The freewheeling daredevil hero Nightwing will stop at nothing to help people, but is that including his own life? A preview shows Dick Grayson’s selflessness was putting him at risk as early as his Robin days.
Since he first donned the identity of the Boy Wonder, Dick has been leaping to and fro, ready to confront whatever challenge he comes up against. With a combination of quick thinking, acrobatic skills and training from some of the world’s best martial artists, he’s become a one of DC’s most effective crimefighters. But for all the techniques Nightwing has in his arsenal, his greatest asset is his heart. His endless capacity for empathy pushes him to help everyone he possibly can, no matter the personal cost to himself.
Unfortunately, this can backfire on Dick pretty badly, as seen in a preview for Nightwing #92 by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott. Readers are taken back in time when Dick was still fairly green in his stint as Robin as the Bat-Family deals with a series of blackouts. Robin notes that he’s “never been able to ignore when someone’s in trouble“, which comes just as he spots dozens of men attacking a shopkeeper. Batgirl tries to come and assist Robin, but Batman tells the two there’s nothing they can do against that many people. Dick ignores the orders of his leader and jumps into the fray, rescuing the shopkeeper and running headfirst into a crowd of men with bats and chains. Though the young hero puts up a valiant effort, he’s hopelessly outmatched by the older and stronger mob.
One would think that Robin getting his butt handed to him would help humble the young man and teach a valuable lesson about picking his battles. But that’s never really been Dick’s style and while he’s grown more capable as an adult, he still has that burning instinct to help that fuels his freewheeling attitude. Looking before leaping might seem like the brave and noble thing to do when someone’s in danger, but that’s exactly the sort of short-sighted action that could get him killed.
Most members of the Bat-Family may have been drawn to a life of crimefighting out of a desire for vengeance or their sense of justice. Nightwing, on the other hand, is driven by his altruism and it’s his love of humanity that’s kept him fighting on. But the flashback shows that Dick allows his emotional side to overrule his rational side. While it’s admirable Nightwing has one of the most pure fighting spirits of any hero, he goes up against a lot worse threats than mobs with bats. The DC Universe is lousy with villains possessing strength and other deadly powers that could easily outclass him.
It’s not to say that Grayson can’t keep up with rogues more powerful than he is. But Nightwing does risk harm and even death, thanks to his compulsion to jump in head first and save the day.
