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10 Reasons Why Nightwing Deserves His Own TV Series


With comic book shows all the rage these days, many are wondering which heroes and villains will be gracing the small screen in the future.

At the moment, there’s the likes of Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Gotham, Lucifer, iZombie, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Marvel’s Netflix-exclusive shows all adapting comic books into TV offerings, and there’s soon to be efforts like Legion and Krypton arriving later this year.

One character who many have been championing for in any live-action form is Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing. Initially known for being the first (and most longstanding) Robin, Grayson progressed from the Boy Wonder mantle to becoming his own hero in his own city. That hero was Nightwing and that city was Blüdhaven, and in doing so, Dick Grayson’s popularity exploded.

Dick may have gone on to actually become Batman at times since then, but whilst he proved to be a great Caped Crusader, many will always see him at his best when he’s in his Nightwing guise.

Simply put, Dick Grayson in any form is one of the coolest, most beloved heroes out there, and here’s 10 reasons why he’s more than worthy of his own TV series.

  1. Intense Action Sequences

    With Dick Grayson you get a hero who is a total badass in a whole variety of ways. Whatever form of combat happens to come up, chances are Dick can more than hold his own.

    Now whilst key to any superhero show is having interesting, engaging plot arcs and character development, there also needs to be a fair share of action sequences. Luckily, with Dick Grayson that isn’t a problem.

    Much like Batman, Dick is trained in a whole variety of fighting methods. Added to his exquisite hand-to-hand combat skills, he’s also a highly trained martial artist and, of course, has a background in acrobatics thanks to his younger years as a member of Haly’s Circus.

    Along with the brains and gadgets at his disposal, Dick Grayson in a TV series would make for some totally badass action sequences if handled correctly.

  2. The Gadgets

    Much like certain other DC superheroes *cough* Batman *cough*, Dick Grayson is someone who has plenty of toys at his disposal.

    From flashy motorbikes, to zip lines, to hacking devices, to his Wing-Dings (essentially his take on the Batarang), to his beloved Escrima Sticks, this former Robin has a whole load of accessories to help take down the bad guys and get the job done. And unlike his mentor, there’s not a utility belt in sight for Dick.

    As many of the Bat-family have, Grayson has his own range of unique and personalized gadgets, and it’s always great to see what tricks he’s got up his sleeve. Again, this is something that could be great to see in an episodic TV show, especially with his detective skills brought into the mix with the technology that is at his fingertips.

    In the words of a far wiser man than myself, “Where does he get those wonderful toys?” 

  3. Blüdhaven

    Much like Batman’s Gotham City or Green Arrow’s Star City, Blüdhaven is a character all of its own.

    Wanting to become his own hero and step out the shadow of the Dark Knight, Dick Grayson initially headed to Blüdhaven to track down the villainous Blockbuster. And it soon became perfectly clear that this city, which is often depicted as being a neighbouring city of Gotham, was brimming with crime and corruption.

    If Blockbuster heading up the city’s organized crime wasn’t enough, it soon became apparent that very few people in Blüdhaven could be trusted. So deep-rooted was the corruption, even the city’s police department was riddled with a whole host of bent cops. As such, Grayson makes the decision to not only fight the good fight as Nightwing, he also joins the police force to try and fight the corruption from within.

    The setting of Blüdhaven itself opens up so many possibilities for a show to explore, and the goings-on there could certainly lead to giving any series a more crime thriller sort of feel.

  4. Ladies' Man

    One thing for certain about Dick Grayson is that he’s never short of some female attention.

    Much like his famed mentor, Bruce Wayne, Dick is quite the ladies’ man. Wherever Grayson goes, the women seem to flock.

    Over the years, Dick has been known to be involved with Barbara Gordon, Starfire, Liu, Lori Elton, Cheyenne Freemont, Raya Vestri, and Huntress. Then there’s also been sexual chemistry and the odd kiss here and there with the likes of Supergirl and Catwoman. And those names are just the top of the iceberg.

    There’s even a good argument to be made that Dick gets around more than Bruce Wayne, which is quite the statement. Whereas Bruce has had literally thousands of no-name models and one night stands, Dick has the tendency to get attached to his ladies quicker than his ever-serious mentor does, though.

    So yeah, Dick Grayson is quite the popular guy when it comes to the opposite sex, and this is something that means a romantic angle to any Nightwing TV show would be easy to play up if needed.

  5. The Tragic Backstory

    What would a superhero show be without a tragic backstory?

    Arrow saw Oliver Queen stranded on an island for 5 years, The Flash had Barry Allen’s mother murdered by a mysterious man in yellow when our hero was just a child, Supergirl was thrown off course and landed on Earth too late to help look after her cousin, and Gotham started its series off by showing the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents.

    And like every good hero, Dick Grayson is someone whose life was also tainted by tragedy in its early years.

    For Dick, he was a part of the Flying Graysons attraction put on by Haly’s Circus. Unfortunately, crime boss Tony Zucco saw fit to sabotage the rig that Dick’s parents were using for one of their acts, resulting in them falling to their deaths in front of the soon-to-be Boy Wonder.

