As the first member of Batman’s ever-growing Bat-Family,Nightwinghas slipped into more sets of spandex than most DC Comics characters combined, with his New 52 redesign being a controversial and short-lived look that still has fans debating its merits to this day. In a new cosplay,Nightwing’s red New 52 suitreturns to prove that this outfit was a criminally underrated part of his visual historythat deserves to make a comeback.
Reintroducing a comic costume that hasn’t been seen in nearly a decade, Caleb (@calebweekss) consistently shares unique cosplay designs on his Instagram page, with each new look taking the best elements of what makes these outfits great while tweaking them just enough to feel right at home in the real world.
Previously wearing homemade costumes of Nightwing in his traditional blue outfit, a lightly armored Robin, multiple versions of Batman, a Red Hood, Flash, and Green Lantern look, and much more, Caleb also embodies some of Marvel’s most popular characters, like The Punisher, Gambit, and Daredevil, to name a few.
Nightwing’s Divisive New 52 Design Makes a Comeback in DC Cosplay Design
Cosplay Design by Caleb (@calebweekss)
Similar to the rest of the DC Comics characters involved in the line-wide reboot that was 2011’s New 52 initiative,Nightwing, aka Dick Grayson, received a brand new costume that immediately divided fansfor its similarly designed yet different colored look. Keeping the black bodysuit but swapping out Nightwing’s blue tones for a starkly different shade of red, this suit also took after the more textured, layered, and “grounded” costume elements that a lot of the New 52 redesigns incorporated, making this suit, outside of its color change, a far more realistic version ofNightwing’s usual skin-tight, butt-hugging costume.
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Created alongside a few other talented creators, Caleb wearsNightwing’s New 52suit well, with the first post showing his custom costume from multiple angles. Donning a lightly armored outfit complete with a crimson chest logo, red arm, back, hip, and hand accents, and a pair of ruby shoulder pads, Caleb holds two escrima sticks that are also tinged red, bringing this look to life in a way that even haters of this costume can’t complain about. Providing clips of Caleb in action in costume next,it’s clear this design improves on an outfit that may never be seen again.
Nightwing’s Red and Black Outfit Gets the Proper Live-Action Design It Will Never Officially Get
ThoughNightwing has updated his go-to blue costume more than once since retiring this New 52 look— specifically in Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s recently concluded run with the character — fans should never say never when it comes to Dick donning it again in the future, as DC’s sprawling multiverse almost guarantees there’s a version of the character running around the rooftops of Bludhaven still wearing it.Nightwing’s red costumemay not be his best comic book look, but when it comes to the cosplay space, it’s most definitely one of his best live-action ones.
Source:@calebweekss
Nightwing
Nightwing is the superhero moniker taken up by Dick Grayson, upon his aging out of the Robin role and becoming a superhero of his own. Inspired by the original Kryptonian hero of the same name, Grayson has risen to comic book immortality with the identity, earning respect as one of the greatest leaders in the DC Universe.
