Gotham City is a busy place, with a lot going down each and every week. In this monthly column, Joshua Lapin-Bertone helps you stay on top of it all by letting you know what you should be paying attention to within the Bat-Family…and why.
Nightwing is not having a good day. Just about everything that can go wrong for him has gone wrong. Dick Grayson is no stranger to setbacks, and he’s come back from dark periods before. However, this is one of those cases where life has thrown everything it could at him and then some.
For starters, Dick’s sister Melinda Grayson-Lin recently lost her mayoral seat. Blüdhaven’s new mayor is Bernard Bisogni, a corrupt man with ties to organized crime. For the past few years, Dick has used his resources with the Pennyworth Foundation and his heroic identity as Nightwing to clean Blüdhaven up. Bisogni becoming mayor is more than a setback—it’s a demoralizing defeat. Dick has done so much to improve the city, but it’s hard for him to recognize that when he sees the city electing a criminal under his watch.
Nightwing’s relationship with the people of Blüdhaven has also taken an unfortunate turn. The entire city believes Nightwing murdered business mogul Olivia Pearce, and it’s hard to argue with the evidence. As far as everyone knows, Dick decapitated her live on camera in 2025’s Nightwing #132. In reality, this was due to some careful staging and manipulation by a Fifth Dimensional Imp called the Zanni, but it doesn’t change what everyone saw (and it’s really hard to argue with camera footage).
Of course, the people of Blüdhaven have a lot more on their minds, given that most of the city has been destroyed. The Zanni used his Fifth Dimensional powers to knock down most of the city’s skyline, including Titans Tower. Homes were destroyed, and numerous lives were lost. The Pennyworth Foundation and Nightwing’s heroic allies are doing what they can to rebuild, but destruction of this magnitude is hard to come back from.
As if things weren’t bad enough for Nightwing, he recently took on a protégé who is now lost. Bryce Moran is an 11-year-old boy who was granted Kryptonian powers thanks to Nite-Mite (another Fifth Dimensional Imp). Bryce began calling himself Nightwing-Prime and tried to follow Dick’s example as a hero. After some initial reluctance, Nightwing offered to train him, but it’s a decision that is likely going to haunt Dick for some time.
Nightwing #135 ends with Nightwing-Prime trapping himself in the Zanni’s dimension in order to help Nightwing save a group of kidnapped children. Sealing himself inside, Bryce has doomed himself to an eternity of fighting the Zanni. This is an 11-year-old boy who should be playing Roblox or learning Fortnite dances, but instead he’s trapped in another world, fighting a never-ending battle because he was inspired by Nightwing.
Dan Watters, Dexter Soy and V Ken Marion are doing some interesting things with their Nightwing run, putting Dick and Blüdhaven through the wringer. Yes, we know Dick will ultimately prevail, but the drama is seeing how he’ll get out of this and how he grows from it. Victory may be inevitable, but it doesn’t mean you won’t be changed as a person.
Oracle makes a similar point when she tries to comfort Dick in Nightwing #133. “Do you know how many times Gotham has declared Batman public enemy number one?” she asks. “Because I do. I double-checked in the Watchtower records, and it made me feel a little better. It is, without a doubt, an utter pain in the butt every single time. But it’s never the end of the world.”
It’s comforting, but it doesn’t do much to lift Nightwing’s spirits. We’ve all had trauma in our lives, whether it’s a family tragedy, a breakup, or some other personal setback. And yet, even if we’ve survived other traumas in the past, it doesn’t make our current traumas any less painful. Oracle is right that the good guys always come out on top, but that doesn’t mean Dick won’t have a hard time getting there.
Still, Nightwing #135 does end on a note of optimism. Nightwing-Prime has been visiting a young girl in her dreams (it’s a Fifth Dimensional thing) and he gives her a message to pass along to Nightwing.
“He asked me to tell you that he’s all right,” she says to Dick. “That he’s keeping the door closed. The monster at bay. And what he’s doing…it’s better than anything he ever hoped for here. It’s good. He’s where he wants to be.”
Bryce is living the life of a hero. A life with purpose. He’s keeping people safe, and it’s all because of Nightwing’s example. This doesn’t fix all of Nightwing’s problems, but it puts things in perspective in a way Oracle’s Watchtower statistics couldn’t.
“I think I’m okay, Claire,” Nightwing tells the young girl as he smiles.
A city destroyed and turning against him, a fallen ally and a corrupt mayor. It’s a lot for anyone to bear, but Nightwing is going to be okay.
Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
