One of the most popular characters in DC’s stable, Nightwing is one of the hero personalities of Dick Grayson.
Richard “Dick” Grayson was born into an acrobatic circus family, which he lost at the age of nine. He joined Batman as Robin and later grew into an independent hero. The Nightwing logo has gone through multiple modifications.
During his stay at Metropolis, Dick Grayson was under the influence of Superman, who inspired him to become an independent superhero. It was then that Dick created the “Nightwing” concept. The name was inspired by one of Superman’s past Kryptonian friends.
The comics issued in the 1980s reflected the transition from Robin to Nightwing. You can notice that while Dick was still wearing the same Robin costume, he was depicted as an older, more muscular teenager. This can be seen, for instance, in the issues of the Teen Titans of the era.
If you open the issue of the Teen Titans #44 (1984), you’ll see Dick Grayson in the costume of Nightwing. Artist George Perez, who was responsible for the work, depicted him in an absolutely new full-body acrobat suit dominated by blue with yellow highlights. The costume was nicknamed “disco” outfit.
In the early 1990s, the blue on Nightwing’s costume grew darker, while the yellow grew brighter. The overall look became more extreme.
The comics published in the mid-‘90s featured a more streamlined costume. The black bodysuit sported a dynamic blue bird. Interestingly, this look even influenced the way Dick Grayson looked in the 1997’s Batman & Robin. His costume became sleeker and had an apparent “bird” influence, although the palette was different.
This was the way it looked when Nightwing appeared in the Animated Series and video game consoles for 2003’s Batman: The Rise of Sin Tzu.
In 1996, the bird on the Nightwing logo looked very thin – it was more of an outline than a real bird. Only a year later, the symbol became much more prominent and “fleshy.” Now, it had a pair of large wings and a tail, as well as a head with a large beak. The figure was based on a triangle shape and had a geometric style. There were a lot of sharp angles and not a single rounded line.
This emblem remained almost unchanged for over a decade. You could see it, for instance, in the comics issued in 2012. There were only a couple of modifications, like the introduction of sharper angles on the ends of the wings.
However, during this period, Nightwing made an appearance with a completely different emblem – a red, more abstract flying creature. While its overall triangular shape was pretty similar to the basic blue bird, there were by far fewer details now.
The costumes Dick Grayson wore in the game Batman: Arkham City and the 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight sported a rather abstract blue bird without many details.
Blue is the color used for the Nightwing logo most often.