GraysonGenre: Action/Superhero
Director: Daniels
Writer: Jimmy Ellis
Based on DC Comics characters
Cast: Taron Egerton, Michael Pitt, Karl Glusman, Chris Zylka, Jimmi Simpson, Jonathan Pryce, Madelaine Petsch (cameo)
Plot: "I’m Done", two words that hang around in the air. Dick Grayson (Taron Egerton) walks away after the heated argument he just had with Bruce Wayne. After giving him some time to cool off, Barbara Gordon (Madelaine Petsch) comes to talk to him. He says he can no longer be here under Bruce’s control, he needs to leave, he adds there are other cities out there that need his protection. She asks why he doesn’t just go hang with his pals he met when the psions attacked. He says that he just wants to branch off and do his own thing for a while. She nods and says it will be different without him. She asks if he has told Alfred, he shakes his head no and asks Barbara to tell him for him. She agrees to this. She asks what’s next for him. He looks to her and says he is going to go to Bludhaven.
At a train station, Dick waits with Barbara. As the train arrives Dick gives her a hug, she thanks him for everything. He grabs his luggage and gets on the train. On the train ride he is hit with many different emotions; anger, relief, sadness and optimism, he is ready to start anew. However, these emotions couldn’t last much longer as the train had arrived at its destination: Bludhaven. Stepping off the train a wave of relief came over his face when he saw Roy Harper (Chris Zylka) a childhood friend. Roy is one of the only people on Earth who he trusts.
The two of them head off to a dingy part of town where Roy leads Dick to a small apartment. After a few words, Roy leaves Dick to himself in the apartment. Exploring, Dick finds a duffel bag with some money as well as a note saying that the “office” has been modified especially for Dick. Entering what he could only assume is the “office”, he sees that the room is decked out with surveillance monitors, racks to store gear and a mannequin for his suit. After placing his suit on the mannequin, he stares at it, somethings not right. After contemplation he approaches the suit and rips the robin logo off it. He is Robin no longer.
Meanwhile, in a warehouse a figure sits alone in the dark, toying with a gun. Another figure approaches the man and hands over a dossier, along with a check. The figure reaches a handout, before the seated man chuckles to himself, simply stating, “Business as usual.”
After being in Bludhaven for a few days know, Dick feels it’s time to hit the streets. He looks at his costume and takes a deep breath, before putting it on.
A man sits in a board room alone in the dark. A janitor enters the room, turning on the lights in the process. The man in the room jumps a bit and its revealed to be Roman Sionis (Michael Pitt). Sionis sits for an extra second staring into his mask, the eyes seemingly staring back at him. The janitor bumbles about for a bit and asks how he is here, back in the building. Sionis stands, “I own it don’t I.” The janitor afraid for his life continues to bumble on his words, he asks again, repeating himself, how he’s here. Sionis says he, once again escaped from prison, there is no locking him up, once he has connections, he has them for life. He walks closer and closer to the janitor before grabbing him by the throat and forcing him to the ground, the life leaves the janitors body fairly quickly.
Dick continues his patrol, finding multiple petty crimes in the process. After taking down a group of thugs, he turns a corner to see a cop car headed down the road. The cop slams on the brakes seeing him and steps out of the car. The cop, Macklin Arnot (Jimmi Simpson), tells him to freeze and get on the ground, Dick questions what to do. In a split second he takes off into an alleyway and begins scaling a buildings fire escape. Arnot yells after him, and runs into the alley, but stops at the sight of the criminals on the ground. He heads back to his car and calls in the attempted robbery, shaking his head at Bludhaven’s new vigilante.
Near the docks of the city, a figure approaches a van holding a briefcase. A group of men standing at the van look at him. He opens the briefcase. Inside is a set of weapons, all labelled, “Janus Weaponry”. The men hand over a briefcase full of cash, and the figure nods to them. As he heads away from the van a gunshot rings out.
Gar Lynns (Karl Glusman) walks the streets and arrives at his house. He heads down to the basement and opens a chest in it is his Firefly costume, he smiles, then closes it.
