Post by Robin on Mar 16, 2014 3:02:31 GMT -5
Name: Richard "Dick" John Grayson
Code Name: Robin
Age: 17
Race: Human
Powers:
Robin might not have any superpowers but being the protege of Batman might as well be one. He was taught by the world's best detective and hand to hand combatant. The Boy Wonder isn't fooling around. He manages to keep on an even playing field with a team of metahumans through his intelligence, tactical skills, martial arts prowess and, when it all boils down to basics, enough pure crazy to frighten the team if he really cuts loose. Robin has exercised physical form to the pinnacle of human perfection, surpassing even the finest of athletes in combat proficiency and power, to such a scale that he has been called a "one-man army" by the Master of Games.
Date of birth: March 20
Home:
Alliance: Teen Titans
Relationship:
Mentor and Guardian is Bruce Wayne
Past relationship (ish) with Batgirl//Barbara Gordon
Past (current?) relationship with Starfire
Appearance:
Robin is short and lean, but much stronger than he looks. He has the build of a gymnast and acrobat because he's been trained since birth to be one. Because he's still young Robin isn't entirely filled out yet and his muscles haven't fully developed, eventually he will grow taller and his shoulders will broaden completely but that hasn't quite happened yet. His body is riddled with scars. The most prominent at the moment is a gunshot scar on his shoulder.
His uniform is spandex with the smallest amount of kevlar he can get away with. He prefers to be able to move when he's fighting and he actually hates capes. He's just gotten so used to wearing one that it feels weird not to have to compensate for it in battle. A lot of people make fun of him for his colors: or the traffic light ensemble as it is often called. The colors really do mean a lot to him. The night his parents died they were wearing show outfits of red and yellow and he had been wearing a green one with a large R on the chest. In memory of his parents he put the two together and took up the name Robin. He always wears a domino mask to hide his identity and spikes up his long hair to keep it out of his face.
When not Robin, Dick looks completely different. He wears his hair not spiked so it will fall to the sides of his face. When he's with people who know him as Robin he will wear sunglasses that are dark enough to cover his eyes but when he's wimpy little Dickie Grayson and people know it he doesn't bother to hide those brilliant blue eyes of his.
Personality:
If you ask any of the Titans they will tell you that Robin is a dark, brooding and serious soul. If you asked anyone from Gotham to describe Robin they would tell you that he is cheerful, heroic, and afraid of nothing. Not exactly matching descriptions, are they? So, let us venture into the mind of Dick Grayson~
-cues dramatic music-
Being a teenager Robin enjoys hanging out with his friends and eating pizza as much as anyone else on the team does. However, because he is the protege of Batman he also shares some of Batman's characteristic work
Years of Batman's pessimistic tutelage could not change Dick at his core. He will always be an optimist. Dick believes the best in people. Always.
At his heart and soul Dick is a circus boy. He loves to have a good time. He knows how to put on a show. And most importantly he loves it when all the eyes are turned towards him. Calling him an attention whore would be unfair, since, he's not all mememememe but he revels in taking center stage. It's one of the reason he thrives so well in a leadership roll. The Boy Wonder can often be serious, too serious, but his closer friends will remember a time when he would giggle in the face of danger and tell a bad pun before beating some bad guy butt. Robin still adores word puns, he's just toned it down a little bit.
Interpersonal relations are something that Robin excels at. He has been described as the linch-pin of the DC universe and manages to both make and keep relations with many different types of people across his world. He is known for being a good friend who is a good listener and problem solver. If you have a problem, Dick will go out of his way to help you solve it. Robin is also a very patient person when it comes to explaining things. He's good at breaking things down for people, and he isn't bothered when people don't get things right away. Most of the time. There are occasions when he can become impatient, mostly when he expects someone to know something. Robin is also not a fan of waiting when it comes to anything beyond his own detective work. He can patiently tail a perp for hours, but as soon as his computer lags he'll want to punch it.
The boy's temper can be a dangerous thing, especially when unleashed on the unwitting. Robin is an angry little boy. He has the sort of anger, deep down, that only a few people can really understand. The sort of anger that comes with understanding how unfair, and horrible life is at an early age. Little Dickie Grayson really misses his parents and the empty rage that replaced the love in his heart for them is dangerous but healing. Batman may have convinced him that justice is better than vengeance but there was a point in his life that Robin really wanted to kill someone. Dick is still young and has the tendency to be rash. He's shown that when it comes down to it, he believes that his own morals are sometimes less important than getting the job done. Especially when it means the safety of the people he cares about.
