accepted their murder, and moved on with his life.







Powers: none







Abilities:

[*] world class gymnast/acrobat Nightwing is perhaps the finest purely human gymnast and acrobat on the planet, having been trained from boyhood in the circus and with Batman

[*] master martial artist Nightwing has been extensively trained in various martial arts, and is considered one of the finest martial artists alive

[*] detective trained by Batman, Nightwing is a competent detective, capable of of employing deductive reasoning, although not to his mentor's extent

[*] multilingual Nightwing was both tutored in other languages and learned some things in the circus. He speaks French, German, Italian and Spanish, and is conversant in Arabic, Swahili,

[*] hacker Nightwing is a fair computer hacker, able to override local systems and alarms while in the field, but he leaves the harder tasks for Oracle

[*] Expert driver/pilot Nightwing is a superb driver, particularly of motorcycles. He's a decent, but not great pilot of light aircraft and small jets. He's been checked out on all of Batman's custom vehicle fleet, like the Batmobile and Batwing.

[*] master tactician/strategist years of experience at Batman's side and fighting alongside both the Justice League and Teen Titans have given Nightwing an uncommonly strong grasp of combat, particularly coordinating allies of vastly disparate experience and power levels. He has a near encyclopedic knowledge, aided by Oracle, of metahuman hero and villain powers and abilities.

[*] stealth Nightwing is very experienced at operating unseen and silently, due to years of keeping up with Batman while wearing his Robin costume and ninjustu training

[*] escapology Nightwing is a talented escape artist, able to defeat most restraints, knots and locks with little or no equipment.

[*] street smarts despite growing up in Wayne Manor, Nightwing also knows how to blend in on the street, particularly out of costume

[*] expert marksman Nightwing is incredibly gifted with throwing weapons, able to accurately use his wingdings and batarangs while on the move

[*] leadership having led the Titans for almost his entire tenure there, Nightwing is good at forging various metas into a team and leading them into combat

[*] mechanic out of necessity, Nightwing is able to effect repairs on his vehicles and equipment

[*] disguise vital for going undercover, Nightwing knows stage tricks, ventriloquism and has a small disguise kit to allow him to infiltrate gangs or suspect companies

[*] tracking Nightwing is an excellent urban tracker, capable of tracking his quarry in virtually any city. He's not useless tracking them outside of the city, either.

Nightwing relies on his own considerable physical prowess, mental acuity and a lot of gadgets in his superheroic career. A natural athlete, trained as an acrobat from boyhood, he's very mobile in combat, favoring speed and msidirection over slugging it out with an opponent whenever possible. Training by Batman has turned him into one of the best martial artists on the planet, well-versed in a plethora of styles, from Muay Thai to boxing to more exotic things, like Capoeira. Years of practice have allowed him to incoporate his acrobatic talents into his own fighting style. He tends to fight to disable an opponent, as opposed to crippling them, so he frequently targets the joints and nerve points. Unlike Batman, or when he works with the Titans, Nightwing is more impetuous when he's solo. He likens to working without a net, like in the circus.





Despite his youth, Nightwing is one of the more experienced superheroes operating today. His training by Batman assured this, as he's widely cross-trained in numerous non-combat skills. While he's nowhere near the polymath that Batman is, he's still very capable in many of the same disciplines. He's particularly stealthy, given the bright colors of his Robin costume, yet still having to blend into the shadows. He's been able to pass himself off as other people, both in and out of costume, going undercover with the Gotham mob in his civilian identity, and as Renegade when wearing a costume. Between traveling the world as a child, and tutors employed by Bruce Wayne, he speaks several languages fluently, and can get by in a few others, including Tamaranian. His circus upbringing, and lack of a formal school as a boy let him explore the streets of numerous countries. His time spent with the Titans has turned him into a confident leader, extremely knowledgeable of the strengths and weaknesses of his teammates. While he's not the inventor that his mentor is, he has enough knowledge of bikes and cars to do a lot of his own work on them.





Weapons/Equipment:

[*] Nightwing suit

[*] Domino mask

[*] Escrima sticks, with attachable tasers

[*] modified utility belt

[*] taser

[*] grapple gun

[*] Holographic wrist-computer

[*] Wingdings/Batarangs



Nightwing's costume is at the cutting edge of science. Originally Kevlar, its been upgraded to a newer, stronger material that's lighter still: carbon nanotubes. Coated with Nomex, its difficult to cut, shoot through, or burn, and has decent protection from exotic energy blasts. He wears relatively little armor, reasoning that if he moves more, he'll get hit less. Lacking a cape, it instead is auto-darkening, growing darker the brighter the light is. Its been treated to handle extreme temperatures as well. The left forearm houses a holographic computer and various ports for different devices. In the right forearm, there's a powerful, one use taser intended to put down metahumans fast. There are numerous small pockets where he keeps various equipment, like his lockpicks and gas and smoke pellets.



The iconic domino mask that hides his identity from the world is affixed with very old-fashioned, simple spirit gum. Even though its origins lay in tradition, its been updated with very lightweight electronics. The lenses automatically darken, like welder's goggles, when exposed to light, to protect his eyes. He has a set of night vision filters that let him see the infrared spectrum. There's also a digital system that functions as makeshift binoculars, allowing him to take pictures and zoom in on details. Not part of the mask itself, but still important, are a microphone transmitter in his costume's neck and a small earpiece he wears, letting him send and receive messages hands free.



Much of his larger kit, like an oxy cutter torch, wingdings, grapple gun, and rebreather are kept on his utility belt. Anti-toxins, a first aid kit, plastic explosives, microphones, homing beacons and other miscellaneous things round it out. Colored black, its a bit lighter than the belt he wore as Robin. His escrima sticks, when not being used, are kept in a pouch strapped to his right leg, that hangs from the belt.



