Nightwing

The boy wonder, Robin, Nightwing, agent 37. These are just a few of the Aliases of Richard John Grayson, better known as Dick Grayson. I've always found it funny over the years explaining the backstory of Dick Grayson and people not knowing that Dick was Bruce's son. Everybody knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman, but Robin's real name is... It's as if Robin doesn't have a secret identity, or funnier still when I tell them that the Robin mantle has been held by multiple people it's this huge shocker. I've never understood that. Granted Dick has had only three live action portrayals; those being Burt Ward, Chris O'Donnell, and Brenton Thwaites in that order. Dick has had some his fair share of public exposure, innuendo completely intended. But all jokes aside it's not like he's a very obscure character who hasn't been in circulation for decades. Nightwing is still getting new stories to this day. So why don't more people know the name Dick Grayson. Allow me to explain why you should learn his name.

Let's do a very brief overview over Dick's backstory. Born to John and Mary Grayson, Dick was a prodigy acrobat growing up in Haly's Circus forming "The Flying Graysons" with his parents. On one very unfortunate night however his parents paid the ultimate price for the Circus refusing to be intimidated and extorted by Gotham's scum. Luckily for Dick, it just so happened Bruce Wayne was in attendance that night and witnessed the tragedy first-hand. Seeing himself in this boy who also had to watch his parents die before his eyes Bruce stepped up and adopted the now orphaned Dick. Then in due time Batman indoctrinated Dick into the world of crime fighting under the guise "Robin".

So onto the topic at hand, why he needs way more respect in the general public. First off he's literally thee Robin, as mentioned in my opening paragraph it's always interesting everyone knows Robin why don't more people know his secret identity? Thanks to Nightwing's acrobatic past his agility is second none. Nightwing's fighting ability is second only to Batman himself. Dick is also incredibly brilliant. Nowhere near the likes of Batman, Lex Luthor, or Brainiac but still a genius nonetheless. Spoiler alert; when Batman was presumed dead Dick stepped up to become Batman and was actually a very successful successor to Bruce. Lastly personal favorite feat is that he's the leader of the Teen Titans. For those of you unfamiliar with the teen titans, they're the sidekick version of The Justice League. Although they may seem redundant to the arc of Batman being one of the founders and leaders of the Justice League. Dick is the sole leader and founder of the Teen Titans. Leader of some insanely powerful characters such as Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl just to name a few. That resume should earn him a spot in the public eye, however it doesn't as much as it should sadly.

Now onto why he's why favorite hero and I can some it up with one word; relatability. At a certain point characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, and even Ironman start to lose their relatability factor. Two billionaires, a demi god, and a man whose name says all you need to know about him. But Dick, he's just a pretty average guy that dedicated his life to becoming a superhero. Also unlike his mentor, dick hasn't lost himself to Nightwing the way Bruce has lost himself to Batman. Bruce views his true identity as Batman and Bruce Wayne as his "mask". Geoff Johns himself once said, and I'm paraphrasing here "Dick could be you or me at our best". And isn't that what heroes are supposed to do/be? Some of the best written heroes in my opinion are those we can not only relate to but inspire us to be the best versions of ourselves. They give us hope, they remind us the world doesn't have to be a scary, painful, ugly place. The world can be fulfilling, joyous, and beautiful. So long as we do our part to make the world that way, not with a mask or superpowers or a ridiculous sum of money. But with positivity, will, and hope.

In closing, for those of you who were first introduced to Dick Grayson via my article I hope you'll be inspired to learn more about this super underrated and over looked character. I'll leave you with this, Director Max Landis once said "Put the hero back in the superhero movies. I think the super has taken over." And what better way to do that than with a character like Nightwing?