'Titans': See Your First Look at the DC Universe Show's Version of Nightwing Here (Photos)

Fans of crime fighting orphans and black and blue tights, your ship has finally come in. On Thursday just ahead of next week’s Season 2 finale, DC Universe unveiled the super-suit that will be worn by Dick Grayson in his Nightwing persona during the third season of “Titans.” And we’ve got pics for you here.

For the uninitiated, Nightwing is the superhero alias adopted by Dick Grayson, Batman’s original Robin, after he strikes out on his own. As originally depicted in a 1984 storyline by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, after 6 years as Robin, 19-year-0ld Dick has a falling out with Batman and is essentially fired. After some soul searching, he adopts the name Nightwing and continues to lead the Teen Titans (the group from which “Titans” takes its name) through some harrowing times.

Following the 1985 crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths” the character’s origin story was tweaked slightly (he was dismissed after being shot by the Joker), but he continues to lead the Teen Titans while occasionally popping up to help Batman in Gotham City. Eventually Grayson moves to the nearby city of Bludhaven, where in his civilian identity he joins the police department in order to battle corruption, and as Nightwing serves as the city’s official superheroic protector.

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The Season 2 finale of “Titans” airs Nov. 29, which means we’ll still have to wait a year to see how Brenton Thwaites, who plays Dick Grayson on “Titans,” will actually look in the costume. But you can see it on a super-buff mannequin in the photos below.

First up, a side by side comparison of the show’s costume — which was designed by Laura Jean Shannon, and built by Creative Character Engineering — and how it currently looks in the comics.

Nightwing Suit Titans Version and Comics

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Television and DC Comics

Like a lot of comics-to-live action transitions, the “Titans” version is more like armor than high tech spandex, but Shannon and her team have preserved the essence of the comics version in some cool ways. I particularly like how the blue bird emblem still extends to the shoulders (see a closer look at the top of the page) — and of course who doesn’t love a good domino mask.

Next, here’s a fuller look at the TV show’s version of the suit:

Photo credit: Warner Bros. Television

Of course, while the “Titans” version tracks pretty closely to how the outfit currently looks in the comics, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find out that Nightwing’s costume has changed a lot in the 35 years since the superhero persona was introduced. And we mean, a lot. Allow me to introduce you to the very first version, from “Tales of the Teen Titans” issue 44:

Image Credit: DC Comics, art by George Perez

To be honest, I kind of have to insist that “Titans” put Dick Grayson in this magical example of 1980s pizzazz at some point, because it truly is, objectively, the best. Laura Jean Shannon, if you’re reading this, consider this a pathetic beg.

Every DC Comics Movie Ranked From Worst to Best, Including 'Joker'

The DC Comics universe hasn't flooded the big screen quite the way Marvel ones have, but the DC brand has been hitting the big screen longer in the modern era. We ranked all those modern flicks, from "Superman: The Movie" to this year's "Shazam" and "Joker"
35. "Jonah Hex" (2010)

Despite the efforts of Josh Brolin and Michael Fassbender, this is one of the worst comic book movies of the modern era.
34. "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987)

Christopher Reeve is by far the best Superman. But "Superman IV" is a bomb in every sense -- partly because of its heavy-handedness about bombs. Nuclear bombs. The film finds Superman trying to eliminate the world's nuclear threat, but his best intentions run afoul of a silly, badly dated villain named Nuclear Man.
33. "Supergirl" (1984)

We had a female-superhero movie in 1984, and it was pure cheese. But hey, at least they tried. The best thing I can say about it is there are worse things in life than this movie.
32. "Suicide Squad" (2016)

Less a movie than it is a fever dream of unrelated sequences and montages that somehow end up using more than two hours of your time. Totally incomprehensible experience.

And, no, the extended cut doesn't do anything that warrants improving its standing.
31. "Steel" (1997)

Best known as "the one Shaq was in back when he tried acting," "Steel" is pretty bad. But the fun kind of bad.
30. "Justice League"

Warner Bros has continued to innovate in how to make bad DCEU movies, with "Justice League" managing to be terrible in a totally different way from "Batman v Superman" and "Suicide Squad."
29. "Man of Steel" (2013)

Could have been worse, I guess. But it's still morally gross and has a plot that doesn't make sense. That it's very pretty to look at doesn't override those things nearly enough to make it watchable.
28. "Joker" (2019)

This is not a good characterization of the Joker as a human being, and aside from that it's just a soulless, meaningless experience.
27. "Catwoman" (2004)

Thoroughly horrible, but somehow amusing even so. Sad that it's seemingly been swept into the litter box of history.
26. "Batman & Robin" (1997)

Rightly hated, but it's tremendously entertaining here and there. Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzeneggar are going so far over the top I can't help but admire them.
25. "Superman III" (1983)

Featured a brilliant corporate rip-off -- one later referenced in "Office Space" -- but the attempt to funny things up with the addition of Richard Pryor didn't gel. There was also a weird bit about a weather satellite creating bad weather, which isn't what weather satellites do. Seeing Clark Kent fight Superman was pretty cool, though.
24. "Green Lantern" (2011)

Overreliance on cartoony visual effects during a period when big blockbusters were moving away from that aesthetic meant this was a movie nobody liked. Not that it was especially horrible. It just looked like a dumb cartoon and is hard to watch.
23. "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012)

