Nightwing: Dick Grayson Just Took Several DC Heroes Permanently Off-Duty

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Nightwing #75, by Dan Jurgens, Travis Moore, Ronan Cliquet, Nick Filardi and AndWorld Design, on sale now.

The Bat-Family is a symbol of hope, inspiring the people they protect. No one embodies this idea more than Dick Grayson, the newly restored Nightwing.

Of course, some people take this inspiration too far, such as "The Nightwings," a group of vigilantes which Grayson recently shut down.

In Nightwing #75, by Dan Jurgens, Travis Moore and Ronan Cliquet, one of The Nightwings, Malcolm Hutch, is confronted by Dick Grayson, sporting his iconic Nightwing outfit once more. Grayson thanks Hutch, telling the vigilante that he likes what the group has done in his absence. Still, Grayson feels that he needs to have a serious talk with The Nightwings.

Insisting that he meets the team, Grayson is taken to join the others. After some formal introductions, Nightwing tells the group to stop their activities, for their own safety. As an example, Grayson points out how he's highly trained, yet even he was nearly killed by KGBeast.

Indeed, it was this shot to the head that gave Grayson amnesia in the first place, adopting the "Ric Grayson" persona for a while. Nightwing also points out how the group's previous encounters with The Talon and The Joker nearly killed them, a fact not to be taken lightly. Praising their heroism as firefighters and police officers, Nightwing advises the team to leave vigilante work to him. The Nightwings' leader, Detective Alphonse Sapienza, agrees, still saying that if Grayson needs them, The Nightwings will be there.

Originally introduced in Nightwing #52, by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza and Chris Mooneyham, The Nightwings are a group of Blüdhaven police officers and firefighters inspired by Dick Grayson's heroism. When Nightwing went missing, following Grayson's amnesia and retirement from crimefighting, these civil servants formed their own group.

Detective Sapienza created the team, going by the codename of "Nightwing Prime." The rest of the team was also outfitted with different variations of the Nightwing costume and separate codenames. Malcolm Hutch became "Nightwing Red," sporting Grayson's "New 52" outfit, while Zak Edwards wore the iconic blue costume as "Nightwing Blue" and Colleen Edwards donned the original "disco" costume as "Nightwing Gold."

Eventually, when Ric Grayson became a crime-fighter again, he joined The Nightwings, albeit without a colorful costume or codename like the others. With Grayson alongside them, The Nightwings became a fully-formed crime-fighting unit.

In a trial by fire, The Nightwings proved themselves by tackling The Scarecrow, a classic Batman villain. The Nightwings were also tormented by the enigmatic "Joker's Daughter" while attempting to make a name for herself. The team's first real challenge, however, came from a new villain, calling himself "Burnback." This creature was made out of pure flames, engulfing the city of Blüdhaven in an inferno. Working together, The Nightwings put a stop to this new fiend.

Despite winning a few battles, The Nightwings ultimately suffered much at the hands of deadly and more experienced foes. The Talon, for example, made short work of this group when he arrived in Blüdhaven. Zak barely survived the encounter, hospitalized by the lethal assassin.

The events of "Joker War" also hit the team hard, with The Clown Prince of Crime leaving Alphonse in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down. Although The Nightwings persisted even after Grayson returned, it was time for these vigilantes to retire. These ordinary citizens endured a lot and now understand the true dangers of a career in crime-fighting.

With Dick Grayson back in the role of Nightwing, regular people like The Nightwings are able to return to safer, normal lives.

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