WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for "The Pageant of the Masters of Nocturnal Artistry" by Jason Aaron, R.M. Guera, Giulia Brusco and VC's Cory Petit, from the pages of Heroes Reborn #5, on sale now.
Kyle Richmond is Nighthawk, one of the members of the Squadron Supreme. Patterned in large parts off of DC's Batman, Nighthawk is one of the most prominent heroes in the world of Heroes Reborn -- a world where Mephisto is worshipped and the Avengers (along with most of the Marvel heroes by extension) never existed. Instead, justice has been defined by the Squadron Supreme and their brutal tactics, leading to a world that, on the surface, looks bright and appealing but is built atop darkness.
One of the most clever ways Heroes Reborn ties Richmond into his DC inspiration is the Nightcave, a secret base that Nighthawk can access from his position as a House Representative in the US Capitol Building. It includes a shrine to some of the major Marvel figures he's defeated over the years, and some of them are really tragic.
Beneath Washington DC is a cave holding all the weapons Richmond has collected over the years during his crime-fighting career, as well as a trophy wall of some of his most notable victories. This is similar to how Batman collects the gear of his enemies and keeps it up in his Bat-Cave, effectively creating a museum to his victories. However, Batman is often shown to research these weapons, not just holding onto them for show but to learn from. Due to the nature of Heroes Reborn, however, Nighthawk's trophy wall doesn't just display victories over genuinely hateful villains (such as the masks of Hate-Monger and Baron Zemo), but the remains of other, more morally complex characters.
Among his trophies is the helm of the Silver Samurai, the twin sai of Elektra, and even the robotic metal arm of the Winter Soldier -- implying that Nighthawk confronted and defeated all three of these figures with enough efficiency that he could take their most signature tools for his own sake. It's a surprising turn, hinting that these three never got the chance to realize their best selves, and instead remain mere footnotes in the history of Nighthawk. This is a genuine tragedy when considering the work someone like Bucky Barnes or Elektra Natchios has gone through to become better people. Instead, their battle with Nighthawk resulted in their utter defeat and the end of their story.
One of the main undercurrents of Heroes Reborn has been how the Avengers offered many figures from across the Marvel Universe the chance for redemption -- and in a world with the Squadron Supreme, that just isn't possible. Black Widow, Hawkeye, Ant-Man and Scarlet Witch all began as villains in the core-Marvel Universe, only for the Avengers to give them the chance to grow better as people and turn into the heroes they always had the potential to become. The same could be said for Elektra, the Silver Samurai and the Winter Soldier -- all of whom have committed crimes in their lives, but have eventually become more heroic over the years. Winter Soldier even eventually became Captain America, cementing his growth as a hero and proving redemption is the key of the Marvel heroes.
But in the world of Heroes Reborn, there's no chance for that growth. At best, these figures are forced on the run or imprisoned, ostracized from society, and kept from evolving as people. At worst, they can suffer fates similar to the Hulk -- who was killed and reduced to a pile of mush by Hyperion rather than be given the chance to redeem himself. While it's a minor shout-out to Batman, Nighthawk's trophy wall is also a painful reminder of one of the core ideals at the heart of the Marvel Universe and the Avengers as a whole, and how grim the world can become when it's pushed aside so that the current status quo doesn't have to wrestle with the ensuing implications.