The following article contains spoilers from Nightwing #96, on sale now from DC Comics.

The war for the soul of Bludhaven has finally come to an end with Nightwing emerging as the victor. After a tense battle in Nightwing #96 (by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Caio Filipe, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott), Blockbuster was forced to flee when his empire turned on him after learning the full extent of his crimes. He didn't get far before he was accosted by Heartless, having healed from their last encounter, he proceeded to kill Blockbuster.

While this brings an end to Blockbuster's threat of exposing Nightwing's secret identity and ultimately removes one of the worst criminal influences in the city, it also strips away any further story potential. Blockbuster may have lost his position of power, but that left him in a place where a number of interesting stories could be told as he tried to bounce back. Heartless killing him, while necessary for his story progression and to protect Nightwing, cuts that potential short.

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Nightwing #96 Nightwing and Blockbuster

This isn't the first time Nightwing has gone up against Blockbuster to fight for the future of Bludhaven. As the city's most powerful crime lord, Blockbuster had his hands in every illegal trade possible, and even within the city's government. He also effectively had Bludhaven in a chokehold that he would never release willingly. This is where Nightwing came in, obviously, he couldn't let that go unchallenged.

It was when Dick Grayson began using his new inheritance to help Bludhaven's homeless that the fight truly began. By helping people out of a bad situation, Dick was giving the city the opportunity to reclaim its home from Blockbuster. That inevitably spiraled into Blockbuster attempting to torch Dick Grayson's life, who in turn sent all of his friends after the crime lord. This brought readers to the final confrontation between the two, and Blockbuster's murder at Heartless' hands.

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Heartless Exposed Blockbuster's Greatest Motivation... By Roasting Him

All in all, it was a satisfying ending to his story. With nothing left to his name, Blockbuster was forced to go on the run, allowing Heartless to fulfill his promise to rip out his heart. This sets things up for Heartless to become Nightwing's main enemy now. It also keeps Nightwing's true identity a secret. However, the loss of story potential is truly sad. Since his reintroduction, Blockbuster has been this towering figure with both physical and political power. People killed for him and disposed of bodies for him, some of whom were supposed to be civil servants. He had information that was invaluable both for him and the writers. Now all of that is as dead as he is.

A story of Blockbuster fleeing the city and using his newfound knowledge to rebuild his empire would have been a fascinating one. Rarely do villain stories focus on a comeback. Most tell their origins, establish their powers, and give readers a satisfying fall from grace. Seeing Blockbuster come back with a new empire to challenge both Nightwing and Heartless (who has his own plans for the city) would have made for a unique three-way battle that would push Nightwing to his limits. Sadly, it seems like that will never come to pass.