Nick Burkhardt

Nick Burkhardt is originally from Rhinebeck, New York, where his parents were thought to have died in an automobile collision in 1994 when Nick was twelve-years-old. The collision was engineered by Soledad Marquesa and others to acquire the Coins of Zakynthos.

Kelly Burkhardt was later discovered to have survived the attempt on her life.

Nick is a homicide detective in Portland, Oregon. He lives with Juliette Silverton, for whom he purchased an engagement ring. The ring was not seen from the day Nick bought it until Juliette found it while putting away some socks in Nick's chest of drawers. Nick proposed to Juliette, but she turned him down because there was something secretive about his life that he was keeping from her.

Nick was raised by his Aunt Marie after the apparent death of his parents. Unknown to Nick until a visit by Aunt Marie, he is the descendant of a long line of human warriors, who protect mankind from rogue Wesen, creatures that are not wholly human, but that can appear human. While many Wesen live in peace with the humans around them, some let their wild natures get the better of them, and become violent, and it is up to a Grimm to stop this. The best known of Nick's ancestors are the Brothers Grimm, who wrote a book of fairy tales to help warn humans, especially children of the potential dangers of the world.

After an encounter with reformed Wieder Blutbad Monroe, he gained an unofficial partner. It seems the Reapers and maybe others in the Grimm world are very displeased by the idea of one of the creatures helping a Grimm. It defies the status quo, and although Monroe has been threatened and even beaten to keep him from helping Nick, he remains a true and loyal friend, helping out with information and back up. Monroe is the only person in whom Nick can confide about his Grimm activity, and Monroe is aware of Aunt Marie's trailer. However, Monroe and Nick make sure that its not obvious that the two of them are working together, especially to other creatures.

Nick has a good relationship with his partner Hank Griffin, even though Hank is often at a loss to understand how Nick is able to "see" what he does in people. He has a good and mutually respectful relationship with his superior, Captain Sean Renard. He is not aware that Renard actually protects Nick to the best of his abilities.

Despite Aunt Marie's warning, Nick has stayed with Juliette. They have a close, and loving relationship, but Juliette is getting very suspicious about the various goings on since Marie's visit. Notably, after their refrigerator was worked on by a Eisbiber, the repairman Bud told several drinking buddies that he saw a Grimm, and the curious beaver creatures have been pestering Nick and Juliette by spying on them, and even having their house egged by two Eisbiber children.

On the day he meant to propose, Nick's family curse/gift, the ability to see the true forms of Wesen when they slip up or get excited, and the ability to fight the Wesen manifested. That evening he is visited by his dying aunt Marie Kessler who explains to Nick that his duty is to kill the Wesen who start killing humans. Aunt Marie also tells Nick that he cannot marry Juliette, as it is too dangerous. However, if the Grimms have survived this long through the ages, they obviously do marry and have children on a regular basis. Shortly after this, Marie is attacked by Hulda of the Reapers. Marie fights back, and Nick eventually kills Hulda with his service weapon. Marie is hospitalized, and while there dies from stress of fighting while being attacked by assassins sent by Captain Renard despite the best efforts of Nick and Monroe to keep her safe. Before she dies, Aunt Marie tells Nick about her trailer, which has centuries of profiling of various creatures throughout the world and their traits and weaknesses, along with weapons, and herbs that can help Nick do his job as a Grimm. She also gave Nick a mysterious key, and told him to keep the key secret and safe.

In Last Grimm Standing Juliette finds the engagement ring, puts it on her finger, and prepares an elaborate third year anniversary dinner for Nick. Except Nick is held up in trying to save Monroe's life from the gladiator Löwen. He arrives just in time to save Monroe's life. He volunteers to fight for Monroe so he would not die. When Nick is delayed, Juliette gets extremely upset and takes the ring off her finger and puts it back in the box.

Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin arrive at the scene accompanied by Sgt. Wu. They go into the vault to see it robbed of all items and Sam Bertram's dead body. His face is covered with hundreds of shards of glass and metal. Unfortunately, the security camera was ripped out by the robbers. The robbery looks professional, the thieves knew what they were doing. Nick and Hank arrive at the scene of where the BMW is parked. Officer Brenner is waiting for them in his police cruiser; Nick and Hank will go inside while Brenner watches the perimeter. Hank goes in first and forces Farley Kolt to the floor. Brenner sees Soledad run out of the house and pursues them; unfortunately, he jumps a fence and disappears. Hank is upset with Brenner for letting the suspect get away, Brenner goes to his car to call for a coroner when a hand grabs him and later kills him. When Nick arrests Kolt, he sees him transform into a Steinadler. Back at the Precinct, Nick and Hank report their findings to Captain Renard. Hank keeps talking about the guy he took down (Farley Kolt) and also mentions the coins. The Captain wants to see these coins and Hank reluctantly gives them to him. Hank wants to interrogate Kolt, but since he was rough with him earlier, the captain tells Nick to conduct the interview. Renard examines them and feels their power, he then makes a phone call to his friend in France to tell him he has found the Coins of Zakynthos. Nick suggests Hank goes home since he is angry and has had a long day. Nick then goes to interview Farley Kolt. During the interview, Farley Kolt tells Nick this is not about him being a cop, it is about being a Grimm. Kolt says the robbers robbed the store to find the Coins of Zakynthos. He tells Nick the long story about the coins; whoever possesses them has a strong influence on others. He says the coins have been safely kept until 18 years ago, when the Grimm protecting them (Nick's Parents) was killed in a car accident. The accident was in Rhinebeck, New York, the same place where Nick grew up. Nick calls Monroe to come into the Trailer to translate some German entries. They discover Schakale, who are ruthless killers and like to eat babies, and Steinadler which are eagle-like creatures who are usually involved in the military. With Soledad Marquesa still at large, Nick and Hank go to his last known location: a hotel room. No one is there, but they do find some clothes and a suitcase. The suitcase contains a film reel with film in it and two letters concerning the coins. One letter is in German from 1943 and the other is in English from 1945. The one in English from the Office of Strategic Services is about the coins. It says that the coins are made of gold, arsenic, and mercury. They are not to be handled, they were transferred in a lead box to an allied headquarters' vault. Ten coins were thought to exist, they only found three. Hank is convinced that the coins made him act strange; he also suspects that the Captain has them in his possession. Hank decides to search for the coins himself in Renard's office. When he is searching, Nick bursts in with Farley Kolt, who was just cleared in the murder investigation. Kolt knows Soledad must be here, and he's hunting down Renard for the coins. Soledad gets into the parking garage and causes a blackout by destroying the breaker. Just as Hank, Nick and Kolt arrive, Soledad takes hold of Renard. A gun fight ensues; Nick helps Renard, but the coins and Kolt are gone. Hank manages to shoot Soledad, he lays on the floor near death. Nick asks Soledad if he killed his parents, Soledad dies before he can answer. Later, Nick finds Farley Kolt in his hotel room. He tells Farley to put the coins on the bed and leave. Just as he is about to lunge for Nick, Nick hits him hard with his gun; Farley drops the coins. Nick quickly retrieves them and tells him to forget about the coins forever. Nick goes back to the trailer where he examines the coins. Just as the coins' magic spell starts to be felt, Nick quickly puts them back in their box. He then stuffs the box behind another bigger box in the weapons cabinet. Nick loads the film he got from Kolt onto the old Kineclair projector. As he hand cranks the film, it turns out to be old video from the 1940s showing Adolf Hitler giving a speech. The Coins of Zakynthos are visible on Hitler's coat collar. Hitler then morphs into a Schakal.

Personality and Abilities
In most episodes Nick seems to possess a keen sense to profile people quickly (even before the family's misfortune was passed to him), though it doesn't prove to be correct in the case of Monroe. Aside from his ability of prospection, he has a good amount of self confidence that never crosses over into arrogance. This, along with his ability to stay calm and rational in difficult situations gives him an edge in coping with his new found powers.

Nick has a keen sense of fair play and a good moral compass. Despite the many atrocities he sees every day as a policeman, it never blinds him to the inherent goodness inside all creatures. He is a loving and devoted boyfriend, and a loyal friend.

Nick's powers as a Grimm give him the ability to see creatures in their true form when they get excited or careless. Also, he has superhuman strength, reflexes, durability and speed, allowing him to match the fighting prowess of nearly all Wesen, the only exception being a Siegbarste. He's also shown to be at a disadvantage against Blutbaden, especially when unarmed, due to their incredible speed, senses, agility and strength. In all, Nick's skills are highly impressive, since he's been able to fend off Blutbaden, and hold on much longer than than the average man when fighting a Siegbarste. He was also able to defeat a Skalenzahne, something Monroe was unable to do.

He is also shown on a few occasions to be quite a good artist, this ability also helps him in hunting the Wesen, when trying to identify them. Nick is revealed to have inherited his abilities from his mother and his father. Both the Burkhardt and Kessler families have Grimm blood in Three Coins in a Fuchsbau.

Nick does not seem to know any foreign languages. He's been exposed to German, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish, and has been unable to read these languages without help.

Over the course of season one, Nick's confidence grew greatly. With each encounter with a new Wesen, his actions became bolder and more assertive, thus revealing his capabilities as a Grimm, though his abilities are triggered, like Wesen, under intense emotions. Amidst the chaotic events he has maintained balance as a detective and a Grimm.

Nick utilizes his role as a detective in numerous ways. He's come to rely on basic training in marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat, in which he displays proficiency. Nick seems to wield some authority in the Portland P.D., as he has been seen giving orders in mutliple episodes. As a result of his job it's easier for "law abiding" Wesen to trust him. Allowing him to work both sides. Ultimately he can centralize his investigative efforts, as a Grimm, with a team of vigilantes, to come up with strategies to combat crime in the Wesen underworld.