"Things change! I've changed!"
Things apparently started to sour the night Dick graduated from college. He graduated with highest honors, but Bruce was too busy doing Batman work to attend the ceremony. Dick and Barbara Gordon, in the meantime, went on a date, him stating that he got a trust fund from the circus, and that he was ready to be his own man. Dick then got a call from Batman, saying that he needed his help with a heist headed by The Joker. Dick arrived, with Batman complaining that he was late. The Dynamic Duo then went to stop the heist, but the Joker got away.
The Duo went on to interrogate a man that the Joker hired as a watchman. They catch him at his house with his wife and son present, and Batman then slams him into a wall to make him talk. Robin voiced his disapproval of how Batman was doing this in front of the man's family, but Batman insisted on continuing. Robin left in disgust.
Dick went to Barbara's house early in the morning. He told Barbara that he had to get away from Bruce, but wouldn't go into details. When Barbara asked, Dick just stormed out, saying that he had to figure it out on his own. Barbara then went to Bruce to talk about what was going on between them, and Bruce led Barbara to the Batcave, revealing that he is Batman and that he knew that Barbara was Batgirl. Alfred then lead the two to a television where the Joker was broadcasting his plans of his newest scheme to Gotham. With the radar jammer he stole, no airplane would be able to safely locate one another, causing them to crash into each other. The Joker then demanded a sum of forty million dollars in exchange for not activating the radar jammer. Bruce then asked Alfred to contact Robin, but Alfred said Robin wasn't available. Barbara then offered her help in Robin's place. Dick arrived in the Batcave shortly after they left, asking why Barbara's car was just outside. Alfred said that they two were running an errand, but Dick then realized the truth.
Batman and Batgirl went to stop The Joker from activating the jammer. Robin then rode his Robincycle to where the two went and arrived much later. The Joker then knocked Batgirl off the building, falling to her apparent doom, but Robin was able to save her. Robin demanded that they talk, but Batgirl wanted to take care of the Joker first. Batgirl was able to trick Joker into destroying his radar jammer, taking care of him.
With that done, Robin confronted Batgirl for keeping her secret identity from him. Batgirl then mentioned that Batman knew her identity, and this lead to Robin confronting Batman for putting her in danger. Batgirl mentioned that she volunteered, but Robin then recalled Batman's history of manipulating and pulling strings to get what he wants. Batman tries to reason with Dick, saying that they had the same goals, but Dick said "Things change. I change." Dick then called it quits for Batman's transgressions against him and Barbara. Batman tried to reason with him once more, but Dick just knocked him down with one punch, much to Batgirl's surprise, then he took off his mask and cape and left.
Back to the present, the new Robin asks if Nightwing still hasn't forgiven Batman for what he did. Nightwing says no, saying that Batman will never change. Nightwing and Robin find a wallet, and it happens to belong to the guy Batman brutally interrogated years ago. Apparently, after being confronted by Batman, he decided to get his life together, and now he had a great job as a Wayne Industries security guard. Nightwing is visibly impressed by Bruce's kindness towards him, with Robin remarking that Bruce did have a change of heart. The two then spot the Batsignal in the sky. Robin asks if Nightwing is coming, and Nightwing goes with him, saying that it's about time.
Tropes:
- Arc Words: "Things change."
- Book Ends: Dramatically speaking. Dick's first appearance was a Joker episode, and Joker is the main villain for his last adventure as Robin.
- Bottomless Magazines: The Joker fires a Thompson Submachine gun at full auto for half a minute without ever having to reload.
- Call-Forward: The flashback of Batgirl getting struck and sent falling off the tall building happens nearly the same way as the fatal fall depicted in Batgirl's nightmare in "Over the Edge". That nightmare reveals that the real fall from which she was narrowly rescued, affected Batgirl more deeply than she lets on.
- Calling the Old Man Out: After years of Bruce's distant and questionable mentorship, Dick's frustrations come to a head and he lashes out at Batman, with Batman's endangerment of Barbara being the last straw.