    Where a TV show is concerned, the backstory would work well in explaining how Dick got into the crime-fighting gig, and you could even look at how the now-adult Dick Grayson is still troubled by this and maybe even explain that he’s spent years searching for those responsible, making that the M.O. of his first season.

  6. The Potential For A Team-Up

    With the whole plethora of superhero shows that are either on TV at the moment or are in development, there’s so much potential to do something fantastic with Dick Grayson when it comes to crossing over with these other heroes.

    Obviously given the timeframe of Gotham – which has a still teenage Bruce Wayne – that rules out any such appearance of an adult Dick Grayson in his Nightwing guise, not to mention the fact that we’ve already seen the still-relatively-young parents of Dick turn up in the show. But it’s The CW’s DC shows that offer the most intriguing possibility.

    The likes of Arrow, The Flash, and now Supergirl (following its switch from CBS to The CW) exist in a world that Dick Grayson could easily step into. Obviously the Scarlet Speedster and the Maid of Might have a more fun vibe to them as characters, much like Dick, but it’s the dynamic between Green Arrow, himself very much a Batman-lite sort of character these days, and Nightwing that would spark the interest of most fans.

    Given how Green Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Rip Hunter’s Legends team are due for a mega four-way crossover event this coming December, how cool would it be to see Nightwing added to just such a crossover at some point in the coming years? Very cool, that’s the answer.

  7. His Durability

    In a world of never-say-die attitudes and whiter-than-white heroes, Dick Grayson, despite having no actual superpowers, still manages to be one of the most durable and unrelenting heroes that DC has to offer. Put simply, there is no quit in Nightwing.

    Throughout his life to date, the comic book Grayson has had so many traumas and battles that he seemingly can’t win, yet he never stops fighting the good fight regardless of what damage may be done to himself. Even upon having his secret identity revealed to the world courtesy of the Crime Syndicate, that didn’t stop Dick, for he’d spin that into a positive by faking his own death and taking up the role of a mole operating inside the Spyral organisation.

    The death of his parents, the death of his friends, the death of his love interests have all hit Dick Grayson hard over the decades, yet he never falters in his unnerving dedication to the greater fight that’s forever on-going.

  8. His Leadership Qualities

    Despite often being synonymous for being Bruce Wayne’s ward/adoptive son/sidekick, Dick Grayson is a hell of a leader and mentor in his own right.

    Whether it’s as the head of the Teen Titans or even taking over the mantle of Batman, Grayson has showed time and time again that he is a natural when it comes to helping out others and getting the best out of them.

    Considering how Batman’s people skills can leave a lot to be desired at times, it’s testament to Dick that he used his time under the Dark Knight’s tutelage to learn from his mentor whilst also not necessarily following the exact same path as the Caped Crusader. As in Dick isn’t a, err, dick to people for the most part.

    And it has to be said, to many, the stories of Dick Grayson as Batman were some of the most enjoyable ones of the past decade, particularly when paired up with the Damian Wayne version of Robin. Similarly, Grayson also had fascinating relationships with fellow former Robins Jason Todd and Tim Drake during this period.

  9. Nearly The World's Greatest Detective

    Obviously Batman is known by many as the World’s Greatest Detective, but Dick Grayson isn’t far off his mentor when it comes to that moniker. If there was a prize for the World’s Second Best Detective, Grayson would be right in the running alongside Tim Drake.

    Not every moment of every episode of every superhero show can be about action and cracking skulls, and so allowing the mind, thought process and detective skills of Dick to shine would be well advised should any Nightwing TV series get the go-ahead.

    In fact, there’s already a natural fit for such a show given how Grayson’s ‘day job’ is at times depicted as being a police officer, not to mention the 2014 arc where Dick had to go under cover as an agent of Spyral in order to take down that nefarious organisation from the inside.

    You have to remember, Dick Grayson is somebody who has spent years under the intense tutelage of Bruce Wayne, another tortured individual who is the very best at everything the human body and spirit can do. As such, Dick is a precise, calculated, intelligent man of his own… just without the added grumpiness that comes with being Bruce Wayne.

  10. The Evolution Of The Character

    One of the most interesting and intriguing parts of Dick Grayson is the scope for evolution that he offers.

    Dick is someone who started as the Boy Wonder, Robin, acting as the ward of Bruce Wayne. As the years progressed and Dick progressed from a teenager to becoming his own man, he stepped up to be a hero of his own rather than just a sidekick. Moving from Gotham City and taking on the moniker of Nightwing, Grayson became the protector of Blüdhaven.

    Whilst his run as Nightwing added a whole new level of interest to Dick Grayson, he didn’t stop there, for he’d even step up and take over the Batman mantle at times when Bruce Wayne was out of action.

    Simply put, this is a character who has been around since 1940 and who has evolved so much in so many ways over the decades, making him a hero who has so much to mine from if given his own TV show. Seeing Dick Grayson stepping out of the ominous shadow of the Caped Crusader and making his own life as his own hero in his own city is a story that just needs to be told.

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