Dick Grayson goes on patrol once more, this time with more awareness of what he’s getting into. He stumbles upon an active crime scene investigation, with a group of men next to a van all laying dead on the ground. Sneaking around, he spots a piece of evidence on one of the cruisers with a logo on it. Using his masks recording lenses, he makes out that it belongs to Janus weaponry. He wonders to himself if Sionis broke out of prison again. Before he can think on it further, however he sees a figure moving in the distance. Taking off at a dead sprint, Dick tries to catch the figure, but to his surprise the figure had disappeared, almost as well trained as Dick himself.
Roman Sionis sits in his office, staring at a man in front of him. He slams his fist in the table in a rage, he then laughs it off before pulling a gun out and shooting the man in the chest. He grabs his phone and calls his secretary, asking to get in touch with his next appointment.
Meanwhile, Dick Grayson begins researching Janus Weaponry, he finds that Roman Sionis has not been reported as missing in prison but can sense that something is up. He goes to ring Bruce but doesn’t do it, he wants to prove that he can do it himself.
Another deal is going down at night in a different location. The men wait at the van for their suitor; however it is interrupted by Firefly. He begins burning the men, who scream. Dick Grayson who is on patrol again sees this and leaps into action. Firefly sees him and turns his attention to the former boy wonder. After taking some minor burns, he is able to incapacitate a rusty Firefly and get in touch with Bludhaven PD. He then goes to tend to the burnt men. But to his surprise, only 2 of the 3 men remained there. Firefly sees this as his opportunity to get away and flies into the distance. Hanging his head, Dick grabs the briefcase and searches the van before heading back to his apartment, trying to tend to his burns.
Back in Sionis’ office, a burned man rushes in, telling Sionis about what happened. A smile spreads across Sionis’ face before saying, “I can play with fire.”
A couple nights after, Gar Lynns walks toward his front door, jingling his keys as he moves. He opens the door but is immediately knocked out and dragged into his garage. Sitting in a chair in the center of the room is Roman Sionis. Roman tells his men to wake Gar up. They splash him with water and he wakes. Sionis makes his men pick him up. Roman offers him an ultimatum, telling him that if the “Firefly” helps him get rid of people who threaten his business, he’ll let him live, if not, then well, you know the rest. Gar takes up the offer, on one condition his Firefly costume gets a major upgrade. Sionis puts on his mask and begins laying out what he needs Gar to do.
Dick Grayson sits in his apartment toying with his gadgets. The missing person from the other night continuously pops in his head, until he can no longer sit still. He throws one of his wingdings into the wall, causing a loud thud as he leaps out of the window. Dick moves from rooftop to rooftop with grace and agility. He eventually arrives at Janus Weaponry. He scales a up to a window with the light on. Peering inside he sees its empty and slips in. Dick searches the room for any evidence of Sionis’ involvement. As he opens the desk draw, the cold metal of a gun touches his head. Dick turns to face Black Mask. Black Mask looks at Dick before barking orders out into the hallways. Gar Lynns walks in, completely decked out in a new Firefly suit. Black Mask goes to remove Dick’s mask, but he flips away from him, while also kicking the gun from his hand. Firefly flies toward Dick, grabbing him by the cape and flying him out the window. Black Mask sits at his desk before throwing his laptop across the room screaming. Fire streaks across the sky with Dick thrashing against Firefly’s hold. Firefly stops flying across the sky and flies up before his mask opens. He mouths, “I’m Sorry” to Dick. Dick tries to shout no but Firefly’s grip on him lets loose. Dick begins to plummet to the Earth, his cape covering his face. Dick falls helplessly through the sky, clawing at his cape. He eventually grabs a hold of either end and is able to glide, but his velocity causes him to slam into a dumpster and fade from consciousness.
Dick wakes in an all-white room with no trace of human touch. He walks around finding himself in a landscape of his own mind, and not somewhere of physical grasp. Suddenly the white walls begin to bubble and turn darker, until a figure lands behind him: Batman. It is just darkness, no Bruce. Dick faces his former mentor. He swings at the dark figure before being hit himself. Dick hits the ground and quickly gets back up, throwing a flurry of blows at the shadowy batman. Every one of his punches comes up empty as he is battered to the ground. Dick screams out in anguish as he fights harder before he falls through the figure and into: The Batcave. Batman descends upon him still on the hunt. Dick grabs a bo staff from the racks and uses it in his fight against Batman. The staff breaks in half. Dick screams at the figure and it seems to stop. He continues yelling at the shadowy figure, and everything seems to stop. He continues to yell at the figure all of the resentment he feels to the real Batman. The figure backs away into the shadows and Dick awakes screaming in his apartment. A man rushes to his side, and Dick sees his former butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Jonathan Pryce) standing there.
