DC Comics have done an excellent job at establishing several iconic setting that have become homes for their superheroes and villains. Bludhaven only came around in 1996, but it’s since become a pivotal are for DC heroes like Nightwing. A lot of the bigger cities in the DC universe are magnets for crime, but that’s especially apt when it comes to Bludhaven.
Places like Gotham City have built strong personalities over the years, but Bludhaven is a highly grim & dour place that's attracted the very worst of Nightwing’s foes. Bludhaven is a tough pill to swallow, but there’s a lot about the city and its history that gives it depth.
10 Bludhaven Was A Failed Shipping And Manufacturing Hub
There are many crime-filled areas in the DC universe, but Bludhaven has a history of being a melting pot for the disadvantaged and lawless. Bludhaven began as a whaling town and although it was incorporated into a Commonwealth in 1912, the area has been more commonly referred to as "Asbestos Town, USA." Bludhaven failed to become the fundamental trading and manufacturing center that it envisioned, which led to radical urban decay that only became more sprawling over time. The crime and corruption that's baked into Bludhaven stems from the area's history being marred in defeat.
9 Bludhaven's Criminal Empire Is Run By Blockbuster
Nightwing is initially drawn to Bludhaven because he's in pursuit of the crime boss, Blockbuster, who not only sets up shop in the city, but begins to take over the organized crime scene. Bludhaven's very own police department is filled with corruption, which is why Nightwing needs to infiltrate it as Dick Grayson, but it's all in service of Blockbuster's work. Blockbuster is ultimately taken out by the vigilante, Tarantula, but Bludhaven’s crime problem becomes even more unstable. Villains like Father Time, the Black Born, and even the Penguin temporarily try to fill the void left by Blockbuster.
8 Bludhaven Is Nightwing’s Primary Base Of Operations
Bludhaven is a DC location that’s been featured in several different series and visited by a wide range of characters, but to most it’s a crime-filled mess that’s associated with Nightwing. Bludhaven was introduced in Nightwing’s solo series and created by Chuck Dixon.
Bludhaven is only around 30 minutes away from Gotham, but Nightwing decides it’s necessary to move there in an effort to further establish an identity outside of Batman and the Teen Titans. Nightwing doesn’t permanently stay in Bludhaven, but he becomes its first real defender and it’s a place that symbolically means a lot to him.
7 The Secret Society Of Super Villains Turns Bludhaven Into A Radioactive Wasteland
Bludhaven gets its first taste of mass panic and death during the events of Infinite Crisis. The Secret Society of Super Villains wants to make an example out of Nightwing so they drop Chemo, living sentient radioactive waste, to devastate his community of Bludhaven. The villains’ attack is a failure against Nightwing, but the radioactive fallout claims over 100,000 lives, which presumably includes some of the vigilante heroes in Bludhaven, like Tarantula. Superman, along with the help of the Teen Titans, hurls Chemo into outer space, but it evidently doesn’t extinguish Bludhaven’s problems.
6 Batgirl Builds Her Own Batcave In Bludhaven
Bludhaven's first and signature defender is Nightwing, but the tortured hero eventually turns his back on the community. In Nightwing's absence, both Tim Drake's Robin & Cassandra Cain's Batgirl try to keep Bludhaven safe and even the scales of justice. Batgirl becomes so committed to making Bludhaven her new base of operations that she even establishes a Batcave there and for awhile she and Robin do great work in the area. Unfortunately personal matters draw both Batgirl and Robin away from Bludhaven, which again leaves it vulnerable.
5 Bludhaven Was Destroyed By Captain Atom And His Nuclear Fallout
Bludhaven faces a serious blow when Chemo is dropped in the community, but people grow suspicious when radical radiation remains even after his exodus. It’s revealed that Father Time, one of the villains who's found a slice of power in Bludhaven during all of this, has imprisoned an injured Captain Atom, who leaks radiation.
The Atomic Knights are able to get Captain Atom into a radiation containment suit, but it's sadly in vain. Captain Atom tells everyone to evacuate Bludhaven, at which point he detonates in a nuclear explosion and takes out what remains of the region.
4 Freedom’s Ring And The Atomic Knights Attempt To Revitalize Bludhaven
Several superheroes try to keep the peace in Bludhaven, but the area becomes such a hotbed for danger during Infinite Crisis and the devastation of Chemo that a government-sanctioned team called Freedom's Ring is put together to keep Bludhaven safe while temporary help like the Teen Titans can evacuate. 2/3 of Freedom's Ring quickly meet their end, but the Atomic Knights are another superhero group who have been secretly operating under Bludhaven's volatile conditions. The Atomic Knights help citizens escape in an underground railroad-like capacity, but they're also instrumental in handling the Captain Atom situation that develops.
3 Brother Eye Erects A New OMAC Army There
Bludhaven gets continually decimated and as the area becomes less desirable, there is a rotating door of individuals who try to make the best out of this stretch of scorched Earth. Most people leave Bludhaven alone after it's turned into a radioactive crater, but during the tumultuous events of Infinite Crisis, the twisted AI system, Brother Eye, uses the deserted space for himself and the ground for a new OMAC Army of cyborgs. Brother Eye is able to get away with his plan for a while, but Bludhaven doesn’t prosper any from the experience.
2 A Wall Is Built Around Bludhaven And It’s Declared A State Of Emergency
Bludhaven faces two serious radioactive attacks during Infinite Crisis. The President has no choice but to declare that Bludhaven is a hazardous risk to the public and orders a state of emergency around it after the resolution of the Chemo situation doesn't get rid of Bludhaven's radiation problem. The President decides to isolate Bludhaven's dangers by building a wall around the city, which remains and becomes a structure that the community acclimates towards. What's chilling is how "The Wall" of Bludhaven is treated like DC's equivalent to the Gaza Strip and has become a hotbed for refugee camps.
1 Bludhaven Becomes Darkseid’s Base Of Operations
Gotham City honestly looks like a safe haven in comparison to the troubles that its neighboring city Bludhaven faces. Final Crisis is a DC event series that tests the limits of many characters, but at this point there's not much left to Bludhaven. Brother Eye establishes a Boom Tube to Apokolips, which Darkseid uses to his advantage. Darkseid turns Bludhaven into his headquarters during Final Crisis as he attempts to take over the Earth. Darkseid is ultimately unsuccessful and what's left of Bludhaven is practically just rubble.