In the latest issue, Dick gets shot by CPD while jumping from one building to the next. They're using assault rifles, but he quickly gets back up like a champ and they assume he's wearing kevlar. Dick dismisses it and says something that implies that kevlar is outdated. Does anyone know (or have guesses) as to what his New 52 suit is made out of now?

http://imageshack.us/a/img22/392/nightwing01920132covers.jpg

^ here's a scan of that scene for context.

Yeah I wondered about that comment he made too. Not sure. I just assumed he used a suit which probably features an armor lighter and sleeker than kevlar.

Mystical bat-family armor which fits like spandex yet stops bullets like steel. Standard issue from Bruce.

@nightwing4: HAha yeah I assume they all get their gear from Bruce. Or at least the same tech as him.

So has anyone confirmed what exactly Dick's suit is made of ?

Considering Wayne Enterprises' high-level tech and Batman's own connections in the superhero world, I'm guessing that their suits are all tailored of materials beyond conventional armor. At least, that's my two cents.

Dick really needs to lose the red look, though.

So right now we have no clue what the exact material is, but at least it builds our knowledge of New 52 Nightwing's suit. It's flexible enough to allow him to perform flips and evasive maneuvers. It's light enough to let him dodge bullets. It's strong enough to let him tank rifle-caliber rounds. It also has a 150k-volt taser wired through it, but at the same time is very well insulated from outside electrical attacks. The domino mask by itself seemed to be a miniature computer with different scanning modes. It sends/receives radio signals (and apparently microwave signals) and grants night vision.

"Mystical bat-family armor" indeed lol.

I heard somewhere it was made of kryptonian skin.

@therrieur: they skinned superman?? what a pal.

If Kevlar is considered outdated by Nightwing that means Bruce no longer uses it either, and considering his larger array of gadgets a writer will probably go into more depth on the new materiel in one of the Batman books before too long, and it'll then probably trickle over to Nightwing's series, and be expanded upon due to the different elements each suit has.

Maybe it's Nth metal? I mean, Deathstroke's armor is made of it so why not Nightwings?

I'd be very surprised at either Dick or Bruce regularly using something so mystical. Also, it also gives enhanced strength and healing, which Dick hasn't shown. That would be some twist for him to have a costume made of the stuff.

It's his rock hard muscles.

Well not superman, but clones of him, so they're still best pals.

That's definitely true, I didn't even think about the enhanced strength/healing factor of the Nth metal. I'm at a loss now at what the new armor could be lol.

lol regardless it's clearly fairly durable. As the trooper noted, Dick received two shots straight to the back and got back up, and he doesn't seem to be any the worst for wear. There also seems to be some kind of undersuit layering beneath an outer layer. In the panel where he's mentioning Kevlar you can see a cut on his shoulder, and the spot beneath is grey, not the color of skin.

@nightwing4 said:

Kryptonian rubber suit Kal gave him for Christmas

Dick clearly went to the toy store with a handful of quarters and bought Super Bouncy Balls. He then melted those bouncy balls down and crafted them into a suit. As the bouncy-est thing on the planet, they work well in keeping Dick safe by making everything bounce off. think about it! that cannot be any bullet proof material known to exist because body armor works by absorbing impact not making it bounce off. thus the only possible answer is a Super Bouncy Ball Suit!

Swag. His suit is made of his excess swag.

@ritchieb said:

That...makes a lot of sense actually.

Wow, screw Wayne tech. Super Bouncy Ball Suit ftw!

Just based on the fact that in the new Injustice vieo game there's a pill that characters can take that increases their overall endurance, and it's based on Kryptonian tech, i'd be interested to see Dick use a suit backed by some alien technology. At least for certain instances.

@the_lunact_and_manic: @alak

it also explains how Dick Grayson can travel through an entire city doing back flips, front flips, summer salts, etc without becoming exhausted. he is not doing a back flip by using his own strength and then running and doing a front flip by his own strength. it would simply be too exhausting and an unwise decision to waist that much stamina on doing tricks when he could run into something at any moment. what actually happens he is bouncing from place to place and using the boumce created by the Super Bouncy Ball Suit to get so high in the air and do all those tricks without getting tired.

