Batman/Catwoman Reveals Dick Grayson’s Fate

While Future State offers DC fans a glimpse at one possible future for the DC Universe, Tom King’s Batman/Catwoman is offering another one. As readers have already seen in the first two issues of the series, the world of Batman/Catwoman is one in which Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle have had a daughter, Helena Wayne, where Bruce has died, and where Selina is ready to settle a very old score with The Joker. In Batman/Catwoman #2 she does what Batman never would allow and kills the diabolical old villain who has retired to Florida, but in this week’s Batman/Catwoman #3 the story shifts back to Gotham and the discovery of that murder and reveals the fate of one of the key members of the Batfamily — Dick Grayson/Nightwing.

Warning: Spoilers for Batman/Catwoman #3 below.

In the issue, Helena as Batwoman responds to the Batsignal much in the way her father would have except the person operating the signal here is a familiar face many readers won’t expect: Dick Grayson. Dick informs Helena that a body that matches up to the description of The Joker was found in Port Orange, Florida. While she is skeptical that it is The Joker, she ends up investigating with him and, eventually, confirms that it is indeed him.

The reveal that Dick is now police Commissioner in Gotham City is an interesting one and it opens up quite a few questions. The suggestion here is that, at some point, Dick retires from being Nightwing and finds another way to help fight crime in Gotham City. It’s not entirely out of character for Dick to choose a career in law enforcement, either. At various points in comics history, Dick has worked with the police, albeit in Bludhaven.

What’s also interesting is that because Dick has experience working with Batman and being a vigilante himself, his working relationship with Helena’s Batwoman is probably somewhat stronger than Batman’s with Commissioner Gordon. There’s something interesting about the idea of the former Nightwing working within the system while Batman’s legacy continues with Helena that feels like a fitting way of continuing Batman’s work in a way that might just make Gotham all the better for it.

Batman/Catwoman #3 is on sale now.