Nightwing carries a small arsenal on his person, made from both old and new weapons, sometimes combining them. He carries about two dozen wingdings, smaller, bird-shaped batarangs. Most are mundane, used like throwing stars, but he does have some trick ones, that can explode or shock their target. Up close, he prefers his escrima sticks. Made from a very tough polymer, they vastly increase his striking ability, concentrating the force of his blows into a smaller point and being tougher than his hand or foot. These also allow him to better combat metahuman opponents that could otherwise shrug off his attacks. For particularly powerful foes, the escrima sticks can be fitted with tasers, to let him fight those he might never otherwise even consider fighting. Along with his gas and smoke pellets, he carries some small explosive pellets, and flashbangs, that he uses to disorient others.





History: Born to to the Flying Graysons, a high-flying pair of acrobatic performers, Dick grew up in the circus. Traveling across the world, he soon joined his parents as the third member of the act, carrying on the family tradition. This early vagabond existence exposed him to many people and places. It was a far cry from the life he would later come to know. A natural athlete, he excelled at the acrobatic routine his parents taught him. A star early in life, these are his happiest memories.



Tragedy struck when Haly's Circus visited Gotham City and crime boss Tony Zucco tried to extort them for protection money. When the owner wouldn't pay, Zucco ordered his men to make an example, and his goons sabotaged the trapeze ropes. Before Dick could warn his parents, they began their act, and fell to their deaths when the ropes broke. Witnessing this in the crowd was billionaire Bruce Wayne. When Dick was put into Gotham's foster care, he moved to petition the court to be granted wardship of the boy. Once made his guardian, Dick lived with Bruce and his butler, Alfred, in Wayne Manor. Eventually he found out that Bruce was Batman, and was made his partner. He took the name Robin, which had been his mother's nickname for him. After six months of intensive training, he joined Batman as his sidekick and partner.



Dick would altogether spent about five years as Robin, working closely with Batman. The first few years were the best. He both idolized and loved Bruce as a father figure and mentor. During this time he most closely identified with Bruce's mission, and he fully expected to follow him as the next Batman whenever Bruce became too old or hurt to suit up. They were a pair without equal; very often, they rarely even needed to speak to make plans on the fly. WHen the Justice League was formed, he was thrilled to meet his other idol, Superman, along with the rest of the team. He began patrolling on his own, having earned Batman's trust.



Robin, along with several other sidekicks/partners of Justice League members, formed the Teen Titans. The most thoroughly trained and experienced, he was a natural fit as team leader. However, Batman didn't always approve of his participation in the group, feeling it caused him to neglect his responsibilities in Gotham. Dick, however, felt he could handle splitting his time. However, Robin's absence put a greater strain on Batman, whose methods became more extreme without an impressionable teenager around. Robin drew the line at torture, and he and Batman began arguing about ethics and morals. WHen the Titans were forced to disband, Robin spent more time patrolling on his own, as the relationship between the two partners had changed.



When the Titans reformed, Dick was elated. But his disagreements with Batman continued. Things finally came to a head when Dick was about seventeen. While fighting Two-Face, Dick allowed an innocent man to die and was beaten badly while Batman was trapped. This caused a huge rift between the Dynamic Duo and for a time, Batman even sidelined Robin. Second, a few months after his recovery, Dick was shot in the shoulder by the Joker, and this time, Bruce permanently fired him.



Dick attended Hudson University, but left after a semester, not very interested in further studying. Instead, he left the US entirely, traveling the world, looking to find himself and improve his abilities. When he returned, he went to the hero that he looked up to without reservation, Superman, to talk to him about continuing crimefighting. Superman told him a Kryptonian legend about Nightwing, and Dick adopted the name and a new costume. He rejoined the Titans full time and settled in Happy Harbor. He was shocked when he found out that he had been replaced as Robin, and furious when he heard about his successor's death after the funeral.



Freed from his committments to Batman, Nightwing was able to focus exclusively on the Titans, again serving as their leader. Due to an insurance settlement and some financial wizardry on the part of Lucius Fox, Dick is decently well off, enough to maintain his Nightwing equipment and buy a condo. He eventually managed to reconcile with Bruce, as well as being there for a resurrected Jason Todd and a new Robin, Tim Drake. He's settled in Bludhaven, near Gotham, at Bruce's request, and operates primarily as a solo hero, venturing to Gotham when needed or asked. He's still on good terms with the Titans and most other heroes, but has decided to step back from them for now, focusing primarily on Bat family business.









Weaknesses: Redheads. Dick is particularly susceptible to redheads putting the moves on him, although most any attractive woman can gain an advantage, if only temporarily.



In a more serious vein, he has a bad tendency to push himself too hard as Nightwing, skipping on rest and sleep, which leads to mistakes, which leads to more lack of rest and sleep, in a vicious cycle. He has a long fuse but a bad temper, which has led to near deaths when he loses control. This is most evident when the various Robins and Batgirls have been harmed, part of his role as 'oldest brother'.



There's also his relationship with Batman. While very similar, Dick has strived to avoid being the same as his mentor, has kept himself surrounded with people, instead of pushing them away and controlling them. Even so, he's worried about becoming too much like Bruce, despite his recent mellowing.



His greatest fear is being responsible for Batman's death, stemming back from his Robin days.





Other Information: (Anything else you would like to add?)



OOC Information

OOC Name: The Diceman

Character color: dodger blue

Group title: Aerial Avenger

Face Claim: Steven R McQueen