In issue 20 it was revealed that Dick's suit/mask is equipped with HUD, and that it can apparently be hacked into and shut down, leaving Dick completely blind...was I the only one who thought this was idiotic?

@nathaniel_christopher: I share your pain brother. I also don't get why the lense itself is white, while the surrounding mask is red. I thought it was established early in the series his infrared triggered the red tint on his lenses.. he looks silly because now the white is such a loud color in contrast to the sharp red surroundings.. Its as if he has bug eyes!

I say keep the red when he's creeping in the dark otherwise leave the eyes white when the lights are turned on. None of this mickey mouse bullsh!t. Booth is overcompensating by tacking on extra cheeseball accessories like the neckstripe and escrima holsters (what was wrong with loading them on his back, arkham city style, and explain how it was simply a battery pack that charged via perpetual motion from his body somersaulting/flipping/scaling buildings through town??)

That bugged me a little bit, but I suppose that since his mask is constantly emitting wifi signals (it's pretty much a small computer), Prankster was able to locate it with his/her device. The sheer speed of the hacking was really what made me cringe. Dick has been shown to have been more than competent with computers and security in the past. To see a cyber-villain break in with a few button presses really, really requires a suspension in disbelief. I've never known a hacker who was capable of invading another computer within a second or two like Prankster did.

CNT

Well, I just make a long post in the Battle of the Week thread, so I might as well re-post it here for info on Dick's suit. I cut out all the irrelevant stuff:

@smoothjammin@alak It just strikes me as tactically unsound to have your senses in the suit relying solely on that, especially when it can then be hacked by some no-name, low tier villain. Doesn't come off as smart in any way, and seems weird for a member of the Bat family to give the suit that much importance, instead of their physical senses. Even if it hadn't been hacked in this chapter, i'd think it'd stand out as a very open weakness for Dick to have. He should be able to turn it on and off at all times to avoid this exact type of situation. Anything else looks like extremely poor planning for a Bat-Son.

I think it's fine, I just find it hard to believe Dick didn't think of having a fail safe that would allow the lense to retract if hacked or tampered with, now he's basically Daredevil..without the super senses.

Yeah that's basically my problem with it. There's nothing wrong with the mask having it, but not being able to ever turn it off, even when it's hacked? SMH, that seems so freaking stupid.

I also may be a minority...but I kinda like the red suit on Dick more than the blue now. I like that all of the "Sons of the Bat" have a similar color motif.

The best part about the latest changes to the new52 suit for nightwing is that they brought back his finger-stripes.

I personally hate the fact Dick's symbol is red now, just like the other Bat-Sons. He shares enough similarities with them as it is.

Agreed, although I wouldn't use the word "hate" to describe my own feelings towards the new color. Blue >>>> Red.

@alak:

didn't dick have the weird thing that froze his Great Grandpa Talon also?

Yeah I don't actually mind it, as it still looks good. I'd just like it better if the others didn't also have it as a main color on their suits. I think Blue looks best however, with a bird to go with it looking even better.

That was actually part of the environment.

just needs some nipples.

@laserlambert: LOL I never noticed that in the movie.

I like The suit and especially the finger strips and red underline on the mask, but Blue>Red.

I don't hate it but it does make him less unique.

Blue with the bird symbol is preferable

Is anyone else noticing how Booth is drawing stitches into Nightwing's suit? I thought that was a really cool touch, especially how he keeps track of where the suit gets torn. It definitely shows us Dick's current predicament where he's in a new city with little money and only one suit to fight in. I hope the new artist will keep this consistency.

I hope this sticks around too.

Yeah this version is my favorite of his outfits (Really i dont mind the red either although i prefer the blue as long as the symbol on the front isnt so full and bulky, covering his entire torso im ok with either)

Materials more durable (stronger) than Kevlar:

http://www.gizmag.com/new-nano-fiber-tougher-than-kevlar/17203/

http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/05/silk-better-kevlar

http://www.slashgear.com/liquid-body-armor-more-effective-than-kevlar-09222095/

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/134910-nanocellulose-a-cheap-conductive-stronger-than-kevlar-wonder-material-made-from-wood-pulp