Despite the efforts of Nightwing writer Kyle Higgins to put to rest rumors that Dick Grayson will die as a result of DC Comics' Villains Month, the whispers continue, in no small part because there's no issue of the series in September.

"Nightwing doesn't have a book that month, but we're back after September," Higgins assured CBR TV last month. "We're back with October. Actually, the finale of the first arc in Chicago with the Prankster and Tony Zucco, that culminates in October with Issue 24. We're still around, we're doing our thing."

Considering that Nightwing initially had been targeted for death in the 2005-2006 miniseries Infinite Crisis, it's perhaps understandable that fans would read reports that the character "will be affected in a very dramatic way" to mean he'd meet his maker. That Forever Evil teaser with the bloody Nightwing emblem probably didn't help matters, either.

But what if the ad's slogan, "When the Unthinkable Happens!", refers to something else? What if it refers to Nightwing turning evil? That's what the CBR-exclusive art from November's Batman/Superman #5 certainly suggests, with Brett Booth depicting a brutal fight between Dick Grayson and his one-time mentor.