Nightwing’s no stranger to dealing with younger heroes, but his latest adventure is hinting that he might soon be getting a sidekick, or a Robin, who might be too much for even him to handle. Dick Grayson might not want a sidekick, but he doesn't have much room to argue. He was Robin when he was a kid, and it’s not like Dick can just stop being a positive influence on younger generations.
In Nightwing #121 by Dan Watters, Dexter Soy, Veronica Gandini, and Wes Abbott, Dick Grayson saves a group of troubled kids who have become a Blüdhaven street gang, and this encounter could lead to Dick getting his own Robin or Teen Titans analogue.
In the issue, Nightwing takes some of the gang, called "the Teddies," under his wing after realizing that they’re just kids. One boy in particular, Bryce, feels like he's been set up to be the perfect young sidekick to Dick, even if Nightwing doesn’t want him to join up.
Nightwing Might Be Getting a New Sidekick in a Young Gang Member Named Bryce
Not That Dick Grayson Would Want Him to Become a "Robin"
Founded by the mysterious gang boss Mama Bear, who died in Nightwing #119, the Teddies seem to mostly be younger males, with their interim leader, Keenan, maybe in his early twenties at a stretch. The gang would argue that they’re a community, but Keenan admits that some of them "go too far" with their violence, which includes ripping rival gang members apart by tying them to supercars. Despite that cruelty, there are clearly some good kids, and Dick takes pity on them after the death of young member Marcus, Bryce’s younger brother, who’s gunned down by militarized security firm Spheric, which is being set up as Nightwing's new foe.
Dick Grayson is no strange to working with teammates; check out his team book in DC'a All In era, Titans by John Layman and Pete Woods, available now from DC Comics.
Bryce has been given a lot of attention, and it's possible that he’s being set up for bigger and better things in the story, which could include becoming a fully-fledged hero. He ikely wouldn’t admit it, but Bryce has a soft side, as Dick realizes when Bryce begins playing with a rabbit that Nightwing rescued from an inhumane animal-piloted security system. Dick isn’t looking for a sidekick, but if Bryce leaves him no other option, then at least the kid has some street skills to rely on should he try to become the Robin to Nightwing’s Batman.
If Nightwing Argues Against These Kids Becoming Heroes, He's a Hypocrite
Dick Grayson Became Robin When He Was Just as Young
What's great about the idea that these kids, and especially Bryce, could become a new generation of Robins or Teen Titans analogues is how it mirrors Nightwing's own journey. Dick argues in Nightwing #121 that the late Marcus should’ve been in school, but it's not like he has room to talk. At that age, Dick was becoming Robin and was just as headstrong as any of those kids. If it hadn’t been for Batman, Dick could easily have been swallowed up by the exact same lifestyle as the Teddies. If they want to emulate him and find ways out as vigilantes, then that’s their decision.
Dick Grayson struck out on his own from Batman as Nightwing when he wasn’t much older than them.
Nightwing obviously wants to protect these children, but it's hard to say if they'll actually listen to him. If they decide of their own volition that they’re going to become something more than a street gang, then there's not much that Dick can do. Even if he does try to stop the group, he becomes a hypocrite. He struck out on his own from Batman as Nightwing when he wasn’t much older than them. The best he can hope to do is exactly what Bruce did for him: be a guiding force and teach these kids well enough that they don’t get themselves killed.
Nightwing Is Proving That the Bat-Family Has an Essential Legacy to Uphold
Batman and Robin (and Nightwing) Will Never Die
What this new relationship between Dick and the kids also shows is how Batman’s legacy is truly generational. Nightwing is becoming a positive influence on these kids just like Batman was ultimately a positive influence on him (and vice versa). Sure, Dick’s never going to die for real (or at least not die forever) in comics, but the story reassures us that if he ever did, he’d have someone to pick up his mantle and hopefully even improve on the good he did. Batman might fashion himself as a creature of the night, but he’s ultimately the progenitor of countless theoretical generations of future heroes.
Readers think they know everything there is to know about the deaths of Robin’s parents, but a classic Batman character has just flipped that idea.
As long as Nightwing and Batman are out there, they’ll be inspiring their successors. There’s no better encapsulation of this idea than the rallying cry from writer Grant Morrison’s seminal Batman run: "Batman and Robin will never die!" That’s a statement that any Batman and Robin fan can get behind. Just by showing Bryce and these other kids a better way to live, Nightwing proves that aphorism true, even if he wouldn’t want them following in his footsteps. If Nightwing is going to get his own Robin, he’s going to go through a lot of grief in the process - but it may just be worth it.
Nightwing is the superhero moniker taken up by Dick Grayson, upon his aging out of the Robin role and becoming a superhero of his own. Inspired by the original Kryptonian hero of the same name, Grayson has risen to comic book immortality with the identity, earning respect as one of the greatest leaders in the DC Universe.
Created By
Edmond Hamilton
, Curt Swan
, Marv Wolfman
, George Perez
Alias
Dick Grayson
Alliance
Teen Titans, Titans, Outsiders, Justice League, Batman Inc., Birds of Prey, Young Justice
Custom Image By Brian Colucci
English (US) ·