WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story "We Fight for Love" from Dark Nights: Death Metal - The Last Stories of the DC Universe #1 by Cecil Castellucci, Mirka Andolfo, Andrew Dalhouse and Saida Temofonte, on sale now.
While Jason Todd may have recently made a move on Barbara Gordon in Batman: Three Jokers, the most enduring Batgirl's most enduring romance has always been with the original Boy Wonder, Dick Grayson. After being an on and off again couple for decades of comic book history, Nightwing is in the midst of a recent break-up shortly after a rematch against KGBeast while Barbara is facing her own tumultuous upheaval in the wake of the crossover event "Joker War."
And as the heroes of the DC Multiverse prepare for the final battle of the bombastic Dark Nights: Death Metal, Dick and Barbara decide to take their romantic relationship to the next level by getting married, even if their impromptu nuptials are technically non-binding.
Nightwing meets up with the Teen Titans ahead of the impending battle before departing as he realizes he may very well be in the middle of his last night on Earth as the potential end of reality looms before them. As Batman assembles the Bat-Family to brief his various proteges on how to approach the coming fight against the army from the Dark Multiverse, Dick confesses his love for Barbara once again, only to be rebuffed to focus on the epic stakes before them. This emotional exchange continues after the Dark Knight's briefing, leading Batman to intervene with the lovers' quarrel and settle it for good.
True to form, even after becoming undead, Batman urges the couple to stop wasting precious time and just skip to the end of their little spat. With that ultimatum issued, Dick proposes to Barbara on the spot and, realizing that this may indeed be the end, Barbara accepts. With the couple's apparent consent, Batman marries the two on the spot in the span of a single comic book panel. As the rest of the Bat-Family gives the couple their space, Barbara reminds Dick that this impromptu marriage will effectively be void even in the unlikely event that both survive. Unfazed, Dick swears that he will win back Barbara in whatever reality or life they find themselves in next as the two enjoy their last, peaceful hours together.
Dick and Barbara have always flirted with the possibility of marriage in the face of cataclysmic events. Right before the 2005 crossover event Infinite Crisis, Dick proposed to Barbara, which she happily accepted. In the immediate aftermath, Dick and Barbara realized they had become engaged for the wrong reasons and decided to amicably split. A version of the two characters would get married in one of the pocket realities introduced by the 2015 weekly comic book series Convergence in the tie-in miniseries Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle #1-2 by Gail Simone, Jan Duursema and Dan Parsons as they faced the potential end of their world at the hands of Brainiac.
With the DC heroes facing the probable end of their world as Death Metal nears its explosive end, many of their first thoughts ahead of the battle immediately go to family, love and unresolved issues. The mind of Dick Grayson has gone to all three topics, and all of them centered on the longtime love of his life, Barbara Gordon. And while the two have rekindled their romance in the face of an unofficial wedding, Dick will have to convince Barbara to move forward and get married for real if they both make it to the other side of the coming fight.