30Days30Characters: Day 10- Nightwing

We are officially one-third of the way through the month of november. We have also almost made it through the first full themed week. I have enjoyed putting together this list and highlighting a favorite comics character of mine throughout the week. I thought it would be a good time to highlight what this list is. This is not a countdown of my all time favorites, so if there was a comics character I didn’t mention this week, it doesn’t mean I don’t like them. It just means they weren’t on this list this year. Maybe we’ll do this again next year.

Nightwing

Nightwing is the alter ego of Dick Grayson, who was also the first Robin. Years ago (1984 to be exact) Dick Grayson shed his Robin identity to become Nightwing. It was symbolic of him becoming his own man. No longer would he be sidekick to Batman. Now he was a hero in his own right. In the beginning he was mostly part of the Teen Titans, but in the mid 90s he got his first solo series and had been a DC staple ever since. He puts all of the skills he learned from years of being under the wing of Batman to good use. He is a master detective and has superior martial arts skills. He is not, however, a watered down version of Batman.

Why Nightwing?

I was talking with a coworker the other day about favorite characters. He was reading some Nightwing graphic novels at the time. He mentioned that he felt like Nightwing is a more relatable character than Batman. I’ve been thinking about that statement ever since. I agree with him. I think on some level, I have always been able to relate to Nightwing. I think a lot of teenage boys, as they grow up, could relate to the character.

I’m the oldest child in my family. For whatever reason, I have always felt a need to live up to my dad’s standards. As a kid, I worshipped my dad. He was the most amazing person I knew, and I wanted to be just like him. Then I got older, and I realized I wanted to do things my own way, and didn’t want to follow in my dad’s footsteps all the way. There were definitely some rough moments as i tried to figure all of this out. Now, I am older, and a semi-mature adult. I think my dad is proud of what I have done and what I have accomplished, and I am proud that I have done it my own way.

That’s basically Nightwing’s story. He wanted to be just like Batman. He worshipped him, but at some point as a teenager, he decided he needed to do things his way. He broke away from Batman and became Nightwing. There were some rough moments where Batman didn’t always approve of Nightwing’s choices. Now, though, I think Batman is proud of the man Nightwing has become. That’s why I love Nightwing.