When it comes to the people that Robin considers family he will do anything to keep them safe. While Robin has strong morals and convictions, the people he cares about are probably the only sure way of blackmailing our favorite Boy Wonder. He may seem abrasive to his teammates, and often act like a jerk, but he clearly cares about his team. Even Slade noticed it. Robin is of the opinion that his life is worth less than anyone elses. The life of the innocent is worth more than the life of a hero, and the life of his team is worth more than his own life. The Titan's leader can be incredibly self-sacrificial and while he will fight for what he believes in, if someone elses life is threatened then he will back down.
Ever since leaving the tutelage of Batman, Robin had been known to be very serious and detail oriented. To say he's a little bit of a control freak might be an understatement, but it's understandable, when the one time he let his guard down his entire world shattered around him when his parent died. Because of this Robin doesn't like to make mistakes and takes great care with everything that he does. It isn't that he wants to be the best. He simply want's Bruce to accept him as an equal, and so, Robin has taken to push himself to excel at everything he tries. If he's unable to manage something the first time he will try again, and again, and again until he can do it perfectly. Obsessive and determined to a fault Robin will never stop until he attains his goals. His hyper-competitiveness and over-focusing has proven to be his downfall time and time again.
History:
WELCOME TO THE HALEY INTERNATIONAL TRAVELING CIRCUS
WHERE THE WORLD OF THE CIRCUS RING IS YOUR OYSTER AND THESE ARE OUR LATEST PEARLS
WHERE THE WORLD OF THE CIRCUS RING IS YOUR OYSTER AND THESE ARE OUR LATEST PEARLS
YOU WILL NEVER SEE ANOTHER TRAPEZEE ACT LIKE THIS FOLKS
AND ALL PERFORMED WITHOUT A NET
WITHOUT A NET
WITHOUT A NET
Richard John Grayson was born to the center stage.
He was adored by his parents: the famous Mary and John Grayson, as well as by the circus community at large. He had an extended family of “aunts” and “uncles” always looking out for him and teaching him new things. As a member of Haley's Circus young Dick Grayson was privileged to live in such a loving and eccentric community, but he also never got to experience the “normal” childhood of going to school, or having a stable house, or living in the same place for any extended period of time. Dick's best friend was an elephant and his favorite activities included flying with his parents, following around the clowns, and learning everything he could get his little hands on.
As the littlest Grayson grew it was clear he had the same affinity for the trapeze that his parents did, as well as being dangerously bright and curious. His Mother used to say that he reminded her of a little robin with the way he used to fly through the air with the greatest of ease. Dickie was his parent's pride and joy and he knew of nothing but warmth and love. By the time Dick was eight he was ready to start performing with his family. It had taken many long years of intense practice, but being a Grayson he was a natural at it, and Dick wanted to fly with his parents more than anything. Haley gave the okay. It was the proudest moment of Robin's life to finally be able to fly with his parents. Everything was going fine.
And then the impossible happened and Dick's world shattered around him.
There was trouble when the circus stopped in Gotham. Little Dick, who was everywhere overheard some trouble with a local mob boss. He didn't fully understand what was going on but the altercation still worried him because when he was a very small child he had always been taught to be wary of townies. He also heard the man, Tony Zucco, threaten the performers if Haley didn't give him the money he asked for. Haley refused and it was the Graysons, as the most famous act, that would pay the price.
The show started out the same as any other. Dick waited in the wings with his parents as the show started. His mother gave him a comforting hug and ruffled his hair, murmuring affectionately how proud she was of him and how he was going to do fantastic tonight. Before they went up for their act his father clasped a hand on his shoulder. “You get 'em tiger.” were the last words he ever heard from John Grayson.
In the darkness created by the spotlights of the current acts the Graysons climbed their way high above the audience and into the trapeze. It was something the family had done countless times, but none of them knew that for two of them, it would be their last. As the Graysons were announced the spotlight fell on them and the family clad in red and green with gold accents waved cheerfully to the audience that was cheering for them.
John was up first and he took hold of the bar and swung out into the open air. Everything seemed to be going well as the Grayson patriarch flew through the air. Soon he was joined by his wife and as she flipped forwards to be caught, his strong hands grabbed her ankles like they always did. Mary reached out for Dick to come and join them as she arced forward. But something felt wrong. The trapeze that usually held them firmly in place gave way. Suddenly, Dick, who was on the top of the platform, watched as his parents began to plummet back down to earth.
“RICHARD!” he heard his name escape his mother's lips one last time before the sickening crunch.
Dick collapsed where he stood from the shock, tears leaking out of his eyes and a terrible numbness overcoming him. No. It wasn't possible. This couldn't have happened. The sound of the audience in shock were drowned out by the horror ringing in the young orphan's ears. The place was evacuated. Sirens filled the circus tent. Somehow in the course of it all Dick had managed to come down off of the trapeze platform but the adults managed to keep him away from the broken bodies of his parents.
