DC Comics is giving Nightwing his very own superfan from the Fifth Dimension, Nite-Mite.
Revealed on Twitter by Nightwing series writer Tom Taylor and artist Bruno Redondo, Nightwing #98 marks the first appearance of Nite-Mite, a character designed by artist Daniele Di Nicuolo and inspired by Bat-Mite. The future issue will be written by Taylor with interior art by Nicuolo and main cover art by Redondo. If Nite-Mite is anything like Bat-Mite, chaos could be heading Dick Grayson's way in the issue.
Who Is Bat-Mite, Batman's Superfan?
Created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff in 1959's Detective Comics #267, Bat-Mite is a Fifth Dimensional imp that behaves as a super fan of the Dark Knight. The Fifth Dimension is another reality that is not only home to Bat-Mite, but Mr. Mxyzptlk, both of whom possess great power. Bat-Mite is capable of altering reality itself, using his abilities to challenge his hero with new scenarios both in and outside of comics, being that he also appears in television shows and video games like the Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series and the Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham game.
As for Nite-Mite, his debut strays away from the street-level threats Dick has been dealing with in his solo title since Taylor and Redondo took over the series in 2021. The primary antagonist of the title since Nightwing #78 has been the crime boss Roland Desmond aka Blockbuster, causing Dick to tackle police corruption, street crime and other threats orchestrated by the villain. Not every character that has appeared in the series has been street-level though, being that the Titans, Superman Jon Kent and Flash Wally West have shown up to help Dick in the past.
Nite-Mite Is the Latest New Character Introduced in the Eisner-Nominated 'Nightwing' Series
Taylor and Redondo have also introduced other new characters since taking over Nightwing. Early on in the series, they introduced both Melinda Zucco and the villain Heartless. Melinda became a new addition to Dick's family tree as a secret sister he never knew he had, while Heartless is an unknown character who rips out the hearts of others to add to a massive collection he possesses. The most recent issue of Nightwing to release as of writing is Nightwing #95, and Heartless' true identity still has yet to be revealed.
The creative team has also earned much recognition for Nightwing since the duo began their run. Though the series lost in every category, Nightwing was nominated for five Eisner Awards in 2022, including Best Single Issue/One-Shot (Nightwing #87), Best Continuing Series, Best Penciller/Inker (Redondo), Best Cover Artist (also Redondo) and Best Lettering (letterer Wes Abbott scoring the nomination for his work on the series).
Nightwing #98 is written by Taylor with interior art by Di Nicuolo and main cover art by Redondo. Variant covers for the issue are contributed to by Dan Hipp, Brian Stelfreeze and Jamal Campbell. The issue is set to release Nov. 15 from DC Comics.
Source: Twitter