While it might not seem like it at first glance, Black Widow and Nightwing have a lot in common. They're both highly trained hand-to-hand combatants with long histories as both heroes and spies. Honestly, they would probably make a solid couple. Black Widow might be one of the few people on the in any comic book universe who could keep up with Nightwing in combat.
But if they faced off in a fight, it would be an incredible war that would absolutely destroy the rooftops of Gotham. Because if they fought, it would take place on the rooftops of Gotham.
11 NIGHTWING: Experienced Acrobat
The Flying Graysons were the most popular act in The Haley Circus, at least until their untimely murder during a performance. The only member of the family left alive was a young Dick Grayson. Finding an immediate kinship with the orphan, Bruce Wayne took the young man in as his ward.
While his eventual training by the Caped Crusader would turn him into one of DC's most recognizable heroes, those early days as a performing acrobat gave him a solid base to start from. It's something that no other Robin that came after him had.
10 BLACK WIDOW: Raised To Be A Spy
Stories of Black Widow's youth vary greatly, as one would expect from one of the world's greatest spies. One account even places her as an infant in Stalingrad as early as 1928. When it comes to the Black Widow, anything and everything is possible.
The most likely story about her is that she was taken in by the Russian Black Widow program at a very young age. Raised in that world, she was comprehensively trained at the Red Room. This included espionage, hand-to-hand combat and much more.
9 NIGHTWING: Trained By Batman
Nightwing may not have been part of a secretive Russian program designed to create super agents, but he was trained by Batman. And it many ways, living in Batman's world is far more dangerous than anything a government program could unleash.
Batman trained Grayson to be a formidable opponent, well versed in various forms of armed and unarmed combat. He also taught him tactical driving and sharpened his detective skills. But most importantly, Batman taught Nightwing how to disappear from a rooftop in the middle of a conversation without making a sound.
8 BLACK WIDOW: Trained With Various Avengers
Once Black Widow left her life as a Russian spy and a supervillain behind, she found herself in the company of a much different group of people. As a member of the Avengers, the Widow became a world renowned hero, one that put her life on the line many times.
This also provided her an opportunity to expand her skill set even further by training with the likes of Captain America. It also mean that she was able to spend time with Tony Stark who upgraded her gadgets on more than one occasion. Hawkeye was there, too, but his training would have just limited her potential.
7 NIGHTWING: Dealt With The Joker
Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote that, "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." It was a warning against becoming evil to fight evil. But it's unlikely that he was thinking specifically of the Joker when he wrote those words.
Regardless, the true danger of fighting Joker is that he drags an opponent down into his own insane abyss, turning them into a monster like him. Nightwing has dealt with the Clown Prince of Crime on multiple occasions, and managed to not become a monster. If they can handle the Joker, they can handle anything.
6 BLACK WIDOW: Enhancements
Black Widow's time in the Red Room was about much more than becoming a super spy. Like other trainees, she was subjected to a variety of procedures that were designed to enhance her abilities. Said procedures were both biological and technological in nature.
If the story about her being alive in 1928 is in fact true, these enhancements would go a long way to explaining how she lived so long and appeared so young. It would also explain, in part, how she consistently held her own against more powerful opponents, like Scarlet Witch, on many occasions.
5 NIGHTWING: Gotham
While Black Widow had the Red Room, Nightwing had Gotham. It is a challenging city to live in to say the least. Even if fans forget that its city planners must have been absinthe freaks on an opium bender, the place is literally filled with crazy people. And that doesn't count all the supervillains running loose.
Gotham City is the crucible in which Nightwing was forged. More than surviving Gotham, he thrived there despite the odds. It's honestly a wonder that more members of the extended Bat-family haven't wound up dead over the years. Gotham is basically one really bad week away from being Mega-City One.
4 BLACK WIDOW: Fought Across The Universe
Even though she was trained to be one of the top spies in the world, Black Widow's adventures have been much bigger than that. Her ongoing fight to save has taken her to different corners of the universe, sometimes into other realities. It has honed her into an even more capable warrior.
Naturally, fans can blame hanging out with the Avengers for that one. They rarely keep their fights confined to one neighborhood of New York, which is probably for the best as they would end up absolutely leveling several blocks.
3 NIGHTWING: A Survivor
The reality is that Nightwing's greatest ability is that he's a survivor. Everything he has gone through in his life, including losing his entire family at such a young age, would have been enough to break most people. And rightfully so.
Dick Grayson didn't break, though. He persevered and chose to pursue a life filled with incredible danger all for the chance to help as many people as he could. When fans look back through his history and see everything he's dealt with, they start to wonder what it will take to actually take him down permanently.
2 BLACK WIDOW: A Killer
Whatever Black Widow's true origin story is, it won't change the fact that she became one of the world's greatest heroes. But even spending time with the Avengers does not erase all the red from her ledger, as a great philosopher once said.
She might have left the life of a spy behind, but Black Widow is still a killer, and a efficient one at that. When the situation calls for it, she could still flip that switch and take out whoever needed to be taken out.
1 WHO WOULD WIN?
The reality of Black Widow that many people underestimate is how far she's willing to go for the win and what she's willing to do. Nightwing has lines he won't cross, and Black Widow does, too. But her lines will still put a foe in the ground.
He's a hell of a fighter, but Nightwing is not ready to take the fight as far as Black Widow in. His only chance is that backup shows quickly or Batman might be looking for a Lazarus Pit to resurrect yet another former Robin.