Though Dick didn't know it at the time there was a man watching him. A man who had gone through the exact same thing. A man who could understand the pure and utter rage that came from watching your parents die and not being able to do anything about it. That man was Bruce Wayne.
Bruce moved to adopt the young Grayson before Dick had any idea what was going on. The boy spent two lonely days at a children's home before he was moved into an even colder and lonelier mansion. Those first few days at Wayne Manor were a blur for the young boy and while he distinctly remembers his parent's funeral he doesn't remember the same things Alfred did: the old butler remembered a lost little boy who just wandered around the manor too far past tears and seemed more like a ghost than a child.
Bring so young, the eight year old Dick was able to adapt quickly, although he still cried for his parents every night and had frequent nightmares. Alfred was always there to comfort the child and Bruce tried although, he honestly had no idea what he was doing. Dick was enrolled in private school and while he didn't do well at first because he was terrified of the townies he again, adapted and managed to get through every schoolday knowing that Alfred and Bruce were there for him when he got home.
Well, Alfred was. Bruce was as aloof and distant as ever. Dick always wondered why Bruce didn't like him, because the man was always spending so much time away from him and he and Alfred would have heated conversations that would hush as soon as Dick walked through the door. It took Bruce Wayne's young ward perhaps four months to discover that Bruce was actually Batman.
The day Bruce caught Dick in the Batcave the man was furious.
It took lots of pleading and convincing but eventually Bruce heard Dick out. The boy wanted to help Batman. Bruce wasn't going to have it, at first, but he gave Dick six months to prove himself. Six months. He had half a year to convince Batman he could hold his own and help him in his crusade against the forces of evil. Bruce saw so much of himself in the kid. It only took Bruce three months to be impressed by the kid's willpower, and the other three were just because he kept to his word. During this time, Robin was born.
Dicks' final mission with Batman was called “the Gauntlet” and Bruce told him that he had to evade Batman an entire night – from sunrise to sunset- without any outside help. Dick passed with flying colors, even helping bring down a gang member on the same night and when the mission was over the dynamic duo that was to be known as Batman and Robin began.
His first years as Robin were an adventure and they were the best thing a little boy could ever hope for. Though he was the first sidekick, others followed, and he became very good friends with Wally, Roy, Gar and Donna. He and Batman were inseparable, and he even had friends who could understand him now. But, even as his relationship with Bruce blossomed (though Bruce would never replace his father) there was something dark inside Dick. Unknown to Bruce the young boy had been keeping tabs on a gangster by the name of Zucco. His plan was to murder the man who had killed his parents.
And he almost managed it too.
Robin cornered Zucco on the edge of the dock, a gun in his trembling hands. The gangster was pleading for his life but the Boy Wonder wasn't listening. His parent's hadn't had a chance to plead for their lives before he had ruthlessly killed them. The boy's finger pressed back on the trigger but before the gun could go off a batarang knocked the gun out of his hand. Batman was furious. He took Dick home immediately and suspended him from his duties as Robin until he got it into his thick skull that Batman didn't work like criminals did. Batman didn't use guns. Batman didn't kill. And by extension, neither would Robin.
Many, many lectures and arguments later Robin was still furious with Batman but Alfred had convinced the boy that it was better this way. Killing Zucco wouldn't bring back his parents. Dick understood this. And so, Robin came back onto the scene and though their relationship was a little strained for awhile they quickly forgave each other. The adventures continued and Dick was the happiest he had ever been in his entire life. It was during this time that he met Batgirl who joined their team for a short time. She was older than him, and certainly more mature, but he was as drawn to her as she was drawn to Batman. He followed her around like a lost little puppy and was always trying to get her attention. Bruce thought it was cute, and for awhile it was just the three of them, and Alfred, fighting crime and kicking butt.
And then there was Two-Face.
Dent had captured the new District Attorney and Batman leaving it up to Robin to save the day. Not fully understanding Two-Face's obsession with the number two, he threw a birdarang at the noose strangling the DA only for the man to fall through the trap door into the water and die. Horrified, Robin was off his game just enough that Dent managed to get a hold of him. After a vicious beating at the hands of Two-Face that poor Batman could only watch, and that still haunts Robin to this day, Batman decided that vigilantism was much too dangerous for children and that Robin needed to retire.
Rather than see Dick be further endangered, Batman fired his partner.
Robin was more hurt and furious than any beating from Two-Face could make him. The boy (despite not being old enough to technically drive) hopped onto his motorcycle and drove away. Robin drove, and he drove, and he drove. He didn't tell Alfred or Barbara where he was going or even that he was going for fear they would try to stop him. Being Robin was the most important thing to Dick because the Robin persona was his inner strength. Robin could do everything. Dick was the circus-boy turned ward of a billionaire playboy that nobody really cared about.