Dick begins questioning Alfred, before realising his Robin suit is completely burnt. Alfred explains that he found him in a dumpster after he saw the televised air fight between Firefly and the boy wonder. Dick tells Alfred he is free to leave but is immediately shut down. The two begin to discuss what happened. With Dick beginning to speak of his nightmare. Alfred tries to assure Dick that Bruce is nothing like what his dream showed, but Dick disagrees. He begins to explain his viewpoint of Bruce being a terrible tyrant, which angers Alfred. They begin to argue, with Dick standing up and screaming in Alfred’s face before Alfred strikes him. Dick holds his face, heat rising to it and shame rising within him. He apologises to Alfred and Alfred hugs the boy wonder with tears rolling down his cheeks. Dick explains to Alfred his anger towards himself for failing against Sionis and Firefly, to which Alfred begins to explain to him that he holds himself at too high a level. He explains that the world cannot be save alone, and accepting help is ok. Dick scoffs, mentioning Bruce’s loner tendencies, but Alfred stops him. He explains that Bruce has never been able to do this alone, and that he had to learn that lesson years ago. The realisation dawns upon Dick, he asks Alfred to stay with him to help put Sionis behind bars, once and for all. Alfred agrees to it, before Dick realising, he needs a new costume.
Meanwhile, Sionis paces in his office while Firefly sits in a chair, anger rising within them. A knock at the door end Sionis’ pacing, and an eerie calmness comes over him. He shouts for the knocker to come in, and in walks Roy Harper.
Alfred spins his chair around to face the computer monitors before Dick walks in wearing a makeshift costume. The suit is all black, with his old Robin mask still over his eyes.
At Janus Weaponry, Roy Harper cocks an arrow in place, before looking to his arm and seeing many needle marks. He begins to get nervous and scratches at the arm, before Sionis yells at him to get it together if he wants more money to feed that disgusting habit. Gar sits nearby, smiling as he waits.
Dick Grayson mimics the same pose, staring off the rooftop. He takes a breath, and leaps off, freefalling. He grabs at his belt and gets his grappling hook and shoots it to the next building, swinging himself onto some scaffolding. He parkours across the city moving with grace and fluidity. As soon as he arrives Black Mask spots him, he calls out to Firefly and Roy. Firefly puts his mask on and flies out the window, shooting flames at Dick. Dick begins to dodge the flames, when he begins to get the upper hand, an arrow whizzes past his head, almost hitting him. Dick sees Roy, and anger overtakes him. He dodges more arrows, before parkouring up a nearby building, taunting Firefly. Firefly rushes him as Roy fires an arrow, causing Dick to leap over Firefly, letting the arrow impale one of the tanks in his jetpack. Firefly falls to the ground as Dick watches in horror, Firefly lays motionless. Alfred calls a paramedic to the scene, while Dick scales the building to reach Roy. Once there, the two duel. Dick asks why he is doing this until he sees Roy’s arm. Dick says there are people who can help him not Sionis. Roy yells saying Dick doesn’t see, he never has, money is power. The two fight for a while longer, until Dick gets the upper hand and knocks Roy unconscious with the staff. He stands over Roy, before feeling the cold metal of the gun against the back of his head. Black Mask tells Dick not to move, but in one swift motion Dick disarms Black Mask and holds the gun against his head. Roman taunts Dick to shoot him, but Dick simply unmasks him and knocks him out. Red and Blue flashing lights arrive at the scene, causing Dick to begin to flee. He stops in front of Roy though, and apologises, but it had to be this way. As he flees into the night, two cops find Gar, Roy and Roman and take them off to prison.
Days later Dick is sitting in his building, thinking. He then stands and walks to his suit. Carrying his suit Dick walks into a closet and opens a briefcase. He takes the suit apart and places it into the suitcase, burying it deep in the closet. Alfred, next to Dick asks him what is next. Dick looks to him and tells him he wants to clean up the city the old-fashioned way.
Mid Credit Scene – Dick gets out of his car and walks into a building with paperwork in hand. He is asked by a woman if he is here for the Police Academy. Dick smiles saying yes.
