DC Comics April solicitations surprised some comic fans with the cancellation of the Nightwing title. Why is the title ending, and what happens to the former Boy Wonder after Forever Evil? Major Spoilers has some ideas.
In Forever Evil #1, Dick Grayson was brought before the world by the Crime Syndicate. He was beaten and bloody. Then on live television for the whole world to see, his mask was ripped off , and his identity was shown to the world. Just as it was for Spider-Man during the Civil War event, having a superhero’s identity exposed can create a lot of problems for said hero.
Since Nightwing’s own book has now been canceled; a concerned Bat fan is probably wondering what is going to happen to Dick Grayson. So while looking at the available evidence, I put on my detective hat and created what I think are five excellent theories on what will happen to this former Flying Grayson. Of course, I could be completely wrong, and your mileage my vary. Now to the deducing!
5. Nightwing changes his identity and becomes a blond.
In the Batman Eternal teaser released around Thanksgiving, there are several figures that are hard to identify. One of them is a blond man wearing a Nightwing mask. Could this be Dick? Some have speculated that this is actually Calvin Rose of Talon, but why he’s wearing that mask is very suspect.
The more likely theory would be that the blonde in the teaser is actually Dick in a new identity set up by Batman. Batman would of course have multiple identities setup for his partners for just this situation. While this doesn’t explain why the Nightwing title was canceled, it is a very plausible theory.
4. Nightwing makes a huge life choice and becomes a woman.
Scott Snyder on Twitter released this image featuring a woman in a Nightwing inspired armor. Some have speculated that this woman is Harper Row, the tech savvy woman introduced in Snyder’s Batman run. What if it’s not? There are plenty of characters in the DCU that can wield magic. What if the climax of Forever Evil is Nightwing making a huge sacrifice and getting gravely hurt? Thus, the only solution to save him would be to bring him back as a woman. Yes, this theory isn’t as likely, but you still have to consider why there would be a woman in a Nightwing inspired costume in Batman Eternal.
3. Nightwing quits and goes into hiding
With Dick Grayson’s identity exposed, he could just quit the superhero business. This would be the most practical thing to do, but since when are superheroes practical? What is obvious is the fact that Dick cannot keep operating as Nightwing in his current situation. Eventually his connection to Bruce Wayne would be exposed, and then the whole Bat family would be compromised. In my head, this theory is not a strong one as I can envision no way that Dick Grayson would ever give up crime fighting.
2. Nightwing is shunted off to another Earth.
Hear me out on this one. The DC Universe exists in a multiverse correct? Aren’t the main villains of Forever Evil from Earth 3? Well, imagine a situation where the Crime Syndicate are being forced back to their Earth. and Nightwing is forced back with them. Or possibly, he’s the only one who can stop them from coming back to the main DCU Earth. Then he sacrifices himself to forever live on an alternate Earth. There’s another possibility that he could be the Earth 2 Batman. Either way, this could be a great way for DC to get rid of Nightwing while still not killing the character off.
1. Nightwing will die.
Sometime the most obvious solution is the correct one. Let’s face the facts. Dan Didio has said repeatedly that he has tried to kill Nightwing in several of the last major DC events. He views the character as a redundancy. Maybe Didio finally gets his wish. Why else would they cancel his title? Another piece of evidence to support this theory is the fact that Kyle Higgins is not writing this issue. Why would the guy who has written every issue of Nighting since the New 52 began step off the title one issue before its end? Maybe said writer didn’t want to write the death of a character that he so beloved or maybe he refused and was let go off the book. Either way, the April solicitations heavily suggest this theory. Read for yourself.
NIGHTWING #30
The Bat Family is forced to face the brutal aftermath of FOREVER EVIL, but after everything they’ve been through, can they stand together?
Sounds like the Bat Family is going to be mourning after that brutal aftermath.
BOTTOM LINE: Death Sells
As a big fan of Nightwing, I personally hope that the hero escapes unscathed, but all evidence points towards yes. Plus I was told recently by a DC source that the ending of Forever Evil would be a sad one. Which leads me to believe Dick’s day’s are numbered.
We all know that death in comics is not permanent. So even if they send Nightwing off to the big bird cage in the sky; eventually he will come back. One does wonder if he will be resurrected before Damian, and that maybe all this could lead to a new event called Resurrection of the Robins. Now that’s an event I would read!
16 Comments
Your forgetting the “heel-turn” option. What if Nightwing becomes a villian?
That’s definitely a possibility. But there isn’t any evidence out there to support that theory. Plus I don’t see DC doing that to Dick Grayson.
Didn’t he start helping Owlman rather quickly in the latest Forever Evil? I thought he would have held out longer. It could also be the death of the ideals of Nightwing and not necessary the death of Dick.
The Death of Dick…
Easy there.
Well I’ve read every last of Nightwing’s New 52 comics. On more than one occasion he’s been referred to as Gotham’s Fierce Killer. Not to mention Shiva acknowledged his skills and wondered how long he would play hero. A heel Grayson? Seems like an interesting story with him and Batman being sorta close prior to. THESE events.
What if he becomes the new oracle!?
He’s not that tech savvy. Oracle was Oracle because she had an Eidetic memory, a hunger for information and was extremely tech savvy. Tim, maybe… but not Grayson.
What if the dies, and then somehow bring him back as a younger version of himself and becomes the new Robin? Far-fetched, I know… But it would certainly surprise those out there… And get “classic Robin” back into the Robin tights…..
What if he goes to Earth 3 and just takes up trying to fix that world? Then he can come back the next time they have an event happen.. which will probably be in 2 months or less.
Not a bad theory.
dead and gone -sorry to say in a world with a young batman and 2 other living robins do we need a dick
The world will always need Dick whether they realize it or not.
I suspect the hooded figure bound in the chair is actually the Joker who will end up with Richard Grayson’s face.
After 50 years (I’m 61)of reading DC Comics, surviving every “Crisis,” and the death of major characters, I am about done with the New 52. I don’t like Superman’s costume change, destroying the love relationships with Lois and Iris, the death of the Guardians, and I definitely will stop buying altogether with the death of Dick Grayson. Enough is enough!
I agree with Jim. I realize that every 10-20 years a rejuvenation of sorts needs to happen. The first Crisis did it right by relaunching from scratch. This New 52 is kinda bunk and just confuses the entire history of the DC super-types. A piece meal that doesn’t make sense. It was a gimmick that paid off at first but I bet their sales have dropped if you compare it to any pre-Flashpoint sales. I’ve pretty much have stopped reading DC and have moved on to Image. Sad to say.