Flying Graysons

The Flying Graysons are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They were a family of trapeze artists in Haly's Circus, of which Dick Grayson was a member. After his parents are killed by mob boss Tony Zucco in retaliation for the circus' boss not paying him protection money, the orphaned Dick is adopted by Bruce Wayne aka Batman and becomes his sidekick, Robin.

"John Grayson (comics)" redirects here. For the League of Champions superhero, see John Grayson (Heroic Publishing).

Flying Graysons
The Flying Graysons, as the appeared in Robin Annual #4 (April 1995). Art by Jason Armstrong.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceDetective Comics, Vol 1 #38 (April 1940)
Created byBill Finger
Bob Kane
In-story information
Member(s)Dick Grayson
John Grayson
Mary Grayson

The Flying Graysons have been featured in several media adaptions outside of comics, commonly as part of Robin's origin story.

Fictional team history

The Flying Graysons are a group of trapeze artists consisting of father John, mother Mary, and son Dick Grayson.[1] They worked at Haly's Circus and were famed for always working without a net. During a trapeze show, crime boss Tony Zucco sabotaged their trapeze in retaliation for Mr. Haly not paying him protection money, resulting in John and Mary's death.[2] Following the accident, Mr. Haly paid the money he owed to Zucco. Bruce Wayne was at the circus at the time and witnessed the accident. Remembering what had happened to him as a child, he decided to take in the young Dick. Eventually, Bruce officially adopted Dick and, after revealing his identity as the superhero Batman to him, the latter became his sidekick, Robin. Batman and Robin then avenged the latter's parents by bringing Zucco to justice.[3]

In the Bronze Age, a few years after the death of John and Mary Grayson, Haly's Circus created an all-new Flying Graysons, but one of them was a criminal and was captured by Robin.

During the "Blackest Night" storyline, John and Mary Grayson were brought back from death by the Black Lantern rings and attacked Dick, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne.[4]

Other versions
  • In Frank Miller's All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder on Earth-31, they appear in the first issue.
  • An alternate timeline version of the Flying Graysons appears in Flashpoint.
  • An Earth-37 Thrillkiller version of John, Mary and Dick Grayson are Petra Graustark, Johan Graustark and Rickart Graustark.
  • The Flying Graysons appears in the Lil Gotham comics.
  • The Flying Graysons appear in the Batman & Robin Adventures comic (based on Batman: The Animated Series).
  • A poster of the Flying Graysons appears in Teen Titans Go! #47.
  • The Flying Graysons appear in issue 6 of the Young Justice comics. They are featured in a flashback when Robin recaps his history. This version of the Flying Graysons also consisted of Richard "Rick" Grayson (John's brother), Rick's wife Karla, and their son John II. While John, Mary, Karla, and John II were killed in the trapeze accident caused by Tony Zucco, Rick survived and was paralyzed from the fall.

In other media

Television
  • The Flying Graysons appears in the Batman: the Animated Series two-part episode "Robin's Reckoning", with John Grayson voiced by an uncredited Thomas F. Wilson and Mary Grayson voiced by an uncredited Diane Pershing. When Mr. Haly refused to pay protection money to Tony Zucco, the Flying Graysons' trapeze set was sabotaged where the ropes broke during a performance. Bruce Wayne adopted Dick Grayson after that since nobody else in Haly's Circus wanted to take them in just in case Zucco targeted them as well.
  • The Grayson's deaths appear briefly in a flashback in the Teen Titans episode "Haunted".
  • The Flying Graysons appears in The Batman episode "A Matter of Family" with John Grayson voiced by Kevin Conroy and Mary Grayson voiced by Grey DeLisle. In this show, John also doubles as the manager of Haly's Circus. The family was confronted by Tony Zucco and his brothers who wanted them to pay protection money which also resulted in Batman showing up. Zucco vowed revenge after one of his brothers was arrested and secretly removed the nuts from the trapeze. Before Dick can join in on the trapeze act during the circus event, Mary noticed something was wrong as the trapeze as it comes apart. Mary's final words as she and John fell was "Dick". When Dick later became Robin, he rescued Batman from Zucco's trap and helped to bring him to justice.
  • A poster of the Flying Graysons appears in the Young Justice episode "Performance".
  • John and Mary appear in the Gotham episode "The Blind Fortune Teller" with John Grayson portrayed by Rob Gorrie and Mary portrayed by Abbi Snee. While John Grayson and the Flying Graysons are the acrobats, Mary started out as Mary Lloyd whose family worked as circus clowns. During a circus show, the Graysons led by John's brother Alphonse Grayson (portrayed by Slate Holmgren) and the Lloyds led by Mary's uncle Owen Lloyd (portrayed by Jeremy Bobb) feuded over John and Mary's relationship until it was broken up by James Gordon. Owen even mentioned to Gordon that their feud with the Flying Graysons started when Alphonse accused Owen's great-grandfather Barry of stealing a horse. After Lila Valeska was found murdered, Alphonse and Owen were the likely suspects. When Jerome Valeska was apprehended as the real culprit, the two families reconcile as John and Mary plan on getting married. They thank Jim Gordon for his help and promise to name their son after him.
  • John and Mary Grayson are mentioned in Teen Titans Go! episodes "Let's Get Serious" and "Batman v Teen Titans: Dark Injustice" before appearing in Robin's imagination in "Rad Dudes with Bad Tudes", with John Grayson voiced by Greg Cipes and Mary Grayson voiced by Tara Strong.
  • The ancestors of John Grayson appear in the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Freakshow". They appear as a members of P. T. Barnum's traveling circus.
  • The Flying Graysons appears in the Titans in various flashbacks with Mary Grayson portrayed by April Brown Chodkowski and John Grayson portrayed by Randolf Hobbs.

Film

The Flying Graysons appear in Batman Forever with John Grayson portrayed by Larry A. Lee and Mary Grayson portrayed by Glory Fioramonti. In this version, the Flying Graysons are not a trio, but rather a quartet, with the fourth member being Dick's older brother Mitch (portrayed by Chris O'Donnell's stunt double Mitch Gaylord). During a performance, Two-Face infiltrates the circus where they are working and creates a hostage situation, threatening to detonate a bomb unless Batman surrenders himself. The Graysons manage to get rid of the bomb, throwing it into the river, but Two-Face killed John, Mary, and Mitch by destroying the trapeze set before escaping.

Video games

Flying Graysons posters appear throughout Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Origins.

References
  1. Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 161. ISBN 9780345501066.
  2. Fleisher, Michael L. (1976). The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume 1: Batman. Macmillan Publishing Co. p. 202. ISBN 0-02-538700-6. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  3. Detective Comics #38. DC Comics.
  4. Blackest Night: Batman #1. DC Comics.
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