Nightwing was the first Robin and first protege of Batman. He later took the codename Nightwing and continued working alongside Batman. Nightwing's signature weapons are a pair of batons that can fire a grapnel line, fire a projectice, or emit an electric charge. Combined with Nightwing's escrima stick training, they make for a formidable short range weapon.
While on patrol, Nightwing mistook Cheetah for Catwoman and followed her into the Jewelry Store. He quickly became outnumbered and outpowered by the arrival of Killer Croc. Nightwing hit the alarm but was annoyed to see the Flash respond. As the Flash worked Croc, Nightwing continued his fight with Cheetah but was soundly beaten. Suspicious of the team up, Nightwing uploaded footage of the battle to Batman's subnet. Batman had to respond to another crime at the Gotham National Bank and left it up to Nightwing to track down Cheetah and Croc. Batman later deduced all the animal-inspired villains would appear the Gotham Zoo. Nightwing and Red Robin went after Man-Bat and found him the bat exhibit. Nightwing quietly scaled the wall but Red Robin impulsively threw a Birdarang at Man-Bat's head. Nightwing watched as Man-Bat flew away with Robin in tow. Nightwing pursued and insisted to the other heroes he had everything under control. He threw his electrified baton at Man-Bat and Red Robin was released.
When the Cyber-Animals arrived, Nightwing helped set a trap at a construction site on 23rd. He took to the site's crane and moved a stack of girders into position. As Batman drove under it, he fired and the girders landed on the Blade Wolf. Nightwing threw an electrified baton at the wolf and knocked it offline. Batman and Nightwing infiltrated Bumbershoot Mechanics and hoped to extract Dr. Langstrom but fought Man-Bat and Killer Croc instead. Nightwing fought against Croc again but he was knocked out when Penguin tasered him from behind. Croc threw Nightwing out a window but Flash ran up the side of the building and saved him. As the heroes prepared for the assault on the Aviary, Nightwing noticed Flash's apprehensiveness and tried to console him. To his dismay, Flash hugged him. Nightwing helped fight off the Cyber-Animals until Red Robin neutralized them with a computer virus then gathered replacement parts for Penguin's control system with the Flash. After the city was saved, Flash thanked Nightwing again and proposed they team up again someday. Nightwing pointed out he was giving him the slowest goodbye ever.
Red Robin and Nightwing later pursued Killer Croc in sector 12 of the city. The chase moved down to the sewers. Both were overcome by the stench but luckily, Batman came to their aid. He took out the two crocodiles launching themselves from behind at the duo then gave them breather masks. Robin then created a smokescreen on Croc and Nightwing took him out with a flying kick. Batman and Nightwing fought Silverback in Bumbershoot Mechanics. Armed with a new energy blaster harness, Silverback began to focus on Batman. Nightwing swung across the ceiling and made his way behind Silverback and knocked him out with one of his sticks. Nightwing and Red Robin took on a group of 10 masked thieves in the Jewelry Store. After taking down five each, they took on an angry Silverback to break the tie.
On Halloween night, Nightwing was on a patrol alone and sighted Solomon Grundy and Silver Banshee. Green Arrow arrived and took aim at the car they stole. Nightwing leaped into the car and fought Banshee. They managed to reach a rendezvous point and were saved by Scarecrow. While Nightwing was disoriented by Fear Toxin, Banshee punched him out. The next night, he responded to a burglary at Gotham Power. He saw Solomon Grundy and alerted Batman. He landed on an ice cream truck Grundy loaded an atomic battery into. After telling an electric pun, Nightwing saw Joker was the driver of the truck. Grundy tried to rip Nightwing in half like a wishbone but he activated the tasers in his sticks and got free. Grundy slapped him into a wall and took off after the Joker. The next night, Dick Grayson attended the Gotham Museum's gala opening of a new Inca installation on Batman's suspicion the Joker would hit it. His hunch was correct. In the Batmobile, Nightwing and Arrow chased after Joker and his team.
