Nightwing #116 was a major chapter for the “Fallen Grayson” storyline that will conclude Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s epic run. One of the big reasons why it was an important chapter is the reaction to Dick Grayson being framed as being the Heartless villain. That reaction provides us with possible hints at what the future status quo for the Batman Family could be when paired with what’s gone on in Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez’s Batman run. These hints paired with what will go on with Absolute Power, set up what we could see go down during the DC All In direction. Let’s break down what went down in Nightwing.
NIGHTWING’S SECRET IDENTITY REVEALED
During a charity gala event for the Alfred Pennyworth Foundation in Nightwing #114 and #115 Shelton Lyle, aka Heartless, secretly had his gang cause a fire in the mansion it was held in. Dick Grayson does his best to make sure everyone gets out of the mansion on fire safely. Shelton uses this as an opportunity to knock out Dick Grayson and have his planted paramedics take him to a secret location. There Shelton as Heartless and Tony Zucco find the Nightwing mask the unconscious Dick Grayson was carrying. Shelton and Zucco use this knowledge to dress up Dick Grayson as Heartless so when he regains consciousness he is caught by the police.
With the world now thinking that Dick Grayson is the Heartless that’s killed countless people in Nightwing #116 the superhero community was quick to try to figure out how to help him. While Barbara Gordon kept their friends and allies from doing anything rash there was one big move the Batman Family were ready to make. Barbara revealed to Dick that Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, and Jason Todd were ready to reveal their secret identities to help convince the public that Dick was Nightwing and not the Heartless killer.
This is a massive decision to make that would change the course of the lives of every member of the Batman Family. The fact that Bruce, Barbara, Tim, Damian, Stephanie, Cassandra, and Jason appear to have come to this decision without questioning it speaks volumes about their bond as a family. It also spoke to how they’ve been able to recover from the damage caused Gotham War to their relationships.
While thankful for his family being willing to do this Dick Grayson understood this wouldn’t solve everything. After all, Heartless appears to have come prepared with a multi-layered plot. Additionally, Dick is still not 100% with his fear of heights caused by Scarecrow’s fear toxin being found in his system. Given the damage caused by Heartless already one wrong move could make even the Batman Family reveal their identities for naught. It elevates the importance for Nightwing to get over his fears and take down his nemesis before even more damage is caused.
BATMAN FAMILY DC ALL IN STATUS QUO
At San Diego Comic Con 2024 we learned from Scott Snyder that the DC All In initiative is thought of as “This is one big meta-story that drives the DCU for the next two years.” Other than that all we learned was the announcement that Rob Levin is the new Batman group editor. The actual status quo for the Batman Family, like the rest of DCU, is being kept under wraps. This is understandable given that Absolute Power just started and DC All In was recently announced.
That said, recent comic books in the franchise have hinted at the direction we could see during the two-year plan for DC All-In. As mentioned, Nightwing #116 revealed the Batman Family were ready to reveal their secret identities to help Dick Grayson without hesitation. Additionally in Batman #149, in the fallout of Batman of Zur-En-Arrh storyline, Bruce Wayne decided to purchase a mansion located in Gotham City and rename it Pennyworth Manor. This move came with Bruce offering all his proteges a room to live there with him so they could work together as a family to protect Gotham City as part of the city rather than living off at random corners.
With the launch of the Absolute Universe in October there is the question of how DC will ensure the two universes are unique while having the same lead characters at their forefront. Based on all the developments in the Batman titles it is clear that Bruce has learned that the Batman Family doesn’t need crisis to be what brings everyone together. It is time for them to operate as a united family, just as they showed how ready they were to help Nightwing with the Heartless plotline. This development does show that the Batman: Wayne Family Adventures webtoon could have a big influence on what we will see in DC All In.
While it is unlikely that the Batman Family will reveal their identities as teased in Nightwing #116 it is not out of the question. There is a percentage chance that could happen during DC All-In. With how things have gone for the Batman Family post-Dark Crisis there has been a lot of teases of one or more of them revealing their secrets. It could play into the importance of Absolute Power’s impact on the main DC Universe if secret identities are revealed because of the story. With how quickly 2024 has flown by October will be here soon enough and we will learn what the future holds for the Batman Family.
Credit: Popverse
For more opinions on anime, comic books, movies, and sports you can follow Kevin on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, and Twitter/X.