Jump City was the perfect place for Dick to end up. Bruce found him, of course, and when he couldn't convince the boy to come back home he set him up at a private school in the city (the farthest city from Bruce that Dick could find) and left him well enough alone. For a time, Dick was perfectly happy. Well, not perfectly happy, but he got to continue to be Robin and that was really all that mattered.
And then there was the day he met Starfire and his entire life was uprooted.
The day started out like any other. Robin was skipping school and working instead, like he was apt to do, and then there were aliens. This girl -she was kinda cute- was lifting buses over her head and destroying his new city. The Boy Wonder wasn't having it. He and a new crop of kids who had popped up to stop this alien girl banded together and tried to get her to stop. After a
Eventually the tower was built and the Titans (a name he had gotten from Donna) were established. They fought crime for about a year, having all the fantastic adventures and problems a group of kids turned roommates tended to have. They fought monsters, saved the cities, and ate mountains of pizza. Their idyllic new world was shattered when one thing uprooted them, but mostly, it shattered the moral pillar of a leader they had all formed around.
His name was Slade and his interest lay in Robin.
Robin understood better than any of his teammates exactly how dangerous this man named Slade was. He wasn't like the monsters of petty criminals they usually fought. No, he was more like the breed of criminal Robin was used to fighting in Gotham. In an effort to keep his team safe Robin made the worst mistake of his entire life. He created the Red X persona and used it to try to get closer to Slade. It didn't work. Instead all it did was peak Slade's interest further until the man gave the kid what he'd wanted all along: a chance to get closer to Slade.
The apprenticeship was one of Robin's biggest regrets and one of the things he would never tell Batman about. It hurt him to know that he had stupidly put his friends in danger and it hurt him even more to know that the only way to save them was to go along with the evil madman's plots.
Robin managed to get out of the apprenticeship but the rift it left in his team was unfixable.
After that, Robin worked twice as hard to keep his team safe and kept failing. He couldn't save them from the end of the world. He couldn't save them from the Brotherhood of Evil. When Batman forced him to go back to Gotham and work with him, or give up his roll as Robin, the young hero saw no choice but to leave the Titans in the capable hands of Donna. He tried to keep in contact, but it was difficult to keep up with the Titans, his studies, and Batman's rigorous demands.
One day while he was working with Batman, Robin ended up getting shot by Joker in the shoulder. Seeing Dick battered and bloody was enough to scare Batman into ending the boy's superhero career for good. Dick was fired as Robin once again and told he was not allowed to engage in vigilante activities anymore. He was older this time, and understood that he was growing up. He didn't need to rely on Batman. He didn't even have to agree with the man! He found that he and Bruce disagreed on the methods of crime fighting and came back to the Titans as soon as he was healed.
Anything else:
Master Acrobat: Dick Grayson is the last of the Flying Graysons. He was literally born and bred to be an acrobat. There are few people more graceful then him, and his signature moves with all it's fancy flips and tricks is unmistakeable. He is also the only person currently living who can do a quadruple somersault.
Peak Human: Dick Grayson obsessively conditions his body making him have the greatest strength, endurance, speed, reflexes, and agility possible in a human male his age.
Sneaky: Robin has all the makings of an expert thief. Probably because he is one. He's very good at being stealthy, moving quietly, and moving undetected. A master of disguise, Robin, can and has fooled villains by blending in around them. As something of an escapologist, bonds don't tend to hold our favorite bird for long.
Master Detective: Training with Batman has taught him to look at everything with an analytical eye. He will often pick up things before others do and can usually figure out the answers to puzzles, and problems, quickly. He also can use this skill to track people, or possibly animals, around the city.
Leadership: Dick is considered by many to be one of the best leaders in the DC universe. He's still just starting out right now, but his charisma is certainly catching. Dick's kind of like a Batman with people skills. He's a master tactician and strategist able to understand his teammates strengths and weaknesses and employ them on the field in the ways that are most effective.
Expert Marksmen: You don't want to be on the other side of those birdarangs. His hand eye coordination is phenomenal and while projectiles can be more easily knocked away, he usually doesn't miss because he aimed wrong.
Except Mechanic and Vehicle Driver: Being taught how to drive by Batman is no walk in the park. Robin's driving skills border on terrifying, but he could pretty much get a job as a stunt driver when he grows up. He has also built, and retrofitted his own motorcycle. He's helped a little with the Batmobile, but cars honestly aren't his thing.
Highly Educated: Robin is a Mathlete honoree who can speak (but not all fluently) in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Romany, Japanese, Tameranian, and American Sign Language.
[/ul]
Weapons:
Code Word: Titans Forever
