Warning! Contains spoilers for Batman / Catwoman: The Gotham War – Battle Lines #1!Things are getting worse between Batman and Nightwing as the former dishes out a devastating insult to his former protégée. As cracks in the Bat-Family start to form, the Dark Knight unbelievably disparages Dick Grayson.
In Batman / Catwoman: The Gotham War – Battle Lines #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Tini Howard, and Mike Hawthorne, Bruce Wayne wakes up after passing out from the intense exhaustion his body incurred during Knight Terrors. However, upon waking up, Batman discovers Gotham has changed, and that crime has lowered in his absence, all thanks to a questionable plan masterminded by Catwoman.
Catwoman reveals that she’s masterminding the criminals of Gotham to target the city’s wealthiest and asks the Bat-Family to leave her alone. While many debate the validity of the plan, Batman vehemently objects, and storms out to resume his nightly patrol. While Red Hood makes a side deal with Catwoman, Bruce takes a moment to reflect on his allies. He contemplates that his affection for the Bat-Family has clouded his judgment and notes that many of them like Nightwing or Robin put on a costume and pretend to be their alter egos, unlike Bruce, who claims he isn’t pretending.
Batman Doesn’t Think Nightwing Takes Heroism as Seriously as Him
The intense “Gotham War” crossover has been a long time coming. After a brief stint in prison, Catwoman has decided the best way she can change the city is through a massive redistribution of wealth that involves training criminals to steal from Gotham’s elite. Of course, Selina knew this would bring her into opposition with Batman. But Batman has had a lot on his plate lately between being exiled to an alternate dimension and the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh planning something while imprisoned in the recesses of Batman’s mind.
It’s kind of surprising that Batman would denigrate his teammates by calling them pretenders. Even if it’s chalked up to the stresses Batman has been under from dealing with Failsafe and Red Mask or his possession by Deadman, Bruce knows damn well Nightwing isn’t pretending. Ever since Batman first took Dick Grayson in, he’s given his entire life to crime-fighting. When Batman fired Dick from the position of Robin, he went on to become a hero independent of Bruce. Grayson even filled in as Batman on several occasions. Calling someone like Nightwing a pretender is a stunning and frankly fallacious insult.
Batman is Totally Wrong About Nightwing’s Dedication
Batman may be speaking out of a sense of betrayal and overwhelming stress, but the hero couldn’t be more wrong about Nightwing. In the last few years, the hero has really stepped up to make serious changes to the world, from revitalizing Blüdhaven to leading the Titans as the team replaces the Justice League. Dick might not make eradicating crime the end-all, be-all focal point of his life, but that doesn’t mean Nightwing is any less dedicated to heroism than Batman is. Dick is absolutely dedicated to the mission of saving the world from crime, even if Bruce has his doubts about his old sidekick. Fans can see more of the growing rift between Nightwing and his mentor in Batman / Catwoman: The Gotham War – Battle Lines #1, on sale now.
