The following contains spoilers for Nightwing #93, now on sale from DC Comics
Recent issues of Nightwing has been an exciting period of change for Dick Grayson. Batman's original sidekick has found himself stepping into an important new role in life. Along the way though, he's been finding new ways to help Bludhaven outside his role as a costumed hero, especially when confronting the corruption of forces like the police.
Nightwing #93 (by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Wade Von Grawbadger, Adriano Lucas and Wes Abbott) reinforced the recent trend in DC heroes of taking down their enemies not just with fists, but finding ways to actually use public opinion and official channels to confront wrong-doers.
The DC Universe has been exploring the genre's long-standing ionization of the police. In the past, police may have distrusted heroes but (except in cases of corruption) were typically portrayed in positive lights. Even hunting down heroes came because they simply distrusted the masked vigilantes in their cities. But things have been changing as western society reexamines the effect police can have on cities. In the Marvel Universe, this came to a head during the Devil's Reign crossover, which saw Wilson Fisk use the police to bring down heroes.
But over in the DC Universe, the heroes are thinking outside the box to approach traditionally positive authority figures like the police. In Nightwing, Dick Grayson's massive investment in Bludhaven has been a serious boon for the city's underprivileged corners. However, it's also had the unintended side effect of upending the balance of the corrupt authorities in the city. This has led the police to open fire on Nightwing whenever they get the opportunity to, even as he's just cleaning graffiti in costume.
The commotion is then used by the police as an excuse to increase scrutiny on the streets. Commissioner Maclean even tried to use the media to portray Dick's efforts as misguided and a waste of money. But having discovered the graffiti was actually created by the police themselves, Grayson has Oracle upload the evidence. Completely out of costume, Grayson was able to cause serious problems for the police and help use public opinion to turn steal away power from his enemy in the police.
It's an impressive showing from Dick Grayson, and not even the only recent use of the public opinion and formal tactics against corrupt enemies. In Superman: Son of Kal-El #12 (by Tom Taylor, Cian Tormey, Scott Hanna, Ruairi Coleman, Raul Fernandez, Matt Herms, Federico Blee, and Dave Sharpe) Jon Kent worked with his boyfriend Jay Nakamura to expose a US Senator who has been working for Henry Bendix. Instead of breaking into the building and spying on the senator or using their fists, Superman simply confronted the public figure by bringing up the evidence and calling upon him to explain himself to the public.
It's been an interesting development for the two heroes DC has been highlighting in books like Dark Crisis as the true leaders of the new generation of heroes -- and they're resisting just being heroes who beat up their enemies and call it a day. Instead, the two are highlighting how heroes can change the world by working within the system while making sure to fix what doesn't work about it.
Without lifting a fist, Nightwing was able to upend a narrative the corrupt Bludhaven police wanted to use to motivate the public into supporting them. As seen recently in the pages of the "Fear State" crossover, such tactics can work, and leave the entire populace at the mercy of corrupt people with dark plans for the world. It's an exciting showcase for the two heroes' ability to work outside of their traditional role as superheroes to still help and protect the people they've sworn themselves to defend.