Joker's Digital Laughing Virus infected the Batmobile. Unable to control it, they hit Ace then crashed into the side of a building. In a race against time to figure out where the Joker's hideout was, Nightwing used an outdated cell phone to record his news dispatches. Nightwing managed to isolate a slight reoccurring sound. Batman realized it was a navigational buoy. Combined with Arrow's analysis of Clayface samples, Batman concluded Joker was on the Boardwalk. They executed a raid. Nightwing searched the House of Mirrors for Scarecrow. Taunted by Scarecrow, he shattered a mirror and was doused in Fear Toxin. Having already conquered his fears at a young age, Nightwing played along with Scarecrow's psycho-analysis of his need to be in control. Scarecrow showed himself to apply the finishing blow with a sickle and was shocked when Nightwing blocked it. He tossed some globules and ran for it. Nightwing taunted Scarecrow then punched him out. Once all the villains were secured, the Joker returned with Cyborg, Ace, the Batmobile, and the Batplane under his control.
Nightwing leaped atop the Batplane. He used the knife function in one of his sticks and cut into the plane's panel then punched some exposed circuits. The plane crashed into the bay below. Nightwing dived, then shot a grapnel line at the bridge, and swung into the bay. Batman, Nightwing and Green Arrow came to Red Robin's aid against Cyborg. After Arrow doused Cyborg in water, Nightwing dropped one of his sticks, set on taser, into the water. Cyborg was electrocuted into submission. While Batman fought Joker's artificial intelligence, there was a parade held in Joker's honor. Nightwing dropped on Scarecrow's float and tasered him from behind. As the tide turned in Batman's favor, Cyborg was forced to fly to the parade and fought Nightwing, Red Robin, and Arrow. Nightwing tried throwing his stick, on taser, at him but it had no effect. Cyborg tossed it back at him. Once the artificial intelligence malfunctioned, Cyborg returned to normal but Joker terrorized the city in his Robo Rampage Armor as a second attempt started.
World War II era vehicles were borrowed from the Gotham Museum in lieu of all standard technology still being offline. Nightwing and Red Robin drove motorcycles and doused the armor in explosives. After Batman and Cyborg saved the world and stopped Joker, Nightwing helped search the Gotham Bay for him but came up empty. Batman asserted Joker would be back. Soon after, Red Robin and Nightwing battled Clayface in a factory. They performed an aerial combination move where Nightwing grabbed the other end of Robin's staff and swung him. Building up enough centripetal force, Robin launched into Clayface but went right through him. He turned into a mace ball until Nightwing tasered him. He knocked them aside and jumped to the lower level then split into two. Red Robin and Nightwing each unknowingly fought Clayface disguised as the other hero. When the real Red Robin and Nightwing quarreled, they were tipped off when the Clayfaces knocked a barrel over. Red Robin tossed his birdarangs and Nightwing, his staves, at two large canisters as Clayface ran for it. He was frozen in place by the leaking liquid nitrogen.
Nightwing helped test the new upgrades to the Batmobile and Batplane from Kirk Langstrom. On the BatATV, Nightwing fired missiles that unleashed a foam barrier in front of the entrance to the tunnel the Batmobile intended to use. It borrowed the wings off the Batplane and took off into the sky. Nightwing was caught off guard and did a hard brake but was launched into the foam. Nightwing, while on the Batcycle, was chased through the city by Chemo. He dodged chemical blasts and thrown cars until Batman came up on the cycle's view screen. They made there way to each other and tricked Killer Croc and Chemo into colliding into each other. Nightwing and Batman took on Mr. Freeze after he froze the city. Nightwing was unable to fire the Batmobile's missiles at the Freeze-Mech and had to retreat, in frustration, to avoid Freeze's blasts. He later caught up to Batman, who combined the Batplane's parts to the Batmobile, and the two reunited and took down Freeze and his mech. Nightwing piloted the Batplane and opened a barrage of missiles on giant Bane and Croc as they assaulted Arkham Asylum then recaptured Joker, Penguin, and Scarecrow with a net.