Probably wasn't intended to be a grim and gritty Shumacher Batmovie, but that is indeed what it is. This is Nolan going full Hollywood, smashing plot points into place by sheer force of will rather than because they make sense. An extremely theatrical Tom Hardy as Bane is amusing front to back, and a nuke with a countdown clock on it will never get old.
22. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (2016)

A total mess that hates Superman and turns Batman into a total maniac. None of those things are good. Ben Affleck can't save the thing, but he's excellent nonetheless and gives it a huge bump it probably doesn't deserve.
21. "Watchmen" (2009)

I have no particular affection for the revered "Watchmen" comic the way a lot of other nerds do, so my distaste for this adaptation isn't personal. It just doesn't add up to nearly as much as it thinks it does.
20. "Batman" (1989)

Fondly remembered mostly because it was the first Batmovie in a couple decades. It isn't actually very good, though. The reveal that a younger version of the Joker killed Bruce Wayne's parents is as hamfistedly dumb as it gets in a "Batman" movie.
19. "V for Vendetta" (2006)

Felt nothing watching this. I tried, OK. It's impeccably made, though, and very watchable.
18. "The Losers" (2010)

Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Zoe Saldana. How was this movie not amazing?
17. "Batman v Superman Ultimate Edition" (2016)

Giving this its own slot because it fundamentally changes the narrative of the movie and the character of Superman in the DC Extended Universe. This version is still not great (especially at three freaking hours), but it's a monumental improvement over the theatrical version.
16. "Red 2" (2013)

Did you even know these were comic book movies? Whatever, it's a great cast in a serviceable action movie and everybody's having a good time. Hard to remember, but fun.
15. "Red" (2010)

Better than its sequel, but they're basically the same.
14. "Batman Forever" (1995)

Hits just the right tone for what Joel Shumacher was trying to do with the two films he directed. Tommy Lee Jones, as Two Face, is doing stuff in this movie that is hard to believe even today, given his perpetual sour face in nearly every other movie he's been in.
13. "Superman Returns" (2006)

Actually a pretty decent attempt by Bryan Singer to do a Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie in the present day, but Brandon Routh couldn't pull off the charisma it takes to be the Man of Steel. It was his first movie, so that's not surprising. But it's a shame, because Routh has gotten much better in the years since.
12. "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" (1993)

Remember that time they released a "Batman" cartoon theatrically? It gets lost amongst all the live-action ones, but "Mask of the Phantasm" is better than most of them.
11. "The Dark Knight" (2008)

Should be way shorter, but Heath Ledger's Joker is far and away the best villain in any of these movies. Ledger elevates what would otherwise be just another self-indulgent Christopher Nolan exercise into an endlessly watchable picture.
10. "The LEGO Batman Movie" (2017)

Funny, sweet and self-deprecating -- exactly what we needed in the wake of the disaster that was "Batman v Superman."
9. "Superman II" (1980)

Made kids everywhere cry as they watched Superman give up his powers for a normal life with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). There are different edits of this movie, and we frankly can't keep them straight. But the sight of a powerless Clark getting beat up in a diner made Superman as sympathetic as he's ever been.
8. "Wonder Woman" (2017)

Has the standard origin movie problem of "too much story, not enough time." And the standard DC Extended Universe problem of "We gotta have a nonsensical CGI battle at the end." But despite those caveats it's an enormous delight, and a big step forward for the DCEU.
7. "Batman Returns" (1992)

One of the best of the franchise because it's really just a political thriller. The Penguin emerges from the sewer and runs for mayor of Gotham! It's great stuff, especially as we continue to watch the rise of Trump in our world.
6. "Shazam" (2019)

It’s just so much fun! It’s a blast to watch, and is just a really nice celebration of the good parts of humanity. “Shazam” is a movie that simply feels good to watch.
5. "Constantine" (2005)

A happy balance of serious and ridiculous, manages to find exactly the right tone for this weird religious fantasy and a cast led by Keanu Reeves. They all seem to get it.
4. "Aquaman" (2018)

It's not often that we get a comic book movie that is: full on ridiculous; loves how ridiculous it is; and is made with skill by a legitimately great filmmaker. James Wan's "Aquaman" is all of that, and it's just a wonderful experience.
3. "Superman: The Movie" (1978)

This is the gold standard of Superman movies, and was the best superhero movie bar none for many, many years. John Williams' score soars, and so does the believable and compelling romance between Superman and Lois Lane. The film convincingly blended camp (in the form of Gene Hackman's wonderful Lex Luthor), an epic origin story that actually felt epic, and funny lines. The scene in which Supes and Lois fly together is one of the most beautiful metaphors for new love ever captured on film.
2. "Batman: The Movie" (1966)

Has a timelessness that none of the other films do, and it's just a delight from beginning to end thanks to Adam West's winking Batman and the coalition of villains who can't stop cackling maniacally. Watching it again recently, I found it functions almost perfectly as a parody of the super-serious Christopher Nolan Batfilms, which is incredible.
1. "Batman Begins" (2005)

The most complete film, on its own, in the entire live-action franchise. It's just, like, a regular movie... except it's about Batman. It has actual characters and everything, and Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne even has emotions. It's weird.

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How does the origin movie “Joker” fare in our rankings?

The DC Comics universe hasn't flooded the big screen quite the way Marvel ones have, but the DC brand has been hitting the big screen longer in the modern era. We ranked all those modern flicks, from "Superman: The Movie" to this year's "Shazam" and "Joker"

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'Titans': See Your First Look at the DC Universe Show's Version of Nightwing Here (Photos) - thewrap

Every DC Comics Movie Ranked From Worst to Best, Including 'Joker'