Nightwing Finally Has His Own Joker (And He’s So Much More Terrifying)

Nightwing is quite familiar with the Joker, but Dick Grayson’s latest foe is way more intimidating than the Clown Prince of Crime ever was. In his long career as a costumed hero, Nightwing has faced some of the DC Universe’s worst threats. It was bad enough as the Boy Wonder when he faced down the members of Batman’s rogues’ gallery. But now Nightwing is grown and has villains of his own. And while foes like Blockbuster and Heartless have put him through the wringer, they’re nothing compared to the latest villain who has Nightwing in their sights.

Since the beginning of DC All In, Dick has been working tirelessly to protect Blüdhaven. But what began as a gang war spurred on by Olivia Pearce sent Nightwing down a rabbit hole that led him to discover the Zanni, a malevolent entity that’s actually been targeting Grayson ever since he was Robin. Nightwing’s struggles with the Zanni have made for one of the most complex cases he’s ever worked. But what exactly is the Zanni? Why is he targeting Nightwing, and how far is this monster willing to go to get what he wants from the hero?

The Zanni is a Fifth-Dimensional Monster Who Wants to Control Nightwing

The Zanni made his earliest appearance in Nightwing #119, but it wouldn’t be until a few issues in that we start to discover what he is. The Zanni comes from the Fifth Dimension, the same realm as Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite. As a resident of the Fifth Dimension, he’s strongly associated with imagination. But more specifically, Zanni’s existence is tied to performance (as hinted by his namesake, a stock character from commedia dell’arte). The Zanni has been around as long as people have made entertainment, but he was at his strongest at the peak of circuses.

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The Zanni created his own inter-dimensional circus, the Cirque du Sin, and used performers, entertainers, and other similar people to continue drawing strength.. However, things took a turn for the Zanni when circus performances fell out of favor. And the arrival of superheroes, living embodiments of spectacle and wonder, shattered the purpose of the circus, weakening the Zanni even further. However, Zanni’s power began to grow in modern years thanks to Dick Grayson, a man who fused the world of the circus with the world of heroes, making for the perfect avatar to bring Zanni into the modern world.

Zanni and his most faithful servant, Colombina, began a long-term plan to manipulate Nightwing into serving as Zanni’s new Ringmaster, the central figure in the Cirque du Sin. Zanni has started a war in Blüdhaven, corrupted Nite-Mite, and kidnapped the city’s children all in a bid to force Nightwing to join Zanni and take on the role that can usher the entity into a new era of great power. Even now, as Nightwing engages in his final battle with the Zanni, the being is going for broke, destroying Nightwing’s city to get him to comply.

The Zanni’s Obsession with Nightwing is Way More Demented (And Destructive) Than Joker

Now, Nightwing obviously isn’t the only member of the Bat-Family who’s been targeted by a clown. But let’s be real, as dangerous as the Joker is, he’s more of a pain in the butt than a serious threat to Batman. Sure, his obsessiveness is creepy, but it’s never been anything that Batman can’t handle. This isn’t the same case as the Zanni. Zanni is a Fifth-Dimensional being, meaning that his powers are virtually unlimited. He can change reality on a whim and manipulate the minds of others to a limited degree.

But what’s really unsettling about the Zanni isn’t his powers. It’s that he’s been hiding in the shadows, determined to claim Nightwing so that Zanni can achieve full power. He’s been stalking Dick almost his entire career as a superhero, and the better Nightwing got, the more power the Zanni gained. It’s a cosmically parasitic relationship between Zanni and Nightwing, and much like how the Joker doesn’t have eyes for anyone but Batman, Zanni’s not going to let Nightwing go as long as Grayson is Zanni’s best shot at reclaiming his full power.

Now I know that Joker has a history with Batman and is an icon in his own right. But the creative team behind the Zanni has cooked up an amazingly creepy antagonist here. A god of performance, single-mindedly obsessed with a hero who loves to perform. It’s a great idea for a villain, and it’s made the current Nightwing ongoing one of the best books on the stands. I don’t know what’s next for Dick Grayson as his battle with Zanni comes to a close, but I wouldn’t count on his new archenemy being gone for long.

What do you think about Nightwing’s new nemesis? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!