WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Nightwing #81 by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas and Wes Abbott, on sale now.

Nightwing's encounter with his newest enemy has exposed two of Dick Grayson's weaknesses. Having finally found Heartless, Nightwing was ready to protect the children from him, but Heartless surprised him by letting them go, saying he only wanted to watch them run. The two then fought, with Nightwing realizing that Heartless was enhanced, but his fighting technique was sloppy at best. Heartless's mind is far sharper. He revealed that he anticipated that Nightwing might be the better fighter, so he took advantage of his compassion and put multiple children in danger, forcing Nightwing to let him get away. And even before that, Heartless unintentionally exploited Nightwing's other weakness: the lingering damage from being shot in the head.

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The fight with Heartless was already tense before it even started. Heartless surprised Nightwing by letting the children go, suggesting that he may have some kind of code. Things took a turn when he struck Nightwing upside the head, triggering Nightwing's old wound. He had been shot through the head by the KGBeast back in Batman #55 by Tom King, Tony S. Daniel and Clayton Cowles. This resulted in him losing his memory for a time, but the recent issues have been establishing his return to the identity of Dick Grayson.

Fortunately, the injury didn't cause any memory loss, but it did impede Nightwing's ability to fight effectively. Still, he had experience over Heartless, who was very much new to the scene. Even with an enhanced state, Nightwing was able to keep the fight on even footing. But that was when Heartless played his other hand. Revealing that he had intentionally let the children run to the pier, he detonated several explosives, leaving Nightwing with the choice to save the kids or let them die to capture Heartless. Naturally, both Heartless and Nightwing knew what his answer would be.

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The move demonstrates how calculating and ruthless Heartless is. He understands his enemy -- at least to the most basic tenet of who Nightwing is. Heartless knew Nightwing would never be able to turn away from saving innocents, even if it meant letting a sadistic murderer go free.

The wound was intentional, but the side effects most likely weren't expected. The head injury caused a concussion, which resulted in Nightwing passing out just before he could help in the rescue efforts. He was saved by Oracle and Robin, but couldn't resist the urge to go out and investigate Bludhaven's newest mayor even though his head injury hadn't fully healed.

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Oracle contacted him, knowing he was deliberately ignoring her request that he rest. He tried to lie to her, but she reminded him that he was still wearing her camera so she could see everything he was doing right now. Nightwing conceded and admitted he forgot -- probably because of the head injury. Oracle agreed and then reiterated that he should be resting. But Nightwing pressed on and made another mistake.

Forgetfulness wasn't the only side effect of his concussion. His senses were off as well. Oracle could see hidden attackers through his bodycam before he did, and the slow reaction time allowed his attacker to get a second blow to his head in. From there, Nightwing was helpless as Melinda Zucco knocked him out and unmasked him.

It's no secret that Nightwing cares. He has a big heart -- it's what makes him such an amazing hero. The head injury is something that will need time to recover, but it's now a glaring weakness that could potentially be exploited by anyone who knows it's there. Unfortunately, Nightwing's compassion is what prevents him from sitting on the sidelines to heal.

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