Warning! Contains spoilers for Nightwing #115!

Nightwing has had his identity slip a few times over the years, but he’s always managed to restore his secret. Unfortunately, it seems that Dick Grayson’s identity has been leaked once again, and given the circumstances, it doesn’t seem like Dick will be able to fix it this time. After Dick is framed and arrested as Heartless, his identity also ends up being exposed in the worst way possible.

The shocking change to Nightwing’s status quo takes place in Nightwing #115 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. After Nightwing is captured by the villain Heartless, things get far worse when Nightwing’s identity is exposed to both Heartless and Tony Zucco. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity, the two frame Dick as being the Blüdhaven supervillain, Heartless.

When Dick wakes up on a rooftop near a dead body, murder weapon in hand and wearing a strange mask, Dick is quickly surrounded by the police. Despite his best attempts at escaping, the police manage to chase Dick down and restrain him, resulting in his mask being removed and his identity as Dick Grayson being known. The police now believe that Dick Grayson is Heartless.

Nightwing Has Been Captured and Unmasked by the Police – as Heartless

The Nightwing Identity Is Still Safe – But at What Cost?

When a hero’s secret identity leaks, it is almost always the worst possible thing to happen to them. In the Marvel Universe, both Spider-Man and Daredevil’s lives were turned upside down when their identities leaked. In the DCU, Superman’s identity being revealed changed the character for a few years, and Batman, of course, has gone to great lengths to make sure his identity is kept safe. Naturally, Nightwing has also tried to keep his identity safe, but this hasn’t always worked. During the events of Forever Evil, for example, Dick Grayson’s identity was revealed to the entire world by the Crime Syndicate.

Nightwing eventually restored his secret identity by using a satellite to erase the knowledge of Dick Grayson from everyone on Earth (except for a select few). It’s highly unlikely he’ll be able to pull that trick again. Right now, the Blüdhaven police believe Dick Grayson to be the brutal serial killer Heartless. But there is a silver lining: Dick Grayson was only unmasked as Heartless, not Nightwing. This means that if Dick can prove himself innocent — a difficult feat — he’ll still have his Nightwing identity to fall back on, as that hasn’t technically been compromised yet.

Tony Zucco and Heartless Know Who Nightwing Truly Is

Nightwing’s Secret Identity Isn’t Entirely Safe

While it’s true that the police and the public won’t have any reason to believe Dick Grayson is Nightwing, there’s still the problem of Tony Zucco and Heartless, Nightwing’s two biggest villains. They know for sure that Dick Grayson is Nightwing, and it’s unclear how they’ll use that information going forward, but they’ll obviously use it to make Dick’s life difficult in some way. Nightwing’s life is currently hanging on by a thread, and while he isn’t technically exposed as Dick Grayson just yet, he’ll need to use all of his skills and abilities if he wants to make sure he can keep his Nightwing identity secret.

Nightwing #115 is available now from DC Comics!