The Song That Was Playing When My Story Began
Many moons ago, on the very day I was born, the number one song at the time was “Fly, Robin, Fly!” by Silver Convention. It almost seems predestined that one of my all-time favourite heroes is Richard Grayson, a.k.a. Robin, and later Nightwing. This is a post dedicated to himâindeed, SuperMell wouldn’t exist without Nightwing’s inspiration with the costume.
This isn’t just a post about a superhero though. I grew up with him, and in many ways, grew alongside him. He’s always been a part of my life in some way, shape or form. This is the story of how one fictional character can impact the life of one girl. That ideaâof evolving rather than escaping your originâis something Iâve explored before in Origin Rewritten: Becoming the Hero I Needed Back Then.
Finding Robin: My First Hero
As early as I can remember, I quickly became a fan of Robin. Watching old reruns of the 1960s Batman TV show, and the Super Friends cartoon was how I was introduced to him. In fact, I think he may have been my first crush. I didn’t know the difference between live action and cartoons, so I thought he was the same person. He was so cool, so smart, and, honestly? Every time he said, “Holy [whatever], Batman!”, the young me thought he was swearing, which made him seem edgy as well.
The rest of my early formative years, I spent watching more of Robin in the various DC cartoons, In fact, you could argue I grew up with Robin as he was growing up. The thing that set him apart from all the other superheroes was that he was a kid. A teen sidekick. He was closer to my age and had no real superpowers, but was incredibly athletic and could always solve riddles like they were no big deal.
Growing Up Alongside Him
When I became a teenager, Robin had grown up into a young adult and took on a new persona as Nightwing. I struggled as a teenager due to many years being bullied at school. That period shaped how I saw myself for years, something I later unpacked more fully in End of Arc: The Year I Reclaimed My Power. I wasn’t allowed to play with toys anymore, because I was too old, yet not old enough.
In Junior High School I developed epilepsy in my teens and had a huge seizure that had me hospitalized. On that fateful day, I was given two comic books: one of which was Secret Origins featuring the Teen Titans.
Even though it was a spotlight on the Teen Titans, this story was all about Robin becoming Nightwing, growing up, making mistakes, becoming a leader. This issue reignited my love for him, and I became a comic book collector soon after.
Becoming Nightwing
His journey from sidekick to a hero in his own right didn’t happen gracefully. He had a falling out with his mentor/father, Batman. He struggled with his feelings about Bruce a lot in those days. I suppose that’s what happens sometimes when kids grow into young adults. They suddenly don’t agree with their parents or want to do things their own way. Not necessarily to be argumentative, but because you have to figure things out yourself. And sometimes parents make mistakes, too. Maybe their way isn’t necessarily the right way!
Becoming Mell
In a strange way, I found myself relating deeply to this chapter of Graysonâs story. Watching him navigate the complicated space between guidance and independence mirrored something I was experiencing in my own life at the time. Seeing a hero choose his own path mirrored something I was slowly learning myselfâwhat it means to become a hero of my own choosing.
Early adulthood is often a period of frictionânot because of conflict, but because of growth. You begin to question who you are, what you believe, and how you want to move through the world. Sometimes that process comes with tension, even in loving families, simply because becoming yourself requires redefining old dynamics.
Seeing that struggle reflected in a fictional hero helped more than I realized at the time. It was comforting to know that uncertainty, disagreement, and distance didnât mean failureâthey were part of becoming something more whole. Even in a comic book, it reminded me that growth doesnât happen without a little discomfort, and that relationships can evolve rather than break.
That realization stayed with me.
Why Nightwing Still Matters to Me
Other iterations of Nightwing have also been nice to watch, namely in the DC animated universe, and even the Titans live action show, which was awesome, by the way! I like how his character evolved in Young Justice. I loved how his character handled dealing with an unknown son of Batman in the Son of Batman animated movie, then later with the Teen Titans cartoon of the same style and voice actors.
Nightwing evolved from a spunky extroverted acrobat, to a troubled young adult, to a hero of his own choosing. Sure, he still gets inspiration from Batman (I mean, Nightwing is directly related to Batman), but he does things his own way. He refused to be just like Bruce and became more of what he used to be before the trauma. In other words, he actually healed from his traumaâand he has made some amazing friends along the way.
While I am not an extrovert, nor an athletic beast as Grayson is, I always found his character to be captivating. He grew up, became his own person, and found a way back to having a healthy relationship with his adopted father. Where Bruce embraced the darkness, Robin excelled at the limelight. I mean, he grew up in a circus, performing as a young kid of 10 years old on the trapeze. He was born to be a star.
When I chose my SuperMell moniker, the costume was directly inspired by Nightwing’s costume, only changed the blue to purple, and the exaggerated bird on his chest to a stylized M. He’s been such a huge influence to me that I couldn’t have imagined another type of costume. Blue is Grayson’s favourite colour. Mine is purple.
Rockin’ Robin
Richard Grayson has been a huge influence on my life since I can remember. Besides Fly, Robin, Fly, there was also Rockin’ Robin by Jackson Five that always made me think of the superhero and not the bird (I do love the bird, too, though). I decided to write this post about him because I wouldn’t have grown into the person I am today without seeing his journey into a hero of his own design.
Who is your favourite superhero? What about that hero inspires you to be a better person? Share in the comments. I’d love to hear your story.