Costume Rating 12: Nightwing's third costume

[Podmark]

And now we come to Nightwing's third costume. The same one he wore when his ongoing series launched.


So what do you think?

[Cyber Burn]

Personally, this has always been a favorite for me. It's clean, it's streamlined, it's stealthy. It can pass as a costume for a protege of Batman, and still maintains a unique look.

[bat1987]

Love it, very sleek and fits the character. Also like the fact that gaunlets are used as an utilty belt of his.

Also great image choice, that McDaniel drawing is the first that comes to mind for me when someone mentions this suit.

[Tomato]

This is, was, and forever shall be Nightwing for me. Just a classically cool costume.

[Podmark]

I love this costume. Perfect combination of colours and design. It looks sleek, urban and keeps enough of the bat family mystique. Also love the escrima sticks as weapons. Did he use those before?
I sometimes comes down against simple costumes like this but here I think it works perfectly. I've always thought this costume was great.

[BentonGrey]

3: Ehh, I know a lot of people love this one, but to me it seems like an excellent example of the other side of the continuum from his busier, messier costumes.  You've got perfect costumes, elegant, simple, and complete, like the original JLA line-up (for the most part), that are in the center, the place of iconic perfection, and then you've got over designed costumes like Nightwing's first on one end, with too-plain, too-simple costumes, like this, on the other.  It isn't bad, but it isn't terribly special, and there is nothing, other than the mask, that really identifies this as relating to either Batman or Robin.  It's just too plain, especially when placed alongside the rest of the Bat-Family.  That's one of the reasons I've never cared for this version of the character.  If he had something like the Red Robin costume, I'd be a lot more interested.

[Tomato]

Honestly Benton, I think your bias is showing a bit. 

That being said, I can almost see where you're coming from, but I am VERY grateful that they went with this costume rather than something like the Red Robin outfit for one simple reason: it's Blue, not Red.

That may not seem like a big deal, but compare Dick Grayson's Nightwing costume to the primary colors of the other adult Titans shown here. Flash-Red, Red Arrow/Arsenal-Red, Tempest-Red, Changeling-Red/White. And then of course, there's the Batman Family. In both cases, the fact that his costume is blue makes his costume pop in group shots, rather than having the costume fade into a sea of red.

Which is exactly what Nightwing's costume does in shots of the Batman family now, because you've got a good 5 Bat-related characters (Robin, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Batwoman) with Red as their primary color. It looks absolutely ridiculous.

[Podmark]

That's a pretty cool point there, Tomato. I rarely think of Dick as a Titan but his colour really works there, and as you show it even makes sense with the Bat Family.
Of course I'm sure Perez was well aware of that when he created the original Nightwing costume.

[Glitch Girl]

There's nothing I can add that hasn't already been said.  I really love this look: it fits his modus operundi and it looks really striking.

[BentonGrey]

Honestly Benton, I think your bias is showing a bit. 

That may be true to an extent, 'Mato, but I think I've managed to be somewhat objective about this, all things considered.   I really don't think it works as well as it might, aesthetically, and I really do think it's too plain.  Just put him alongside the iconic DC costumes.  He fades into the background.

That being said, I can almost see where you're coming from, but I am VERY grateful that they went with this costume rather than something like the Red Robin outfit for one simple reason: it's Blue, not Red.

That may not seem like a big deal, but compare Dick Grayson's Nightwing costume to the primary colors of the other adult Titans shown here. Flash-Red, Red Arrow/Arsenal-Red, Tempest-Red, Changeling-Red/White. And then of course, there's the Batman Family. In both cases, the fact that his costume is blue makes his costume pop in group shots, rather than having the costume fade into a sea of red.

Now that's an interesting point, and well taken.  In terms of the Titans, Red wouldn't have been as striking, though it's less of a problem for the New Titans.  Still, I think that the picture you posted makes my point for me more eloquently than I could have managed on my own.  Look at that group shot.  Dick is by far the least visually interesting character in the bunch.  Everyone else has more going on and a more interesting aesthetic.  While not all of the Titan's costumes are great, they do still illustrate how plain Nightwing's is.  His second Nightwing costume would look better (sans mullet) in that ensemble.  At least it wouldn't fade into the background.

Which is exactly what Nightwing's costume does in shots of the Batman family now, because you've got a good 5 Bat-related characters (Robin, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Batwoman) with Red as their primary color. It looks absolutely ridiculous.

Haha, that argument doesn't mean much to me, but I take your point.

To be fair, though, the version with the stylized bird instead of just a blue stripe is better:
http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/14487/3478661-nightwing2.jpg

This one is over-designed and armored, but the touches of blue on the lower body are interesting:
http://www.comicvine.com/images/1300-3307908

[Tomato]

I'll agree 100% with that last bit Benton. I've always preferred the bird logo more than the random wing thing, and versions that have blue in the lower half, even just touches of it, are more appealing. I just don't think the Red Robin outfit would have helped him any, is all I'm saying.

Edit: I should mention that part of my prejudice against red comes from the new52 in general... so many of the characters are red in the new 52 that it's gotten rediculous. Red Robin, Wonder Girl, Superboy, Beast Boy (who is FINALLY green again, but still), etc.

[BentonGrey]

I see what you did there, 'Mato.  "Red"iculous indeed.

Well, don't expect me to defend the New 52.    You know me, I tend to think in terms of the Bronze Age and my own little version of the DCU, so whatever current stupidity is going on doesn't really affect how I view these characters. 

Yeah, the bird makes more sense, and it feels a lot more like something that the man who was Robin might do.  You know, some blue boots and blue trunks, or at least a blue belt, might go a long way to salvaging this design.  At the least, blue boots would provide some more balance and interest, plus what is a Bat-Family character without a utility belt?

This isn't a particularly good version, but I like the Bat-type bracers and greaves:
http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2013/055/1/7/nightwing_by_salamandra88-d5w313m.jpg

[Tomato]

The "Under the Red Hood" variation is pretty nice, IMHO. Would prefer it with the bird logo, but it works. Injustice is decent, if maybe a touch too busy. Maybe a simplified version of it would be best.

[Podmark]

To be fair, though, the version with the stylized bird instead of just a blue stripe is better:
http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/14487/3478661-nightwing2.jpg

This is nice, but honestly I don't mind the chevron.

I definitely wouldn't want a belt or briefs on this cosume. One of the things I like about this look is how sleek it looks and adding something significant to the waist would break that up. I'm open to alternate boots and gloves though.