Dick Grayson may be the DC Universe's latest billionaire playboy, but he's found that his newfound wealth and public mission to use it towards good has led to both sides of his crimefighting double life being targeted by Bludhaven's most sinister supervillains. He's been battling enemies like Blockbuster and Heartless as Nightwing, and Dick's pledge to use his fortune to improve the overall infrastructure of Bludhaven has led to him a hefty assassination contract being placed on his civilian persona's head. Nightwing is being besieged from all sides but this isn't the first time the original Boy Wonder has had to contend with his entire life being turned upside down.
When Nightwing first left Gotham City to become Bludhaven's resident superhero, he discovered that Roland Desmond had since installed himself as the coastal city's unrivaled crime lord Blockbuster. Blockbuster controlled virtually every aspect of Bludhaven, from its criminal underworld to its deeply corrupt police force. He ruled over the city with an iron fist and became annoyed when Nightwing arrived to disrupt his illicit enterprise. However, Blockbuster's feud with Nightwing became intensely personal when he blamed the young hero for the death of his mother after Nightwing inadvertently caused a traffic jam that prevented Roland's mother from receiving life-saving medical care in time.
In retaliation, Blockbuster hired an entire cadre of supervillains to hunt down Nightwing across Bludhaven while he scoured to learn his enemy's secret identity. He eventually used his genius-level intellect gained during the 1995 crossover event Underworld Unleashed (created by Mark Waid and Howard Porter), along with his contacts throughout the city, to deduce that Nightwing's true identity. This led Blockbuster to set out to systematically dismantle every aspect of his life as part of his twisted revenge scheme. He burned Dick's childhood stomping grounds at Haly's Circus and then bombed Dick's apartment complex, killing most of the inhabitants as Dick realized his greatest enemy now knew his biggest secret.
This setup mirrored how Daredevil's life was ruined by Kingpin when Wilson Fisk discovered the Marvel superhero's secret identity in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's classic 1986 story "Born Again." When a drug-addicted Karen Page sold out Matt Murdock's superhero secret for a quick fix, the revelation eventually reached Kingpin through his vast criminal network. Redirecting his resources, the Kingpin pulled strings to freeze Matt's finances, disbar him from practicing law based on false testimony, and foreclosed on Matt's condominium. When Matt's life appeared at a nadir point, Kingpin punctuated this vendetta by bombing Matt's apartment, making Matt realize his downward spiral was orchestrated.
Daredevil's return to form was much more conventional. He fought back against the Kingpin, with one of his attempted assassins revealing what Fisk had been up to to the authorities while Matt received timely assistance from the Avengers to save the day. Nightwing's battle against Blockbuster ended with considerably more tragedy. Blockbuster was murdered by Tarantula while Nightwing passively watched. This complicity in observing a murder led to Nightwing enduring a full nervous breakdown before he eventually came to his senses and brought Tarantula to justice.
In the years since Nightwing and Blockbuster's harrowing showdown, Roland has returned to life while Nightwing's secret identity has been restored. But with Dick Grayson unveiling his big plans for Bludhaven and Blockbuster responding in kind, it's only of time before the two old enemies have another face-to-face confrontation that could reopen old wounds. And just as Kingpin is struggling to relearn Daredevil's secret identity in the Marvel crossover event Devil's Reign, so too may Blockbuster go through desperate lengths to rediscover Dick's big secret during the Infinite Frontier era.