- Catch a Falling Star: Done somewhat right. Batgirl gets knocked off the tallest building in Gotham by the Joker just as Robin arrives. Robin hits the ejector on his cycle and is propelled up to her. He grabs her just after the apex of his flight (where his velocity is effectively near zero), and deploys his Grappling-Hook Pistol, swinging them in an arc to a nearby roof. Arcs are the safest way to dump kinetic energy without a lot of padding at the bottom.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: This was the last appearance of the Joker's henchmen Rocco and Henshaw. Somewhat justified as this is a Flashback taking place during the previous series, and by The New Batman Adventures, he's been using Lar, Mo, and Cur as his henchmen.
- Daddy Didn't Show: Not only did Bruce not attend Dick's college graduation, he didn't even apologize for missing it.
- Death Dealer: Joker throws several razor-sharp cards at Batman's rocket glider.
- Do Not Adjust Your Set: Joker does this to announce to Gotham his theft of the radar jammer and his demands for not activating it.
- For the Evulz: Batman believes Joker wants the money, but that he'll also activate the jammer just for a cruel, twisted laugh.
- Framing Device: This episode features Dick telling Tim about the former's last adventure as Robin.
- Genre Blindness: After sealing off the doors, one of Joker's mooks expresses absolute certainty that no one can get to them at the top of the skyscraper. Joker appears dubious just before Batman flies in.
- Hypocritical Humor: After Batman smacks the hyenas away:Joker: Hey, do I hit your kids?! Oh, actually, I do.
- Hypocrite: Robin was not happy that Barbara didn't tell him about her being Batgirl. She counters this by pointing out that Dick didn't tell her he was Robin. Bruce, however, knew. And although she never told him it's implied that she knew that Bruce knew. This is one of the reasons why Dick broke up with her.
- I Need to Go Iron My Dog: When Batman calls him, Dick tells Barbara he needs to help the guys at the dorm clean out the fridge.
- Interquel: Nightwing's story takes place in between The Adventures of Batman and Robin and The New Batman Adventures.
- Irony:
- Joker's watchman became a literal night watchman for Wayne Enterprises.
- Dick was gonna propose to Barbara. But when the truth is out, Dick broke it off.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Batman does this on the Joker's watchman in front of his wife and son.
- The Needs of the Many: Batman's motivation in the flashbacks. He's committed to fighting crime and stopping the Joker specifically, but the drive to do this ultimately causes him to alienate Dick.
- Not in Front of the Kid: Averted. Robin raises this objection when Batman subjects one of the Joker's mooks to a rough interrogation; Batman ignores him. This proves to be one of the last straws leading to the team's breakup.
- "Not So Different" Remark: According to Tim, Nightwing is far more like Batman than he wants to admit. The two have even given him the same initial explanation for why they split up: "Things change."
- Pet the Dog: The watchman got a happy ending, with Bruce never too busy asking how the family's doing.
- Rage Against the Mentor: Robin I towards Batman, which lead him to leave and become Nightwing.
- Resolved Noodle Incident: This episode finally reveals the TNBA=era circumstances of the DCAU Bruce and Dick's falling out and his abandonment of the Robin identity.
- Sarcastic Confession: Alfred when Barbara finds the Batcave.Alfred: Ms. Gordon, I uh, see you've discovered our little secret. Yes, I admit it. I am Batman.
- Scare 'Em Straight: The effect of being confronted by Batman on Conner. He described it as a real eye-opener to the way his life was going and forced him to set it right, eventually getting a job at Wayne industries - with the implication Bruce himself offered it to him.
- Ship Sinking: Dick was going to propose to Barbara, but after everything that happens, he forgoes it and leaves town. Though the present features the occasional Ship Tease, their romantic relationship never recovers, with Batman Beyond showing they never do get together and offering further reasons why that is.
- Talk to the Fist: After Robin I announces he's quitting and walks off, Batman tries to talk to him and gets punched to the ground.
- This Cannot Be!: Nightwing finds one of the stolen wallets on the ground and is shocked that it belongs to Conner, the Joker's former watchman and Bruce's current security guard.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Batman in Nightwing's flashback.
- Whole Episode Flashback: Nightwing flashes back to the last time he was Robin.
