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Mary Grayson (née Lloyd) was one of the three acrobats in the Haly's Circus group "the Flying Graysons". She was the mother of Dick Grayson, who would go on one day to become Nightwing.
History
As a child, Mary was part of Cirque romanes de Paris.[1] Meeting the child who would one day grow up to call himself Raptor, Mary was the only person brave enough to talk to the child, despite his leprosy. The two became very close friends as they shared a distaste for the rich and powerful of society, sneaking into their houses and stealing from them. Raptor would fall in love with Mary, but the two grew apart with age.
Many years later, Marie Lloyd moved to America where she met and later married fellow circus acrobat John Grayson and the two had a son named Dick. As Dick got older, the three became the world-famous acrobat troupe "the Flying Graysons". Even though she was married and happy, Mary's childhood friend Raptor would continue to follow her and the circus, keeping a watchful eye on her in the shadows.[2]
After refusing to payoff crime boss Tony Zucco while the circus had its usual stop in Gotham, Zucco sabotaged the wires that John and Mary were performing on, sending them plummeting to their deaths in front of their son. Dick, distraught, was taken in by billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Notes
- Mary Grayson was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, first appearing in Detective Comics #38. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Mary Grayson first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Nightwing (Volume 3) #3 by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows, and Eduardo Pansica.
Trivia
- Accoding to Meili Lin, Mary was of Romani descent.[4]
- Mary was part of the Cirque Romanes de Paris under the name Marie the Skydancer. While the name of the circus is meant to evoke a clear Romani tie to the reader, it is grammatically and semantically incorrect. Cirque is singular so the adjective would have to be Romane. However, that adjective only refers to Romance languages and Romanesque art in French. A number of adjectives could be used, each with their own meaning and history.
Related
- 72 Appearances of Marie Lloyd (Prime Earth)
- 3 Images featuring Marie Lloyd (Prime Earth)
- Quotations by or about Marie Lloyd (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Marie Lloyd (Prime Earth)
Footnotes