The movie begins at old warehouse by the docks where Two-Face has gathered all his hired guns to discuss an important matter. It appears that one of his men is actually a police informant and Two-Face wants to make an example out of him. The informant's name is Michael Drake and he pleads with Two-Face to forgive him saying that he has a wife and son. Two-Face replies with, "How sad, I had face. I am neither judge nor jury, *shows coin* THIS! is what decides the ultimate fate of all men. I am merely the executioner"
He flips his trademark coin, it lands on the scarred side and just as he is about to shoot him dead, a temporary wooden wall of the warehouse is blown apart as the Dark Knight roars in on his Bat-Pod (The informant had a final meeting with Gordon prior to this). A massive fight ensues and as Christian Bale dispatches all the thugs, the informant is unfortunately gunned down in the struggle and Aaron Eckhart escapes. The Batman checks his surroundings and curses himself for being so foolish as to jump right into the fray without prior planning. He was merely trying to save the life of the informant. As he kneels over his body, he hears a sound and sees a pair of eyes (of a young boy) looking towards him with fear. A terrible sense of Deja-Vu overcomes him and he leaves. The boy comes into full view, barely 18. He silently walks over to the body of William Drake and begins to cry. Only the surrounding darkness knows his grief. This boy is none other than Tim Drake.
Tim’s grief soon turns to anger as he vows to take revenge on his father’s killers and the Batman himself. He heads home but instead of sharing his grief with his mother, he decides to take a page out of the Batman’s book. He puts on some a leather jacket, jeans and a “Red Hood” (mask) to conceal his face. He grabs his father’s gun and a large butcher knife. Finally, he takes out a needle and a bottle labeled “Adrenaline” and injects it into his arm. Apparently, he is also a drug addict and the high he would receive would negate any physical pain. He sets of for an old hangout of Two Face’s thugs.
As one would suspect, he jumps into the fray. After the initial shock of getting attacked by a scrawny kid called the “Red Hood” had gone and one dead thug later. Tim Drake is brutally beaten up and left to die in a pool of his own blood.
Hours later, Batman sees him lying in the same comatose state. He removes his mask and recognizes him as the same boy from the docks. He checks for a pulse and after confirming that he was still alive has him rushed into a hospital. Tim Drake wakes up screaming and is surprised to find himself alive and well. He franticly turns around and notices none other than Bruce Wayne staring intently at him. Drake’s reaction, “Who the **** are you? What am I doing here?”
Bruce tells him about how he was merely driving around the city and found him lying in the middle of the road half-dead. He hoped someone was watching and decided to commit a good deed to fix his reputation with the public. Tim tells him he is a bigger bastard in person than on TV and Bruce thanks him for that. Keeping up with his spoilt good for nothing playboy image, Bruce decides to make big show telling everyone the “truth” and personally escorting him back to his mother (with a gaggle of reporters) so that the people see him as a hero. However, it all falls flat when it turns out his mother had committed suicide when her son did not return the previous night. Taking advantage of the fact that Mr. Wayne would no want to get his reputation tarnished, Tim turns to him with his hands folded and says, “OW pweese Meester Wayne. I gots no place to go. Won’t you take me to your beeg house.”
He says it with an extreme amount of sarcasm and disgust in his voice that only Bruce manages to catch. His motive was to merely find a safe place to stay, to think things over.
Thus, Bruce is now stuck with him and takes him to the Wayne Manor, which is still receiving the finishing touches. Bruce rarely speaks to him politely and Alfred hauls him up for it. At the same time Tim and Alfred become good friends since the latter feels Tim reminds him of Master Wayne before his parents died. Let’s cut it short and say Tim accidentally finds the Batcave and is naturally shocked by what he sees. Both exited and disgusted, Tim decides to steal some of his equipment and sabotage the others in his rage but not before Bruce finds him there and the two duke it out with Tim proving to be an able fighter considering he grew up on the streets, however he is no match for the Dark Knight who gives him a sound thrashing. Alfred is disturbed by this and breaking up the fight accusing Bruce of becoming what he hates the most.
Bruce tells Alfred that he is afraid Tim will end up on the same path he did or even worse in his path for revenge. It would consume him. Alfred tells Bruce that the only way out of this would be to groom him into someone who could compliment Bruce’s own crusade against the criminal element. He may look like a child but his mind is akin to that of a hitman. Bruce reluctantly agrees and trains him in the martial arts, criminology and detective skills. Considering his smaller stature Bruce decides to give a battle staff similar to those used by several martial artists. Lucius Fox presents him with a stealthier version (read more flexible and less heavy) of the Batsuit armor which was intended to be worn by pilots and recon troops. Finally a name is chosen, Robin is considered but after Tim complains that, “You want me to kill thugs by making them laugh?”
He is thus christened ‘Nightwing’
